sentences:  Shipley was one of several players discovered by Southampton's scouting network in the North East and was brought to The Dell as a trainee in August 1975.After regular appearances for the reserves, he signed professional papers on his 18th birthday in March 1977.For the next two seasons he was a regular fixture in the reserves and, after a loan spell with Reading at the end of the 1978–79 season, he eventually made his first team appearance as a substitute in a First Division match at Crystal Palace on 21 August 1979.