Stolen from elsewhere but who makes an LFC all time academy graduate team? Might be missing a few from before my time, only one can really think of was Phil Thompson? Kelleher TAA Carra Thompson Warnock Mcmanaman Gerrard Jones Sterling Fowler Owen
Not sure I'd class Sterling as an academy player. We signed him at 16 and he was in the first team at 18. So he only had two years of playing junior football with us.
OK, ill play. Academy is a tough ask to define back in time I'll keep it 442 as that's easy over time too Gk: Kelleher is obvious as we've never made one. Rb: lawlor (trent who?) Lb: moran by a mile. Cb: Thompson clearly the best Cb: Smith (**** carragher) Rw. callaghan. Not even a contest Lw. Billy liddell (again figure that out) Cm Gerrard Cm Lee St: fowler St: fairclough Special mentions Staunton. Again tough as a kid signed and played in reserves but it's quite hard define this back to the Year dot. Gerry byrne Roy Evans gordon wallace Phil boersma Now traitors corner Benedict Arnold Mcmanaman Owen
I’d define an academy graduate as someone that played and then graduated through the academy to the first team
You could endlessly debate that. You can't debate over 8 or 10 year olds as in ye olden days you could be 24 before signing schoolboy forms or yts schemes. A lot of players come from random amateur clubs and play in our youths or reserves and it would be churlish to leave them out. Kelleher signed at 16 why they pays some clubs a fee i don't know but he was certainly not at a proper pro club. I suppose if you were at some form of proper academy or club before joining lfc then you don't count irrespective of age. However you'd have to rule.out some recent kids who left clubs as 10 or 11.. I'd agree in general that sterling was signed for a chunky fee from another academy. Someone like koumas came.from tranmere at age 11. I'd say if you signed to a scheme.like yts or schoolboys for Liverpool then you should count but there's a grey zone of a lot of boys on scholarships robbed off other clubs so you cannot come from another pro club? So no to suso for example but yes to kelleher as a kid form an amateur clubs and probably was associated with lfc prior to coming over at 16.
