Southampton Under-23s and Academy or Saints Under-23s and Academy is the youth organisation run by Southampton F.C. to encourage and develop young footballers in the south of England. Renowned players including Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott, and Alan Shearer began their careers at this academy. The team is made up of under-23 and academy players is effectively Southampton's second-string side, but is limited to three outfield players and one goalkeeper over the age of 23 per game following the introduction of new regulations from the 2012-13 season. They play in Premier League 2 Division 2. The team also competed in the 2016-17 Checkatrade Trophy and have been confirmed as participants for the 2017-18 edition of the cup. The under-18 players among other younger age groups make up the Academy team.
Home fixtures are contested at the club's training ground Staplewood in Long Lane, Marchwood, Southampton and on rare occasions at St. Mary's. Since July 2010, the under-23s have been managed by Martin Hunter who is also the technical director of the senior side. Hunter's team took part in the Premier League 2 Division 1, which involves the top 12 Under-23 teams in the country from those clubs with academies classed as Category One under the Elite Player Performance Plan.
Video Southampton F.C. Under-23s and Academy
Age categories
- Under 23
- Under 18
- Under 16
- Under 15
- Under 14
- Under 13
- Under 12
- Under 11
- Under 10
- Under 9
Maps Southampton F.C. Under-23s and Academy
International players
Amongst the players who passed through the Saints Academy and went on to represent their country since the turn of the Millennium are:
In the past, prior to the establishment of the academy, the Southampton youth system has produced other international players, such as Terry Paine, Martin Chivers, Steve Williams, Mick Channon, Matthew Le Tissier and Alan Shearer.
Four former Saints academy players featured in the England Under-21 match against Montenegro on 7 September 2007: Martin Cranie and Theo Walcott both started (with Walcott setting up the second goal) whilst Dexter Blackstock and Andrew Surman came on as second-half substitutes, with Surman scoring the final goal in a 3-0 victory, tapping the ball home in stoppage time from a knock-down by Blackstock.
In England's international friendly against Denmark on 5 March 2014, three graduates of the Southampton F.C. Academy appeared as second-half substitutes: Luke Shaw (making his debut), Adam Lallana and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Present structure
The academy manager is Matt Hale. The previous academy manager was Matt Crocker (who served an apprenticeship at Cardiff City), assisted by Terry Moore. Crocker joined The FA as head of coaching and player development in the winter of 2013. Players are looked after by Host Families within the local area. These families are organised and monitored by Family Liaison Officer Ian Herding and his assistant Emma Walker.
The aim of the Southampton academy is to "...produce Premiership class players..."
Currently, Southampton's academy set-up is one of the best in the country and they have regularly reached the latter stages of the FA Youth Cup, as well as being successful in the FA Premier Academy League championship. In the 2010-2011 season the U18s were only just "...Pipped to the Title..." by one point on the last day of the season of the Group A league. Southampton had to win and Fulham had to draw or lose for Southampton to come top. After winning 1-3 away to Coventry City the U18s were dismayed to discover Fulham had come back from being 0-3 down versus Leicester City to win 5-3.
The academy has joined up with local college Sparsholt College to try to give those footballers who have missed out on a scholarship the opportunity to remain in the game and train and play matches with the Southampton Academy.
In May 2013, Andre Villas-Boas, manager of Tottenham Hotspur praised the Southampton Academy for its ability to produce star players, describing it as "a great school of development" and comparing it to Sporting Lisbon.
In April 2015, a Southampton U21 side won the U21 Premier League Cup, defeating a Blackburn Rovers U21 side in the two-legged final at St Mary's Stadium in front of more than 12,000 fans. Goals from Ryan Seager and Sam Gallagher cancelled out a Matt Targett own goal to give Southampton a 2-1 victory after extra time to win the second edition of the cup.
Under-23 squad
Players (excluding scholars) who will qualify as U23s in season 2017-18 (i.e. born on or after 1 January 1994) and who are outside the first team squad.
- As of 4 August 2017.
- Squad numbers represent numbers given to players for first team and Checkatrade Trophy matches only.
- ± Denotes a player on an 'extended scholarship'.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
U23 Honours
Leagues
Cups
- U21 Premier League Cup
- Winners: 2014-15
Under-18 squad
Academy 2nd Years 2017-18
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Academy 1st Years 2017-18
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
- * = Professional contracts
U18 Honours
Leagues
Cups
- FA Youth Cup
- Runners-up: 2004-05
Staff
- Under-23 / Under-18 management
- U23 Coach: Martin Hunter
- U23 Assistant Coach: Radhi Jaïdi
- U23 Goalkeeping Coach: Vince Bartram
- U18 Coach: Craig Fleming
- U18 Assistant Coach: Danny Butterfield
- U18 Goalkeeping Coach: Ryan Flood
- Sports Medicine & Science Manager: Mo Gimpel
- Head of Sports Science: Alek Gross
- Safeguarding Manager: Margaret Sainsbury
- Safeguarding Officers: Ian Herding & Emma Walker
Academy graduates (2012-present)
A number of players from the Southampton F.C. Academy have gone on to have careers in professional football, whether at Southampton or at other clubs. The following is a list of players who have made their Southampton first team debuts since the under-23s squad was established at the start of the 2012-13 season. Players who have represented Southampton in the Checkatrade Trophy, and no other competition, are not included in this list. Academy graduates who still play for Southampton, including those that are currently out on loan to other clubs, are highlighted in green.
- As of 28 August 2017
References
External links
- Southampton Under-23s at saintsfc.co.uk
- Southampton Under-18s at saintsfc.co.uk
Source of article : Wikipedia
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