Tony B on the Academy and our Transfer Strategy

[RSM]

Tony Barrett - The Times

 

At the behest of Fenway Sports Group, the owners, under the direction of Damien Comolli, the director of football, and implemented by Kenny Dalglish, the caretaker manager, Liverpool have adopted a policy which will see the club’s most promising youngsters being given a pathway into the first team where they will rub shoulders with established stars.

 

Just as Real Madrid implemented a Zidanes y Pavones approach to great success in the late 1990s with the best youth team players being developed and ultimately promoted to play alongside the the Galacticos, so Liverpool have hatched a similar scheme. Given the success of their first steps in this new direction, it could easily be given a brand name of its own – Carrolls and Flanagans.

 

The concept is simple and yet the results could be significant. From now on, Liverpool will endeavour to sign players for the first team as long as they (a) provide value for money and (b) do not block the progress of their most promising Academy prospects. In January, Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez were acquired at great expense but also in the knowledge that their recruitment was absolutely necessary given the fact that the only promising forward at the club was Adam Morgan, a 16-year-old with a precocious eye for goal but who still requires time to develop before being thrust into the first team.

 

Jonathan Flanagan, meanwhile, had already been earmarked by Dalglish as a player of first team potential and that determined that there would be no moves for a right back, particularly given that Liverpool were already well served in that position through Glen Johnson and Martin Kelly. For the first time in many years, and perhaps since the Academy opened its doors more than a decade ago, Liverpool have a definite vision of how their youth programme will dovetail with the senior squad.

 

“We want the Academy to produce players because the more Academy players you have in the first team the stronger the sense of identity is and the stronger their love for the shirt and the club will be,” Comolli explained. “It would also mean that we are producing players who play the kind of football that we want. These are key things for us.

 

“But in terms of recruitment for the first team, there are positions where you have to get experience. There are other positions where you can use a young player and we would rather invest a lot of money in a young player than on a 29-year-old. That’s our philosophy but we’re not the only ones – Spurs do the same, Arsenal do the same. It is how we see it for the future but it’s all about balance because we don’t want 21 to be the average age of our first team. We need Stevie (Gerrard), we need Carra and we need Dirk Kuyt but we are also very happy to get Andy Carroll who is 22 and Luis Suarez who is 24.”

 

The Academy revolution was actually instigated by Rafa Benitez almost two years ago, bloodless it was not and a number of senior and long serving figures within Liverpool’s youth set-up were shown the door. At the time, the Spaniard was roundly criticised for the moves, particularly as his vision involved introducing two of his fellow countrymen, Pep Segura and Rodolfo Borrell, to implement his proposed transformation in coaching and technical development. With Frank McParland tasked with overseeing the modernization process and Dalglish brought in to lend both legendary status and extensive experience to the project, the early stages were testing for all involved but in recent months the changes have begun to bear fruit.

 

Flanagan’s rapid rise through the ranks is the most vivid illustration yet of how effective the changes have been. The 18-year-old has long been regarded as a young player of potential – at one stage he was taken to Old Trafford by a member of the club’s staff with a brief to watch and learn from none other than Gary Neville – but at the start of the current season few at the club expected this to be the campaign when he would make the breakthrough. But so effective has his coaching been and so well has the 18-year-old adapted to the new regime and the guidance offered by Dalglish, McParland and Borrell that he was fast-tracked into the first team as soon as an opportunity presented itself and against City he was arguably Liverpool’s best performer.

 

The effect that Dalglish has on youngsters like Flanagan cannot be understated. Before replacing Hodgson as manager, the Anfield legend was based at the Academy where he regularly played 5-a-side with the club’s young players. He got to know them and they got to know him and that meant Dalglish was ideally placed to assess which of them were best prepared for the first team. After moving to Melwood, one of Dalglish’s first appointments was at the Academy where he told the youngsters that they, like him, could graduate to the senior scene. “He assured the players that there would be big opportunities ahead for them to be involved in first-team training sessions and that some of them will be going away with the first-team for Barclays Premier League games so they can sample the experience of it all,” McParland recalled.

 

Flanagan is the first to make the jump and he is likely to be the first of many with a whole batch of young players – including Conor Coady, Suso, Jack Robinson, Raheem Sterling and Andre Wisdom – all waiting in the wings and hoping to follow in his footsteps. “To play for the first team is a dream come true,” Flanagan said following his outstanding debut.

 

“Kenny has been a big help to me and the other young players. He’s been working at the club for the last two years and he was at the academy so he knows all of the youngsters well. He’s always a big help to us, telling us what to do and stuff like that. It helps us just the fact that we already know him well from the Academy because it means that he knows us well too.

 

“It gives all the young players a boost because we all know that Kenny is looking at us and is willing to give us our chance so that gives us confidence. The thing for us is that when we do get a chance we have to take it. There is a great bunch of lads at the Academy, we were unlucky in the Youth Cup but we’ve got great teams in the Academy and the reserves.

 

“My dad was here when he was younger but unfortunately he didn’t make it. But even that is something that can help me because he’s able to speak to me about what worked and what didn’t work for him and that means I can learn from his mistakes. He keeps telling me he used to clean Kenny’s boots!”

 

The challenge facing Liverpool now is to ensure that more youngsters, like Flanagan’s father, do not fall by the wayside. At least now they have the conditions to ensure that the most promising players at the club’s Academy have the best chance in a generation to make the grade and equally importantly they also have a clearly defined strategy aimed at ensuring that this does happen. It may have a long way to go before it can be as successful as the Zidanes y Pavones philosophy which ushered in the Galactico era at Real Madrid but, on the evidence of Liverpool’s commanding victory over Manchester City, the Carrolls and Flanagans policy is already showing rich promise.

 

 

All sounds very positive.

[The Dude Abides]

Hmm, not sure like. I'll be glad to see the end of the bloated squad that's filled with average players, I'd much rather have Suso, Sterling involved next season than another year of Maxi and Cole being shit and disinterested.

 

Hopefully it means a recall for Pacheco.

[Best Believe It]

There's been some really good work done at the Academy over the last few years, thanks to all concerned. Hopefully Flanagan will be the first of many to break through. I'd like to see if Robinson can play a couple of games this season given our woes at Left Back.

[shaunstrudwick]

Pacheco and Suso need to be on the bench next season

[WaltonRed]

Things are looking good

[ngogswilly]

Well it seems some of the younger lads are starting to get games now. Thats what we need to be doing. Especially in games where we are a goal or two up near the end. Give them 15/20 mins.

[Carra_is_legend]

Time will tell but signs are encouraging.

 

If we can produce 1 first team player every 3 years, Academy would have done the job well. Easier said than done though.

 

Good article that and I agree with Camolli but there is a fine line there. He mentions Arsenal but every human and dog knows Arsenal should have spent some money. Its all well sticking to the youngsters and developing them but it will only be meaningful if we trophies, which Arsenal haven't done, mainly due to lack of spending.

 

Agree over all though. If Kelly and Flanagan are good enough for RB, buy a right winger and between Kelly, Flanagan, Johnson and a new winger, right side is covered. Same with midfield - if Speo and Jonjo can take another step up, midfield is covered.

[JohnnyH]

More then anything it's just nice to see positive articles in the press about on the pitch stuff. Hopefully the dark days are now getting further behind us with each day.

 

I think the actual idea of only buying players for areas that are not yet well represented in the youth set up is fairly obvious and something that most clubs try and already do. However, that it seems we now have a youth set up that is working with the first team and is set up to bring through players with a real chance of making it, is the big difference. Long may it last and hears hoping for a future of more Stevies and Carras.

[Whelan]

In all fairness it is still about the quality of the players involved!

 

If Kelly and Flanagan have shown how good they are, they have also shown how poor Steven Derby was!

I want to see if Tom Ince can step up, particularly since left wing is not exactly 'covered' at the moment, you won't win anything with a team of 11 Carraghers, but I think you will win quite a lot with 11 Carraghers in your squad!

 

N'Goo wasn't mentioned either, but he has impressed me everytime that I saw him.

[rome 84]

Should hold my hands up to gross stupidity at this point. The Zidanes y Pavones strategy didn't actually work that well even though the concept was a good one. That's what happens when you blog first and think later.

The general point - that Liverpool's future currently looks bright - still stands though.

[rondeco]

Glad you clarified, Tony. Your point is correct. The future is red!

[RedinSweden]

Time will tell but signs are encouraging.

 

If we can produce 1 first team player every 3 years, Academy would have done the job well. Easier said than done though.

 

Good article that and I agree with Camolli but there is a fine line there. He mentions Arsenal but every human and dog knows Arsenal should have spent some money. Its all well sticking to the youngsters and developing them but it will only be meaningful if we trophies, which Arsenal haven't done, mainly due to lack of spending.

 

Agree over all though. If Kelly and Flanagan are good enough for RB, buy a right winger and between Kelly, Flanagan, Johnson and a new winger, right side is covered. Same with midfield - if Speo and Jonjo can take another step up, midfield is covered.

 

I think we will spend, but instead of regularly bringing in 5 or 6 players, we will have 1 or 2 of real quality to fill the gaps where we don't have either an established player or a rising star. This summer will probably be an exception, but if you look at the Carroll and Suarez purchases, two players of quality and still with potential, aged 22 and 24, then if we do as the article says, it could be very successful. United have been doing this pretty consistently, with new players coming through the ranks. Not to the degree of the Giggs, Scholes and Beckham era, ranted, but players like O'Shea, Wes Brown, Darron Gibson and Jonny Evans, together with players bought young and then eased in like Nani, Ronaldo and Rafael.

 

Its a very sensible policy and I think the comment by Comolli about team spirit is vital.

 

I like.

[Carra_is_legend]

I think we will spend, but instead of regularly bringing in 5 or 6 players, we will have 1 or 2 of real quality to fill the gaps where we don't have either an established player or a rising star. This summer will probably be an exception, but if you look at the Carroll and Suarez purchases, two players of quality and still with potential, aged 22 and 24, then if we do as the article says, it could be very successful. United have been doing this pretty consistently, with new players coming through the ranks. Not to the degree of the Giggs, Scholes and Beckham era, ranted, but players like O'Shea, Wes Brown, Darron Gibson and Jonny Evans, together with players bought young and then eased in like Nani, Ronaldo and Rafael.

 

Its a very sensible policy and I think the comment by Comolli about team spirit is vital.

 

I like.

 

Agreed. I pretty much said the same thing the other day on having a O'Shea, Brown, Evans, Gibson along with a Nani, Ronaldo and Rooney.

 

The point I was trying to make is there is a fine line between what Arsenal and United have been doing. Arsenal have solely concentrated on bringing the young players without spending much and this has cost them. United have also concentrated on youth and academy but they have also spent when they needed to. We obviously cannot spend like United every season but as long as we draw that line and consistently improve the eleven and squad with a balance of young potential and by buying top players, we will be fine.

[Gym Beglin]

I say let's get a better idea of things now, this season, and that means some time for Sterling, Suso, Coady, Wisdom and Robinson before the end of this season. We'd then have a much better idea as to the extent of our shopping list in the Summer, and perhaps save ourselves £20m in fees and wages.

 

 

The biggest initial thing to sort is those players on loan, then we have a bit more room to breath in terms of wages and squad numbers.

For someone like Robinson, it's exciting times, because I'm not so sure about the immediate future of Insua, Konchesky and Aurelio. But we need to know if he's ready to play most of the season as first choice, or wether we need to spend £10m on someone to own that position for the next 3 seasons.

 

 

But this article, and our current youth output, is exactly why I would prefer Kenny back behind the scenes. Kenny can trust Flanagan and co, because he knows and has played with them, but give it 3 years and he won't be able to say the same about our next batch of kids, he won't have the time to go through all that with them if he's first team manager.

I trust Kenny to secure the long-term future of this club, and I almost think he's wasted as first team manager, a position which he can hopefully also have a firm grip on behind the scenes.

[Tommy Lawrence]

I agree with RiS there.

 

If we can bring a few through from our academy,we can afford to spend bigger on the areas we don't have covered.

 

Having said that,I still think we need to move a number of players out in the summer and bring in four or five who can go straight into the first team.

 

An encouraging article from Tony though and nice to see this instead of articles about debt,boardroom shenanigans and barefaced robbery!

[coop]

Should hold my hands up to gross stupidity at this point. The Zidanes y Pavones strategy didn't actually work that well even though the concept was a good one. That's what happens when you blog first and think later.

The general point - that Liverpool's future currently looks bright - still stands though.

 

I think the bit in bold is a pretty important point and i can't believe how far we have come in such a short space of time.

 

During the last ownership one of the only things keeping my sanity regards Liverpool was the Academy and how much it was improving.

 

Hopefully the new owners fully understand this and in all fairness they plus Comolli are already making the right noises regards the youngsters.

 

Whilst its unfair for the people who have bought a season ticket this year i almost feel like this season has been a write off and purely purely a season of transition.

 

I can see as much of the dead wood as possible being shifted out in the summer but rather then selling one shite player and replacing him with another i can see it being a quality more then quantity summer.

 

If we get the signing right this summer then for me there is nothing to suggest that we can not be challenging again for all the honours next season yet only a few months ago we were fearing about the survival of the club.

[Whelan]

Agreed. I pretty much said the same thing the other day on having a O'Shea, Brown, Evans, Gibson along with a Nani, Ronaldo and Rooney.

 

The point I was trying to make is there is a fine line between what Arsenal and United have been doing. Arsenal have solely concentrated on bringing the young players without spending much and this has cost them. United have also concentrated on youth and academy but they have also spent when they needed to. We obviously cannot spend like United every season but as long as we draw that line and consistently improve the eleven and squad with a balance of young potential and by buying top players, we will be fine.

 

Do you not think that there is an argument that the 'type' of players Arsenal are introducing is having a negative effect?

 

Evans, Gibson, O'Shea all look as though they can do the donkey work, certainly none of them are as skillfull or intelligent as Arsenals youngsters, but they can scrap and fight, which is essentially where Ferguson ends up using them i.e. Stoke, Bolton away!

 

I don't think it is all about the money with Wenger, he doesn't seem to grasp the fact that some games require a fight to win, and you have to win ugly now and again to win the league.

[Jim MM]

Should hold my hands up to gross stupidity at this point. The Zidanes y Pavones strategy didn't actually work that well even though the concept was a good one. That's what happens when you blog first and think later.

The general point - that Liverpool's future currently looks bright - still stands though.

 

It was working pretty good until they replaced it with a Zidanes y Ronaldos policy.

[Tyler Durden]

Do you not think that there is an argument that the 'type' of players Arsenal are introducing is having a negative effect?

 

Evans, Gibson, O'Shea all look as though they can do the donkey work, certainly none of them are as skillfull or intelligent as Arsenals youngsters, but they can scrap and fight, which is essentially where Ferguson ends up using them i.e. Stoke, Bolton away!

 

I don't think it is all about the money with Wenger, he doesn't seem to grasp the fact that some games require a fight to win, and you have to win ugly now and again to win the league.

 

Similar players were already there on which he built the 'invincibles' team, Adams, Keown etc.

Has never really replaced that backbone they had. Always remember that game when they bullied the fuck out of van nistelrooy, slapping him as he walked off

[Russ Atmosphere]

Should hold my hands up to gross stupidity at this point. The Zidanes y Pavones strategy didn't actually work that well even though the concept was a good one. That's what happens when you blog first and think later.

The general point - that Liverpool's future currently looks bright - still stands though.

 

The problem must have lied with Pavone as that Zidane lad did a job.

[Tyler Durden]

The problem must have lied with Pavone as that Zidane lad did a job.

 

He was alright

[mattyq]

It was pandemonium on here when those changes were taking place. Admittedly 'change's was a euphemism for people being sacked which is always fucking shit.

My point is that i'm really glad that something positive is coming out of the academy setup. Long may it last and it's one of the major plus points of Kenny being in charge

[Whelan]

Similar players were already there on which he built the 'invincibles' team, Adams, Keown etc.

Has never really replaced that backbone they had. Always remember that game when they bullied the fuck out of van nistelrooy, slapping him as he walked off

 

Yes thatis what I mean, as laudible as Wenger's policy has been, you still get the impression he doesn't quiet understand that side of the game, or rather, he does understand but he is so stubbornly rooted to the current style that he simply refuses to adapt!

 

Ferguson, will (and does every time he comes to Anfield), set the team up to be tight and take a draw, Wenger doesn't!

 

It is interesting that Gibbs aside, Arsenal haven't brought any defenders through!

[Trumo]

The article was posted on the MF yesterday and I put the following:

-----

 

Just as Real Madrid implemented a Zidanes y Pavones approach to great success in the late 1990s with the best youth team players being developed and ultimately promoted to play alongside the the Galacticos, so Liverpool have hatched a similar scheme. Given the success of their first steps in this new direction, it could easily be given a brand name of its own – Carrolls and Flanagans.

 

Sorry Tony, but your research let you down there. The Galacticos era didn't start until summer 2000 when Florentino Perez first took over the presidency. Secondly, the Zidanes y Pavones policy didn't come into effect until 2001, when Zidane joined and Pavon was promoted to the first-team squad.

 

The challenge facing Liverpool now is to ensure that more youngsters, like Flanagan’s father, do not fall by the wayside. At least now they have the conditions to ensure that the most promising players at the club’s Academy have the best chance in a generation to make the grade and equally importantly they also have a clearly defined strategy aimed at ensuring that this does happen. It may have a long way to go before it can be as successful as the Zidanes y Pavones philosophy which ushered in the Galactico era at Real Madrid but, on the evidence of Liverpool’s commanding victory over Manchester City, the Carrolls and Flanagans policy is already showing rich promise.

 

Thirdly, it was far from a success with too many young players (like Pavon) thrust into the first-team to pad out a thin squad. Once results nosedived, Real had to stick to the tried and trusted players week in week out, selling off a lot of their young players instead. Finally, the policy was the perfect embodiment of a two-tiered system where the Galacticos were treated like kings while the players that were less celebrated but very important to the side were marginalised (like Makelele) or made to stick around and do the donkey work with little to no recognition (like Helguera). Let us hope we don't go down that path because it will be monumentally expensive to rectify when it inevitably goes tits up.

 

Don't get me wrong, the idea of building a squad with some expensive world-class signings and promoting from within is probably the ideal for any club looking to compete at the highest level. But it's more important that there is no obvious player hierarchy to the point where the less celebrated or younger players are made to feel unimportant yet expected to do more than their fair share. I'm just pulling TB up on his view that Real's policy was a success. There is no implication or insinuation on my part that the people in charge at Liverpool will go about things the same way as Real did.

[Carra_is_legend]

Do you not think that there is an argument that the 'type' of players Arsenal are introducing is having a negative effect?

 

Evans, Gibson, O'Shea all look as though they can do the donkey work, certainly none of them are as skillfull or intelligent as Arsenals youngsters, but they can scrap and fight, which is essentially where Ferguson ends up using them i.e. Stoke, Bolton away!

 

I don't think it is all about the money with Wenger, he doesn't seem to grasp the fact that some games require a fight to win, and you have to win ugly now and again to win the league.

 

You forgot to mention Fletcher who in my opinion does most of the donkey work, more than anyone in their squad. In fairness though he has scored a handful of important goals for them but mostly its just donkey work for him.

 

And yes, agreed on Wenger. He has been so naive in the last few years - either naive or just plainly stubborn to recognise he needs a few players who are "up for a scrap and a fight" at times. And that is the whole criticism around him - the players he has brought through are good technically and while things are going their way, they can look ace. But put them against a scrap, they will not have a clue. They get away with it at times with their skill, passing and movement but always come up short in a season as a whole.

 

That is my exact point though. If we can produce a Fletcher we should be ready to spend on a Rooney. If we can produce a Giggs, we should be ready to spend on a Mascherano or a Vieira. As I said above, as long as we can draw a line on the balance of spending and developing a youngster, we will be fine.