14 Mar 2015

Confirmed: 'Powerful' and 'extremely talented' LFC defender to leave Liverpool for a 28 day loan spell

Liverpool currently have nine youngsters out on loan, and 19-year old Lloyd Jones is the latest academy talent to leave the club to gain experience of first-team football.

According to the official Liverpool FC website:

"Jones has joined League Two outfit Accrington Stanley on loan...under the tutelage of Liverpool-born boss John Coleman, whose side currently occupy 15th place in the standings".

Jones also spent time on loan at Cheltenham earlier this season, and after sealing the deal, Coleman enthused:

"Defence is probably the one area that we're a bit short in and Lloyd will be a great addition to our squad."

As Jordon Ibe proves, loan deals can have a positive impact on a player's development, but with the greatest respect, what is Jones going to learn by spending 28-days at Accrington Stanley?

Jones is 19; Sterling, Ibe, and Wisdom had all experienced first-team football with Liverpool by that time, so why not just give Jones a few minutes of pitch time here and there over the next couple of months?

This ties into something I just don't understand about Liverpool's youth policy: academy players are regularly on the bench (Jordon Williams in recent weeks, for example), but Rodgers rarely gives them any game time. As such, what is the point of having them on the bench in the first place?

Why can't Rodgers give the likes of Williams et al 5-10 minutes at the end of a game every now and again? For example, the recent 2-0 victory over Burnley - Williams could've easily made his debut when Liverpool were 2-0 up and cruising, but Rodgers brought on Kolo Toure instead.

In my view, gaining incremental experience in the Premier League is far more valuable than spending 28-days in the lower reaches of League Two.

The LFC website described Jones as follows:

"A powerful centre-back...extremely talented in the air. Never one to shirk a challenge, the Welshman is also a cultured defender, who is confident enough to play the ball out from the back. His heading and aerial abilities mean Jones is a highly-rated member of the Reds' set-up".

Yes, Jones is so 'highly-rated' that he can't five minutes of game time in a Premier League game.

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7 comments:

  1. As we have seen in the past even 2 goal leads are easily overturned. The Premiership is a difficult place to blood young players especially defenders. There is just too much at stake to take a risk both for the players themselves and or the team.


    28 days at Accrington Stanley might just motivate him to ensure he never end up there more permanently ;-)

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  2. I dont think we have any senior replacements after Can and Hendo in midfield, last few games allen, gerrard, lucas have been missing, meaning Williams is the next replacement if an injury occurs to Can and Henderson..

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  3. He should be able to avoid a permanent transfer to Accrington Stanley so long as he drinks plenty of milk. That's what Rushie says anyway.

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  4. 28 days at Accrington Stanley may provide Jones with 3-4 games where he plays as opposed to zero minutes and involvement with the first team over the next month (especially now that we are chasing Top 4 with strongest available and a lot of first teamers returning to fitness).

    I think Rodgers manages these youngsters extremely well. One by one, he is giving a lot of them a taste of being around the first team on matchday and further motivate them to want it full time (e.g., Jerome Sinclair travelled to Besiktas and destroyed Chelsea U21s last week). Last season, Jordon Ibe played 15 mins against Arsenal in 5-1 victory and then following week was loaned to Birmingham - worked well for him.

    By the way, Williams has already made his debut for Liverpool against Middlesborough in League Cup. Scored nice penalties too.

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  5. This really doesn't have any relevance to the article, but yes that is correct.


    Not to mention Gerrard won't even be around next season. This is why I always suggest 2 midfield additions, one to take Gerrard's place, and one to add numbers.

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  6. 28 days with them will help toughen him up and show him what it's like playing men's football. Help him learn the ugly side of the game that you can't learn at the academy

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  7. It will give him 28 days of having to defend against men rather than boys. It's more physical than the reserves and probably still a higher level too. That is, if he gets games there.

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