Following on from my article yesterday on the “dead wood” currently filling both Liverpool’s reserves and subs bench, I will now turn my attention to some of the Reds young stars who could perhaps fill a portion of Liverpool’s first team squad. Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has already credited the work done by Benitez appointees Frank McParland, Pep Segura and Rodolfo Borrell and Liverpool co-owner John W Henry has stated that there has to be a focus on developing youth players for the Reds to be financially sustainable in the future. For many, these ambitions are many years away from being realised, including Pepe Reina who talks about how the Johan Cruyff model took many years to come to fruition:
“A good academy is important but it takes time. Of course Barcelona are showing now the philosophy from Cruyff’s days but it’s not about one or two years – it’s about 15 years working in the same way and following one philosophy.”
A consistent philosophy is needed and with both Kenny Dalglish at the helm, and Borrell, Segura and McParland staying in their jobs for the foreseeable future, hopefully this long term views will begin to show its worth in the next few years. But what of the players already making their mark in the youth team. Don’t they deserve their chance now?
Kenny Dalglish has already had a very positive effect in regards to helping youth players make the jump to first team football. While Martin Kelly had already made a splash in his appearances under Rafa Benitez, King Kenny has really been the one to put his faith in his youngster, and until his hamstring injury, he had started the majority of matches under Dalglish. The same could be said of both Jonjo Shelvey and Danny Wilson who both have been given opportunities to shine since their moves to Anfield last summer.
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good article, this is exactly what i was waiting for rafa then roy to do. ive been saying this for a long time.
we might as well put the rest of the season to good use and start giving the real talent at anfild some games. some of these guys are gonna mature into amazing players but they have to begin somewhere.
i’d rather see sterling, pacheco, suso and coady in the first team and remove the dead wood. we already have some great players but we have too many weak links ie ngog, poulsen, kuyt (n-one in history can run and work more than him but he left his goalscoring skills in holland) and maybe even lucas.
if we give them games now we shall be in a better place start of next season.
no point having the academy if it aint benefitting the 1st team squad.
ynwa
my fear is that if we play the youngsters in the first team before they are ready and they have a couple of bad games, the same fans wud get on their backs and criticise them…
this wud be counter-productive as it wud be a huge blow for their confidence..
U get nowhere without tsking risks. I would’ve said that youngsters would be given time if i hadn’t seen the responses to Wilson recent games, much less the response to the likes of Insua or Ngog, but at the end of the day they have to be thrown into the pool and left to sink or swim sooner or later – nobody learns to swim by just splashing in the bathtub.
We’d all be better off seeing what the players have got to offer now, while expectations (and the quality of the first teamers that are blocking the youngsters progress) are so low, rather than waiting for the pressure to be on in a new season or due to better players being in the first team…
You’ve reiterated a lot of the points that I’ve been making all season, although u say that the aim has to be to finish as high up the table as possible whereas I say the priority should be to be as prepared for next season as possible.
I’d much rather see the team finish 10th this season if it meant that our youngsters gained enough experience to help them contribute to a title contending team next year, than for us to battle our way to 5th/6th and depend on players like Kuyt and Maxi again next year when any of the new signings are unavailable…
Coady,Wisdom and Ngoo should all be given plenty of game time between now and the end of the season, but unless Gerrard and Carragher agree to it it won’t happen as those 2 pick the team. Fans lambast Wilson but what people forget is that every top defender in the Premier League had some poor games when they made the jump from youth to firstteam football.
I can remember a youthful Gerard and Carragher when they began and at the time there was many who thought they were a waste how wrong they were.
Wilson will be okay and so will some of the other kids but if you are expecting instant superstar then you will be disappointed.
Get rid of Maxi and Ngog who offer nothing to the team and give Pacheco a chance in the first team instead. They’ve had their chances in the first team but have done nothing to convince people that they’re worthy of a place in the team. Ngog has only scored 9 league goals in nearly 60 appearances for the club while Maxi has no pace and no guile and just passes the ball back or sideways every time he gets the ball. These two players should be dropped as soon as possible.
Wilson is clearly not ready for the first team yet. The guy has potential and is a star in the making but his performances have suggested that he’s not up for it yet. Maybe in one or two seasons time he’ll be good enough.
Wilson only signed a 3-year contract,so if the club wants a return on their investment he needs to be bought through and established this season.