The Academy

Following on from a brief conversation with Soop the other day, I wanted to pay tribute to the excellent work our academy is doing right now.

I’m always wary of the hype that surrounds young players, invariably after a lively showing against Colchester or such like in the cup. Fans get all excited and the hyperbole about them goes into overdrive. I hear fans say it’s fine because we’ve got him or him to come through but the reality is, as much as everyone loves to see a youngster come through the academy and take the world by storm, the fact of the matter is that when you’re at an elite club, only a tiny percentage of academy players will end up playing regularly for the first team, which is why the likes of Fowler and Owen stick in the mind so much, as players like that are so rare.

The number of times we’ve had the supposed next big thing in our ranks from Dani Pacheco who we signed as a youth player from Barca to much excitement. Now plays for a Polish team I can’t pronounce. Or how about the João Texeira saga? Everyone raving about him, demanding more game time. Now plays for Chaves in his native Portugal. Jay Spearing? Championship player. Jordan Rossiter? Couldn’t get a game for Rangers, now at Fleetwood. Ovie Ejaria? Reading. I could go on. Some examples of thousands of promising youngsters who are built up massively but who’s careers have ended up in somewhat obscurity and nowhere near elite level. Has that been failings of the club however? Was the scouting just not good enough at that time or was it a case of you’re either good enough for the first team or you’re not and if you’re not, it’s not our problem? So many players came and went between Gerrard and Trent, with none really leaving a lasting mark, either with us or in the game in general. Sterling but we signed him from QPR at 15 so I’m not really sure our academy can take credit for him, Suso maybe? Connor Coady has done well for himself but had to drop down the leagues to get back to the PL. You get the point.

Compare and contrast however, with what has happened in the academy since Klopp took over. There’s the obvious successes of Trent and Curtis, with a few other promising lads in the background as well. It still doesn’t change the fact that very few will ever become regular LFC players but what about their careers? Let’s look at some players who haven’t quite made it with us but compare how their careers are looking in comparison to how the lads under different regimes ended up.

Harry Wilson, the golden boy of the academy for years. Never quite made the grade for us so he, as with the others, goes out on loan. It’s sensible loans though. The club seeks assurances over playing time, position and pays attention to the style of play of the coach. It’s not just a case of out on loan any old place to get minutes and a loan fee for the club. After a successful loan spell with Derby in the Championship, Wilson then proved himself Premier League quality with a successful season at Bournemouth, only to miss out on a permanent move due to clubs finances after the pandemic. He has now however just secured promotion to the Premier League with Fulham and will be playing PL football next season. Plus we made a decent bit of money off him.

Ryan Kent is another who never quite made the grade with us but after a very successful loan spell with Rangers, we actually dropped our asking price by £5 million to allow him to complete the move up north permanently and prove to be a real star in Gerrard’s rebuild of the Glasgow giants. The fact Kent played in a European final a few weeks back, as well as being named in the team of the tournament, speaks volumes.

Neco Williams is another and Nat Phillips is another. Good players, just not quite good enough for us but we’ve raised their profile by giving them game time, sent them out on sensible loans and now both will most likely be playing PL football next season, either by joining their loan clubs permanently or I’m sure there will be no shortage of offers and the club will likely make something in the region of £30 million from their sales. Kelleher is another who may move on this season but has already won a major trophy and is playing at international level. He’ll have no shortage of options should he decide he wants to be first choice somewhere.

There are others but you get my point. Joining a big club is a risk for a youngster. Look at Chelsea, prior to their transfer embargo a couple of years back forced them to blood some youngsters, they hadn’t had a player come through their academy since John Terry! So many young players join big clubs only to go the way of Pacheco or Texeira and many young players families will advise against signing for big clubs as a youngster, no pathway to the first team and so on.

Is it such a risk to join Liverpool now though? Look at the players I’ve listed there, not quite making it with us but by the time they leave, they’re established and well known players, with no shortage of offers. The likes of Neco, Harry, Nat etc. they’re all poised and in a perfect position to have a very solid career in football. Is there much more you could ask as a youngster?

I believe clubs have a duty of care to young players. Sure, the primary goal is always to unearth the next Fowler, Owen, Trent and so forth but most will fall short of those lofty heights. It’s not right to just put them through the grinder and then discard them in my opinion. They’ve invested years of their young lives in the club, expecting the guidance required to become a professional footballer and they are justified in expecting that. It doesn’t have to be at Liverpool, any more than any apprentice is guaranteed to work for the company he served his apprenticeship with. He will however, expect to be trained in his profession and ready to make a living when his apprenticeship comes to an end and football should he no different. If you look at the players I’ve listed, that’s exactly what the club are doing for these lads now, as well as making good money from the players coming through. It’s a win – win and just something else our impeccably run club is doing so well just now and another reason to be proud to be a Liverpool fan. Walk on!