Liverpool FC Forum

[LFC2007]

I agree the previous two posters and I disagree the grudge this time.

No matter how much foreign talent you bring, in a youth team you'll be lucky if you promote tp the first team of a top club 2 or 3 players of a given generation.

IMHO a Liverpool kid should never give up the hope of playing for Liverpool F.C. that's a firm belief I have about football. I'm not against to buy 3 or 4 top quality youngsters of abroad, but the core of the team must be of the Liverpool's surroundings.

IMHO to spot a future Carraguer or a future Terry is very difficult at some stages and by filling the squad of San Jose's we are avoiding this.

I know an archenemy of Athletic Bilbao who watches every single game of their team from first team, to the youngest lads, he's a maniac of football and watches football no matter if it rains or makes 30 degree celsius. He's surprised Liverpool are signing up San Jose because he reckons that former CB of that team like Andrinua, Karanka or Alkorta were better.

If we have to gamble with a foreign lad, it has to be a very promising one. If we fill the club with many promising yet not too impressive lads, we're paying a high price, the price of a kid of Liverpool thinking there's not room for him in the local club.

If there's not the talent in the area that there once was you can't blame Rafa for looking for young foreign talent, Wenger has done it at Arsenal and it has proven largely sucessful - all the big clubs do it.

We can still search for local talent whilst also bringing in foreign talent, if there is a deficit in local talent - which there is bound to be and like we have at the monment - then you have to look for young talent somewhere else. Also, there is an FA rule that limits the locality of where you can recruit young English talent and although I can't remember exactly the rule I know it limits academies very much.

[Sabre]

When it comes to youngsters and education of youngsterw there's nothing obvious.

I'll try to make my point with a local story. The RS team that achieved two ligas in a row in the eighties was made by 11 local lads, each of which came from different clubs in the province, not RS youngsters.

As a result RS became a bigger club and their bet was to concentrate all the local talent of the province in the RS youth team. They won 5-0 against Bilbao, 4-0 against Zaragoza, and that generation won everything that was winnable at youth level.

Everything seemed to be ok but that generation was the most underachiever of the club when they made to senior level, AS THEY DIDN'T KNOW TO COME BACK FROM A 2-0 against!!! they weren't educated to lose, they weren't educated to become a leader in hard times! so what in paper seemed a good idea, it was a little disaster that led to the need of signing up foreign players again.

My point is that this concentration of talent might not be necessarily a good thing, and that's why, despite there's local talent or not, local players should be very present in the academy. I don't think the point of a youth team is to win it all, but to educate players, and maybe those super young stars we're bringing do not need to play in a team of stars, but know a bit of adversity aswell. Plus, that would make a difference with teams like Arsenal.

There will always be times in which no local talent seems to exist, but in that cases what you have to do is keep working even harder, or improve your work methodology, never give up.

Don't take me too seriously on this though, I'm a fúcking romantic when it comes to football

[LFC2007]

Despite not really understanding your story, I'll at least agree that you should persist with local talent no matter what - which is what we've been doing. But you need quality young players to bring through, if needs must then there will have to be some foreign players, it's part of the modern game.

[Sabre]

Never mind, forget the story

I think that persisting in the local lads has brought fruits like Gerrard and Carraguer. I agree we have to bring foreign quality, but not *flood* the academy by foreign academy, if you see what I mean.

[LFC2007]

Well if you look at our Youth team, most bar I think Hansen are local. The reserves may have an excessive number of foreigners in it, but at least we will be able to assess our local talent in the youth team. I think Rafa is well aware of the need to bring through local talent, he's said it many times before in interviews. He's also emphasised the need to bring through talented youngsters and that if there is a deficit in and around Merseyside then you have to look further afield.

[Bad Bob]

Could our perception by skewed because there are press releases when foreign kids like San Jose sign and not when local lads are signed up (presumably at a much younger age)?

[LFC2007]

Grammar Bob!

[The Grudge]

Never mind, forget the story

I think that persisting in the local lads has brought fruits like Gerrard and Carraguer. I agree we have to bring foreign quality, but not *flood* the academy by foreign academy, if you see what I mean.

Yes the academy will always be there! But it bears 'fruits' from all over the world Sabre! Anything else would be stupid.

Madrid,Milan,UTD,Juventus,B Munich all have academys that do not bear fruit from local talent all the time but do as Raffa is doing..That is why they are up there with best in Europe(behind us of course)!!

The two best academies in Europe are probably(in production terms) Ajax and West Ham if you are talking about talent from locals!

Sadly these 2 teams are merely supermarkets for big fish to poach from.

Set the romantics and sentiments aside..We all wish for a team full of scousers but in reality LFC are special because they have two in Carra and Gerrard!

How many Londoners play for Arsenal??

Football is not about that any more its about getting the best regardless if they are from Merseyside or the moon!

[Bad Bob]

Grammar Bob!

Sorry Ms. Ballbricker...

[account deleted by request]

I think that persisting in the local lads has brought fruits like Gerrard and Carraguer

I don't think Gerrard or Carragher would be too happy to be known as fruits, Sabre! Although Gerrard did kiss Alonso so who knows