06 Aug 2018 19:25:47
Yes ed 0025 you are absolutely right but that Is human nature, your club are trying to get there now. If you can't beat them join them I think is a common responce.

{Ed025's Note - i will have that evered, but money is ruining the game and the gap between the have,s and have not,s is widening mate, and what about the youngsters coming through?, do you instead of blooding a kid into the side just buy another superstar from abroad?, all the top clubs are guilty and even clubs like fulham and wolves are going down that route, but i will get off my soap box now..


1.) 06 Aug 2018
06 Aug 2018 20:26:19
It's the media controlling the game. The constant strain on managers to produce instant results means they will over look a talented youngster for a proven foreign player. It sucks.

If there were less pressure on managers then England would have a bigger pool of players to choose from. Even 20 years ago, brewster would be starting for liverpool.

{Ed025's Note - im with you robbie..


2.) 06 Aug 2018
06 Aug 2018 20:48:57
Nonsense Brewster would have been just a twinkle in his dad's eye 20 years ago.

{Ed025's Note - i think he meant if it was the same climate today as 20 years ago mate..


3.) 06 Aug 2018
06 Aug 2018 20:52:59
Would Owen have been the superstar he was at 18 or 19 nowadays? It was a little before I could properly judge him as anything other than a new hero, but I rather doubt it.


4.) 06 Aug 2018
06 Aug 2018 21:29:03
If Owen was an 18 year old coming through now he wouldn’t get a game as long as firmino is fit, managers at the top end of the table can’t afford to give the kids the time and patience that they need nowadays. They need good loans or to hold out on the top clubs till they are ready to be successful now.

{Ed025's Note - i cant dispute that den..


5.) 06 Aug 2018
06 Aug 2018 21:43:28
I think to much is put into this giving youngsters a chance.

If a player is good enough then he will get his chances regardless of age.

Players have to take there chances when they get there chance.

Regarding Owen if he was coming through now then he would have taken his chance and got in the first team, and how many youngsters have actually left Liverpool and become top players?

We all (including myself) get caught up in the romance of a young local lad coming through the ranks and staking his place in the team but in reality majority aren't actually good enough.

Also I think the UK players are lazy and think they have already made it by the time they are 18 and on the big bucks, so they don't really progress from then on.


6.) 06 Aug 2018
06 Aug 2018 22:09:15
I agree Lavers. I remember watching Owen in the reserves before he played his first game for the first team and he stood out like a sore thumb. He was a really special teenager like Rooney was at Everton.
We just don’t have any players in the U23s right now that you could say stood out like him. I’m sure if we did they would definitely get their chance.
You also get your Ross Barkley/ Jack Grealish types who are special teenagers but fail to progress once they get their first decent contract.
Not that I blame them it takes a very special mentality in any walk of life to get what you want then keep working hard to improve and achieve more.


7.) 06 Aug 2018
06 Aug 2018 22:12:52
There are as many cases of players actually getting chances and not developing as there are for players who deserve a chance not getting one.

If Owen was in the academy now then he would be in the team. Do we not have an 18 year academy player as our rb?

THEY HAVE TO BE GOOD ENOUGH. Doesn't matter how much hype they have or how much they resemble scholes 🤣 if there not good enough then they won't play.

How many players who weren't really given a chance are there that have gone on to trully make a team eat there words?

Then name the amount of players actually given at least 50 games who just weren't as good as there hype.

Then name the same amount of players who where played and came good and now play in there respective teams.

There not completely level but it's there about.

It's not as lob sided as people think.

People seem to make things up aswel luke this has never been the case. Teams have always bought players. Always. There's only even been a handful that have won things with more than half made from academy players than bought players.

You have to take so many things under consideration aswel though.

United class of 92. How many would of been offered better contacts by other clubs, if I'm right then bosmns weren't introduced yet and there wasn't as much money in the academy game. Point being how many players have Everton, liverpool, arsenal, Barcelona, city, Chelsea etc all lost that would of played and then given a better outlook for academy players in their teams.

For example dhanda has just left us. Gerrard cousin has just left city. There's a lot of this happening behind the seens that we don't see.

There is as much money issues from the players as there is from the club's aswel. The club's want instant success so buy players and academy players seem to think they should be club regulars at the age of 17 and on 200k a week.

So money is ruining things but from both sides. Apparently sterling's agent now wants 300k a week for him, yet oxlade came to us for less than Chelsea offered. Maybe we should just ban agents or home grow them and allocate them one like a social worker, fully trained by the fa to properly advice these boys and there families etc.

{Ed025's Note - banning agents would be a great start KB..


8.) 06 Aug 2018
06 Aug 2018 22:35:15
Are you guys having a laugh? Trent has been given every chance because the cream rises to the top.


9.) 06 Aug 2018
06 Aug 2018 22:53:12
We have Solanke, player of the tournament in u21 wc win. We have brewster, top goal scorer in recent u19 wc win.

When Owen was a youngster he was special, so was fowler, mcmanaman, carra, redknapp. And in those days managers were given 5 years no problem. Many clubs had the same manager for years and years. In short, they had the time to bring in youngsters.

In part it is the media, calling managers into question after 4 losses. I remember keown last season, he loves wenger and the boys in motd were saying "wenger needs to go" and you could see keown didn't really believe it he was forced to say it. I don't like this throwaway attitude in football.

The other part is media related. It's the money involved and the rewards for not being relegated or qualifying for Europe. Owners want success now, which makes it harder for the youngsters.

Brewster is a special player, and perhaps Owen was rushed through too quickly. His career petered out with injury.

Klopp has at least given some youngsters a shot. It's seems like a compromise. We will use a home grown rb if we can spend 60mil on a new cm.


10.) 06 Aug 2018
06 Aug 2018 22:53:46
aye? owen, like fowler were fantastics talents coming through. The current crop of academy grads are nowhere near their level at the same age. this is why they don't play.


11.) 06 Aug 2018
06 Aug 2018 22:59:15
The best players will always break through, what we fail to realise is how rare the best players are.

Having said that I'd like to see the big clubs close their academies, they're glorified PR stunts. My preference would be younger players start out at smaller clubs and earn a move to the big clubs off the back of hard work and real talent. I hate the constant speculation we have with youth players at the moment, building them up only to carry them aside when they inevitably fail at the highest level.

{Ed0333's Note - your idea seems fabulous in principle but will never happen mate.


12.) 07 Aug 2018
06 Aug 2018 23:54:52
Or just put a lock on the minimum age any player can play in the prem. Say 20/ 21.

Make it so academy players have to have at least some qualification and stleast 30 professional games.

They woudlnt be rushed. Would have to go out and play. Couldn't have careers wasted on the bench and would force club's to invest proper time into the career paths they create for these players.


13.) 07 Aug 2018
07 Aug 2018 01:03:26
That sounds completely illegal kloppsboss.


14.) 07 Aug 2018
07 Aug 2018 07:53:12
Owen got his chance because of injury, came on as a sub and scored. He didn’t stop for a few seasons. The rest is history.

If these youngsters were as good as Owen was they’d do the same. You have to be good enough to take your chance. Solanke hasn’t been so far.

{Ed001's Note - it doesn't always work like that Ron. Rush was a 100 times the players Owen was, but was terrible for us for 3 years after signing as a teenager. There are many many more examples of players who struggles as teens that go on to be successes than there are of teens who burst on the scene as teens and go on to have great careers.}


15.) 07 Aug 2018
07 Aug 2018 10:04:59
For United, I remember a young lad called James Wilson got his chance when injuries hit under Van Gaal and did really well, may have even scored a couple (? ) but nothing came of it in the end. When Rashford did the same the next season, he managed to grasp the chance with both hands as well but had longer to impress. Had he been in the same form as he was last season when his shot came, we'd unlikely be seeing an England international now, but another kid farmed out to get loan experience in the championship. He's obviously got quality, but confidence can be absolutely massive when making the step up.

Trent got his chance because of injuries and was able to be persevered with because of the position he plays (a striker or attacker or anyone who plays down the spine rarely gets as much time to impress before they are judged - and usually harshly) . We can see he has the talent to succeed, but there were a lot more forces at play than him being the cream of the crop.


16.) 07 Aug 2018
07 Aug 2018 10:58:59
If Ferguson was around in today's media driven football he would have been sacked long be ore giggs, beckham and Co got their shot. He was given time to bring through youngsters and although it galls me to say it, built one of the finest teams ever.

Of course it has changed. It's not really debatable. It is harder for youngsters to break through now than it was 20 years ago.

I refuse to believe we don't have youth players who could cut it. And if given a chance, although it may take 2 or 3 seasons, would go on to be successful lfc players.

Why wait 3 years though? With owners willing to spend 100s of millions. Trent broke through but his chance came when Clyne was injured. It just shows. We have a few who could be brilliant if given a chance but we have too many players for that to happen. Camancho, ojo, Woodburn and Curtis Davis. Brewster and Philips could all fit in.


17.) 07 Aug 2018
07 Aug 2018 11:55:06
To be honest it might have helped Owen sustain his career if he hadn't broke into the team till he was abit older. His child body wasn't ready for the dynamism of his play and the physicality of the league and his body broke down.


18.) 07 Aug 2018
07 Aug 2018 17:44:34
Sure I agree there ed, Ian Wright and Vardy are also examples.

However, I was talking about young players breaking into the team and my point is, in order to do that you have to be good enough to take your chance when it comes.

That doesn’t stop you getting in to the team later as you mature, just a point about youngsters have to be competitive to retain their places, it should not just be handed to them on a plate if they don’t deliver.

{Ed001's Note - that is simply not true. They are not going to be competitive, they are in there to learn a role. Look how many mistakes TAA has made, to the point where the vast majority wanted him dropped. He was kept in because of a lack of a replacement, not because he was deserving of a place. Young players simply lack experience to be consistently good, so they need to keep getting games to gain experience.}