Although in some respects its nice to see Alan Shearer speaking out in praise of our youth academy and the way we bring players through, he needs to look at the history books.
As I said its good to see pundits like Alan Shearer praising Southampton and even more satisfying in that since he left Saints in 1992, Shearer has barely uttered a word about us since, Im sure a younger generation who only know him for his stint as a Match Of The Day presenter would be unaware that he played so many games for Saints and would know him as the ex England, Blackburn & Newcastle striker, like Andy Townsend, it has been funny how Saints have been airbrushed from history until suddenly they are the flavour of the month.
But forgetting that it is good to see Shearer praise our youngsters and its also good to see him point out that this isn't actually a new thing here at Southampton but something that's been going on for a long long time, speaking to BBC Sport Shearer said:
"How can Southampton carry on churning out players whereas big clubs have struggled to do that? The answer, probably, is that they are giving their kids a chance."
"It's refreshing that they are continuing to produce youngsters at an academy that has worked wonders over the years The money that football club has made out of their youth academy, it's a model for everyone to look at."
Shearer then continued by saying that one of the main reasons he joined Saints as a schoolboy back in the early 80's was because of their reputation of giving young players a chance.
"That started with Danny Wallace, Steve Williams, Matt Le Tissier, myself, Rod Wallace, Bale, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Walcott - and the guys coming through now like Lallana, Shaw and Ward-Prowse," he added.
"That hasn't just happened this season, it's been happening for years. It's incredible and a model that a lot of people should look at."
But Shearer is wrong !
It didn't start with the likes of Danny Wallace who made his debut for the Club at Old Trafford in the Kevin Keegan era in 1980 at only 16 years old ironically almost 33 years ago to this day, nor did it start with Steve Williams who made his debut at only 17 in 1976 and would barely miss a game for the next eight years, those who pipe up with the name of Mick Channon would also be wrong, he was well into the programme.
It all started back in 1955 when Ted Bates took over at the Dell and inheirited a squad at a club that was making a loss and out of necessity needed not only to give youth a chance but develop it for the future, perhaps the first fruit of a Saints youth system that has continued to this day was Terry Paine who in March 1957 made his debut only a week before his 18th birthday, he was followed soon after by another 17 year old, John Sydenham, between them they played over a thousand league games for the club and the conveyor belt had started.
In 1956/57 the youth team reached the semi finals for the FA Youth Cup and lost only to Manchester United after losing at the Dell 5-2 they won 3-2 at Old Trafford to go out on aggregate, a fine achievement when you consider that this was the Busby Babes team containing many players who would go on to become legends in the game, some of them sadly because they were to die so tragically in the Munich air disaster in February 1958, incidentally the programme for the 2nd leg at Old Trafford sells at over £30 on e bay.
The academy rolled on though and throughout the sixties it was prolific, Martin Chivers, Mick Channon, Denis Hollywood, coming into its own in the early 70's as the likes of Bobby Stokes, Nick Holmes and a host of other too numerous to mention that continued on right through that decade and up to the time when Alan Shearer arrived at the club to continue the production line, yes it did go a bit quiet in the mid 90's but was rebuilt a decade or so ago which lead to renewed progress.
Perhaps it would be remiss to mention the youth system without recalling the one player who really would be a Saints legend now if not for tragedy striking, Steve Mills burst into the Saints side in 1972 and was a natural left back who could also play on the right if needed, but fate was to deal him not just one blow but two, in February 1975 he was involved in a car crash which effectively ended his career, he would attempt a comeback but he was no longer able to stand up to the rigours of the game and forced to retire after only 57(4) league appearances.
But it wasn't just one cruel blow of fate, in the mid 80's he was diagnosed with Leukemia, but Steve was a fighter and whilst battling the disease set up the Steve Mills Leukemia fund to raise cash for research, the highlight of which was a big charity game at the Dell when many ex players from the past including Kevin Keegan & Mick Channon took part and played the current side in front of a packed Dell in what was an emotional evening, sadly a few moths later Steve would lose his life to the dreadful disease.
So Alan Shearer is wrong, the Saints youth academy has been producing good young talent now for the best part of 60 years not the mere 30 or so he is acknowledging, youngsters may claim that there has never been a better time to be a Saints fan, but that might be disputed by those in their 70's who watched youngsters like Paine & Sydenham roar down the wings and take Saints from the third division to the first, by those in their 60's who thrilled as the likes of Chivers & Channon kept us in the top flight, by those in their 50's who watched in awe as the likes Holmes & Stokes helped us win the FA Cup and then Williams & Waldron took us back to the top flight and Wembley again, then it was the turn of Moran & Wallace in the early 80's, those in their 30's will recall the great days of Le Tissier, Rod Wallace and Shearer himself, those in their late 20's will hark back a decade as we went to another FA Cup Final with home grown talent like Wayne Bridge, Matt Oakley & Chris Baird in the squad just before the emergence of Walcott & Bale.
So for those youngsters, yes its a great time to be a Saints fan, but its not "yet" the "Greatest" time, over the years we have been blessed by many great players who have come through our youth set up, most have seen us through some very special times over the years, the latest crop are the heirs to that legacy, so far they have done those that went before proud and long may that continue.