Giant leaps had been taken behind the scenes at Liverpool before LeBron James was invited on board. An academy system that was lambasted from outside and within not too long ago is bearing fruit and no less a judge than Kenny Dalglish is confident the supply will be plentiful.
The past weekend brought rich reward for the academy director, Frank McParland, technical director Jose Segura and Under-18 coach Rodolf Borrell — the top three of a management structure that former manager Rafael Benitez installed almost two years ago in response to the lack of home-grown successors to Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Michael Owen.
At Arsenal, the first team earned a merited draw, with two of the youngest players to appear in the Premier League this season occupying the full-back positions, the 18-year-old John Flanagan on the right and 17-year-old Jack Robinson on the left. Ahead of them, Jay Spearing showed again how much progress can be made with an extended run in the side.
Liverpool’s travelling party to the Emirates, if not the match-day squad, included Raheem Sterling, a 16-year-old winger signed from Queens Park Rangers who is already pushing for inclusion among the seniors. On Saturday, Sterling had been part of the Liverpool Under-18 side that beat an admittedly weakened Manchester United 6-0 and in which Adam Morgan, a striker who only turns 17 this week, scored for the 13th game in succession.
Two shouts resonated loudly against United in relation to how the Liverpool academy operates.
One was Borrell, who spent 13 years coaching the likes of Lionel Messi and Cesc Fabregas in the Barcelona youth system and who described what he found at Liverpool in 2009 as “unacceptable”, berating a Liverpool player for swearing during a game. No two-match suspensions are being developed in Kirkby.
The other was the frequent cry of “build” from the Liverpool players themselves. Possession and technique are now the order of the day.
“We are delighted with the progress the academy has made and the individual players, too,” says Dalglish. “If you add the fact they’re doing well as a team, which is as important as the individuals doing well, then the academy is in really good shape. For me, I think some of them have a bit to offer, whether it’s this year or next remains to be seen, but some have a lot to offer.
“I don’t know why [there has been a lack of graduates in recent years], I wasn’t here. All I can talk of is the progress that’s been made here. Rafa put it in place, bringing in Pep Segura and Rodolfo Borrell, and Frank McParland. Since then what they have done has been brilliant, really helpful to the players, and if it’s helpful to them it will be of use to us as a club.”
Fenway Sports Group, Liverpool’s owner, has outlined a vision for the club that includes spending big on young players able to improve the first team immediately — a £35-million Andy Carroll or a £22,8-million Luis Suarez, for example – and complementing the squad with homegrown talent attuned to the style of play being preached in Kirkby. —