Liverpool FC Forum

[Paul C]

Rafael Benitez has spoken of his determination to 'connect' Melwood with the club's Academy base in Kirkby in the hope of unearthing more gems from Liverpool's youth production line. 
A complaint of many supporters over recent seasons has been the lack of opportunities given to the club's home-grown players, but already Benitez has shown he is prepared to give youth a chance with the inclusions of Stephen Warnock and Darren Potter in his first team plans this year.
 
The Liverpool boss is keen to ensure the club has the best possible scouting network at its disposal to run the rule over players across the world, but he's well aware of the importance of looking closer to home if a youngster shows he can make the grade.
 
"I've been talking to Steve Heighway (Academy Director) this week about how we will move forward in the future," said Benitez. "We know we need to change things. One of those areas is in the scouting department and we will be talking more with Steve and The Academy.
 
"We want to connect The Academy with Melwood far more. We're preparing to watch every player in The Academy very closely. We want to see if they have the high level for the first team.
 
"My assistant Paco Herrera is working alongside our scouting co-ordinator Frank McParland and the Academy's head of recruitment, Barry Whitbread. They will be scouting players for and from The Academy and for the first team.
 
"In the reserve team which played on Tuesday, there were five youngsters from The Academy. It's important for us to know what we have. After that, we can decide which direction to go.
 
"If we have three Owens or Gerrards coming through, okay, we can wait for them. If we don't, we'll need to work harder with the scouts to prepare the future.
 
"We will be meeting all of our scouts over the next month. After that, we will start deciding which players we want to think about."

[supersub]

very interesting post

[spud]

Have you read the article on David Raven, an accomplished defender coming thro the ranks
Liverpool youngster David Raven is hoping to become the next Academy graduate to make the step up into the Reds first team. 
The highly-rated Raven has been training with the senior squad since January and appeared as a second half substitute in the pre-season friendly win against Wrexham during the summer.
 
He admits the arrival of Rafael Benitez has given all the young players at the club a huge lift and he's now setting his sights on following in the footsteps of Stephen Warnock and Daren Potter, both of whom have progressed through the youth ranks and earned their chance to show what they can do in the first team under the new boss.
 
"The manager talks to us regularly about our game and that's instilled us all with a lot of confidence," says Raven. "It's good to see Warnock and Potter given a chance. Darren is only my age so it shows what can be done. I was really buzzing for him when he made his debut and hopefully I can do the same."
 
A former trainee at Tranmere Rovers, Wirral-based Raven has been with Liverpool since he was 14 and has long been spoken about as a player of immense potential.
 
An accomplished defender, who is equally adept at playing full-back or centre back, he's represented England at every level from under-15 and captained the under-20's in their 1-0 victory over Holland at Huddersfield last Sunday.
 
Anyone who has watched the reserves in action this season will know Raven has also been in fine form for the Reds this campaign and he's pleased with the progress he's making.
 
"My game has really come on since being at Melwood and I think I've improved in a lot of areas, such as first touch, control, passing, awareness and fitness," he adds.
 
"I feel good. I'm starting to play well and hopefully I can keep playing well and force myself into the first team reckoning. I have every confidence in my ability and that has to be my aim."
 
As a boyhood Liverpool fan it would be a dream come true for him to become a regular in the Reds starting eleven and if he continues to impress like he has been doing then them days may not be that far away.

[stmichael]

if the guy's got pace then give him a shot.

[Redrider]

Rafael Benitez has spoken of his determination to 'connect' Melwood with the club's Academy base in Kirkby in the hope of unearthing more gems from Liverpool's youth production line.

I reckon that the real reason for the connection is that there is very little in the way of promising talent in either the academy or the reserves. He just want's to bring it all under control, stop the waste and get the whole system working under proper management.
The next move will be to sideline some of these ex players like Heighway, Hall and Yeats who are living off both the club and their fat Pensions and not really producing the goods.

[Dalglish]

Sounds more like Benitez is preparing for a clearout if you ask me. Judging from his quote there wil be no room for sentiment after the evaluation of Academy players.