[Albion] The "Southampton Model"

[Change at Barnham]

I wish our academy could produce a Dibling. He looks like a generational talent to me.

Keep an eye on Harry Howell.

 

[chaileyjem]

Keep an eye on Harry Howell.

Yep. And Freddie Simmonds - 2 x 16 year olds already playing regularly for the u21s.
The other side of the model (buy young with development so profit on resale, in cheaper markets (south america, south korea, nordic countries, championship !, very data driven ) is of course invest heavily in an Academy - which only now is starting to come through after Lancing was built over a decade ago - and make it sustainable and make tough decisions if that's threatened ( don't break the model - eg: goodbye RDZ ) .

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

I think there are similarities between Southampton 10 years ago and us now. This shows that football can be precarious. One bad manager appointment or a load of bad luck with injuries one season, or you sell one too many stars, you find yourself going down.

I'm not sure Southampton ever had quite the numbers on the production line that we do. Equally we've never unearthed a genuine world star like Bale.

Southampton are a lesson to be looked at. But i'm not worried we'll follow them in the short term

 

[tstanbur]

Here’s a few they sold

View attachment 196543

Oxlade-Chamberlain would be a decent sub too

 

[tstanbur]

Here’s a few they sold

View attachment 196543

 

[Couldn't Be Hyypia]

I think there are similarities between Southampton 10 years ago and us now. This shows that football can be precarious. One bad manager appointment or a load of bad luck with injuries one season, or you sell one too many stars, you find yourself going down.

I'm not sure Southampton ever had quite the numbers on the production line that we do. Equally we've never unearthed a genuine world star like Bale.

Southampton are a lesson to be looked at. But i'm not worried we'll follow them in the short term

Caicdeo (Britain's most expensive player) and Ali Mac (world cup winner) must be close? Just not such flashy positions/players.

 

[brighton_tom]

It’s an incredibly lazy comparison. Two south coast clubs sell some players for big money? Oh they must be doing exactly the same thing in term of transfer model & scouting!

 

[el punal]

Didn't they also hire a succession of managers that got more and more uninspiring with time. Mark Hughes? And get sold to a Chinese consortium or something?

The whole "Brighton sign and sell young players so are destined to be Southampton Mk2" is such lazy journalism parroted by football fans who get their opinions from TalkSport.

The big difference, in my view, between Southampton and Brighton is the ownership. For decades, Southampton were a First Division/Premier League club, apart from 3 years in the mid 1970s, they have been in the top flight from 1966 to 2005. They constantly had a board that had the best interests of the club at heart and this was reflected in their success on the pitch. It was from 2005 that things went belly up with relegation and huge financial losses. As they were about to go into administration they were rescued by Marcus Liebherr who essentially cleared the debts and bankrolled the club. He unfortunately died and his daughter took over the reins but her heart was not in it. Since she opted out the Saints have had a succession of owners and managers each progressively worse than their predecessors.

We, on the other hand, have had Tony Bloom at the helm since 2009. From there on in it’s been a constant upward trajectory of success for Brighton. All the necessary building blocks in place to ensure that success - that is what is now missing from Southampton and why they’ll almost certainly be relegated in May.

 

[Hiheidi]

The Southampton model died when the owner did.

He died in August 2010, when they were in the Championship. They enjoyed success after he died, notably from 2013 - 2017, which also coincided with Liverpool taking an interest in their players.

 

[albionalbino]

14 significant players to "big" clubs in a four year period. Including six to Liverpool. A few years earlier they sold Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain to Arsenal and later Hojbjerg to Spurs.
Easy to see the com
1 July 2014 Rickie Lambert Liverpool
1 July 2014 Luke Shaw Manchester United
1 July 2014 Adam Lallana Liverpool
27 July 2014 Dejan Lovren Liverpool
28 July 2014 Calum Chambers Arsenal
1 July 2015 Nathaniel Clyne Liverpool
13 July 2015 Morgan Schneiderlin Manchester United
1 July 2016 Sadio Mané Liverpool
1 July 2016 Victor Wanyama Tottenham Hotspur
20 January 2017 José Fonte West Ham United
2 July 2017 Jay Rodriguez West Bromwich Albion
23 August 2017 Paulo Gazzaniga Tottenham Hotspur
1 January 2018 Virgil van Dijk Liverpool
1 July 2018 Dušan Tadić Ajax

 

[hans kraay fan club]

They had an exemplary scouting system. At a time where no other south of London clubs were competing or comparable.

They also had the very dubious Bath 'Satellite' Academy, allowing them to massively flout the 90-minute rule (and ultimately to sign Gareth Bale, amongst others, who should not have been allowed to sign for their academy).

Steve Lansdown at Bristol City has some quite strong views on it.

(Saints finally closed it last year, as the present rules mean they can recruit from further afield anyway).

 

[Hiheidi]

14 significant players to "big" clubs in a four year period. Including six to Liverpool.

Top six on income from transfers over a decade, but compared to the other clubs in the top ten they won't have been big spenders.

 

[hampshirebrightonboy]

The Southampton model died when the owner did.

Yeah sold out to the Chinese I think - can't see Uncle Tony doing that

 

[The Fits]

I’ve never really got the comparison. It’s lazy and catastrophising.

 

[Brovion]

Yep. And Freddie Simmonds - 2 x 16 year olds already playing regularly for the u21s.
The other side of the model (buy young with development so profit on resale, in cheaper markets (south america, south korea, nordic countries, championship !, very data driven ) is of course invest heavily in an Academy - which only now is starting to come through after Lancing was built over a decade ago - and make it sustainable and make tough decisions if that's threatened ( don't break the model - eg: goodbye RDZ ) .

Yeah, that's probably right. If I can be a bit dismissive of Southampton I'd say they just 'got lucky' like a gambler on a winning streak. That is being unkind as there was a lot more to it than that, but their success seemed to be built mainly on a good scouting network rather than having a 'proper' model which involves using the (worldwide) talent rather than just developing and selling it. I think the similarities between us are superficial more than anything, and I do believe our foundations are stronger.

(Now watch us plummet down the divisions and see Tony Bloom replaced by a Korean typewriter manufacturer ... )

 

[Skaville]

They sold nearly £185m in 23/24 including Livramento, Lavia and Ward Prowse.

Again though, is that any different to any other club having a decent income generative window?

That was a fire sale when they got relegated. They definitely had a purple patch in transfer activity and academy development around 10-15 years ago which stood them out.

 

[Hiheidi]

Yeah sold out to the Chinese I think - can't see Uncle Tony doing that

I don't understand why people are putting it down the the owner that died - he was only the owner a year prior to his death? And they had success under his daughter. But yes, the downfall seems to have coincided with her losing interest? / Chinese involvement.

 

[Skaville]

Yep. And Freddie Simmonds - 2 x 16 year olds already playing regularly for the u21s.
The other side of the model (buy young with development so profit on resale, in cheaper markets (south america, south korea, nordic countries, championship !, very data driven ) is of course invest heavily in an Academy - which only now is starting to come through after Lancing was built over a decade ago - and make it sustainable and make tough decisions if that's threatened ( don't break the model - eg: goodbye RDZ ) .

Southampton had a kid in the same age group who’s headed off to Olympic Lyon. He’s already playing reserve team football and has played for Portugal, England and Venezuela at youth level. Alejandro Gomes. Could be a superstar.

 

[Guinness Boy]

They also had the very dubious Bath 'Satellite' Academy, allowing them to massively flout the 90-minute rule (and ultimately to sign Gareth Bale, amongst others, who should not have been allowed to sign for their academy).

Steve Lansdown at Bristol City has some quite strong views on it.

(Saints finally closed it last year, as the present rules mean they can recruit from further afield anyway).

They used to take Saints Southwest to run a training day every week at the Ashbury golf hotel in Devon, which has two pro standard 3G pitches.

It’s twinned with The Manor and you could go if you stayed at either. The Manor just happens to be a sports holiday hotel that attracts competitive, sporty families from around the country (plus some who just like doing craft, drinking or three course buffets).

We used to holiday there with the kids. The first time I signed up for five a side (when I was very fit from marathon running) I had a thirteen year old Cheltenham Town Academy kid run rings round me. Badminton and Tennis competitions often fought out between county players.

We let the boy do the Saints thing the first time we went. He was comfortably the worst player. At the end the coaches tapped up the parents of anyone who looked decent.

They were doing it for years though it might have ended after lockdown.

 

[dazzer6666]

The big difference, in my view, between Southampton and Brighton is the ownership. For decades, Southampton were a First Division/Premier League club, apart from 3 years in the mid 1970s, they have been in the top flight from 1966 to 2005. They constantly had a board that had the best interests of the club at heart and this was reflected in their success on the pitch. It was from 2005 that things went belly up with relegation and huge financial losses. As they were about to go into administration they were rescued by Marcus Liebherr who essentially cleared the debts and bankrolled the club. He unfortunately died and his daughter took over the reins but her heart was not in it. Since she opted out the Saints have had a succession of owners and managers each progressively worse than their predecessors.

We, on the other hand, have had Tony Bloom at the helm since 2009. From there on in it’s been a constant upward trajectory of success for Brighton. All the necessary building blocks in place to ensure that success - that is what is now missing from Southampton and why they’ll almost certainly be relegated in May.

All of that, plus a clear long-term strategy......we might sell, but there's always a contingency, and the money will be used sensibly