Saints in Pompey

According to a piece in yesterday's Programme, we appear to have opened our 12th Pre-Academy programme, this time in Portsmouth ...'as we look to increase opportunities for all young players in the region'.....

Feel sure this initiative will be accepted in the normal welcoming way in the area!!!

There are plenty of Saints fans in Portsmouth although Arsenal is the favourite PL club there.

The residents of Paulsgrove celebrating Saints' cup win:

https://bobbystokesbook.com/2016/01/28/the-day-portsmouth-celebrated-a-southampton-goal/

According to a piece in yesterday's Programme, we appear to have opened our 12th Pre-Academy programme, this time in Portsmouth ...'as we look to increase opportunities for all young players in the region'.....

 

Feel sure this initiative will be accepted in the normal welcoming way in the area!!!

There's already been a crisis meeting at Pompey, they are now increasing their own presence in the next few months in the area.

As someone who lives behind enemy lines, I am guarded and keep my mouth shut most of the time. I did see on FB the other night someone who used to work for me, an avid Pompey fan, defending his decision, to take his 9 year old son for a trial at Saints academy, his words “hate to say it but their academy is much better then ours ...”

Good. "If we can't feed them out, we'll breed them out".

They're a ****ing shambles, any self respecting parent round there would be insane to pick their academy over ours. Know Chelsea do a good enough job of getting their kids already.

As mentioned above, going my the amount of United/ Arsenal/ Liverpool/ Chelsea tops you see in Gunwharf the kids round there left have the sinking ship over the last 10 years. Only the older 50+ year old, milk bottle glasses, smack head skinny weirdos still wearing anything Pompey branded down there.

JWP enough said.

Thanks for the link to that article. I live in Baffins in Portsmouth and my wife works in Paulsgrove as a secondary school teacher, so I've sent it onto her to share with her kids - bet they won't believe anyone would ever do that, and certainly not now (even if the family were from there!). If JWP won the cup for us now, more likely his Mum's house would be vandalised than anything.

The children of Portsmouth have been deprived of a top quality academy, since forever really, and so it is absolutely right of Southampton, as the premier club in the county, to ensure every child in the region has access to our top quality coaching and is able to fulfil their potential. In this time of goodwill, let's hope the people of Portsmouth are very grateful.

By Pre-academy programme does that mean coaches going into local schools, or they're opening an actual facility?

By Pre-academy programme does that mean coaches going into local schools, or they're opening an actual facility?

No, it'll be a an invitational session out of a facility.