https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/spo.../trent-alexander-arnolds-youth-coach-17265132
[article]Oxford United manager Karl Robinson, who cut his coaching teeth at Liverpool, has offered a burnout warning over the Reds’ fixture congestion.
Echoing the words of Jurgen Klopp, speaking ahead of Liverpool’s 2-1 Premier League win over Aston Villa the Oxford boss is urging the football authorities to get a grip of fixture congestion.
His own side, sitting fourth in League One, have already played in four competitions this season with their own Carabao Cup quarter-final with Man City on the horizon.
With U's not in action due to the international break, Robinson has been speaking to the Blood Red Podcast.
Having played a role in bringing Trent Alexander-Arnold to Liverpool’s academy as a youngster, Robinson began by touching on the mental qualities it takes for a young player to reach the top.
“I think to succeed at that level you’ve got to be single-minded, at certain times you’ve got to have an attitude or arrogance in some ways. That's not a bad arrogance, it’s a good arrogance that you need to cope and play at the top level.
“Obviously Dele is going through a bit more of a difficult time at his moment but he’s someone who’s only 23 and has played nearly 300 games at the top level.
“The one thing I do worry about for Trent, and for Dele and for all the young English players is we’re getting so money driven. These players are playing far too much for their age. It’s scary how much football they are actually playing.”
He added: “The problem is the better they become and the better they play the more people want to see them and the more they become a commodity and the more that’s the case it will affect their game and it’s not their fault.
“They’re only obliging to contracts people are signing for them.
“I remember Steve Heighway famously saying to us as young coaches that when we finish in the summer our young players should go away and play a different sport and almost leave the sport for at least 3-4 weeks.
“I’ve always remembered and something I’ve always said to my players if they do get a break, try and stay away from the industry because it allows you to recharge and go again.”
With Liverpool having to play two games in two days, across two continents in the Carabao Cup and Club World Cup, Robinson was keen to emphasise the demands placed on squads and players:
“Don’t forget there are a lot of people sat at the top of these trees earning a lot of money because of what we do in this industry.
“They don’t care about how much football we play, they don’t care about the well-being of these players, they don’t care about the mental health of managers and staff, they don’t care about the financial output of fans.
“It’s ridiculous. We’re an entertainment industry, which we get, but I was speaking to someone the other day and Olympic athletes who are seen as the greatest athletes on the planet, who train for four years to perform once.
“At some stage there’s going to be a drop-off in performance because of it. All of a sudden the players will get the blame for it, but the people at the top who are earning all the money, no one will ever speak about them or question them publicly.”
Continuing: “People may listen and said ‘it’s just football’ but when you’re travelling, and you prepare for three days for any game and the mental fatigue that comes along with that at the top level is phenomenal and mind-blowing.
“We’ve got kids and wives and families as well.
“Okay, the money in the industry is phenomenal but the output these people put in they are at 100%, 100% of the time and we all know there’s a burnout in that.
“There’s a mental burnout and there’s a physical burnout. If people want to pay and put prices on these tickets we’ve got to make sure our players are at 100% when they perform.
“Over the last five years it’s just become phenomenal and the better you are, the more you play.”[/article]
[article]Having made his debut as an 18-year-old in 2016, Alexander-Arnold has now amassed 102 appearances for the Reds including 17 already this season.
He has played every minute of every Premier League game so far, along with the full 90 minutes in three out of four Champions League ties, and only four team-mates have clocked more minutes (1,447).
Only six players aged 21 or under have played more across Europe’s top five leagues, with Aaron Ramsdale and Declan Rice the only other ever-presents in the English top flight.
Interestingly, Dele Alli found himself in a similar position at the same age in 2016/17, when he started 35 of 38 league games for Tottenham, along with their eight games in Europe.
Only Eric Dier and Christian Eriksen played more that campaign than Alli, who produced a similar feat the following season but since then has been dogged with persistent injury issues.[/article]
[article]Oxford United manager Karl Robinson, who cut his coaching teeth at Liverpool, has offered a burnout warning over the Reds’ fixture congestion.
Echoing the words of Jurgen Klopp, speaking ahead of Liverpool’s 2-1 Premier League win over Aston Villa the Oxford boss is urging the football authorities to get a grip of fixture congestion.
His own side, sitting fourth in League One, have already played in four competitions this season with their own Carabao Cup quarter-final with Man City on the horizon.
With U's not in action due to the international break, Robinson has been speaking to the Blood Red Podcast.
Having played a role in bringing Trent Alexander-Arnold to Liverpool’s academy as a youngster, Robinson began by touching on the mental qualities it takes for a young player to reach the top.
“I think to succeed at that level you’ve got to be single-minded, at certain times you’ve got to have an attitude or arrogance in some ways. That's not a bad arrogance, it’s a good arrogance that you need to cope and play at the top level.
“Obviously Dele is going through a bit more of a difficult time at his moment but he’s someone who’s only 23 and has played nearly 300 games at the top level.
“The one thing I do worry about for Trent, and for Dele and for all the young English players is we’re getting so money driven. These players are playing far too much for their age. It’s scary how much football they are actually playing.”
He added: “The problem is the better they become and the better they play the more people want to see them and the more they become a commodity and the more that’s the case it will affect their game and it’s not their fault.
“They’re only obliging to contracts people are signing for them.
“I remember Steve Heighway famously saying to us as young coaches that when we finish in the summer our young players should go away and play a different sport and almost leave the sport for at least 3-4 weeks.
“I’ve always remembered and something I’ve always said to my players if they do get a break, try and stay away from the industry because it allows you to recharge and go again.”
With Liverpool having to play two games in two days, across two continents in the Carabao Cup and Club World Cup, Robinson was keen to emphasise the demands placed on squads and players:
“Don’t forget there are a lot of people sat at the top of these trees earning a lot of money because of what we do in this industry.
“They don’t care about how much football we play, they don’t care about the well-being of these players, they don’t care about the mental health of managers and staff, they don’t care about the financial output of fans.
“It’s ridiculous. We’re an entertainment industry, which we get, but I was speaking to someone the other day and Olympic athletes who are seen as the greatest athletes on the planet, who train for four years to perform once.
“At some stage there’s going to be a drop-off in performance because of it. All of a sudden the players will get the blame for it, but the people at the top who are earning all the money, no one will ever speak about them or question them publicly.”
Continuing: “People may listen and said ‘it’s just football’ but when you’re travelling, and you prepare for three days for any game and the mental fatigue that comes along with that at the top level is phenomenal and mind-blowing.
“We’ve got kids and wives and families as well.
“Okay, the money in the industry is phenomenal but the output these people put in they are at 100%, 100% of the time and we all know there’s a burnout in that.
“There’s a mental burnout and there’s a physical burnout. If people want to pay and put prices on these tickets we’ve got to make sure our players are at 100% when they perform.
“Over the last five years it’s just become phenomenal and the better you are, the more you play.”[/article]
[article]Having made his debut as an 18-year-old in 2016, Alexander-Arnold has now amassed 102 appearances for the Reds including 17 already this season.
He has played every minute of every Premier League game so far, along with the full 90 minutes in three out of four Champions League ties, and only four team-mates have clocked more minutes (1,447).
Only six players aged 21 or under have played more across Europe’s top five leagues, with Aaron Ramsdale and Declan Rice the only other ever-presents in the English top flight.
Interestingly, Dele Alli found himself in a similar position at the same age in 2016/17, when he started 35 of 38 league games for Tottenham, along with their eight games in Europe.
Only Eric Dier and Christian Eriksen played more that campaign than Alli, who produced a similar feat the following season but since then has been dogged with persistent injury issues.[/article]
