Oh dear!!!

DISGUSTING !!
Whatever is going on at Under 18 and Under 21 level at the Club ?
In the past we have been proud of both levels of player development within our Club.
Category 1 Academy Level ??? - I think not.

I've commented on the Academy a few times in here before, few bother to make any posts about it, maybe apathy and /or a complete focus on the first team. We have dropped well behind the curve on youth development, when it used to be a great strength, and I was around back then to see it, not just talking from things being told or read. Either the recruitment process has gone wrong or the coaching isn't up to it, or both! The result above tells you that. A lot of it is down to previous ownership, but not all of it.

We now have Academy One status, it's clear it needs to do it's job. It won't be overnight, but it needs to be as quick as possible. blueboy1981 comes in for a fair bit of flack on this site, not commenting on that here, but in this case I think his post above is pretty spot on. Let's hope for some big improvements soon, though I fear we may have to wait for the next intakes.

I would normally say at age group levels, the results are less important, as it's all a learning curve, but this was a hammering. Don't think the young lads are ready for category 1 level. Will take time to get there.

Sorry we were brought 4.5 years ago. We've had 2 promotions and a relegationabd the country has had 4 different prime ministers since. To blame the old ownership is ridiculous. Ashton even said he wasn't to concerned about categories. At least now we are cat1 but looks like the funds have gone getting g us there and none left for actual recruitment

Bluewhiteboy, the old ownership weren't even bothered with the first team, never mind the youth set up. But I do think you might have a point about the recruitment, which is something I had considered too. However we now have Cat 1 status, so no excuses for not having a big turnaround of fortune over the next few years, I doubt it's going to happen overnight.

So booboy82 and boowhiteboy (and no doubt Darkhorse et al) now have something else to get their negative teeth into.

Yes, clearly a gulf has developed over time which needs to be closed. But we’ve started and MA prioritised attaining cat 1 status precisely so we can attract better talent from farther afield, begin the long haul of rebuilding a proper youth structure, and once again produce top tier players.

Nostalgia aside it’s nearly 50 years since we did this. Yes we brilliantly won another FAYC in 2005 but that’s 20 years ago. Even then only one or two of that team came through. Whereas the Southampton team we beat featured Walcott and McGoldrick with the young Lallana and Gareth Bale on the sub bench. Truth is we were already failing in the sense of producing top talent and we haven’t really produced top tier talent thru the youth set-up since the mid-late 70’s.

We now have a great chance of closing the gap: but the booboys should stop carping and accept the process won’t happen overnight any more than rebuilding the stadium or becoming a PL fixture.