Who steps up

[Brizzle]

The reserves thread seems to have disappeared - but this is the usual time of season where we speculate about who is ready to make the step up.

There is a lot of talk and links to players to join the squad to bulk up our options in the front 3, but we also have a number of CMs in the group too. I don't follow the reserves hugely but it feels like there are 3 or 4 main candidates for making this step up.

Front 3:

Woodburn - has been Klopp's go-to guy to step up so far, and looks promising and industrious when he plays. I haven't seen him in the reserves, is he more of a goal scorer in that team? Is he suited to playing a wide forward role in a front 3?
Ojo - has been injured I guess which has stalled any ability to join the squad. Is he already considered good to go and make more appearances?
Wilson - have seen his name in a lot of threads about the reserves - sounds like he is deployed as a wide forward and is banging in a lot of goals. Surely he must be on Klopp's radar? Will we move him up next season or look to loan?
Kent - i've seen he has been out on loan but I don't know too much about how he has done. Do we think he is going to get more chances or destined to be sold/ loaned again?


CMs:

Grujic - I imagine that once fit, he will be rotated with Gini/ Lallana in CM. I havent seen enough of him, but am I right in assuming that his appearances in the reserves have been part of his injury rehab more than anything else?
Stewart - I thought we'd see more of him this season with Hendo injured. I like him when he plays as the deep lying CM but Can and Lucas now both ahead of him which wasn't always the case last season.. will he stay?
Ejaria - has made a few novelty appearances in the cup, what is next for him? Given his age I imagine we will try to loan out?

Would love to hear the views of those in the know on our junior squads - some of the options for the front 3 sound like they are ready to join the big boy ranks..

 

[Red Bird]

I've been to Wakefield a coupe of times and a mate has taken me to see Barnsley. Seen Kent play on each occasion and he's quite good albeit in a fairly ordinary team. Scored a goal, too.

Good ball skills and close control, an example of which is

 

[white-sox]

Good old Barnsley...

 

[Red Bird]

Good old Barnsley...

I love the northern mill/coal towns having gone to university in East Yorkshire.

 

[keniget]

It's a shame Ojo has struggled with injury this season (if that's the main reason he's been out of contention) because we really could've done with another option out wide in the absence of Mane.

It's hard to see any of them featuring prominently next year unless there are a few surprise departures and we're unexpectedly quiet in the transfer window.

I guess it'll be a continuation of giving a few of them minutes in the cups and hoping that their development follows an upward curve.

None of them seem to have the kind of explosive quality that you need to properly break into the first team and stay there.

 

[Hansern]

Its a shame that Gruijc has seen a lot of his first season ruined by injury. But I think he's one of the players that will step up next year. He's been impressive in the latest U-23 games and will hopefully play some part in the last 5 games.

Wilson has scored 28 goals for the U-23s this season and must surely be on Klopps radar. Stewart will leave I think.

 

[My_Blood_Bleeds_Red]

None of them are gonna be here in 5 years' time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[The Nomad]

The reserves thread seems to have disappeared - but this is the usual time of season where we speculate about who is ready to make the step up.

There is a lot of talk and links to players to join the squad to bulk up our options in the front 3, but we also have a number of CMs in the group too. I don't follow the reserves hugely but it feels like there are 3 or 4 main candidates for making this step up.

Front 3:

Woodburn - has been Klopp's go-to guy to step up so far, and looks promising and industrious when he plays. I haven't seen him in the reserves, is he more of a goal scorer in that team? Is he suited to playing a wide forward role in a front 3?
Ojo - has been injured I guess which has stalled any ability to join the squad. Is he already considered good to go and make more appearances?
Wilson - have seen his name in a lot of threads about the reserves - sounds like he is deployed as a wide forward and is banging in a lot of goals. Surely he must be on Klopp's radar? Will we move him up next season or look to loan?
Kent - i've seen he has been out on loan but I don't know too much about how he has done. Do we think he is going to get more chances or destined to be sold/ loaned again?


CMs:

Grujic - I imagine that once fit, he will be rotated with Gini/ Lallana in CM. I havent seen enough of him, but am I right in assuming that his appearances in the reserves have been part of his injury rehab more than anything else?
Stewart - I thought we'd see more of him this season with Hendo injured. I like him when he plays as the deep lying CM but Can and Lucas now both ahead of him which wasn't always the case last season.. will he stay?
Ejaria - has made a few novelty appearances in the cup, what is next for him? Given his age I imagine we will try to loan out?

Would love to hear the views of those in the know on our junior squads - some of the options for the front 3 sound like they are ready to join the big boy ranks..

Woodburn will be given more minutes next season
Ojo I think will be surplus to requirements soon
Wilson is an odd one, as I read about 30 minutes ago, in the absence of Mane, he should be the next in line given his form for the reserves. I just don't think Klopp fancies his attributes. Which is clearly odd given he can interchange, he'd have probably scored that chance that AWOL got on Sunday.
Kent I think will be surplus to requirements
Grujic I expect will be given 2 more seasons to break into the team
Stewart should be gone
Ejaria back up next season again.

Others who's times are up in my opinion:
Jordan Williams
Jack Dunn
Brooks Lennon
Connor Randall

 

[Modo]

I think talent wise our biggest prospects are Gomez, Grujic and TAA.
Woodburn for me, is just behind them, he needs time.

 

[King Binny]

Anyone who has seen enough of Brewster? A year younger than Woodburn.
(A goal and 2 assists for the U23)

 

[Zlate]

Brewster is a special talent, still too young though to lead the line.

 

[gkmacca]

Wilson is the man in form. Ojo has been worked on to use his speed more and be more direct. He's been slow to learn but he ought to have a role to play from the bench. Stewart will almost certainly go - nice lad, great attitude, but he's never going to be a regular. I'm a big fan of Kent, and next season will be massive for him.

 

[Buddha]

Seen much of Brewster, Macca? He looks some talent from afar.

 

[gkmacca]

Seen much of Brewster, Macca? He looks some talent from afar.

He's an exciting prospect, there's no doubt about that - really fast, good movement, good touch and he scores goals. Obviously he's young and physically he looks VERY young, but I wouldn't be surprised if he jumps ahead like Sterling or Rashford next season. But he does need to get stronger.

 

[rurikbird]

In terms of pure technique I think Harry Wilson is the best we've got in the reserves, some of his touches are just sublime. But is he tough enough for this league? That remains to be seen. Physically he's anything but overpowering.

 

[Red Bird]

Some of the discussions on here remind me of the oft-quoted ".. would Neymar and Messi have made it were they English ..." Not that any of our sprogs are that good but the emphasis on power rather than technique is rather depressing. And not surprising.

 

[gkmacca]

Some of the discussions on here remind me of the oft-quoted ".. would Neymar and Messi have made it were they English ..." Not that any of our sprogs are that good but the emphasis on power rather than technique is rather depressing. And not surprising.

Neymar and Messi were tough little blighters when they were young. I don't think anyone is advocating some ancient 'brawn rather than brain' preference. It's just that, over the past few years, the Academy set-up has swung so far in the direction of emphasising tactics and technique over competitiveness and passion that we've now got probably the most impressive bunch of kids in terms of ability and tiki-taka attitude, but probably the worst bunch ever in terms of drive and determination to win games. Gerrard has recognised that within days of starting coaching there.

The vast majority of top players not only emerged with exceptional skill but also with a toughness that allowed them to survive the inevitable physical challenges that greeted their flair. We don't want our youth players to suddenly receive Tony Pulis-style boot camp training, but they certainly need a more natural and gradual exposure to competitive games against older, tougher, smarter opponents, and that means, at least, supplementing the current piss-poor reserve and youth league games with arranged matches against lower league senior sides, or foreign sides - anything to push the talent on.

 

[Red Bird]

Nought wrong with that and I agree the reason why the sprogs from Spain are not only technically good but quite touch is they play against lower league opposition. I just feel you can develop toughness through plating whereas skill and technique are that much more difficult after passing a certain age. I once played social football with some South Americans of all ages, 12 to over 50, and it was a lesson in mental and physical toughness as well as triumph of technique over pure physicality.

 

[dantes]

Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. Likewise, I'm sure all the academy players have perfectly good technique and tactical intelligence, until they get dropped on their arse by a hateful tackle.

 

[Red Bird]

And then they run off crying and give up, is that it? I've seen Kent at Barnsley a few times, in a quite tough league, and he's not doing badly at all. The sprogs' matches I have seen are not short of tough tackling and spiteful fouls- we have already lost a few players to long term injuries owing to fouls so not sure where this idea of softies comes from.

Look, many of the players may not eventually make it because they won't just be good enough. It happens in all walks of life and not just in sport. All, I'm saying is we have some talented players who could make the next step up and they need to be found out there.

 

[Modo]

And then they run off crying and give up, is that it? I've seen Kent at Barnsley a few times, in a quite tough league, and he's not doing badly at all. The sprogs' matches I have seen are not short of tough tackling and spiteful fouls- we have already lost a few players to long term injuries owing to fouls so not sure where this idea of softies comes from.

Look, many of the players may not eventually make it because they won't just be good enough. It happens in all walks of life and not just in sport. All, I'm saying is we have some talented players who could make the next step up and they need to be found out there.

Tom Ince scored 18 goals for Blackpool one season. 4 years later he's playing for mid table Derby County.
Playing in the premier league requires more than just handling the tough English game. He needs to be smarter on the pitch.
I've seen Kent play for our reserves regularly and I just didn't see "IT".

But then there's Suso and Sterling, who definitely had it. Sometimes it's just so obvious.
Saw Ings play for the reserves and he was toying with them, just like Sakho was.

If you don't stand out, then more likely than not you're not good enough.

Like I said, TAA, Grujic and Gomez are my picks. Nowadays it seems that the only time they play for the reserves is to gain fitness or something. They're not learning anything at that level anymore.

 

[dantes]

And then they run off crying and give up, is that it? I've seen Kent at Barnsley a few times, in a quite tough league, and he's not doing badly at all. The sprogs' matches I have seen are not short of tough tackling and spiteful fouls- we have already lost a few players to long term injuries owing to fouls so not sure where this idea of softies comes from.

Look, many of the players may not eventually make it because they won't just be good enough. It happens in all walks of life and not just in sport. All, I'm saying is we have some talented players who could make the next step up and they need to be found out there.

The next step up means after getting dropped on your arse, you get up angry, with bad intentions, and an unwavering determination to humiliate and break the person that did it to you. To utterly beat them. Make them into your bitch for the rest of the game. How you do it depends upon how hard you've work on your talent, or on your physical strength, or on your intelligence. What Gerrard is getting at isn't so much being physically weak, it's more about not having the obsessive determination to crush everybody in your way and become the best in the world.

 

[Red Bird]

We agree, then. It's matrix of factors which build a good footballer, both personal and environmental.

 

[Brizzle]

We also have a couple out on loan - do we think any of these will stay?

Ward - at Huddersfield (after a stint at Aberdeen) and they were both flying when he was with them. I'm in the same place as Nomad and feel he needs to join our group of GKs and could challenge Karius/ Mignolet for number 1 - but almost more importantly, be a dependable backup.

Wisdom - anyone know anything of his form? He is at Red Bull Salzberg but only seems to have 10 appearances

Flanagan - again, doesnt seem to have featured much at Burnley which is a shame.

Markovic - part of a Hull team that could do enough to survive if they continue their home form. Haven't seen a lot of him, but sounds like he had the quality to make an impact. Not sure if that means we see enough to keep him as part of our squad if an offer comes in..