One club players

[Toby Ward-Smith]

Do any of you think that any of our current youth players will stay with us for the majority of their careers, similar to a Lampard or Gerrard? I hope players like Christensen and Bettinelli do, however I see Christensen going to a prem club if we don't get promoted next season. And same with Bettinelli however I believe he is more likely to stay as he has been at the club since 14 and his dad is the youth keeper coach. I have a feeling Burn may stay for a while, however I also thought Stockdale was going to see out the majority of his career with us. Williams and Kavanagh maybe?

[JackyFulham90]

There is no one club players anymore unfortunately it's all about money these days & player agents kill any chance of players sticking at one club.

[dannyboi-ffc]

I don't think we will ever be big enough as a club even if we are promoted to keep the likes of lvc, Williams,  roberts, dembele, bettinelli.

Not that these two aren't as good but I think judging from their attitudes and depending on the opportunities kit gives them I think burn and Woodrow are two very likely one club men or majority of their careers anyway.

But it's impossible to tell nowadays.

Obviously not including the club  we signed burn from. Darlington I think it was?

[PaulJ123]

For teams like us it'd be pretty much impossible to keep a player for his whole career.
A youngster that comes through our ranks or comes in at a young age would have to show us that he's good enough to be here and thus attracting interested from "bigger" clubs (I imagine this will happen with LVC, Williams, Roberts).
Otherwise we'll get them in and they wont shine and we'll let them go.

The only thing that keeps these players at the clubs is if those teams are successful, like Lampard came from West Ham at a young age to Chelsea but if Chelsea were staying in mid table theres no doubt he'd move.
Gerrard has been in a Liverpool team that has been up at the top but he almost joined Chelsea when they were winning the premiership regularly.

Sadly, we wont get consistent success to keep our promising youngsters

[ToodlesMcToot]

The only reason the Gerrards and Lampards (not really a great example in my mind) stay with their clubs for long periods is because they happened to be with clubs that could afford to pay them not to leave.

I think the only way that we keep a Bettinelli or LVC is if it becomes obvious that they plateau in their development and the big clubs lose interest. If Betts continues improving, which he should obviously, he'll be off no matter who works where or how long he's spent with us. There's far too much money on offer these days, even for mid-tier players like the Dems. The only thing we can do is to continue to invest in our academy and youth scouting.

[FPT]

It all depends on the situation - I think it'll be easier to keep kids here thanks simply to Kit Symons being in charge. He'd have coached the majority of them at Under-21 level, and some at both U21 and U18 like Bettinelli/Christensen are now one of the first names on the team sheet.

I think Bettinelli has the most longevity here, his Dad works here and his sister too. He's been around the club since 12/13 so I think that helps.

In the Championship, we will unlikely keep the Christensen's of this world as he will be better than this division; the question is, how good are our negotiation skills? I've explained so many times on this board how the Academy is also a way of making our own profit, we won't get the same sponsorship deals as Chelsea's and Arsenal's, we won't have the same income as even an Everton or a Newcastle even if we were in the Premier League. The money we'll make from selling those like Roberts and Williams will go towards the future of the football club.

I know many of you prefer the entertainment factor of the Championship, however, the clubs aim is to be a Premier League side, and it will be an enticing opportunity if, like Southampton, you can do that whilst competing with your young players and after selling them.

However, back to the question - I think it is unlikely we'll see anyone stay for their career duration; but things surprise in football, Bettinelli is my favourite to be here his whole career.

[Skatzoffc]

It all depends on the situation - I think it'll be easier to keep kids here thanks simply to Kit Symons being in charge. He'd have coached the majority of them at Under-21 level, and some at both U21 and U18 like Bettinelli/Christensen are now one of the first names on the team sheet.

I think Bettinelli has the most longevity here, his Dad works here and his sister too. He's been around the club since 12/13 so I think that helps.

In the Championship, we will unlikely keep the Christensen's of this world as he will be better than this division; the question is, how good are our negotiation skills? I've explained so many times on this board how the Academy is also a way of making our own profit, we won't get the same sponsorship deals as Chelsea's and Arsenal's, we won't have the same income as even an Everton or a Newcastle even if we were in the Premier League. The money we'll make from selling those like Roberts and Williams will go towards the future of the football club.

I know many of you prefer the entertainment factor of the Championship, however, the clubs aim is to be a Premier League side, and it will be an enticing opportunity if, like Southampton, you can do that whilst competing with your young players and after selling them.

However, back to the question - I think it is unlikely we'll see anyone stay for their career duration; but things surprise in football, Bettinelli is my favourite to be here his whole career.

Massively agree FPT

Betts is total class.
I believe he will be a "great"  keeper. Buy I think/hope he will stay quite a while. Keepers r odd. I used to be one. 8-).
They are are a breed apart. Most people I know think keepers are mental and I tend to agree with them. It's a tough job and you need a thick skin to survive. Outfield players get it easy so I always root for the keeper.
I would hope Bette stays for 5-8 years. They mature later. Their careers take off after a longer gestation period. I have high hopes for him and pray he will stay with us for a long time.
COYW!

[Andy S]

It all depends how football develops over the coming years. At the present time I would say it is unlikely but who knows. Even mangers don't last for more than a couple of years and even if players appear loyal a new manager may not like them.