Chris Mavinga – The French defender accused Roy Hodgson of favouring home-grown youngsters back in August:
“I was disappointed [not to feature in first team]. I thought that with this success [European under-19 Championship] and what I produced on the training ground I would have the opportunity to train with the first team and play bits of games. Roy Hodgson, who replaced Rafael Benitez, is changing the organization of the club as he tries to encourage English players against foreigners, unlike the predecessor. He clearly stated he wanted to remake Liverpool as an English club. It is a choice I must respect.”
He was subsequently sent out on loan to Racing Genk, where he hasn’t always featured regularly. He has only made 4 appearances all season but yet there was speculation that he could make the move permanent in the summer. We will have to wait and see on this one.
Stephen Darby – The right back has seen his chances greatly diminished by the rise of Martin Kelly and John Flanagan. He spent last season out on loan at Swindon Town, where he impressed while helping the Robins to the playoffs. He was snapped up by Paul Ince’s Notts County this campaign and there was talk of making the move permanent. The departure of Ince, and his return to Merseyside after the end of the season, makes such a move now doubtful. Still, it is likely he will depart Anfield this summer.
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Mavinga played the last 4 games for Racing Genk in their play-off matches. Genk are on top of the league and Mavinga is playing well at left-back.
The only reason Ayala and Mavinga aren’t getting their chances is because they are foreign. Foreign youngsters will never get be treated with the same respect as most fans and the management staff always prefer homegrown players. Ayala has shown that he is capable of cutting it at Liverpool and he was fantastic at centre back last year even though he was just 18. Mavinga has been one of our most promising defenders for the past couple of years and even won the U21 Euros with France last summer. Surely Ayala and Mavinga are no worse than the current crop of British youngsters.