I don't think the players are the issue but the tactics and the manager
Rio
- Thread starter Dreambeliever
- Start date
- Latest activity Latest activity:
I'm pretty sure any 17 year old would be delighted (even if he rarely gets on the pitch), and far happier training with world class stars week-in week-out, learning what works, what doesn't, and new skills and training methods, from established players and trainers, than going to Bolton to play their teenagers on a shitty pitch with 20 spectators.
IMHO he's going to be learning far faster in that environment than training and playing with lads his own age or just a year or two older.
View: https://x.com/LusbyJack/status/2001588042323177930
Rio Ngumoha played his first game in almost a month for Liverpool as he made his season’s bow for the U21s, while Luke Chambers made a long-awaited return.
Ngumoha has spent the entire season so far as part of Arne Slot‘s first-team squad, but that has seen the 17-year-old’s game time limited.
He has made eight appearances for the senior side, including a dream Premier League debut against Newcastle, but has only clocked 219 minutes on the pitch in four months.
His last competitive outing for the Reds was against Nottingham Forest on November 22.
That comes with Ngumoha not having been involved at all with any of the youth sides, despite being eligible for the U21s and U18s, as well as the U19s in the UEFA Youth League.
But that ended on Wednesday with a start for Rob Page’s U21s in their latest mid-season friendly – a 2-1 loss to OGC Nice at the AXA Training Centre.
Ngumoha played an hour and went close to scoring early on, but the visitors took a two-goal lead around the time he exited the pitch.
Another 17-year-old, Joe Bradshaw, got the goal for Liverpool, finishing well after being teed up by the busy Keyrol Figueroa.
Armin Pecsi started in goal in a side captained by Amara Nallo, with Trent Kone-Doherty, Michael Laffey, Josh Davidson, Carter Pinnington and Ben Trueman among those to feature.
Chambers came off the bench for the final half-hour to mark his first appearance since suffering a recurrence of a serious back injury in March.
The left-back, 21, was on loan at Wigan when he sustained the injury and has since focused on his recovery back at the AXA.
While his quality and experience would no doubt interest a host of clubs in the January transfer window, the likelihood is that he will stay with the U21s for the remainder of the season to focus on his fitness.
Hopefully will be given more game time. According to Slot he has already played many matches for a boy of his age.
Lots of matches ahead this season.
He is a wonderful talent looking forward to seeing him during the season.
We don't seem to be managing this boy very well. He needs games.
He's 17 and training with world class players - he's fine. That said I would like to see him get 10 mins here or there against tiring defenders.
Agreed, and it hasnt helped that we've been shit so far this season either. If we manage to get Semenyo then maybe a January loan move would be good for him and prepare him for next season.
As Fabio said. That's bull. He should be getting 10-15 minutes regardless.
Well you are parroting my second sentence ! But the first sentence is accurate - easy does it (listen to what Owen said - he was done by 25).
On the other hand Messi is still playing at 104.
He wouldn't get much more playing time in any half decent team though. Only getting minutes when desperate is shite but he's clearly not ready for a more serious role either
Look at Nwaneri, Arsenal fans were all wanking off him this time last year as Arteta played him fairly regularly. He's getting fucked off on loan as we speak
But this is pretty standard for young players, personally I'd play him more and maybe a couple of other managers would, but that's not really the issue. The issue is Slot coming out with shit like he did in the Leeds post-match interview. If a kid is looking for encouragement and confidence, he's not going to get that from Slot.
I changed my mind whilst reading the last few replies.
The way kids normally break through at top clubs are either by being so good they can't be ignored or by getting an opportunity through injuries or gaps in the squad.
We're led to believe that Rio is generally considered an elite talent and we know for sure that there are issues in the squad. If he's not going to get minutes now, when will he? After we've spent another 100M or so on more forwards?
This is exactly the time you find out whether your young prospect has "it" or not.
The problem - as others have pointed out - is that Slot entered self-preservation mode and any long-term thinking seems to have gone out of the window.
The way kids normally break through at top clubs are either by being so good they can't be ignored or by getting an opportunity through injuries or gaps in the squad.
We're led to believe that Rio is generally considered an elite talent and we know for sure that there are issues in the squad. If he's not going to get minutes now, when will he? After we've spent another 100M or so on more forwards?
This is exactly the time you find out whether your young prospect has "it" or not.
The problem - as others have pointed out - is that Slot entered self-preservation mode and any long-term thinking seems to have gone out of the window.