Jurgen Klopp have an idea our youth should not go on loan, but remain in the academy. Do you buy his idea?. Please vote:
Some loans work, some don't. I would prefer we have a feeder club that we send players to. A club that we have a partnership with, a club with a similar idea about how the game is played, only our best players go there so that they get game time.
It all depends on who you loan out to. A) will the player get regular game time B) what level does he need to be playing at C) does the team suit the style of LFC It may be selfish but I'm a fan of B teams going Into the football league. It allows us to keep our players amongst our quality staff, playing in the system we want and playing at a higher level than u21.
Anyone who's watched the U21 league will know that it's not competitive enough to give these young lads a grounding good enough that they're then ready to then make the step up into the PL. The U21 league is mostly turgid tiki taka these days, played without a real competitive edge. Far better that once they're seen as being not far off the grade, to send them to a club where they'll play genuine competitive football. I think most of them find it quite a challenge to start with.
If a player isn't getting regular first team action at the loan club, then whats the point. Players in that situation should be recalled as they aren't gaining anything they wouldn't at the parent club, take Tiago Illori can't get into a Villa defence that is leaking goals, so why keep him there. I also don't like the Chelsea model of hoarding players and loaning them out because you can't fit them all in the squad and continuing to loan them out in the hope that they might one day turn out to be good enough. But loans for u21s can be valuable at giving youngsters first team exposure and game time with lower pressure and expectations on them.
You can only focus nurturing so many kids at a time. What's the solution? Fewer 18-21 year olds? Loan some out? Sell the less likely ones and put buy-back clauses on them? If we kept everyone at Melwood our coaches couldn't prep them all and they would get less experience. If we're not going to loan some out then we need fewer u21s. Under Rafa the ones loaned out were given a kiss of death. Being loaned meant he didn't want you. He kept ones he wanted long-term close to his bosom.
Like has been said, it depends on where they get loaned. I don't particularly rate Markovic, but what is the point of him being loaned to Fenerbache or wherever he is.
I would have thought that loans was the way forward. Until of course you look at the proof. Gerrard, Owen, Fowler, Carragher, Sterling all learnt their trade at the club, but then again all were good enough from a young age. I think its case specific, but if a player is shining at a young age give them the chance rather than sending them out or leaving them in the reserves to rot. Personally I love following the teams we have loaned out to each season
