U21s vs Leicester: Ward, Sama, Kelly, Jones, McLaughlin, Lussey, Rossiter, Dunn, Peterson, Morgan, Teixeira.
Youth and Reserves thread - 2013/14
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Sexy wee side that.
HT: 0-0. Very cagey sort of game, very few chances. Peterson came close, that was about it. Rossiter once again catching the eye in midfield. Kelly doesn't look right, he's obviously still building up his fitness but he's not like his old self at all. McLaughlin on the other hand is edging ever closer to the first team - he's mature, lively, smart and tough. Now that Johnson's injured he surely merits a place on the bench.
Sama is playing much better this season. He had a couple of major cock-ups last season, giving away pens and getting sent off, and his confidence dropped, but he's back looking surprisingly solid and is even hitting the odd long diagonal ball that shows more vision and nous than we've seen from him before, so good for him.
Could he be used in the attacking role (Coutinho) or will it be in the midfield two (Lucas -Gerrard)?
He'll have the same problem as Suso, I fear - sent on to hover on one or other wing, but, yes, as you say, he's ideally suited to a Coutinho type role. Unlike Suso, though, I actually think he's capable of making an instant impact from a wide position if he's allowed to cut inside.
Give it time. That creativity will evaporate into the ether the moment he makes his senior debut, and then you'll see him as a DM.
FT: 1-1.
A tight and dullish first half, a much better second half. We were much the better team, but one loss of concentration allowed Leicester to equalise. On another night we could have won this pretty easily.
McLaughlin: Flexible, moving into midfield when Kelly went to RB, assured on the left as well as the right, very mature and confident - he deserves to be considered for the first team now.
Kelly: Worryingly reserved and tentative at CB but the switch to RB got him running and he seemed to be far more engaged as a result. Quite some way still to go before he's back in contention for the first team.
Sama: Much better. He'll never break into the first team but he's improving his potential transfer price.
Jones: He does look quite Sami-like at times. He's improving all the time and looks a genuinely good defensive prospect.
Brannagan: a bit subdued but he's a neat player with a good positive attitude.
Rossiter: As we know, the star in waiting. A precocious central midfielder who can also show the discipline to a job in a deeper role.
Dunn: another solid performance, with a few great onslaughts on goal. He's such a powerful and clever player with a relentless desire to attack.
Peterson: Another decent performance. Not spectacular this time but he's a promising player.
Morgan: I understood it last season when he was being stretched by being played out of position out wide or deeper, but he's still being played out of position this season (I'm not sure WHAT his role was tonight, a sort of deep-lying attacking midfielder, I suppose), and there surely has to come a time when all of this coaching is allowed to be assimilated and he returns to where he's meant to play - centre forward. He worked really hard tonight, made several very strong runs from deep, but he's not going to prove his potential playing like this. They've worked well with him, they've coached him, which is great, but it has to have an end product, and this season he surely needs to be told to go and get goals and show what a striker he can be.
Teixeira: Sublime at times, he's got wonderful technique, quick feet, great vision, and a very good, clinical free kick. If he doesn't end up as a star I'll be hugely disappointed.
A tight and dullish first half, a much better second half. We were much the better team, but one loss of concentration allowed Leicester to equalise. On another night we could have won this pretty easily.
McLaughlin: Flexible, moving into midfield when Kelly went to RB, assured on the left as well as the right, very mature and confident - he deserves to be considered for the first team now.
Kelly: Worryingly reserved and tentative at CB but the switch to RB got him running and he seemed to be far more engaged as a result. Quite some way still to go before he's back in contention for the first team.
Sama: Much better. He'll never break into the first team but he's improving his potential transfer price.
Jones: He does look quite Sami-like at times. He's improving all the time and looks a genuinely good defensive prospect.
Brannagan: a bit subdued but he's a neat player with a good positive attitude.
Rossiter: As we know, the star in waiting. A precocious central midfielder who can also show the discipline to a job in a deeper role.
Dunn: another solid performance, with a few great onslaughts on goal. He's such a powerful and clever player with a relentless desire to attack.
Peterson: Another decent performance. Not spectacular this time but he's a promising player.
Morgan: I understood it last season when he was being stretched by being played out of position out wide or deeper, but he's still being played out of position this season (I'm not sure WHAT his role was tonight, a sort of deep-lying attacking midfielder, I suppose), and there surely has to come a time when all of this coaching is allowed to be assimilated and he returns to where he's meant to play - centre forward. He worked really hard tonight, made several very strong runs from deep, but he's not going to prove his potential playing like this. They've worked well with him, they've coached him, which is great, but it has to have an end product, and this season he surely needs to be told to go and get goals and show what a striker he can be.
Teixeira: Sublime at times, he's got wonderful technique, quick feet, great vision, and a very good, clinical free kick. If he doesn't end up as a star I'll be hugely disappointed.
He's positioned very deep an awful lot in these u21 games. He can still be a creative force from that deep position with incisive passing or spreading diagonal balls over the top like Alonso/Pirlo. If he's to play further forward his shooting needs a bit of work.
Yeah, he can play that role alright. He is a bit of a SG though in that he looks he can do it all.
Ryan's brother, who plays for Fleetwood town:
Conor McLaughlin @ConorMcL32h
Stop diving you@RyanMcL2 ! Haha
Conor McLaughlin
Stop diving you
Everytime I watch Teixera and McLaughlin it convinces me more that they have all the potential to become top players. What I don't understand is why, at 19 (McLaughlin will be 19 later this month) and 20 years of age, they haven't been given a chance yet whereas Ibe and Sterling (neither of whom seems ready for first team action) are given opportunities at the age of 17.
Having Teixeira and Suso on the books does further call into question the signing of Luis Alberto who will no doubt be blocking their paths in the first team now. The only thing I can think of is that Alberto showed at Barca that he's got a real eye for goal whereas the other two are more creators. Shame we couldn't get a loan deal for Teixeira as well because he's arguably not going to get much of out playing for the reserves at this stage of his development.
Most likely Suarez's influence on Rodgers.
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