Liverpool FC Forum

[aCe']

Swiss international Philipp Degen also played 45 minutes but had to leave the field at half-time after feeling unwell.

[account deleted by request]

Swiss international Philipp Degen also played 45 minutes but had to leave the field at half-time after feeling unwell.

I just hope there isn't a virus in the squad....... Masch was "unwell" also 

[7_Kewell]

Swiss international Philipp Degen also played 45 minutes but had to leave the field at half-time after feeling unwell.

[Ciggy]

Swiss international Philipp Degen also played 45 minutes but had to leave the field at half-time after feeling unwell.

[JoeTerp]

Swiss international Philipp Degen also played 45 minutes but had to leave the field at half-time after feeling unwell.

I just hope there isn't a virus in the squad....... Masch was "unwell" also 

he had a hamstring problem caused from shooting practice

Also, the official site got Steve Irwin's age wrong, don't know how that could happen, but it was only his 19th birthday.

[JoeTerp]

Also, this is two solid wins with only 10 men against both reserve sides from Manchester, who usually have very talented reseve teams. City played Johnson and Weiss last night

[bunglemark2]

Also, this is two solid wins with only 10 men against both reserve sides from Manchester, who usually have very talented reseve teams. City played Johnson and Weiss last night

And ?
The Ressies results aren't all that important, I'd go so far as to say.
Maybe we could do with one or two of them in place of Voronin, Lucas etc...

[Reg]

Liverpool reserves beat Bolton last night. The reserves beat Bolton Wanderers 2-1 at the County Ground, Bolton thanks to goals from David Ngog and a deflected Gerado Bruna free-kick. The win moves the Reds to within three points of leaders Man Utd with two games in hand. It was also their fifteenth game without defeat.

[RED BEERGOGGLES]

This Kid has built up an impressive compilation of his talents
Pacheco 

[Reg]

Gloucestershire Sport RSS Feed

Swindon Town goalkeeper Jamie Stephens set to sign a professional contract with Liverpool        Thursday 8th April 2010


WOTTON-UNDER-EDGE teenager Jamie Stephens has agreed a dream move from Swindon Town to Premiership giants Liverpool.

The 16-year-old goalkeeper will join the Liverpool Academy until 2012 and is set to sign a professional contract when he turns 17, on August 25. Stephens spent a week training at the Merseyside club last month, making a sizeable impression in the process.

He met manager Rafael Benitez and Liverpool legend and Academy Ambassador, Kenny Dalglish, while on trial and will now make the switch permanent after the two clubs agreed an undisclosed fee.
“The Academy is unbelievable,” said Stephens.
“They have so many staff, everyone is so polite and kind, it’s really friendly, like a family club.”
Swindon Town Chairman, Andrew Fitton, said: “This is a great opportunity for Jamie. George Wood (Swindon Town goalkeeping coach) recognised his talent immediately and did a great job developing him.

“Being such a specialist position, the opportunity to go to an Academy like Liverpool is the right move for him and will give him the chance to play in tournaments all over the world.”
“I hope that one day Jamie Stephens may come back to Swindon, maybe on loan from Liverpool, and get his first taste of league football at The County Ground.”

Former Katharine Lady Berkeley’s School pupil Stephens signed a scholarship deal at Swindon less than 12 months ago and has only played a handful of games for their youth team this season.
Stephens played his youth football for Wotton, Kingswood and Wickwar and was in the youth setup at the club he supports, Forest Green Rovers, before being spotted as a 14-year-old by Swindon youth coaches Ian Palmer and Dave Warren.

Fitton added: “He is a fantastic prospect and the only thing Jamie will get is better with the intensive coaching on offer at Liverpool. “He will also get the chance to work with the likes of Jose Reina so it is a dream come true for him. “We will get some money up front but the majority of the fee will be dependent on future success.

“We think he has the potential to go far in the game and we will gain some reward for any success that he achieves.”

[Owzat]

Liverpool reserves beat Bolton last night. The reserves beat Bolton Wanderers 2-1 at the County Ground, Bolton thanks to goals from David Ngog and a deflected Gerado Bruna free-kick. The win moves the Reds to within three points of leaders Man Utd with two games in hand. It was also their fifteenth game without defeat.

Not bad considering we're supposedly miles behind the mancs in terms of resources after the first team (squad)

Just a shame the only 1st team stats (Premiership) our youngsters accumulate are unused subs :

PREMIERSHIP APPS 09/10

3 Ayala (sub x2, unused sub x2)
3 Spearing (sub x2, unused sub x9)
1 Eccleston (sub x1)
1 Pacheco (sub x1, unused sub x4)
1 Darby (sub x1, unused sub x5)
1 Kelly (sub x1, unused sub x10)
0 Gulacsi (unused sub x2)

10 apps, eight as subs and two starts between them, 33 times on the bench and staying there. Isn't Nemeth yet to make his debut for the 1st team?

[account deleted by request]

The Curious Case of Vitor FloraPosted on Thursday, 8th April 2010 by David Tully

The recent sale of Vitor Flora back to Brazil brings to an end a curious saga of a player who came out of nowhere and looks to have faded back into obscurity. Flora’s move to Liverpool back in summer of 2008 was just as much of a surprise to football observers in Brazil as it was to those in England. Basically, knowledge of Flora’s abilities was not known far outside of his club, regional division side Botafogo Ribeirão Preto, but he somehow became a target of Liverpool FC. Even in nearby city Sao Paulo, his talents were unknown and although he had played for Santos in his early teens, he had returned home due to home sickness. A fledgling footballing career had seemingly stalled before it had even started.

The young striker however got a lucky break. His performances in the U17 Paulista Championship were collated by his father and agent in video footage, and were posted online for the world to see. In a very modern form of scouting, Flora was discovered by some of Europe’s and Brazil’s top clubs on the internet, and scouts came from all parts to see the young Brazilian. Gremio, Cruzeiro and former club Santos were all interested in the player while Juventus even gave Flora a trial in view to a permanent move. Liverpool however got the player after scouts went out to watch the player to see if he was of the required standard to play in the Premier League.

Flora joined Liverpool in the summer of 2008 and the 18 year old was selected straight away for reserve team action under Gary Ablett. He played only 9 games and scored two goals in his first season at the club at reserve level, but his appearances were reduced even further this season under John McMahon, only appearing once as a substitute this campaign. The fact that he never broke into the starting eleven for the second string must have meant that it was clear from an early stage that Flora was not at the required level to play in England. His contract was ending at the end of the season, and rather than offering him a new deal, the Reds decided to offload the forward back to Brazil with Goias Esporte Clube on Tuesday.

A player who was unknown outside his hometown in Brazil, was brought halfway across the world to Liverpool despite his low reputation, it is something more out of movie than a football transfer. Teams are so desperate these days to find the next Lionel Messi or Cesc Fabregas that they are willing scour the globe for young talent, relying sometimes just on video footage and word from local scouts that players are good enough. The club and the Academy should really be focused on developing home grown talent rather than paying sizeable amounts of money to agents and clubs to bring young undeveloped players from abroad. These players sometimes find it difficult to settle in a new country away from their family and it can stunt their development as footballers rather than develop them.

Hopefully now that Rafa Benitez has reorganised the youth setup with Frank McParland, Jose Segura and Rodolfo Borrell, player focus will go more towards developing talent from the Liverpool area, rather than bringing players from all around the world to bring into the youth system. Certainly if we discover a new Lionel Messi, we should try our utmost to get him, but, with all due respect to the lad, there must be less Vitor Flora’s in the future because there is enough talent in England for us not to have to pick out players from abroad who are just not good enough.

[tubby]

Another one bites the dust then.

Watched the Wigan game the other night. Nice goal from Kolhert. Dalla Valle looked lively too and almost pulled of an overhead kick.

[RED BEERGOGGLES]

A little update on another  player who seems to be flourishing since leaving The Reds

Ryan Flynn

[RedSi35]

Where are the Carraghers, Gerrards, Fowlers, McManamans gone?

We we ever see this sort of talent coming through the ranks again? Yeah i know we have some promising players in Kelly, Pacheco & Darby but we seem to be going for too many foreign youngsters who dissapera into obscurity.