Liverpool, for a long time, never had a great academy.
Prospects were sparse and of the few that were there, none of them were ever
good enough. From Nabil El Zhar to Damian Plessis, players have come and gone
with so much hope and yet nothing to show for it. There have been numerous
players touted as the ‘New Gerrard’: Connor Coady, Craig Roddan and Jay
Spearing to name but a few. However, when they did come into the fray, it was painfully
obvious that they never had the quality to even lace the boots of the great
captain.
In fact for many years, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher
were the only players to actually make into the Liverpool team from the
academy. I found this fact very worrying. The academy of a club is its soul. It
is the part of the club that is fully ingrained to the club’s tradition. Academy
culture has declined in the past years with big name and big money superstars
more in vogue.
Clubs just do not want to spend the time maintaining the
part of the club that matters to the fans. At clubs like Man City and Chelsea,
youth players are often shunted out on loan with no chance of breaking in. Josh
McEachran, once regarded as the next Paul Gascoigne, is now just a forgotten
name. Gael Kakuta, once the subject of vociferous debate, is now in anonymity.
At one point, Chelsea had more than 30 players out on loan. There is a problem.
Kakuta was once sought after but not anymore |
For a while in time, it seemed as if Liverpool was stepping
out of academy dormancy. After coming in, Rafa Benitez completely revamped the
youth system and inculcated his European roots. Suddenly, there were people at
the academy who knew what they were doing. While La Masia was still far away,
Kirkby was gaining prominence. This was epitomized when the Reds beat stalwarts
like Real Madrid and Barcelona for the signing of then youngster Suso. It
showed a huge signal of intent and that times were changing. Benitez’s tenure also brought players like
Raheem Sterling, Jonjo Shelvey, Martin Kelly and numerous others. All the foundations were set up and with
Rodolfo Borrell at the helm, there was finally some stability in the academy.
But, despite all the positivity, youth players have still
not been able to make a firm entry into the first team. After Brendan Rodgers
arrived, numerous players were given debuts and runs into the team but these
runs have never been sustained. Players like Jonjo Shelvey and Suso, players
who initially looked so promising have now departed the club. With the exception
of Raheem Sterling and maybe Jon Flannagan, no other academy graduate has yet
been a mainstay in the first team squad. Why is that despite so much of
investment in academies and the talent coming out, no one is given a chance or
always mismanaged?
In theory, there should be no logical reason for this
happening. Liverpool plays more than 40 games each season so there should be
plenty of time to integrate young players. The clichés like ‘You do not win
anything with kids’ have all been debunked in the past. Why is there a certain
hesitancy to play younger players? Liverpool have been very profligate in their
transfer dealings making superfluous signings hindering the development of
younger players.
Many a time, these players signed have been no better than
the ones already at hand. The prime example of this is the signing of Luis
Alberto. This was a completely needless signing as the Reds already had Suso, a
similar type of player. In the end, Suso was sold and the same fate is about to
meet Alberto. These dealings are not those representative of Liverpool Football
Club. We do not buy and sell players like on a stock exchange. Alberto served
no purpose after he was signed and there was no reason why Suso could not have
played. The fundamental part of the club that is the academy is being neglected
without much thought and that is wrong.
If a club like Southampton can integrate their youth and
still achieve success, why can Liverpool not. In their last game against
Newcastle, the Saints had 5 of their 7 bench players from the youth academy. By
slowly integrating youth players into the first team, the Reds can build for
the future. Also, this can save a lot of money in transfer fees and wages. For
example, the signing of Adam Lallana could easily have been avoided by playing
Teixeira or Suso. That is not to say that he has been a bad buy but limited
funds could have been used less spendthrift. The same could have been done with
Jordan Ibe instead of Lazar Markovic. While they have not been bad players,
they were bought in areas of lesser requirement. Consequently, the Reds missed
out on the required positions: striker, goalkeeper and defensive midfielder.
Many a time, young players are loaned out in hope of
‘gaining experience’. But, as is usually the case, players are often in loan
limbo and are never seen again. While anomalies might be there like Joe Hart
with Birmingham or Kyle Walker with Aston Villa, those are exceptions to the
rule. Players like Conor Coady, Suso and Stephen Darby have all been loaned out,
never to be seen again. Unless players are given meaningful opportunities
instead of random loans, nothing is ever going to be achieved.
Stephen Darby was the victim of numerous useless loans |
Liverpool now has one of the most promising academies in the
world. Players like Cameron Brannagan have been touted by Barcelona while
players like Sergi Canos were actually got from the Cataln giants. There is a
lot of potential in all positions. Tricky wingers like Harry Wilson do not come
around too often and neither do attackers like Sheyi Ojo or Ryan Kent. Liverpool’s
academy has been the best in years but without the support of club and fans,
these players will meet the same fate as their numerous predecessors. So, how
can we solve this?
My solution would be to have at least 3 academy players on
the bench for every game and increase the number of possible bench slots like
in the Serie A and International Football. Also, a mandatory rule must be made
that two academy players feature in a game. That way, young players are given
live match day experiences and can get game time. Otherwise, the youth of
tomorrow will be ostracized leaving all clubs to conform to the Real Madrid
policy of buying the trendiest options when others get old. If that is to
happen, prospects are grim for the future of football.
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