Sterling was bought from QPR, Ibe from Bournmouth etc.
I can only count, one player Kelly who didn't cost us anything and is playing in the prem.
Youth/ Reserve (U23s)/ Academy 2016-17
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I can only count, one player Kelly who didn't cost us anything and is playing in the prem.
Not too shabby at all. Is he a starter?
Flanno.
Yes, he started every game. 4 clean sheets in 11.
Just remembered Smith (Bournemouth), Sinclair (Watford).
We bought since sinclair from West Brom didn't we?
Think we exploited that contract thingy within the Spanish league at the time and got him for nothing.
Ala Fabregas.
I'm not sure what the rules are here though.
Players we developed and didnt poach from other teams when they were 15/16.
Like I said its basically only Kelly, Smith and Sinclair. With Kelly being the only one who's established himself in the Prem.
I thought we poached sinclair?
We did? Well I guess he's out then.
I wonder how many players players rivals have produced who are currently playing in the Prem? Surely better than our record.
Boring 0-0 game.
Best players on the pitch were obviously our back 3 with Sakho being slightly ahead of both Gomez and Ilori.
Brannagan, Chirivela and Wilson didn't impress me at all, despite belonging to our most talented group of reserves.
None of them stood out and repeatedly made simple mistakes.
Many of our u23s are lacking in very basic parts of the game such as vision and ball control.
Many of them are still young and have time to iron out those flaws.
Klopp has certainly picked out the best of that lot for the Leeds game. None of them who played bar Sakho and Gomez are good enough.
Special mention to the keeper Grabara who was barely tested but still managed to pull off one or two great saves.
Best players on the pitch were obviously our back 3 with Sakho being slightly ahead of both Gomez and Ilori.
Brannagan, Chirivela and Wilson didn't impress me at all, despite belonging to our most talented group of reserves.
None of them stood out and repeatedly made simple mistakes.
Many of our u23s are lacking in very basic parts of the game such as vision and ball control.
Many of them are still young and have time to iron out those flaws.
Klopp has certainly picked out the best of that lot for the Leeds game. None of them who played bar Sakho and Gomez are good enough.
Special mention to the keeper Grabara who was barely tested but still managed to pull off one or two great saves.
Last edited:
Alas means pity or unfortunately. You probably meant the opposite.
Noted
I can't help but think that Wilson is feeling a lot of pressure to perform due to him being lauded as one of our future stars.
Getting a cap for Wales, which was totally undeserved I might add, must have added to that pressure.
You can see that he's really trying to be the "main man" in that team but it's just not working out for him and considering the fact that a player who is younger than him (Alexander-Arnold) came from "nowhere" and is now playing for the first team, must affect him somehow.
Yea, I can see where you are coming from.
Even though he is only eighteen (I think) he has been round longer than most so he could very well feel some responsibility.
the fact that he is willing to at least try and take the lead is a promising thing though.
He is a talented kid, with a good chance of making it I reckon
From the Echo
Liverpool's Academy seeing the fruits of its labour with Woodburn, Alexander-Arnold and Ejaria
Work of Alex Inglethorpe and his staff should not go unnoticed
It’s the kind of picture you can see adorning the walls of Liverpool ’s Kirkby Academy for years to come.
Trent Alexander-Arnold . Ben Woodburn . One of them the man of the match, the other having plundered a goal in front of the Kop. One of them 18, one 17. Both of them with grins as wide as Stanley Park.
All it needed was Ovie Ejaria, the Reds’ third teenage musketeer, to make it the perfect portrait.
Tuesday was, as Andy Kelly wrote on these pages, a gem of a night for the Academy. Three graduates, barely out of school, shining on the big stage.
‘Only’ Leeds United, yes, but this was still a cup quarter-final, an Anfield examination in front of more than 52,000. One which all three of these precocious talents passed.
Nobody left unimpressed. Steven Gerrard, sat in the director’s box, wore the smile of a man who could soon be working with these players on a regular basis.
A few seats along Michael Owen tweeted his approval at seeing Woodburn succeed him as Liverpool’s youngest ever goalscorer. In the Sky TV studio Jamie Carragher loved what he had seen.
All three came through the ranks at the club during the 1990s, and it is fair to say the wait for the next star has dragged somewhat in the years that have followed. Since Gerrard’s Reds debut – 18 years ago yesterday, fittingly – no youth team product has managed more than 67 senior appearances. Jon Flanagan is the only player to reach 50 who is still at the club.
That is something Alex Inglethorpe, the Academy director, has spoken about recently. It’s a hard business bringing through young footballers, but Liverpool want players who will go on to play hundreds of first-team games,
“It’s great to have players in and around the first team and great also that we’ve been able to sell Academy players,” Inglethorpe told the ECHO back in August.
“But we won’t really have succeeded here until someone goes in, stays in and wins trophies with that collection of players – that’s the dream, that’s why we’re here.”
That ‘dream’ hasn’t been realised yet. Woodburn is the 14th player to make his professional debut since Inglethorpe’s promotion in August 2014, but of that crop only Kevin Stewart has made more than 10 appearances – and the midfielder was 20 when he signed from Tottenham.
Woodburn, Alexander-Arnold and Ejaria look, from early glances, like they could buck the trend. All have progressed rapidly from U18 to senior level, and all have greeted each step up with a composure and determination that suggests they’ll be around for some time to come.
There have been big changes at the Academy in recent years, both in terms of personnel and strategy. The departures of Rodolfo Borrell and Frank McParland in 2013 were greeted with dismay at the time, but Inglethorpe has created a structure which seems to be working.
Ovie Ejaria of Liverpool evades Kemar Roofe of Leeds United during the EFL Cup quarter-final
Since his installation, numbers have been slashed at Kirkby by around 30%. The idea, he says, is to focus more on “elite talent”, quality as opposed to quantity.
It’s an idea he picked up during visits to various European academies – most notably Athletic Bilbao, arguably the most important youth system on the continent.
Inglethorpe was told how Bilbao focus their attention on a select group of players who may one day populate the first team, rather than 'wasting time' on those whose careers are always likely to lie elsewhere. Even at Athletic, whose entire squad are 'Cantera' products, it is rare than more than three or four emerge from any one age-group, so coaches are encouraged to focus their attention more on the boys most likely, rather than the 'filler'.
(That may sound harsh on boys as young as eight or nine, but top-level football is a business, not a place for sentimentality - even at that age).
Carragher, Owen, Gerrard and others all emerged during the Steve Heighway era, and Inglethorpe’s decision to bring the former Academy chief back to the club in a mentoring role has been well-received to say the least. Dave Shannon, one of Heighway’s trusted coaches, is also back.
While the likes of Phil Roscoe, the long-serving head of education and welfare, and Matthew Newberry, head of academy scouting and recruitment, do their thing, Inglethorpe trusts his staff - from Michael Yates with the U10s to Michael Beale with the U23s - to provide the best possible coaching and guidance, liaising closely with all on a day-to-day basis.
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As one source put it, “there isn’t anything at the Academy that Alex isn’t across – and that’s how it should be.” Inglethorpe is firmly behind the idea of merging Melwood and Kirkby in future, and Klopp has described the pair’s relationship as “perfect”.
At present Pep Lijnders, in his role as first-team development coach, acts as the main bridge between junior and senior level. His weekly ‘Futures Group’, which takes a handful of youngsters up to Melwood to train each Tuesday, has proven a huge success.
The Dutchman’s relationship with Klopp is a strong one, and the manager has been impressed by the quality of player – and, perhaps just as importantly, character - being brought to him.
Just as importantly, the Academy has been encouraged by the opportunities being afforded at senior level. Klopp tried just about every available player last season, recalling some from loan spells mid-term. Nobody, not even Jose Enrique, could say they didn't get a chance.
Beale may jokingly lament the loss of his star players to the first team, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. He, Neil Critchley, Barry Lewtas, Des Maher and co will have cheered as loudly as anyone when Woodburn found the top corner at the Kop End on Tuesday night. To them, that is success, as much as an FA Youth Cup or Premier League 2 win.
READ MORE
Liverpool v Man City - extra transport put in place for high profile New Year's Eve clash
READ MORE
Good luck keeping the lid on Ben Woodburn now, Jurgen
Not everyone will have such an impact, of course, and that is a point worth making. For every Gerrard, every Owen, every Woodburn, there are those that burn bright but fade fast. Football is a cut-throat business, and disappointment lies round many corners.
For now, though, positivity is the order of the day. Ejaria, Alexander-Arnold and Woodburn all look the part, while the whisper is that others may be congregating behind. Both the U23s and U18s are flying high, with the likes of Yan Dhanda and Rhian Brewster making waves. The Reds are always well-represented in England under-age squads.
Testament, then, to the work being done up in L33. Liverpool, from bottom to top, is starting to feel like a club again. Long may it continue.
Liverpool's Academy seeing the fruits of its labour with Woodburn, Alexander-Arnold and Ejaria
Work of Alex Inglethorpe and his staff should not go unnoticed
It’s the kind of picture you can see adorning the walls of Liverpool ’s Kirkby Academy for years to come.
Trent Alexander-Arnold . Ben Woodburn . One of them the man of the match, the other having plundered a goal in front of the Kop. One of them 18, one 17. Both of them with grins as wide as Stanley Park.
All it needed was Ovie Ejaria, the Reds’ third teenage musketeer, to make it the perfect portrait.
Tuesday was, as Andy Kelly wrote on these pages, a gem of a night for the Academy. Three graduates, barely out of school, shining on the big stage.
‘Only’ Leeds United, yes, but this was still a cup quarter-final, an Anfield examination in front of more than 52,000. One which all three of these precocious talents passed.
Nobody left unimpressed. Steven Gerrard, sat in the director’s box, wore the smile of a man who could soon be working with these players on a regular basis.
A few seats along Michael Owen tweeted his approval at seeing Woodburn succeed him as Liverpool’s youngest ever goalscorer. In the Sky TV studio Jamie Carragher loved what he had seen.
All three came through the ranks at the club during the 1990s, and it is fair to say the wait for the next star has dragged somewhat in the years that have followed. Since Gerrard’s Reds debut – 18 years ago yesterday, fittingly – no youth team product has managed more than 67 senior appearances. Jon Flanagan is the only player to reach 50 who is still at the club.
That is something Alex Inglethorpe, the Academy director, has spoken about recently. It’s a hard business bringing through young footballers, but Liverpool want players who will go on to play hundreds of first-team games,
“It’s great to have players in and around the first team and great also that we’ve been able to sell Academy players,” Inglethorpe told the ECHO back in August.
“But we won’t really have succeeded here until someone goes in, stays in and wins trophies with that collection of players – that’s the dream, that’s why we’re here.”
That ‘dream’ hasn’t been realised yet. Woodburn is the 14th player to make his professional debut since Inglethorpe’s promotion in August 2014, but of that crop only Kevin Stewart has made more than 10 appearances – and the midfielder was 20 when he signed from Tottenham.
Woodburn, Alexander-Arnold and Ejaria look, from early glances, like they could buck the trend. All have progressed rapidly from U18 to senior level, and all have greeted each step up with a composure and determination that suggests they’ll be around for some time to come.
There have been big changes at the Academy in recent years, both in terms of personnel and strategy. The departures of Rodolfo Borrell and Frank McParland in 2013 were greeted with dismay at the time, but Inglethorpe has created a structure which seems to be working.
Ovie Ejaria of Liverpool evades Kemar Roofe of Leeds United during the EFL Cup quarter-final
Since his installation, numbers have been slashed at Kirkby by around 30%. The idea, he says, is to focus more on “elite talent”, quality as opposed to quantity.
It’s an idea he picked up during visits to various European academies – most notably Athletic Bilbao, arguably the most important youth system on the continent.
Inglethorpe was told how Bilbao focus their attention on a select group of players who may one day populate the first team, rather than 'wasting time' on those whose careers are always likely to lie elsewhere. Even at Athletic, whose entire squad are 'Cantera' products, it is rare than more than three or four emerge from any one age-group, so coaches are encouraged to focus their attention more on the boys most likely, rather than the 'filler'.
(That may sound harsh on boys as young as eight or nine, but top-level football is a business, not a place for sentimentality - even at that age).
Carragher, Owen, Gerrard and others all emerged during the Steve Heighway era, and Inglethorpe’s decision to bring the former Academy chief back to the club in a mentoring role has been well-received to say the least. Dave Shannon, one of Heighway’s trusted coaches, is also back.
While the likes of Phil Roscoe, the long-serving head of education and welfare, and Matthew Newberry, head of academy scouting and recruitment, do their thing, Inglethorpe trusts his staff - from Michael Yates with the U10s to Michael Beale with the U23s - to provide the best possible coaching and guidance, liaising closely with all on a day-to-day basis.
Player Information
About Brightcove
TAP TO PLAY
As one source put it, “there isn’t anything at the Academy that Alex isn’t across – and that’s how it should be.” Inglethorpe is firmly behind the idea of merging Melwood and Kirkby in future, and Klopp has described the pair’s relationship as “perfect”.
At present Pep Lijnders, in his role as first-team development coach, acts as the main bridge between junior and senior level. His weekly ‘Futures Group’, which takes a handful of youngsters up to Melwood to train each Tuesday, has proven a huge success.
The Dutchman’s relationship with Klopp is a strong one, and the manager has been impressed by the quality of player – and, perhaps just as importantly, character - being brought to him.
Just as importantly, the Academy has been encouraged by the opportunities being afforded at senior level. Klopp tried just about every available player last season, recalling some from loan spells mid-term. Nobody, not even Jose Enrique, could say they didn't get a chance.
Beale may jokingly lament the loss of his star players to the first team, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. He, Neil Critchley, Barry Lewtas, Des Maher and co will have cheered as loudly as anyone when Woodburn found the top corner at the Kop End on Tuesday night. To them, that is success, as much as an FA Youth Cup or Premier League 2 win.
READ MORE
Liverpool v Man City - extra transport put in place for high profile New Year's Eve clash
READ MORE
Good luck keeping the lid on Ben Woodburn now, Jurgen
Not everyone will have such an impact, of course, and that is a point worth making. For every Gerrard, every Owen, every Woodburn, there are those that burn bright but fade fast. Football is a cut-throat business, and disappointment lies round many corners.
For now, though, positivity is the order of the day. Ejaria, Alexander-Arnold and Woodburn all look the part, while the whisper is that others may be congregating behind. Both the U23s and U18s are flying high, with the likes of Yan Dhanda and Rhian Brewster making waves. The Reds are always well-represented in England under-age squads.
Testament, then, to the work being done up in L33. Liverpool, from bottom to top, is starting to feel like a club again. Long may it continue.
Anyone heard of this lad?
Signed from Newcastle (who were livid at losing him according to some on Twitter) when he was 13.
If we did the same as with Raheem and give him a decent contract, then it could potentially end in the same manner.
Hopefully Inglethorpe etc can advise him and it wont come to that.
If we did the same as with Raheem and give him a decent contract, then it could potentially end in the same manner.
Hopefully Inglethorpe etc can advise him and it wont come to that.
Liverpool news: Why things are suddenly looking up for the club's Kirkby academy
Ben Woodburn and Trent Alexander-Arnold caught the eye on Tuesday, but another youngster's development reflects the scale of change in the club's youth system
Craig Lindfield was a striker in those teams. After a goal against Crewe Alexandra in the pre-season of 2006 for Benítez's senior side, he remembers being congratulated by Robbie Fowler. In a revealing interview with The Anfield Wrap broadcasted last month he did not mind sharing the detail that in that moment, he hugged Fowler, and, overcome by emotion, decided it appropriate to whisper tenderly: “I love you.”
Lindfield also spoke about football not being the exact science many claim it to be. His story became darker as it wore on. He was still scoring for the under-18s when lank haired Dutchman Jordy Brouwer was not doing the same for the reserves, though Brouwer played, he thinks, because Benítez had created his own mini-academy at Melwood in spite of the youth director Steve Heighway after they fell out; thus cutting opportunities for progression when it’s hard enough anyway.
Klopp admits it will difficult to manage Woodburn hype
Though some might reflect on Lindfield’s subsequent career path (he currently plays for Marine in the Evo Stik Premier League) and conclude that he’d have made it somewhere else if he was good enough, the fact that all of those selected ahead of him were released too may reflect that momentum at a vital time in the player’s development was lost in the pursuit of control and that ultimately, when nobody in charge is really acting in the best interests of the club, everybody else loses.
Liverpool as an entire club has been attempting to rediscover its identity ever since and it is only now - with a first team manager of continental standing clearly enjoying his job and attached to a long-term contract while buying in to the solid platforms set by academy director Alex Inglethorpe, who has had the wisdom, humility and courage to reintegrate Heighway into his coaching set-up – that Liverpool is beginning to find itself again.
It is fair to say that the Premier League’s most recent Double Pass audit of Liverpool’s academy was not as glowing as several of clubs they are competing against. On paper, at least, Liverpool might be considered some distance behind the lead spenders at youth level, Manchester City, who have Bobby Duncan, Steven Gerrard’s 15-year-old cousin within their ranks. Last week, Duncan became the first English footballer in history – at any level – to score a hat-trick against Brazil.
There is a wide belief, however, that the Elite Player Performance Plan pioneered by the Premier League and carried out by the Belgian based assessors, Double Pass, is impractical and homogenous; a scheme, indeed, that overlooks the fact that just because something works for one club, it might not work for another. Critics also say it also ends up rewarding financial clout: bricks and mortar over care and guidance - aspects of academy life that cannot always be measured accurately by investment or facilities.
Lindfield, left, failed to make a senior appearance at Liverpool before leaving in 2009 (Getty)
While it is unlikely the Premier League’s association with Double Pass will continue beyond the end of its current contract, there is a palpable sense of positive change at Liverpool. On Tuesday night, 18-year-old Trent Alexander-Arnold was named as man of the match in the League Cup quarter final victory over Leeds United and Ben Woodburn, at 17, became the youngest goalscorer in the club’s history.
Perhaps, though, it is the story of Ovie Ejaria that really reflects how things have improved at Liverpool’s academy over the last few years: how sharp the recruitment strategy has become and how the decisions with players once they have them are now the right ones.
There is a narrative about Ejaria that reads something along the lines of Liverpool being fortunate recipients following his release by Arsenal, in much the same way Brouwer was brought in after being let go by Ajax all that time ago.
Ejaria, more than any other youth product, reflects the improvement at Liverpool's Kirkby academy (Getty)
At the beginning, it was a message Arsenal were keen to lay down, one that disguises the problems at youth level where too many opinions held by bickering decision makers led to an impasse, forcing Ejaria to feel unwanted. Steve Bould, Arsène Wenger’s assistant manager and Arsenal’s former under-18s coach, recognised the teenager’s ability and was furious when he found out it had reached the point where Liverpool held the all the cards because Anfield delegates had met Ejaria’s father at his home, a two bedroomed high rise flat that overlooks Southwark, South London. There, in 2014, he was persuaded Liverpool possessed clear thinking and the type of environment where his son would be able to thrive.
Ejaria was released because Arsenal knew Liverpool had already taken him. Though he suffered from acute homesickness during the initial months on Merseyside, Ejaria has reached this point: one where he is presently considered by Jürgen Klopp as a better midfield option than Marko Grujić, the Serb from Red Star Belgrade who cost £5.1 million.
Ben Woodburn and Trent Alexander-Arnold caught the eye on Tuesday, but another youngster's development reflects the scale of change in the club's youth system
- Wednesday 30 November 2016 19:30 BST
Craig Lindfield was a striker in those teams. After a goal against Crewe Alexandra in the pre-season of 2006 for Benítez's senior side, he remembers being congratulated by Robbie Fowler. In a revealing interview with The Anfield Wrap broadcasted last month he did not mind sharing the detail that in that moment, he hugged Fowler, and, overcome by emotion, decided it appropriate to whisper tenderly: “I love you.”
Lindfield also spoke about football not being the exact science many claim it to be. His story became darker as it wore on. He was still scoring for the under-18s when lank haired Dutchman Jordy Brouwer was not doing the same for the reserves, though Brouwer played, he thinks, because Benítez had created his own mini-academy at Melwood in spite of the youth director Steve Heighway after they fell out; thus cutting opportunities for progression when it’s hard enough anyway.
Klopp admits it will difficult to manage Woodburn hype
Though some might reflect on Lindfield’s subsequent career path (he currently plays for Marine in the Evo Stik Premier League) and conclude that he’d have made it somewhere else if he was good enough, the fact that all of those selected ahead of him were released too may reflect that momentum at a vital time in the player’s development was lost in the pursuit of control and that ultimately, when nobody in charge is really acting in the best interests of the club, everybody else loses.
Liverpool as an entire club has been attempting to rediscover its identity ever since and it is only now - with a first team manager of continental standing clearly enjoying his job and attached to a long-term contract while buying in to the solid platforms set by academy director Alex Inglethorpe, who has had the wisdom, humility and courage to reintegrate Heighway into his coaching set-up – that Liverpool is beginning to find itself again.
It is fair to say that the Premier League’s most recent Double Pass audit of Liverpool’s academy was not as glowing as several of clubs they are competing against. On paper, at least, Liverpool might be considered some distance behind the lead spenders at youth level, Manchester City, who have Bobby Duncan, Steven Gerrard’s 15-year-old cousin within their ranks. Last week, Duncan became the first English footballer in history – at any level – to score a hat-trick against Brazil.
There is a wide belief, however, that the Elite Player Performance Plan pioneered by the Premier League and carried out by the Belgian based assessors, Double Pass, is impractical and homogenous; a scheme, indeed, that overlooks the fact that just because something works for one club, it might not work for another. Critics also say it also ends up rewarding financial clout: bricks and mortar over care and guidance - aspects of academy life that cannot always be measured accurately by investment or facilities.
Lindfield, left, failed to make a senior appearance at Liverpool before leaving in 2009 (Getty)
While it is unlikely the Premier League’s association with Double Pass will continue beyond the end of its current contract, there is a palpable sense of positive change at Liverpool. On Tuesday night, 18-year-old Trent Alexander-Arnold was named as man of the match in the League Cup quarter final victory over Leeds United and Ben Woodburn, at 17, became the youngest goalscorer in the club’s history.
Perhaps, though, it is the story of Ovie Ejaria that really reflects how things have improved at Liverpool’s academy over the last few years: how sharp the recruitment strategy has become and how the decisions with players once they have them are now the right ones.
There is a narrative about Ejaria that reads something along the lines of Liverpool being fortunate recipients following his release by Arsenal, in much the same way Brouwer was brought in after being let go by Ajax all that time ago.
Ejaria, more than any other youth product, reflects the improvement at Liverpool's Kirkby academy (Getty)
At the beginning, it was a message Arsenal were keen to lay down, one that disguises the problems at youth level where too many opinions held by bickering decision makers led to an impasse, forcing Ejaria to feel unwanted. Steve Bould, Arsène Wenger’s assistant manager and Arsenal’s former under-18s coach, recognised the teenager’s ability and was furious when he found out it had reached the point where Liverpool held the all the cards because Anfield delegates had met Ejaria’s father at his home, a two bedroomed high rise flat that overlooks Southwark, South London. There, in 2014, he was persuaded Liverpool possessed clear thinking and the type of environment where his son would be able to thrive.
Ejaria was released because Arsenal knew Liverpool had already taken him. Though he suffered from acute homesickness during the initial months on Merseyside, Ejaria has reached this point: one where he is presently considered by Jürgen Klopp as a better midfield option than Marko Grujić, the Serb from Red Star Belgrade who cost £5.1 million.
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