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New England Duo Show Saints Are Getting It Right !

The England debut of James Ward Prowse and Nathan Redmond has showed that both in the short and long term Saints are getting it right in building their squad.

For the past few years "Meltdown" has been a familiar word and well overused on social media and message boards relating to Southampton Football Club.

Last summer was no different to the two that had gone before and Nathan Redmond followed in a tradition of new signings that a section of the fanbase had decided was sub standard before they had barely kicked a ball.

That was nothing new Pelle was ironically booed 15 minutes into his home debut, Sadio Mane was generally considered to be average until this time last year when he had his end of season surge.

But Nathan Redmond being capped by England should perhaps be a lesson to those that seem to make up their minds about a player in minutes rather than games or months.

There are still those that lambast Nathan Redmond, but they don't seem to be in Gareth Southgate's England set up or indeed Saints own footballing department, they both have seen the potential of Redmond and that with the right coaching he can become a truly sensational player.

But they know that developing players can take time and today's football fan does not seem to recognise that, a player has to be immediately the finished article or in some fan's minds they never will be.

Likewise James Ward Prowse he has suffered the usual trait of most home grown players, early promise has to become the real deal very quickly or the fans assume the player isn't good enough.

James Ward Prowse has had to develop in the harsh gaze of his own supporters, many of whom have made no concessions that these days the average Premier League player does not get into his club's first team till 20-21 at least, he is not physically or mentally tough enough to succeed till this age, JWP was in the team at 17 and judged by those around him not by where his own development should be.

If he had signed for the club last summer from elsewhere the fans would have a different perception of him.

Saints and England know this and perhaps realise that all he is lacking now is the confidence to take the game by the scruff of its neck and become the player that he has been heading towards for the last 5 years.

Both Ward Prowse and Redmond have one thing in common though and that is they have never hidden, they must hear the barbed comments etc, but they keep going out and trying to show their detractors they are wrong and that is why they will succeed.

So their England caps against Germany should be a feather in the cap for Southampton Football Club, it is showing that the club is getting it right not only in the way we are bringing players through the system and indeed has been for many years now, JWP has been attached to Saints since around 2003, but also in the way we analyse signings and make sure they have the right temperament to succeed.

So Saints supporters should take a step back and give both players the kudos they deserve not only for the way they have battled through difficult times personally this season, but the way they have both played big parts in Saints resurgence both in getting to Wembley for the League Cup final but in a Saints side that is again starting to look like it can recapture the form of the past three seasons.

But the club should be also given credit for the way they keep to the strategy they have, one that like Redmond and JWP seems to be more admired by other than those who support the club, there will always be rocky times, but the lesson is that in football there will always be rocky periods, the trick is not to panic, the club never has and that is why we can always come back stronger than before, e are not repeating the usual hire them and fire them policy of the likes of Sunderland.

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