Southampton F.C. B team and Academy

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Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Southampton F.C. B team and Academy or Saints B 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.[1] They play in Premier League 2, Division 2. The team also competes in the EFL Trophy, Premier League International Cup, Premier League Cup and the Hampshire Senior Cup. The under-18 players among other younger age groups make up the Academy team and play in the Premier League U18 First Division, South, Premier League U18 Cup and the FA Youth Cup.

Home fixtures are contested at A.F.C. Totton's Testwood Stadium with some fixtures being held at St. Mary's. Some games are played at the club's training facilities at Staplewood in Long Lane, Marchwood, Southampton if required. Since July 2023, the B team has been managed by Lee Skyrme on an interim basis, while since January 2023, the Under 18s have been managed by Jeremy Newton.

Age categories

  • B team (professionals)
  • Under 18
  • Under 16
  • Under 15
  • Under 14
  • Under 13
  • Under 12
  • Under 11
  • Under 10
  • Under 9
  • Under 8

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:

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In the past, prior to the establishment of the academy, the Southampton youth system has produced other international players, including Terry Paine, Martin Chivers, Steve Williams, Mick Channon, Matthew Le Tissier, Kevin Phillips, Alan Shearer and Dennis Wise.

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.[2][3]

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

Andy Goldie is the current Academy Director, having joined the club from Swansea City in July 2023. He is assisted by Natasha Patel, who returned to the club in 2023 following a spell at New York Red Bulls. The current academy set up has teams at all age groups from Under 8s all the way through to the professional B team, employing large number of coaches and educational staff. Iain Brunnschweiler is the current Coach Development Manager for the academy. Academy players from the age of 16 up until the age of 18 are often looked after by Host Families within the local area. Head of Recruitment Darren Mowbray and Director of Football Operations Jason Wilcox currently oversee academy recruitment.

The aim of the Southampton academy is to "...produce Premiership class players..."[4]

Southampton has regularly reached the latter stages of the FA Youth Cup, as well as being successful in the FA Premier Academy League championship.[citation needed] 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.[5]

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.[6]

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.[7]

In September 2020, Southampton revamped their Under-23s programme to 'enhance the pathway into the first team for its younger players.' A 'structure and philosophical overhaul' saw the Under-23s side become a B team. The new B team will mirror the training programmes, coaching and style of play of the first team. Training and fixtures, where possible, will also be organised so it does not clash with the first team so the first team manager and coaches can watch the side train or play and also take part in coaching sessions. The side will still continue to participate in the same competitions as before the revamp.[8]

Under new club Director of Football Matt Crocker, individual player coaches have been brought into to try and improve players coming through the academy. Lee Skyrme was appointed B team individual player coach in 2021, while Mikey Harris was appointed in the same role for the U18s in the same year.[9] Harris was replaced in 2022 by Pete Haynes, with Harris having been promoted to U18 head coach.[10]

B team squad

Southampton B team
FC Southampton.svg
Full name Southampton Football Club B team
Nickname(s) The Saints
Ground Testwood Stadium, Totton, Southampton
Manager Lee Skyrme (interim) (B team)
League Premier League 2, Division 1
2022–23 Premier League 2, Division 2, 1st (Champions)
Website Club home page

Players (excluding scholars) who will qualify as B team players in season 2022–23 (i.e. born on or after 1 January 2001) and who are outside the first team squad.

As of 6 July 2023[11]
  • Squad numbers represent numbers given to players for first team and EFL Trophy matches only.
  • ± Denotes a player on an 'extended scholarship'.
  • * Denotes a player who is overage (born before 1 January 2001) and outside of the first team squad.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
51 England GK Jack Bycroft
England GK Josh Jeffries ±
England GK Josh McNamara
Bahrain GK Adli Mohamed ±
England DF Derrick Abu
49 England DF Will Armitage
64 England DF Sam Bailey
67 Northern Ireland DF Matt Carson
England DF Sonnie Davis
72 England DF Jem Hewlett
36 England DF Olly Lancashire *
79 England DF Josh Lett
No. Position Player
61 England DF Lewis Payne
England DF Jake Vokins *
68 England MF Cam Bragg
65 England MF Kamari Doyle
66 England MF Diamond Edwards
50 England MF Ryan Finnigan
Scotland MF Josh Squires ±
England MF Alex Stepien-Iwumene ±
53 England FW Dom Ballard
Belgium FW Kazeem Olaigbe
60 Republic of Ireland FW Luke Pearce

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
47 England GK Ollie Wright (on loan at Bath City until end of season)
59 England DF Nico Lawrence (on loan at Colchester United until end of season)

B team & U23 Honours

Leagues

Cups

  • U21 Premier League Cup
    • Winners: 2014–15
  • Southampton Senior Cup
    • Winners: 2017–18
  • South Shields International Tournament
    • Winners: 2018–19

Under-18 squad

Southampton Under-18s
FC Southampton.svg
Full name Southampton Football Club (Under-18s)
Nickname(s) The Saints
Ground Staplewood Campus, Long Lane, Marchwood, Southampton
Manager Jeremy Newton (Under-18s)
League Premier U18 First Division, South
2022–23 Premier U18 First Division, South, 8th
Website Club home page
As of 16 June 2023[12]

Academy 2nd Years 2023–24

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
76 England DF Nathanael Boot (DoB xx.xx.xxxx)
England DF Tyler Edmondson (DoB xx.xx.xxxx)
England DF Reggie Evans (DoB xx.xx.xxxx)
Wales DF Ethan Hartness (DoB xx.xx.xxxx)
80 England DF Jayden Meghoma * (DoB 28.06.2006)
75 England MF Sam Amo-Ameyaw * (DoB 18.07.2006)
Wales MF Joe Andrews (DoB 14.02.2006)
No. Position Player
England MF Isaac Bailey (DoB xx.xx.xxxx)
77 England MF Brandon Charles * (DoB xx.xx.xxxx)
73 England MF Tyler Dibling * (DoB 12.03.2006)
England FW Princewill Ehibhatiomhan * (DoB 20.10.2005)
71 England FW Will Merry * (DoB 22.11.2005)
England FW Alfie Prescot (DoB xx.xx.xxxx)
  • * = Professional contracts

Academy 1st Years 2023–24

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
England GK Henry Upstell (DoB xx.xx.xxxx)
England DF Tommy Dobson-Ventura (DoB 03.09.2006)
England DF Max Fry (DoB xx.xx.xxxx)
England DF Jayden Moore (DoB xx.xx.xxxx)
England DF Tevin Myers (DoB xx.xx.xxxx)
England DF Abdulhalim Okonola-Matthews (DoB xx.xx.xxxx)
England DF Ben Sheaf (DoB 09.11.2006)
England MF Aston Daley (DoB 29.11.2006)
No. Position Player
England MF James Martin (DoB xx.xx.xxxx)
England MF Jay Robinson (DoB 15.03.2007)
Spain MF Sufianu Sillah Dibaga (DoB xx.xx.xxxx)
England MF Moses Sesay (DoB 05.01.2007)
England MF Barnaby Williams (DoB xx.xx.xxxx)
England FW Nicholas Oyekunle (DoB 09.01.2007)
England FW Josh Pitts (DoB xx.xx.xxxx)
  • * = Professional contracts

U18 Honours

Leagues

Cups

Staff

Academy Leads
  • Academy Director: Andy Goldie
  • Assistant Academy Director: Natasha Patel
  • Head of Academy Medical Services: Tom Sturdy
  • Coach Development Manager: Iain Brunnschweiler
B team / Under-18 management
  • B team Coach (interim): Lee Skyrme
  • B team Individual Player Coach (interim): Olly Lancashire
  • U18 Coach: Jeremy Newton
  • U18 Individual Player Coach: Pete Haynes
  • Development Coach: Sam McQueen
  • Development Goalkeeping Coach: Ryan Flood
  • Development Goalkeeping Coach: Steve Grinham
  • Academy Liaison Officer: Ian Herding

Academy graduates (2000–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 turn of the millennium. Players who have represented Southampton in only the EFL Trophy 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. Where players have made their debut in the same fixture, they are sorted alphabetically by surname.

As of 29 June 2023
Player Position Southampton appearances Southampton goals Current club Born International honours Debut Manager
Ryan Ashford DF 1 0 Retired England Honiton Age 18 vs. Mansfield Town, League Cup, 26 September 2000 Glenn Hoddle
Scott McDonald FW 3 0 Retired Australia Melbourne Australia Australia Age 18 vs. Brighton & Hove Albion, League Cup, 11 September 2001 Stuart Gray
Chris Baird DF 79 3 Retired Northern Ireland Rasharkin Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Age 21 vs. Aston Villa, Premier League, 22 March 2003 Gordon Strachan
Kevin Phillips FW 73 26 Retired England Hitchin England England Age 30 vs. Leicester City, Premier League, 16 August 2003
Léandre Griffit MF 8 2 Retired France Maubeuge France France U21 Age 19 vs. Blackburn Rovers, Premier League, 25 October 2003
Yoann Folly MF 18 0 Retired France Paris Togo Togo Age 18 vs. Tottenham Hotspur, Premier League, 27 March 2004 Paul Sturrock
Martin Cranie DF 25 0 Retired England Yeovil England England U21 Age 17 vs. Chelsea, Premier League, 1 May 2004
Alan Blayney GK 4 0 Retired Northern Ireland Belfast Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Age 22 vs. Newcastle United, Premier League, 12 May 2004
Leon Best FW 17 4 Retired England Nottingham Republic of Ireland Republic of Ireland Age 18 vs. Newcastle United, Premier League, 19 September 2004 Steve Wigley
Dexter Blackstock FW 36 9 Retired England Oxford Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda Age 18 vs. Everton, Premier League, 16 October 2004
Theo Walcott MF/FW 82 10 Free Agent England Stanmore England England Age 16 vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers, Football League Championship, 6 August 2005 Harry Redknapp
Dennis Wise DF/MF 12 1 Retired England Kensington England England Age 38 vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers, Football League Championship, 6 August 2005
Nathan Dyer MF 66 3 Retired England Trowbridge Age 17 vs. Southend United, League Cup, 22 August 2005
David McGoldrick FW 75 15 England Notts County England Nottingham Republic of Ireland Republic of Ireland Age 17 vs. Mansfield Town, Carling Cup, 20 September 2005
Matt Mills DF 6 0 Retired England Swindon England England U19 Age 19 vs. Watford, Football League Championship, 26 December 2005 Dave Bassett &
Dennis Wise
Bartosz Białkowski GK 42 0 England Millwall Poland Braniewo Poland Poland Age 18 vs. Crystal Palace, Football League Championship, 25 January 2006 George Burley
Andrew Surman MF 146 18 Retired South Africa Johannesburg England England U21 Age 19 vs. Crystal Palace, Football League Championship, 25 January 2006
Simon Gillett MF 39 0 Retired England Oxford Age 20 vs. Leicester City, FA Cup, 28 January 2006
Gareth Bale DF/MF 45 5 Retired Wales Cardiff Wales Wales Age 16 vs. Millwall, Football League Championship, 17 April 2006
Adam Lallana MF 265 60 England Brighton & Hove Albion England St Albans England England Age 18 vs. Yeovil Town, League Cup, 23 August 2006
Cédric Baseya FW 1 0 Retired France Brétigny-sur-Orge Democratic Republic of the Congo DR Congo U20 Age 20 vs. Ipswich Town, Football League Championship, 1 March 2008 Nigel Pearson
Michael Poke GK 4 0 Retired England Staines Age 22 vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers, Football League Championship, 4 March 2008
Lloyd James MF 85 2 England Taunton Town England Bristol Wales Wales U21 Age 20 vs. Cardiff City, Football League Championship, 9 August 2008 Jan Poortvliet
Jake Thomson MF 16 0 England Stoneham England Southsea Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago Age 19 vs. Cardiff City, Football League Championship, 9 August 2008
Jamie White FW 3 0 Retired England Southampton Age 18 vs. Derby County, Football League Championship, 23 August 2008
Joseph Mills DF 36 0 Retired England Swindon England England U18 Age 18 vs. Birmingham City, Carling Cup, 26 August 2008
Olly Lancashire DF 17 0 England Southampton England Hook Age 19 vs. Queens Park Rangers, Football League Championship, 14 September 2008
Matt Paterson FW 22 2 England Bognor Regis Town Scotland Dunfermline Scotland Scotland U19 Age 18 vs. Norwich City, Football League Championship, 30 September 2008
Oscar Gobern MF 25 2 England Havant & Waterlooville England Birmingham England England U19 Age 17 vs. Preston North End, Football League Championship, 1 November 2008
Kayne McLaggon FW 8 1 Wales Barry Town United Wales Barry Wales Wales C Age 18 vs. Plymouth Argyle, Football League Championship, 26 December 2008
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain MF 42 10 Free Agent England Portsmouth England England Age 16 vs. Huddersfield Town, Football League One, 2 March 2010 Alan Pardew
Callum McNish MF 1 0 England North Leigh England Oxford Age 17 vs. Carlisle United, Football League One, 24 April 2010
Aaron Martin DF 29 2 England Eastleigh Isle of Wight Newport, IOW Age 20 vs. Gillingham, Football League One, 1 May 2010
Sam Hoskins FW 5 0 England Northampton Town England Dorchester Age 18 vs. Swindon Town, League Cup, 30 August 2011 Dean Wilkins
Ben Reeves DF/MF 13 1 Free Agent England Verwood Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Age 19 vs. Preston North End, League Cup, 21 September 2011 Nigel Adkins
James Ward-Prowse MF 409 55 England Southampton England Portsmouth England England Age 16 vs. Crystal Palace, League Cup, 25 October 2011
Ryan Doble FW 1 0 Retired Wales Blaenavon Wales Wales U21 Age 20 vs. Coventry City, FA Cup, 7 January 2012
Jack Stephens DF 151 6 England Southampton England Torpoint England England U21 Age 17 vs. Coventry City, FA Cup, 7 January 2012
Luke Shaw DF 67 0 England Manchester United England Kingston upon Thames England England Age 16 vs. Millwall, FA Cup, 28 January 2012
Calum Chambers DF 25 0 England Aston Villa England Petersfield England England Age 17 vs. Stevenage, League Cup, 28 August 2012
Andy Robinson MF 1 0 England Gosport Borough England Bournemouth Age 19 vs. Sheffield Wednesday, League Cup, 25 September 2012
Lloyd Isgrove MF 8 0 Free Agent England Yeovil Wales Wales Age 19 vs. Leeds United, League Cup, 30 October 2012
Harrison Reed MF 30 0 England Fulham England Worthing England England U20 Age 18 vs. Barnsley, League Cup, 27 August 2013 Mauricio Pochettino
Omar Rowe MF 2 0 England Hayes & Yeading England Hackney Age 18 vs. Barnsley, League Cup, 27 August 2013
Jake Sinclair FW 1 0 Retired England Bath Age 18 vs. Barnsley, League Cup, 27 August 2013
Sam Gallagher FW 26 2 England Blackburn Rovers England Camberley England England U20 Age 18 vs. Sunderland, League Cup, 6 November 2013
Sam McQueen DF/MF 29 0 Retired England Southampton England England U21 Age 19 vs. Sunderland, FA Cup, 15 February 2014
Matt Targett DF 63 1 England Newcastle United England Eastleigh England England U21 Age 18 vs. Millwall, League Cup, 26 August 2014 Ronald Koeman
Jake Hesketh MF 4 1 England Sholing England Stockport Age 18 vs. Manchester United, Premier League, 8 December 2014
Dominic Gape MF 1 0 Free Agent England Burton Bradstock Age 20 vs. Everton, Premier League, 20 December 2014
Jason McCarthy DF 1 0 England Wycombe Wanderers England Southampton Age 19 vs. Crystal Palace, Premier League, 26 December 2014
Ryan Seager FW 2 0 England Dorking Wanderers England Yeovil England England U20 call-up Age 18 vs. Crystal Palace, FA Cup, 24 January 2015
Olufela Olomola FW 1 0 England Wealdstone England London Age 19 vs. Sunderland, EFL Cup, 26 October 2016 Claude Puel
Josh Sims MF/FW 27 0 Scotland Ross County England Yeovil England England U20 Age 19 vs. Everton, Premier League, 27 November 2016
Harry Lewis GK 3 0 England Bradford City England Shrewsbury England England U18 Age 19 vs. Norwich City, FA Cup, 7 January 2017
Michael Obafemi FW 39 5 England Burnley Republic of Ireland Dublin Republic of Ireland Republic of Ireland Age 17 vs. Tottenham Hotspur, Premier League, 21 January 2018 Mauricio Pellegrino
Danny Ings FW 100 46 England West Ham United England Winchester England England Age 26 vs. Burnley, Premier League, 12 August 2018 Mark Hughes
Yan Valery DF 53 2 France Angers France Champigny-sur-Marne Tunisia Tunisia Age 19 vs. Leicester City, League Cup, 27 November 2018
Tyreke Johnson MF 3 0 England Chippenham Town England Trowbridge Age 20 vs. Arsenal, Premier League, 16 December 2018 Ralph Hasenhüttl
Kayne Ramsay DF 4 0 England Harrogate Town England Hackney Age 18 vs. Manchester City, Premier League, 30 December 2018
Marcus Barnes FW 1 0 Retired England Reading Age 22 vs. Derby County, FA Cup, 5 January 2019
Callum Slattery MF 5 0 Scotland Motherwell England Kidlington England England U20 Age 19 vs. Derby County, FA Cup, 5 January 2019
Jake Vokins DF 5 1 England Southampton England Oxford England England U19 Age 19 vs. Manchester City, League Cup, 29 October 2019
Will Smallbone MF 20 1 England Southampton England Basingstoke Republic of Ireland Republic of Ireland Age 19 vs. Huddersfield Town, FA Cup, 4 January 2020
Nathan Tella MF/FW 41 2 England Southampton England Stevenage Age 20 vs. Norwich City, Premier League, 19 June 2020
Dan Nlundulu FW 16 1 England Bolton Wanderers France England England U16 Age 21 vs. Everton, Premier League, 25 October 2020
Kegs Chauke MF 1 0 England Burton Albion South Africa Pretoria England England U18 call-up Age 18 vs. Shrewsbury Town, FA Cup, 19 January 2021
Ryan Finnigan MF 1 0 England Southampton England Age 17 vs. Shrewsbury Town, FA Cup, 19 January 2021
Alexandre Jankewitz MF 3 0 Switzerland Young Boys
(on loan at
Switzerland Winterthur)
Switzerland Vevey Switzerland Switzerland U21 Age 19 vs. Shrewsbury Town, FA Cup, 19 January 2021
Caleb Watts MF 4 0 Free Agent England Essex Australia Australia U23 Age 19 vs. Shrewsbury Town, FA Cup, 19 January 2021
Allan Tchaptchet DF 1 0 France Grenoble France Besançon France France U16 Age 19 vs. Manchester United, Premier League, 2 February 2021
Thierry Small DF 1 0 England Southampton England Solihull England England U18 Age 17 vs. Coventry City, FA Cup, 5 February 2022
Dom Ballard FW 4 1 England Southampton England England England U18 Age 17 vs. Cambridge United, EFL Cup, 23 August 2022
Diamond Edwards MF 1 0 England Southampton England England England U15 call-up Age 18 vs. Cambridge United, EFL Cup, 23 August 2022
Lewis Payne DF 1 0 England Southampton England Age 18 vs. Cambridge United, EFL Cup, 23 August 2022
Kamari Doyle MF 1 0 England Southampton England England England U18 Age 17 vs. Brighton & Hove Albion, Premier League, 21 May 2023 Rubén Sellés
Sam Amo-Ameyaw MF 1 0 England Southampton England England England U17 Age 16 vs. Liverpool, Premier League, 28 May 2023

References

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  4. Introduction to the Southampton Academy Archived 28 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine
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External links