Liverpool's second Carling Cup knockout in three seasons at the hands of Arsenal's army of high-flying young Gunners cast uncomfortable light once again on the Merseysiders' success in identifying and nurturing young talent.
Rafael Benitez's mix of fringe squad players and hopeful youngsters were no match for the composure and swagger of Arsene Wenger's fearless kids.
So, why is a club that unearthed a fistful of home-grown gems in the 1990s (Steve McManaman, Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher) as well as solid Premier League performers like David Thompson and Dominic Matteo lagging miles behind Arsenal and the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City, Everton and, indeed, Middlesbrough, in producing the next generation of stars?
The last decade has not been a complete washout for an Academy that opened to great fanfare in Kirby in 1998 but, save for Stephen Warnock at Aston Villa, most graduates are playing regular football in the lower divisions at best.
It is clear that the production line of home-reared A-listers has stalled and, furthermore, Liverpool have been no more successful at the precarious business of finding the next Cesc Fabregas or Lionel Messi.
Teenagers have been imported in huge numbers and at considerable expense, if not quite with the sums spent by Chelsea, Arsenal or Manchester United.
Emiliano Insua, who was signed from Boca Juniors in the swap deal that took the disastrous Gabriel Paletta back to Argentina, has emerged as a real find, but Ronald Huth, Astrit Ajdaveric, Godwin Antwi, Miki Roque and others left Anfield this summer.
They will inevitably be followed next summer by more whose careers have ground to a halt in England.
While coaching experts agree that a club's stock of home-grown talent is often cyclical or down to luck, far too few Liverpool youngsters, either British or foreign, have passed the grade in the new millennium even though the club marched to FA Youth Cup success in 2006 and 2007 and were runners-up to Arsenal in 2009.
It prompted Benitez to demand full control of youth affairs under the terms of his new contract signed in March. But the Spaniard then launched a ruthless cull of the lower ranks, with 17 of the coaching staff leaving Anfield.
High profile departures included Academy director Piet Hamberg, reserve team manager Gary Ablett, head of recruitment Malcolm Elias (who once brought Theo Walcott, Gareth Bale, Wayne Bridge and Kenwyne Jones through the ranks at Southampton) and Under-18s coach Hugh McAuley, who was widely praised in all three of the Gerrard, Fowler and Carragher autobiographies.
Interestingly, those heading through an exit door almost swinging off its hinges had one thing in common.
"None of them were Benitez appointments. They were all appointed by either Steve Heighway or Rick Parry," an Anfield insider told ESPN Soccernet. "Once the manager took control it was fairly obvious that anyone who had anything to do with Steve would go at the end of the season."
Heighway retired from his role as Academy director in May 2007 after 19 years of coaching at the club he played for with such distinction for 11 years.
The insider explained: "Steve did fantastic at Liverpool in terms of setting the Academy up with Rick Parry. The problem had been the relationship between the Academy and Gerard Houllier and that then transferred to Benitez. The two mangers are strong personalities and they both clashed quite badly with Heighway.
"Now they have taken the Academy signs down at Kirkby. It is now just "Liverpool FC". In the foyer of the Academy there was a plaque to commemorate Steve Heighway's achievements. Now that has been removed."
Benitez's overhaul of the coaching staff resulted in Frank McParland returning to Anfield to head the Academy and even greater Latin influence at the club, with Spanish allies taking up most of the vacant backroom roles.
The clean sweep has been followed by a marked change in policy towards the youth teams. The number of Academy has been halved at a stroke. Last year, there were around 20 players at Kirkby and a similar number at Mellwood. Now, the combined total is 21 at Kirby.
"Part of the problem at Liverpool was that there were two academies - the manager's Academy at Melwood and Steve Heighway's Academy at Kirkby," the source said. "Melwood was the privileged one. Those players would be seen by Benitez every day. The chances of Kirkby players breaking through were slim.
"There has been a massive shift. The young players are now playing reserve team football. They will get the opportunities now because the obstacles have gone - the old regime. With opportunity, who knows what will happen?"
For his part, Benitez has complained that he inherited too many teenage duds when he joined the club and has since been playing catch-up in a saturated market.
In a lengthy interview with a Liverpool-based journalist and author recently, Benitez grabbed a piece of A4 paper and drew out a list to illustrate that nearly every reserve-team player and all but one youth team player he inherited were short of the required standard.
The Spaniard also estimates that Arsenal have invested tens of millions in importing teenagers specifically for their first-team squad, as have United.
In recent times, Liverpool were desperate to sign youthful pair John Cofie and Robert Brady but lost out to United on both occasions. Benitez blamed Parry and Hamberg for failing to seal the deals. However, other Anfield figures are convinced that the club's policy of squeezing so many players into the Academy was proving counter-productive.
One said: "Why would an agent bring in a player to Liverpool under previous circumstances? An agent relies on a player being successful. Kids were being brought in but not played. Now that Benitez is in charge you could argue they will be more successful at recruitment because they will be Benitez players."
Anfield sources believe that as many as seven of the current Academy intake could play Premier League football "within three years".
Finnish striker Lauri Dalla Valle is rated as one of Europe's leading natural goal poachers while Christopher Buchtmann, David Amoo, Alex Kacaniklic, Nathan Eccleston, Andre Wisdom and goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis are all highly regarded.
Yet there are doubts as to how a manager even as diligent as the workaholic Benitez can have the time to oversee the youth team.
The insider added: "Forget Benitez. I don't see how a manager of a Premier League side can actively control the Academy. This was one of the big things that Benitez and Rick Parry disagreed on. Rick felt the manager had enough on his plate. That affected the opportunities for the kids. Like all managers, Benitez wanted his own players to succeed.
"Nothing goes on at Manchester United that Sir Alex Ferguson doesn't know about. Likewise, Arsene Wenger at Arsenal. But they are hands-on without being control freaks."
Benitez has instructed McParland and his chief scout Eduardo Macia to help him discover the next generation of potential superstars after concluding that the old system wasn't working. But if Liverpool's youth recruitment continues to be a pale shadow of Arsenal's, Benitez will only have one person to blame.
