Neil Critchley to manage Under 18s

[gkmacca]

Replaces Steve Cooper (good news as Cooper looked out of his depth):



Crewe Alex academy director Neil Critchley set to join Liverpool FC

Aug 13 2013
Crewe Alex academy director Neil Critchley is poised to leave the club to join Premier League giants Liverpool.

The 34-year-old, who has been at Gresty Road as a player and a coach for more than two decades, has been offered the chance to become the Anfield club’s under 18s manager.

The Chronicle understands Critchley, who joined the Alex as a primary school youth and went on to make one appearance for the first team before turning to coaching, left Reaseheath for the last time on Friday.

One of just 16 FA Elite Coaches in the country, Critchley is very highly-rated in the game after learning his trade under the guidance of the likes of Dario Gradi and Steve Holland.

Fellow academy director James Collins will stay in charge of the Crewe operation, with a new face expected to be added to the coaching staff in the coming weeks.

Alex manager Steve Davis said: “It looks like Neil is moving on to Liverpool under 18s, he told me he had been approached. I imagine he is considering a fantastic offer and opportunity to go to Liverpool.

“He will be a great loss to us because he is a great lad, and a great servant to the club. He has done a brilliant job with the young players who have come through. I’ve a lot of time and respect for Neil and we all wish him well.

“It is not a negative thing, it is a real positive that one of our bright young coaches is considered by Brendan Rodgers.

“You look at our record, what we have produced and what we have sold over the past year, three top players, and that is all down to the standard of the coaches.

“That’s why we are the academy we are, we have a lot of fantastic coaches, a lot of ex-players. Neil has been very loyal and been developed himself. That doesn’t go unnoticed, if a club is selling players for millions of pounds there is a reason for that. There is obviously some quality people involved in that process and Neil is one of them.

“For him to get noticed by one of the top clubs in the country is of great benefit to us, it shows where the academy is.

 

[Buddha]

More good news on the academy side.

 

[LeTallecWiz]

Crewe have an excellent track record with the yooth (Right @Pesam?) ... this looks like another excellent move.

 

[hamstrung_pigeon]

Has Cooper left or been bumped up then?

 

[localny]

Yes, who needs former Barca and Ajax coaches when we've got crewe down the road. Being Liverpool

 

[Hansern]

Sounds like a good move, Cooper looked out of his depth.

 

[gkmacca]

Reds appoint new U18s coach

6th Sep 2013 - Latest News

Liverpool Football Club is delighted to announce the appointment of Neil Critchley as the club's new U18s coach.

Neil arrives at the Academy from Crewe Alexandra, where he has held the role of academy director since 2007.

The 34-year-old started his career as a junior player at Crewe, before rising through the ranks to make one appearance for the club's senior side against Fulham during the 1999-2000 season.

As a coach, Critchley is one of only 16 in the country to have gained the highest possible qualification in the game after he was handpicked by the FA to take UEFA's first elite badge course.

After 18 months the former midfielder graduated - and is currently among the top-graded coaches in Europe.

 

[King Binny]

[article=http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/new-liverpool-fc-under-18s-coach-6177580]Neil Critchley is well placed to enter the debate which is raging about youth development in English football.

It’s been a month since the 34-year-old began his new role as Liverpool Under-18s coach after ending his long association with Crewe Alexandra.

Critchley was headhunted by manager Brendan Rodgers to play a leading role in the mission to ensure the conveyor belt of talent at the Kirkby Academy keeps rolling.

Nationally, the figures are grim – just 32% of players used by Premier League clubs last season were English.

That has prompted new Football Association chairman Greg Dyke to launch a commission to come up with a plan to combat the dwindling pool of home-grown players in the top flight.

It’s never been tougher for youngsters to make the breakthrough but Critchley insists he has joined one of the few top clubs where there is a clear pathway through to the first team.

Rodgers demonstrated his willingness to put his faith in youth last term when he handed debuts to the likes of Jordon Ibe, Andre Wisdom, Adam Morgan, Jerome Sinclair and Conor Coady, as well as foreign duo Suso and Samed Yesil.

“I’ve seen a lot of youth football over the years and I think this country does still develop a lot of good players,” Critchley said.

“They just maybe miss that window of opportunity at 18 to 22 where they don’t get an opportunity to play games and can get a bit lost.

“I remember seeing Josh McEachran play for Chelsea Reserves one night and I thought he was one of the best young players I’d ever seen. He hasn’t quite made it through there yet and there are loads of boys you could put in that category.

“What I know here is that if we produce players of the required standard the manager will put them in. That provides great motivation for all the players and staff working here.

“All the boys know that if you’re good enough the manager will give you opportunities. That’s not the case at all clubs, especially where a manager is under pressure to get results.

“Brendan has shown he’s brave enough to play them. If you’re looking at where you would want your nine-year-old boy to be at the moment, Liverpool would have to be right at the top of the tree.”

Critchley has plenty in common with Rodgers with both having gone into coaching at an early age after seeing their dreams of a successful playing career dashed.

He joined Crewe when he was 10 and progressed through the ranks but made just one senior appearance – against Fulham in September, 1999.

By then legendary boss Dario Gradi, who is part of the recently-formed FA commission, had already spotted his potential to develop the talents of others.

Critchley juggled coaching with playing non-League football (he had spells at Leigh and Hyde) from the age of 21 before opting to hang up his boots three years later.

In 2007 he was promoted to joint Academy director at Crewe and over the past six years he had helped maintain the Railwaymen’s proud reputation for getting youngsters through into the first team.

“Dario played such a massive part in my youth,” Critchley said. “He had the foresight to see that I might not make it as a player but he thought I’d be a good coach. I think he saw that I had a good footballing brain.

“Dario got me involved in coaching when I was a youth team player at 17 and it started from there. Growing up I desperately wanted to be a footballer but at 18 or 19 it started to dawn on me that I might not make it.

“At 24 I decided to stop playing completely. It was a big decision but it was the right one. I didn’t miss playing that much because I loved coaching and teaching the kids. I also did first-team match analysis and scouting which was a great education for me.

“I was very fortunate to be mentored by someone like Dario and also to work with Steve Holland, who is now first-team coach at Chelsea and works with England Under-21s.

“When Steve moved up to first team manager, James Collins and I became joint Academy directors.

“We had some great boys come through. We had Nick Powell from when he was five or six. He progressed through to the first team before getting his move to Manchester United. I went to watch him play for Wigan against Maribor in the Europa League last week – 18 months ago he was playing in the FA Youth Cup at North Ferriby.

“There was also Ashley Westwood, who is at Aston Villa, and Luke Murphy, who has gone to Leeds. When I was younger there was the likes of Billy Jones, who is at West Brom, and Nicky Maynard, who is at Cardiff.

“It wasn’t all down to me but those were the types of players we were working with. Steve and Dario were brilliant in getting us involved right through the club.

“I went to Wembley with the first team a couple of times and I’d be in the dressing room on matchdays. I had an unbelievable background at Crewe – it was like a school for football.”

Warrington-based Critchley had no intention of leaving but when Liverpool made their approach he came to the conclusion that it was an opportunity he just couldn’t resist.

“I had been at Crewe all my life and I had no aspirations to leave because I had a really good job,” he said.

“But when Liverpool comes calling it’s very flattering. Alex Inglethorpe (under-21s coach) approached me initially and then I met with the manager. I didn’t know either of them before.

“The fact that Brendan played a part in me coming here was a massive pull. I think it makes a real statement that Liverpool are willing to give someone like me an opportunity.

“I’m not an ex-Liverpool player, I’m not a name, I’ve got no international caps, but I do have years of coaching experience.

“When I first arrived Brendan invited me down to Melwood and I spent a few days watching training. To be alongside him, Colin Pascoe, Mike Marsh and John Achterberg was a great bedding in period for me.

“Brendan takes a massive interest in the Academy.

“He was here last week and knows all the players. He has great belief in the youth system and that gives us a better chance than most of getting players through.

“I’m loving being here and the boys have been very receptive to the work. The under-18s are a talented group but they’re not the finished article. It’s my job to work with them on and off the training pitch to educate and guide them, and make them the best they can be.”[/article]