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2014/15: Young Guns, Reserves and Academy

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[article=http://liverpooloffside.sbnation.com/2014/12/28/7442007/liverpool-academy-update-new-year-edition-Ojo-Wilson-Canos]In the most recent league match, Liverpool faced a strong Middlesborough side that had been 6 points clear at the top of the table. Though playing well and winning matches, the U18s hadn't faced a truly tough test in a while, and by all means this was it. But that pressure did not impact the lads at all, and they breezed past the league leaders with a comprehensive 4-1 victory.

Sergi Canos opened the scoring with a calm finish off an Ojo assist for his 10th league goal of the campaign. Later, Harry Wilson scored his 7th and 8th goals of the season, one off a direct free-kick and the second from another lovely assist by Ojo. Ojo also missed a penalty and scored a quite absurd goal, beating two defenders and curling past the keeper. Two assists and a goal for Ojo, who is fast becoming one of the Liverpool's brightest shining stars.

The attacking talent is plentiful, but Ojo's physical abilities are at another level to Ryan Kent's and Harry Wilson's. These three, along with Canos and Sinclair, round out a very exciting quintet of attacking talent. Jordan Rossiter also hit the post in this match, and the end result is quite stunning considering how proficient Middlesborough have been.[/article]

 
Adam Phillips signed a professional contract.
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Livvy, that is the lords work you are doing. I've got one more like to give out to the man who brings the highlights.
 
I saw a bit of the game last night, as you'd expect Ojo looks the closest to the first team, and he's now at a point where you'd be surprised if he doesn't make it with us.

Wilson is impressive but I can never work out why he isn't, well, *better*. He seems to have everything, but rarely really rips defences apart the way Ojo did to his full back, and Ibe and Sterling have done in the competition in the past. I still think he needs to dominate games more. Although I think he has improved at it the last few months, tbf.

Sinclair keeps scoring goals but I don't think he'll be good enough. I think he lacks class on the ball - he always looks like he's about to stumble over when he's carrying it forward. I can only imagine how out of depth he'd look in the first team.
 
I saw a bit of the game last night, as you'd expect Ojo looks the closest to the first team, and he's now at a point where you'd be surprised if he doesn't make it with us.

Wilson is impressive but I can never work out why he isn't, well, *better*. He seems to have everything, but rarely really rips defences apart the way Ojo did to his full back, and Ibe and Sterling have done in the competition in the past. I still think he needs to dominate games more. Although I think he has improved at it the last few months, tbf.

Sinclair keeps scoring goals but I don't think he'll be good enough. I think he lacks class on the ball - he always looks like he's about to stumble over when he's carrying it forward. I can only imagine how out of depth he'd look in the first team.


thanks for sharing. i am hoping sinclair makes it - long time since we have had a striker come through.
 
Wilson is impressive but I can never work out why he isn't, well, *better*. He seems to have everything, but rarely really rips defences apart the way Ojo did to his full back, and Ibe and Sterling have done in the competition in the past. I still think he needs to dominate games more. Although I think he has improved at it the last few months, tbf.

Where do you see Wilson's position in the pros if he is to make it? To me he's only nominally a winger; the stronger impression I have is that of a superbly confident finisher rather than a provider. That is not to say he's the next Morgan though, as Wilson has more pace and flair (to go with probably less industry). I can see Ojo and Kent getting their breaks as wide attacking mids; Wilson to me seems more likely to thrive in a Sturridge role.
 
Where do you see Wilson's position in the pros if he is to make it? To me he's only nominally a winger; the stronger impression I have is that of a superbly confident finisher rather than a provider. That is not to say he's the next Morgan though, as Wilson has more pace and flair (to go with probably less industry). I can see Ojo and Kent getting their breaks as wide attacking mids; Wilson to me seems more likely to thrive in a Sturridge role.

I think he's got the pace and finishing to be a striker, but you'd worry about his size, and whether some of his excellent technical qualities would be a bit wasted there.

Overall I still think he'd be best as an AM. The one I really think might be better as a striker is Canos.
 
Not sure when this game was played. Anyway, City U18 3-2 Pool U18s; we came back from 3-0 down with goals from Maxwell and Wilson. Crap camera angle though.

 
Lost 3-2. We haven't produced a solid looking defence at this level for years, so they were never going to win the tournament.

Incidentally, what exactly is the point of this team playing exactly the same formation as the first team? It's become a bit of an obsession in youth development the last few years. I don't see what benefit it brings.
 
I've just taken a look at the Barclays U18 and U21 tables & fixtures, and it really makes good joke material.

Our U21s played 9 games from August 2014 to end of January 2015: 2 games a month from August to October, and then 1 game a month (!!!) from November to January. It gets better only from February, with 3 to 4 games a month until the end of the season in May. We've 13 games to come from now till end May.

On the other hand, the U18s have already played 18 games in their league. Add to that the FA Youth Cup games, and the 6 games in UEFA Youth League (U19), and they'd have played 26+ games. The U18s have just 4 league games left from now till the end of the season plus a couple of playoff games depending on where they finish, and whatever number of UEFA Youth League games they can get (knockout phase).
 
Yeah, I'll never understand the youth fixtures. Everyone wants plenty of games, everyone has the resources to play them, and yet there are never enough games for anyone. How is that possible?

Just organise a 20 team division and play once a week!!!
 
I looked at the tables again, and there are 24 teams in each of the age groups (U18s and U21s), split into 2 divisions of 12 teams at each level, with promotion / relegation between the divisions. 46 games can be a lot of games at this level if it's a single division, especially given lull months for exams (if any); I think about 30 games seems to be a good number.

You could allow some of the clubs to field a team in each division to round them up to 16 teams in each division and there you can get 30 games, or maybe relook at the criteria of which clubs can participate in these leagues (Premier League membership isn't a criteria; I guess it's based on some measurement of the level of the Academy / Reserves team).

Or if it all sounds like too much trouble, then at least revisit the scheduling. I can understand maybe a month or two in each half year where activity is lower because of the exams for some of the lads, but surely you can still sort out 22 games a season with a reasonable schedule that does not involve this weird amount of slack and bunching.

Besides, I'd think the U21s should be playing more games as they get closer to the senior level. Surely they could introduce some form of a end-season round robin / knockout cup tournament to get teams to play a bit more.
 
Errrr, or just arrange the academies into groups of 20 or 18, and play once a week, like with any proper division. What am I missing here? Why should it be any more complicated than that??
 
Errrr, or just arrange the academies into groups of 20 or 18, and play once a week, like with any proper division. What am I missing here? Why should it be any more complicated than that??

That can work if some teams agree to drop out, since there are 24 teams at the moment. Not sure how they'll sort that. If everyone's in a single tournament, then we're looking at 46 games. I suppose that can still fit into a league calendar, but then there are age group internationals that come in. I don't know if there are also breaks for exam periods (e.g. GCE's). Or maybe you play some teams twice and some teams once. It's all about development rather than winning the league anyway, so as long as they get 30-odd games, it's good.
 
There have been loads of different orientations over the years - it's not as if all youth teams are in that 24. There must be other divisions/tournaments etc.

The point is to arrange all the ones that want to participate in a simple format that creates regular matches. The other issues aren't really relevant because all levels cope with things like internationals without having to organise some weird format to compensate.
 
Not sure if this is the first of a 3-part interview that TheBibTheorists did with Inglethorpe (I can't seem to find any mention of it being so but the other two parts don't have links to the first - or each other, for that metter). Anyway, I just assumed it is.

Source: http://thebibtheorists.com/2015/01/06/inglethorpe-mapped-out-the-next-two-years-for-academy-players/

Inglethorpe: I’ve mapped out the next two years for academy players

We talked to Academy Director Alex Inglethorpe on his decision behind the recent treble Cheltenham Town loan and what sparks the decisions in the backroom when a loan is touted.

We also discussed the likelihood of other players leaving the Academy this month in search for more first team experience.
Harry Hugo 1 month ago

A lot has been made of the loan system that’s employed by Liverpool Football Club, both when it comes to letting players go and when recruiting, so we decided to talk to the people that know to find out a bit more about the thinking behind each decision.

Academy trio Lloyd Jones (centre back), Kevin Stewart (midfielder) and Jack Dunn (striker) all made their debuts for Cheltenham Town last week after only signing on loan at the club just 48 hours before kick-off, with both Stewart and Dunn scoring a goal apiece.

When questioned by The Bib Theorists on why Cheltenham Town was the chosen destination for the loan of the three talented youth players, Liverpool Academy Director Alex Inglethorpe insisted it was just a case of timing.

“I’ll be honest and say for a player’s first loan, when the phone rings, you take what you’re offered! It’s as simple as that really – within reason. I can completely understand that there is a reticence amongst first team managers in the Football League to take a young player on loan if it’s his first experience of being on loan at senior level. Often there’s a hesitancy there, so it’s very simple: go with the first option of where someone wants you, and to be fair to Paul Buckle [Cheltenham manager] he came and watched the players before he got the Cheltenham job and then was brave enough to not only loan but play all three when he did. You can’t ask for much more than that as a development coach but now the boys have to do what they’ve got to do and earn the right to get picked every week, perform and then earn interest elsewhere. Young players have got to amass appearances until somewhere down the line they get to where they want to be. There’s no formal link with Cheltenham even though it is a bit unusual to send three players to the same club at the same time; to me it just made sense to give Lloyd, Kevin and Jack their first taste of league football together. It seemed to work well on their debuts…

Inglethorpe continued to talk about the importance of picking the right loan and how they go about doing it at The Academy.

“The secret with any loan is knowing when they’re ready for the next challenge. Academy football is great and the top talents will get exposure to it from a young age; sometimes very young in cases like Jordan Rossiter. The trick is knowing when that system has then served its purpose; and, like anyone in life if you’re ambitious, you want the next step. We could keep the players back to try and win the U21s league and arguably we’d be as good as anyone in the country at that level if we did decide to do that, but our job here isn’t necessarily to win matches but instead develop players for our first team and Brendan. We have to accept that in 2015, as it is now, the challenges of getting a player into the first team are a a lot different to those ten or fifteen years ago, so it’s great when a Raheem Sterling is able to get his break though, but the Premier League would suggest that’s a rarity now.”

The newly-appointed Academy Director was keen to point out that loans can be considered a ‘leg-up’ towards where a player wants to be at the club.

“I’m convinced, and I know I’ve said it before, but these players have got to have a career before their Liverpool career. Now, that’s not the same for every single player but for some it is the truth. With players that I’ve worked with at Tottenham, who are just making their first steps into the Premier League now, some of them have followed that route, some of them haven’t – I’m talking about players like Kane, Bentaleb, Andros Townsend, Ryan Mason. Again it’s about finding the right opportunity at the right time.”

With that in mind, Alex then talked to The Bib Theorists about the likelihood of other players going out this January window and how he sees his plan unfolding in his new position.

“I’ve mapped out who I’d like to go out and get experience over the course of the next 24 months and when I think the opportunity will be right for the player. I don’t know [if that's a standard amount of time to plan for]. That’s what I’d like to work with and identify when certain individuals need to further themselves – be it to look at how the first team are doing and fit in with them, or find something externally that fits in – I’d like to have a plan in my own mind when I think these guys need a new challenge. Like I said, I’m sure some of these guys will hugely benefit from being in a senior environment. Look at Jordon Ibe who is doing so well at Derby County: playing in front of big crowds, under a good manager, with a good team – I have a feeling that he’ll look a bit more attractive to our first team off the back of forty-fifty appearances that’ll come by the end of the season (if you add his Birmingham games too). Like most, he’ll be more attractive with that experience than without. If you look at Luis Suarez, he came to Liverpool off the back of, I think, 120 senior games; some of those in the Eredivisie, some at Nacional – he had to learn somewhere!”

Obviously the academy power now lies with Inglethorpe in his new role, but that hasn’t gone to his head and made it very clear that each decision is carefully thought through by a number of key members of staff, including the first team manager. It shows just how much a unit Liverpool has become in the backroom and how much they value each young player’s prospering career between them.

“Brendan gets involved, of course. He gets involved in everything; I wouldn’t want to make a decision without passing it through him. Then there’s our recruitment staff, our senior coaches – run it past as many people as you can to get a consensus; make sure we all agree that these guys are ready to play in a senior environment. We work as a team to make sure all these decisions are as spot on as we can get them, limiting failure is everything at this level.”

- See more at: http://thebibtheorists.com/2015/01/...ars-for-academy-players/#sthash.SJ61wcVj.dpuf
 
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