Do our reserves need their own reserve side?

[dave u]

He was signed months ago, and it was up on the official then too, don't know why they do that so often. It's like the left hand doesn't know what the right is doing. I don't know why they don't let the younger lads play with the u18s, they need the games.

 

But then the u18s need the games too, so it's not fair on those lads.

[Maldini]

Yeah, but surely our best players should be playing, for example Bruna and Pacheco barely played a dozen games between them last season.

 

They need to do something, even if it's just playing even more closed-doors friendlies.

[dave u]

Yeah, but surely our best players should be playing, for example Bruna and Pacheco barely played a dozen games between them last season.

 

They need to do something, even if it's just playing even more closed-doors friendlies.

 

Definitely, but apparently Rafa isn't too keen on them going and playing at the Academy. That's why those two hardly played any u18 games, even though they (Bruna especially) weren't quite ready to start for the reserves.

[Hamma]

An Academy needs stability more than anything else. What happens if Rafa appoints his own staff there, then either walks or is sacked? The staff may decide to go with him, then suddenly you have to find more than just a new manager and assistant, you've got to rebuild everything from scratch.

 

This isn't due to any doubts I have over Rafa, I'd say the same regardless of who the manager is.

 

Dave, the question is what has resources i.e. Rafa and his staff departing have anything to do with stability? So long as an enduring blueprint is laid as a foundation for youth development with systems and processes in place that should be sufficient.

 

Let's take the example of City, if the person responsible for their academy were to depart would it set the club back? I'm not certain that the outcome would be different if the person leading the academy is the manager.

[Section_31]

Any idea how many arsenal have got in their reserve squad? As they seem to have a similar policy of buying up a lot of foreign youngsters.

 

The solution is surely to either have greater quality control (how many have progressed or even look like progressing?) or have a quicker turnover and offload a few.

[Royal Family]

Excellent article - really insightful and thought-provoking. The kind of stuff that 99% of fans don't care about in today's game. The conundrum is that youngsters need to play competitive football - without these games, and in games that MATTER, they'll never develop into first team players at any level. And who is as a result more likely to make it - the 18 yrarold who has played 50 competitive games in the lower leagues (and will move for a big fee in the future) or someone on the fringes of Liverpool reserves who can't get a game?

 

Here's the problem - the more money that comes into the game, the more that youngsters will get squeezed out in favour of big-money signings from overseas who promise instant success. Would Rafa have taken the chance on young talents like Owen or Gerrard (because the stakes are so high as well as because of his seeming reluctance to blood youngsters)?

 

The Insua example is an excellent one: Rafa spends £7m on someone who is, let's be frank, nothing special (Dossena) but who has the benefit of experience ... and yet the ONLY way you'd know if Insua can make it - and POSSIBLY turn into a better player than Dossena can ever be - is by playing him regularly for a season. And then judge him.

 

If I had a son aged 16 who was talented, I'd advise him to go to Tranmere. Or, actually, to go abroad - and I wish more young english players would do this but that's a whole new debate... Otherwise, the only way forward is regulation...

[Alias75]

I wonder if we should be loaning out players at a younger age, will they develop better playing in League 1 or the Championship or our reserves?

 

Those playing in the reserves now we could loan 6 or 7 of those out and that would do 2 things..

 

1. It would reduce the numbers so the players here get more games

2. It would help the development of those players out on loan.

 

Maybe Rafa needs to re-evaluate at what age players go out on loan, at the moment he seems to wait until their 19-20 maybe we should lower that to the best 17 years olds we have and also 18 year olds. Somebody like Nemeth for example should be playing in the Championship this season not the reserves.

 

I do think the general idea of getting the best of the best here and seeing which of those impress is a good way to do it, young players need that competition to help push them, but of course the downside is you're going to be left with a lot of players that don't make it and a lot of players that don't get the chance to progress due to lack of games.

 

I think loaning out the best we have aged 18-20 is the way to help reduce the numbers and see which of those players handle playing a proper season in a proper league.