Otsemobor, Jon

[TLW]

Written by Dave Usher

Jon OTSEMOBOR PROFILE         Date of Birth - 23/03/83 Nationality - English Games - 6 Goals - 0 Position - Defender Cost - Club Hons (Lpool) - None Club Hons (other - None Intnl Hons - England u20 Other Clubs - Hull (loan), Bolton (loan), Crewe

A former England youth international and captain of the reds u19 side, 'Semmy' was an outstanding prospect who made a big impression with the fans during a five game stint in the first team in the 2003/04 season.

The club had always had high hopes for Otsemobor, who was converted from centre back to right back with great success.

He was a fixture in the reserve side from 2000/01, and made his first team debut in a Worthington Cup game with Southampton in November 2002. He played well that night, but had to wait another 13 months before his next appearance, again in the League Cup, this time against Bolton.

In between that he had a loan spell at third division Hull City, where he managed to score three goals in the month he was there. Bizarre, as he was hardly known for his goalscoring at Liverpool, even at junior levels.

Jon's pace and willingness to go forward made him Liverpool's best player on a disappointing night against Bolton, and he kept his place for the game away at Newcastle the following weekend. Faced with the tricky Laurent Robert, the youngster had another assured game, before turning in two more excellent performances in the league games with Southampton and Bolton at Anfield.

One length of the field run and shot against the Saints brought the whole of Anfield to its feet, and it looked as though the Academy had unearthed another gem to go alongside Carragher, Owen and Gerrard. But twenty minutes into the reds next game away at Man City and Otsemobor was substituted, replaced by Igor Biscan because the manager felt he 'wasn't contributing enough offensively'.

It was his last involvement with the first team that season, and supporters were baffled. He then joined Bolton on loan, but made only one appearance before cutting short the arrangement and returning to Liverpool, where he played out the rest of the season in the reserves.

The arrival of Josemi in the summer of 2004, combined with the return to form of Steve Finnan and the emergence of the promising David Raven meant that 'Semmy' slipped down the pecking order. He joined Crewe on a three month loan deal and did so well that the Gresty Road club were keen to make the deal permanent. Jon didn't want to give up on his Anfield dream without a fight though, and turned down the move in favour of a return to Anfield.

He was unable to make any headway however, and when his Anfield contract expired, he returned to Gresty Road on a permanent contract.