8 times in how many years though? Not as if those 8 games spread over 3 years really stumped bringing along one of the English players? That one game then was his debut so he wasn't quite ready. I think Rafa did alright giving some of the English players a chance. Spearing I remember came on against Real Madrid when he was younger, Kelly made an explosive debut against Lyon before he started to become a crock. Again, bought Shelvey from the lower leagues for some 2 mil and I think Sterling from the lower leagues for around 5? I think he wanted to have those players come through but you look at the players named and it is still not quite up to standard.
Pretty much this. He gave everyone a chance. The english players, players he brought in, but it was a very hard time for those players to break into the first team.
FSG have been ruthless before: sacking of Kenny, getting rid of Reina etc. They seem relentless in their pursuit to become even better and I have faith in their replacements.
Will be interesting. I wonder if it will be a big name or more of a local English type of guy. EDIT: Isn't Macca and Fowler back in the fold as well?
Could this open up the opportunity of a new Sporting/Director of Football? ... We've hired the likes of Inglethorpe and Critchley who are both highly rated coaches. Critchley was DoF or Technical Director in his last role so he may get a promotion?
I know Carra is doing the pundit thing but I think he has his UEFA B or A now. I believe Hamann does as well. Could be interesting if we bring back some of the old boys who WON something with us. Is Gary mac employed?
http://espnfc.com/feature?id=693168&cc=5739 While coaching experts agree that a club's stock of home-grown talent is often cyclical or down to luck, far too few Liverpool youngsters, either British or foreign, have passed the grade in the new millennium even though the club marched to FA Youth Cup success in 2006 and 2007 and were runners-up to Arsenal in 2009. It prompted Benitez to demand full control of youth affairs under the terms of his new contract signed in March. But the Spaniard then launched a ruthless cull of the lower ranks, with 17 of the coaching staff leaving Anfield. High profile departures included Academy director Piet Hamberg, reserve team manager Gary Ablett, head of recruitment Malcolm Elias (who once brought Theo Walcott, Gareth Bale, Wayne Bridge and Kenwyne Jones through the ranks at Southampton) and Under-18s coach Hugh McAuley, who was widely praised in all three of the Gerrard, Fowler and Carragher autobiographies. Interestingly, those heading through an exit door almost swinging off its hinges had one thing in common. "None of them were Benitez appointments. They were all appointed by either Steve Heighway or Rick Parry," an Anfield insider told ESPN Soccernet. "Once the manager took control it was fairly obvious that anyone who had anything to do with Steve would go at the end of the season." Heighway retired from his role as Academy director in May 2007 after 19 years of coaching at the club he played for with such distinction for 11 years. The insider explained: "Steve did fantastic at Liverpool in terms of setting the Academy up with Rick Parry. The problem had been the relationship between the Academy and Gerard Houllier and that then transferred to Benitez. The two mangers are strong personalities and they both clashed quite badly with Heighway. "Now they have taken the Academy signs down at Kirkby. It is now just "Liverpool FC". In the foyer of the Academy there was a plaque to commemorate Steve Heighway's achievements. Now that has been removed." Benitez's overhaul of the coaching staff resulted in Frank McParland returning to Anfield to head the Academy and even greater Latin influence at the club, with Spanish allies taking up most of the vacant backroom roles. The clean sweep has been followed by a marked change in policy towards the youth teams. The number of Academy has been halved at a stroke. Last year, there were around 20 players at Kirkby and a similar number at Mellwood. Now, the combined total is 21 at Kirby. "Part of the problem at Liverpool was that there were two academies - the manager's Academy at Melwood and Steve Heighway's Academy at Kirkby," the source said. "Melwood was the privileged one. Those players would be seen by Benitez every day. The chances of Kirkby players breaking through were slim
I'm not sure that is totally wise. I like the idea but they would need guidance from somewhere as its unfamiliar territory for both and Rodgers isn't exactly an experienced (more than others is age but still...) guy either.
I just want a proven coach with the qualifications and achievements. Borrell wasn't a footballer but he was highly rated at Barca.
Would it be for a guy like Gary mac who has been as assistant and head coach though? We weren't saying this about Hyypia who jumped straight into management.
Wasn't Hyypia a assistant first too? Carragher and Hamann (as far as I'm aware) haven't been. Gary Mac is a good shout but I suspect Rodgers will have someone in mind already. Unless something untoward has gone off, you don't sack people without a plan in place.
I just hope we don't change too much in terms of the style/philosophy in place. I've already mentioned how the best academies are the ones with consistency and continuity, and have been operating for over a decade. We've only overhauled this one 4 years ago, and we're seeing the potential benefits ...
Just throwing out former names as normally if they want to get into coaching, the old alma mater is one that is a stepping stone or a place they can hone the skills.
As good as MITO's post is Tobes has a very good point. There were a few of us very interested in the academy during the turbulent years of H&G. Rafa did wonders for the academy in terms of reorganizing the structure and style of training. He implemented a European system that is now getting compliments from the likes of Guardiola. Its no wonder that after he did that we are producing loads of talent and have many potential stars in our academy. However - and this is where Tobes has a good point - he was toxic to the youth that were in that academy while he was Liverpool manager. Absolutely toxic. Many of you bring up how many players received debuts under him, but how many of those debutants ever got a proper second chance? Or was Rafa so good at judging talent that one look was enough? How many of those debuts were in cups or friendlies? He was also the master of the trick debut, where he threw a youngster into the B squad against FC Dnipropetromorsk Siberia to see what they could do. All of a sudden young Pacheco finds himself playing with struggling players who are desperate to look good or have already been destroyed mentally by Rafa. Oddly enough we lose or draw and everyone is slated including a player who didn't really play that poorly at all. This has continued under Kenny and now is painfully obvious under BR (Carroll suffered from this). Its not deliberate, its just a severe reluctance to relinquish any control over the squad. The only two youth Rafa forced regularly were Insua and Lucas. Insua burnt out and was quickly binned despite playing very well the first half of the season (was poor the rest of the year but he was 20 or 21). Lucas came into his own a few years later by being immersed into the first team and that I must praise Rafa for. Remember Nemeth? Kriztian Nemeth was a youth player banging in goals for fun for years. Rafa ignored him too. While he set up the academy he ultimately had too many problems with the first team that he ended up ignoring it. This is understandable! But its only since he left that anyone has trickled through. Credit must be given to Kenny and BR for that. Not that I dislike Rafa - he did a lot for the club and sent us through a revival for a few years. But his pressures eventually got to him with the first team and his stubbornness began to hurt the club. Ultimately the academy suffered because of this but also its because of him that it can breathe now.
Think we were argueeing more that Rafa was blocking the English players for his foreign ones but it shows he gave both sets chances but then again, didn't give both sets real chances. Remember Dalle Valle as well? He was meant to be a proper star too! Then you have a a guy like kaciniklik who any of us would have said "who?" and he is a starter for Fulham and Sweden now.
Good post Danilo - but to summarise what you said, Rafa may not have had direct hand in developing players but he implemented a system which can now run for decades. To put it simply - I go in the kitchen, chuck a load of random ingredients and bake the best cake in the world. Problem is, I won't remember exactly what I used so the chances of replicating quality week in week out is unlikely. Rafa simply is the one who writes down the recipe so we can follow it for years and years. Apologies for the stupid analogy! Now some will argue that Rafa's 'recipe' hasn't achieved anything - give it time. It will take a decade at least to reap the full benefits.
Agreed. But he let a lot of good ingredients go to waste instead of using them properly. That's in the past though. We will certainly see an improvement soon but the effects will be dulled by the departures of Segura and Borrell. McParland not so much but the first two were massive influences on the style we were developing. You can see that with the switch from incredibly technical types like Suso, Pacheco, Nemeth etc to physically more dominant players like Ngoo or many of our current youth setup. However the technical side of the academy is still producing a good mix of the two in Sterling (relies on physical pace but has a good technical schooling), Ibe, McLaughlin, etc. I'm worried that the switch to mostly English coaches will cost us some progress but I trust BR. Inglethorpe and Critchley can show they have what it takes if they continue to push technical skill in both foreign and local lads. Yes Rafa chose mostly foreign youngsters but to be honest our local youth were pretty dire at the time. The types of Hatch, Darby, Zak Whitbread, etc. Yes we had some very skilled youngsters in Bruma, Andras Simon, San Jose, Kacaniklic, Dalle Valle etc. None got a single proper chance. Though if I'm going to say they didn't get a chance neither did the local lads. We all know who seemed a lot better at the time though.
