Apologies if this has already been posted....
There'll be some big-money buys at Anfield this summer, but Benitez is banking on a new youth system to save millions.
We all talk about Samuel Eto`o, Carlos Teves and Co but we often forget that Rafa Benitez has been building this youth empire at Liverpool for the past two seasons.
This week he added three more players to the fold by signing the two Hungarians, Krisztian Nemeth and Andras Simon, and Swedish teenager Alexander Kacaniklic. This is really a sign of how badly the Liverpool Academy has performed simply because we seem to be replacing most of the youth players with European youngsters who Rafa thinks might actually make it to the first team.
He cannot be blamed for taking this action because no player from the Academy looks like making the first team in the foreseeable future. Steven Warnock spent the last few months of his tutorial there before Academy coach Steve Heighway told Gerrard Houllier that he had a bright young spark ready for the first team. But when Houlier went to see Warnock he was moreimpressed by Steven Gerrard, a player that Heighway did not really rate. Houlier took Gerrard to Melwood the next day.
Whether it's down to calibre of the current crop of youngsters or mismanagement of the Academy we may never know, but I think it was, in large part, due to Heighway's intolerance to any interference from higher authority. Having said that, it must be remembered that Liverpool's Academy side have won the FA Youth Cup for the past two seasons.
Benitez`s global network of scouts have been as active in searching out the stars of tomorrow as they have been finding the stars that the first team needs today. This is a sign of Rafa`s plans for his, and Liverpool's, future. It mean we can discard any talk of him leaving Liverpool in the near future because he is here to build a footballing empire in the mould of past Liverpool teams.
He has broken down the old system of the first-team manager not interfering in youth team development and we can hardly blame him. He's a hands-on boss in every sense. Already his endeavours in the youth system should pay off and next year I expect to see Paul Anderson being given a chance following the rave reviews he has earned since his arrival at the club.
Others who have a very good chance of breaking through are Besian Idrizaj, Jack Hobbs, Godwin Antwi and Astrit Ajdarevic. These are all players Rafa has bought in to finish their preparations in the Academy. These are the only ones with a real chance of making it into the Liverpool first team.
When the spine of a team is built at youth level, the results can be astounding. Manchester United proved it in 1993 with David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and the Neville brothers. I believe that if the youngsters from that era had come together at the same time as the Chelsea millions, United would still have won the title because the players had already spent years together in the youth system.
This is what Rafa is trying to achieve but, as always with youth players, it is very unpredictable. Players that look great at 15 might fizzle out by the time they are 18. But the future's bright at Liverpool; the future's Red, and with Benitez handling the youth team we can expect the spine of the Liverpool teams of tomorrow to be very much influenced by Rafa's youth policy of today.
There'll be some big-money buys at Anfield this summer, but Benitez is banking on a new youth system to save millions.
We all talk about Samuel Eto`o, Carlos Teves and Co but we often forget that Rafa Benitez has been building this youth empire at Liverpool for the past two seasons.
This week he added three more players to the fold by signing the two Hungarians, Krisztian Nemeth and Andras Simon, and Swedish teenager Alexander Kacaniklic. This is really a sign of how badly the Liverpool Academy has performed simply because we seem to be replacing most of the youth players with European youngsters who Rafa thinks might actually make it to the first team.
He cannot be blamed for taking this action because no player from the Academy looks like making the first team in the foreseeable future. Steven Warnock spent the last few months of his tutorial there before Academy coach Steve Heighway told Gerrard Houllier that he had a bright young spark ready for the first team. But when Houlier went to see Warnock he was moreimpressed by Steven Gerrard, a player that Heighway did not really rate. Houlier took Gerrard to Melwood the next day.
Whether it's down to calibre of the current crop of youngsters or mismanagement of the Academy we may never know, but I think it was, in large part, due to Heighway's intolerance to any interference from higher authority. Having said that, it must be remembered that Liverpool's Academy side have won the FA Youth Cup for the past two seasons.
Benitez`s global network of scouts have been as active in searching out the stars of tomorrow as they have been finding the stars that the first team needs today. This is a sign of Rafa`s plans for his, and Liverpool's, future. It mean we can discard any talk of him leaving Liverpool in the near future because he is here to build a footballing empire in the mould of past Liverpool teams.
He has broken down the old system of the first-team manager not interfering in youth team development and we can hardly blame him. He's a hands-on boss in every sense. Already his endeavours in the youth system should pay off and next year I expect to see Paul Anderson being given a chance following the rave reviews he has earned since his arrival at the club.
Others who have a very good chance of breaking through are Besian Idrizaj, Jack Hobbs, Godwin Antwi and Astrit Ajdarevic. These are all players Rafa has bought in to finish their preparations in the Academy. These are the only ones with a real chance of making it into the Liverpool first team.
When the spine of a team is built at youth level, the results can be astounding. Manchester United proved it in 1993 with David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and the Neville brothers. I believe that if the youngsters from that era had come together at the same time as the Chelsea millions, United would still have won the title because the players had already spent years together in the youth system.
This is what Rafa is trying to achieve but, as always with youth players, it is very unpredictable. Players that look great at 15 might fizzle out by the time they are 18. But the future's bright at Liverpool; the future's Red, and with Benitez handling the youth team we can expect the spine of the Liverpool teams of tomorrow to be very much influenced by Rafa's youth policy of today.
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