Youngsters

[Exiled_red]

Obviously the youngsters have come to the fore at the moment, with the performances in the cup final and against Southampton last night. Obviously it is alot of hard work from the players, coaches, academy staff and others at the club to get to this point. The extent of their use has largely been though necessity although we have been giving some of them minutes throughout the season. No doubt they will stay involved while the squad is stretched injury wise, and likely for the rest of the season. The question is what happens next? How do we ensure that we keep them developing, we are now talking about a fairly large number of players who now have first team experience, but it is almost as if there are too many players to keep around the first team squad and given minutes to next season, even if Klopp were here. The change of manager adds to the uncertainty a little. A new manager doesn't necessarily have the security to play youth players in the cups, there will be a desire to get that first trophy etc.

I was just going through a list of players with first team experience that have come through recently: Quansah, Bradley, Scanlon, Chambers, Beck, Bajcetic, McConnell, Clark, Nyoni, Doak, Danns, Koumas, Gordon, Blair. then there are the likes of Morton, van den Berg and Ramsay who are currently out on loan who haven't had minutes with us this season.

Quansah has established himself as an effective 3rd/4th choice CB, Bajcetic is seemingly considered in and around the first team but has had injury issues. Bradley has taken a big step up this season, so you can imagine them being in and around the squad next year. The likes of Clark and McConnell have been involved for much of the season so are arguably a bit further along in their development, but we need to consider what is best for their development, staying at LFC and hopefully getting minutes in the cups/ from the bench or going out on loan and hopefully getting a full season's worth of experience under their belts. The likes of Morton, Ramsay and van den Berg have all been out on loan so it will be interesting to see whether they are involved with the first team on their returns.

[The_weatherman]

We will also be selling quite a few of them eventually, just a quick scroll and probably a few out of Bajcetic, McConnell, Clark, Morton, Nyoni and Scanlon. Same with Carcalho, Danns, Gordon, Kane-Doherty. Most of them will be sold, only a few will be regulars and squad players. But already this year, we've saved tens of millions in Quansah and Bradley.

[SB]

The important bit for me is this current crop of youngsters are regularly training with the big boys. That’s got to help their development so much. Is it more important they train with our stars & don’t play much or train with 2nd rate players in the lower leagues with inferior coaching & play regularly? Genuine question.

[The_weatherman]

Bradley going out to Bolton didn't harm him much, I think it's depending on lots of factors such as age and pathway to minutes, and who is coaching them on loan. Balagizi has been unlucky though, I thought there was considerable hype around him.

[Exiled_red]

The important bit for me is this current crop of youngsters are regularly training with the big boys. That’s got to help their development so much. Is it more important they train with our stars & don’t play much or train with 2nd rate players in the lower leagues with inferior coaching & play regularly? Genuine question.

I think sending players out on loan too early is potentially a problem for that,I feel that they need to have a sense of the player they are somewhat established at LFC and their loan move reinforces that and gives them experience. If they move on loan before they have it, the who they are is developed by the loan player and coaches, and IMO that is where the problem arises.

[Exiled_red]

We will also be selling quite a few of them eventually, just a quick scroll and probably a few out of Bajcetic, McConnell, Clark, Morton, Nyoni and Scanlon. Same with Carcalho, Danns, Gordon, Kane-Doherty. Most of them will be sold, only a few will be regulars and squad players. But already this year, we've saved tens of millions in Quansah and Bradley.

Eventually some/most will be sold or not make it here, that is the reality, but for most of the players listed I suspect that won't be the case for at least another couple of years. Probably more the case for the Rhys Williams or van den Berg, players that are 21 or so and have had a couple of loan moves rather most of the players around 18, I suspect the players who have now made a first team appearance are highly enough regarded to be on the books a few more years

[Kenneth]

You wonder what effect the Wembley cup win will have on players who had that experience so young before they drop down the pyramid into relative obscurity. To feel like you’re on the verge of stardom at 18 and then handle the come down must be tough.

[SB]

You wonder what effect the Wembley cup win will have on players who had that experience so young before they drop down the pyramid into relative obscurity. To feel like you’re on the verge of stardom at 18 and then handle the come down must be tough.

Or they could be on a run of 10 seasons in a row at Wembley Finals think you need to top your glass up

[Kenneth]

Some, but surely not all.

[Scratch]

Dunno, all the ones who came on looked to have something about them. It might not be enough to keep them at a top club like us, but I think a good career awaits all of them in the top 2 divisions.

[Exiled_red]

I think the club will be doing alot to try and ensure that they stay grounded, very much emphasizing that this making a couple of appearances is a good start but it is just the beginning. Point to the work the likes of Jones and Elliott have had to do to be involved regularly

[Fivex]

What was the list of rules reeled off that our youngsters need to abide by while in the Academy?

I caught that cars need to be max of 1.3L engine size, what were the other things?

[labourRed]

What was the list of rules reeled off that our youngsters need to abide by while in the Academy?

I caught that cars need to be max of 1.3L engine size, what were the other things?

This was the source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football...x-inglethorpe/

No phones, no egos, no flash cars: Jamie Carragher interviews the brains behind Liverpool's talent factory

Under Alex Inglethorpe, more and more academy graduates are passing Jurgen Klopp 'auditions', which is critical to Liverpool's success



There are obvious qualities a young footballer needs to impress an elite coach like Jurgen Klopp.

No one can play regularly for a Premier League club such as Liverpool without talent, temperament, courage and athleticism.

But during an in-depth discussion with Liverpool’s academy director, Alex Inglethorpe, he emphasises a crucial asset which explains why the club’s quadruple bid is being assisted by a golden era of youth development.

“Character,” he says.

“What makes me especially proud is that no one during Jurgen’s time here has failed because of their character.”

I ask Inglethorpe to elaborate.

“You work 10 years here to earn an audition in front of the first-team manager,” he explains.

“If you are going to fail to impress, make it because you are not quite at the level on the football pitch. It would be foolish to fail because of bad decisions made about the car you drive, the watch you wear, the training shoes.

“Jurgen is switched on to everything. If a kid turned up to first-team training with a 10k watch, he would see it. So would the senior players. You tell me, what would you think?”

“If the senior players think you are a big-time Charlie, the first thing they will do is give you a whack in training to teach you a lesson!” I suggest.

Inglethorpe nods.


Alex Inglethorpe chats with Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool's academy

At Liverpool, this character test has gone beyond advice. Inglethorpe informs me that in addition to a £50,000-a-year academy wage cap, under his directorship – now in its 10th year – a ‘car clause’ has been introduced limiting engine sizes to 1.3 litres, a warning of the dangers of too much, too soon.

“It is a safety thing as much as anything,” he says.

“I don’t want boys who have just passed their test with these big chunks of metal, but I was also fed up seeing a car park full of Range Rovers. If anyone turns up with one of them, they are parking it next door.

“We have a pay structure which is fairly old-fashioned. We give them jobs to do. We tell them to hand their phone over at 8.30am and give them back before they go home.

“You have been a senior player. You know how it is when a young player comes into the dressing room. You want respect for the pathway. They have to earn what comes their way first. All the other stuff is fine later. To get there you have to do it on the pitch.”

Alex is speaking my language, evoking memories of the legendary bootroom coach Ronnie Moran welcoming newcomers to first-team training at Melwood with the message, ‘we do not want any big heads here’.

“Trent [Alexander-Arnold] is a really good example,” says Inglethorpe.

“When you get to the senior squad, the best thing you can do is have senior players who become your advocates. There was no flash watch with Trent. I remember how he drove the same car for years. He’d wear the same tracksuit. As soon as he made the step up, Jordan Henderson, Adam Lallana and James Milner invested time and effort to help him. It was the same for Curtis [Jones].

“Now that baton has been passed on with Trent the vice-captain ensuring the next along the line display the same characteristics.”

More academy graduates are passing the ‘auditions’, critical to Klopp’s latest trophy quest which continues against Chelsea at Wembley in Sunday’s League Cup final

There is an image decorating one of the walls at the youth training centre in Kirkby that gives me as much pride as any of my footballing achievements.


(Top row, left to right): Steve McManaman, Jamie Carragher, Dominic Matteo and Steven Gerrard. (Bottom row, left to right): Michael Owen, David Thompson and Robbie Fowler

In 1999, the club commissioned a photograph of the seven home-grown youngsters who were fully established first-team players; myself, Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen, Steve McManaman, Dominic Matteo, David Thompson and recent debutant Steven Gerrard.

Between us we won 31 major trophies for the club. I hear the club hopes to replicate that picture for the class of the 2020s; Alexander-Arnold, Jones, Caoimhin Kelleher, Jarell Quansah and Conor Bradley the stand-outs.

On Wednesday night against Luton Town, six former or current academy players aged 21 or under played their part.

“It’s fair to say without them, Liverpool would not be in this weekend’s Carabao Cup final or going for four trophies,” I suggest.

“Credit to them all, but Jurgen is the difference,” says Inglethorpe.

“There are a lot of good academies out there, but not all clubs have a manager with the courage to play youngsters at big moments. He does not just give 10 minutes here and there with the team 4-0 up. There are so many examples when he has played virtually complete academy teams. There are times when I have looked at the starting XI and thought, ‘Wow, I’m not sure even I would do that’.

“Jurgen has not just talked about developing youth, he has actually done it. Caoimhin (Kelleher) playing in the 2022 League Cup final is the prime example. It would have been so easy to pick Alisson in the final. He believes in these players.

“There is a proud tradition of the academy providing first-team players at Liverpool – obviously you are part of that. But I have always said that it has to be more than about making a debut. That can happen for a lot of players, especially with the schedule and so many fixtures nowadays. What I want is the academy to play its part in winning the club trophies and fighting on all fronts.”

In addition to the more established first teamers, Klopp’s youth policy has seen Ben Doak, Bobby Clark and James McConnell regularly feature during this campaign. Like Harvey Elliott, they joined Liverpool’s youth set-up having started their careers elsewhere, academy policies across the country evolving to look beyond city boundaries.

“I wanted to win the battle in our own backyard first, getting the best from Merseyside – and then look further afield,” says Inglethorpe.

“There was a period when there were too many white, middle-class boys at the academy. We had 10 per cent diversity at one point and had to work to improve that. Now, we have players of different cultures and backgrounds and we are better for it.”

Liverpool’s union between the first team and youth set-up solidified when the training sites amalgamated two years ago. The rewards on and off the pitch are self-evident.

“We are aligned in that the under-21s and under-18s will try to do a fairly good [tactical] impression of the first team – taking on the non-negotiables. From the under-16s down we will prioritise different skills at different age groups, with more technical work,” says Inglethorpe.

“There is always a lot of understandable emphasis on the number of appearances by academy players, but from a purely business perspective, no one talks about the spending.

“There are some academies spending £40 million a year. We are nearer £13 million. If you think of £130 million over 10 years, what is the return on that investment? We have sold about £160 million worth of academy talent.

“We’ve been studying it and we estimate there is about £300 million of academy talent in this building. That can fluctuate, of course, but if you look at Jarell [Quansah], he is our fourth-choice centre-back this season. He ensured the club did not have to sign another centre-back last summer. What value do you put on that?

“A Premier League squad player is between £15 million–£25 million, and the average Premier League wage is £60,000 a week. So if you have three academy boys on the bench it could save somewhere in the region of £70 million a year.”

As well as players, Inglethorpe takes pride from the conveyor belt of coaching talent; Wolves’ Gary O’Neil and Tim Jenkins and Blackpool’s Neil Critchley are former staff. Michael Beale may have endured a tough spell, but there is expectation he will enjoy a long coaching career, as well as Steven Gerrard.

But the greatest pride is always seeing players who arrived as schoolchildren being on the threshold of becoming superstars.

“Watching them is like watching your own son. You only see their mistakes,” Inglethorpe admits.

“Some players are gold medallists – you know immediately they are going to make it. I am told Michael Owen was like that when he was here.”

“There was another called Carragher like that,” I interrupt.

“I heard he wasn’t on the podium and came through much later,” Inglethorpe laughs.

“I have tended to work with the silver or bronze medallists who come down the rails later. Even Harry Kane, who I worked with as a youth coach at Tottenham, was like that. Maybe I have a blind spot for the gold medallists.

“There are different ways to get there. Some players take the elevator, others take the stairs.”

Win or lose, many of the latest academy class are guaranteed to be going up the Wembley steps this weekend.

[Fivex]

Good article that, thanks for posting it properly

Hope Inglethorpe stays on, seems he’s really got his finger on the pulse

[Paul12]

Where do you think players like Clark and Little Macca compare to Tyler Moreton?