Southampton F.C. Academy
Southampton Football Club Academy or Saints Academy is the youth organisation run by Southampton Football Club to encourage and develop young footballers in the South of England. There are currently 9 squads at the Academy.
- Under 18
- Under 16
- Under 15
- Under 14
- Under 13
- Under 12
- Under 11
- Under 10
- Under 9
International players
Amongst the players who passed through the Saints Academy and went on to represent their country are:
Chris Baird
Gareth Bale
Leon Best
Dexter Blackstock 
Wayne Bridge- Calum Chambers
- Arron Davies
- Lloyd Isgrove
- Adam Lallana
- David McGoldrick
- Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
- Ben Reeves
- Luke Shaw
Tim Sparv
Jake Thomson- Theo Walcott
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.[1][2]
In England's international friendly against Denmark on 5 March 2014, three graduates of the Southampton FC 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.
The aim of the Southampton academy is to "...produce Premiership class players..."[3]
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 season 2010–11 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.[4]
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.[5]
Youth squad
Academy 2nd Years 2014-15
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Academy 1st Years 2014-15
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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- Professional contracts
References
- ↑ "Montenegro U21 0-3 England U21". bbc.co.uk. 7 September 2007. Retrieved 8 September 2007.
- ↑ "Full Monte for U21s". thefa.com. 7 September 2007. Retrieved 8 September 2007.
- ↑ Introduction to the Southampton Academy
- ↑ "Saints Programme". Southampton FC. 24 April 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
- ↑ "Andre Villas-Boas: Tottenham boss praises Southampton's academy". BBC Sport. 4 May 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
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