18 Jan 2012

LFC sign Teixeira, but what's the point? History shows that he'll never play...

Liverpool have signed 19-year-old attacking midfielder Joao Carlos Teixeia from Sporting Lisbon. I guess this is good news but considering the number of talented attacking youngsters already at Anfield, what exactly is the point? When it comes to breaking through into the first team, it's always young defenders and defensive midfielders who get given the (occasional) breaks; strikers and attacking midfielders barely get a look-in, and I don't see that changing any time soon.

Teixeira will now join the likes of Raheem Sterling, Adam Morgan, Suso, Nathan Eccleston, David Amoo and countless other attacking youngsters toiling in the youth set-up, where he will probably languish for the next year before being sent out on loan to a club like Rotherham, Hull, or Sheffield Wednesday.

Sounds harsh but that is the reality. Let's look at the facts:

NB: When I refer to 'young player' here, I mean:

a) A homegrown youngster who progressed through the ranks.
b) A young player bought by the club for the youth set-up.


* No young, attacking player has made it through the youth ranks and into the first team since Michael Owen and Steven Gerrard in the late 1990s.

* In the last 10 years, Neil Mellor is the ONLY young attacking player to come through the youth set-up and be given a semi-regular chance in the first team, and even then he only managed 15 starts in 3 years.

* Jonjo Shelvey aside, no young attacking player has featured under Kenny Dalglish, but defenders and defensive midfielders have been given plenty of chances, i.e. Flanagan, Kelly, Spearing etc. (Shelvey went straight into the first team when he arrived, so it's debatable whether he was bought for the youth set-up anyway)

* In Rafa Benitez's entire 6-year reign, Nathan Eccleston, Neil Mellor and Dani Pacheco were the only attacking youth players given a chance in the first team.

* Under Houllier, the record of bringing through young attacking players was even worse (!)

* Conversely, Roy Evans gave Michael Owen his debut, and nurtured the likes of Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman and Jamie Redknapp.

I could go on, but the basic point is this: Young defenders and defensive midfielders seem to get all the chances at Liverpool; attacking midfielders and strikers hardly ever get given a chance in the first team.

Look at this season, for example - what do Martin Kelly, Jon Flanagan, Jack Robinson, Jay Spearing and Sebastian Coates all have in common?

Yes - they're all defensive-minded players and/or fulfill a defensive role in the team.

This needs to change IMO. It's a travesty that young attacking players are not given chances at Liverpool, and it's embarrassing that Michael Owen is the last young striker to actually make it at Anfield.

There are so many promising attacking players in Liverpool's youth teams, but even when they're needed - like now - they're still ignored.

Would it hurt to give the likes of Sterling and Morgan a taste of first team action once in a while? Could they do any worse than Stewart Downing and Andy Carroll?! What is the point of collecting all these promising attacking players if they are never given a chance in the first team?

It's not like it's a minor issue - The youth policy at Liverpool seems to be geared towards favouring defensive-minded players. If the club gave more strikers and attacking midfielders a chance, perhaps we could've unearthed the next Fowler or Owen by now.

Welcome to Liverpool, Joao! I hope you enjoy never having an opportunity to establish yourself in the first team.



Jaimie Kanwar


104 comments:

  1. I am not sure I agree with you there Jamie - perhaps the players you mention are either too young or simply not good enough to make it. I may be mistaken but I cannot think of a single young, attacking player in the last 8 years or so who did not make it at Liverpool but then went on to have a great career elsewhere. Successful attacking players are a rare breed, which means clubs are less likely to find the right player. From this perspective, Liverpool scouts have to cast the widest possible net to find talented youngsters in attacking positions who hopefully will prove good enough to make it at Liverpool. 

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  2. I agree with you, Voland - Successful attacking players are indeed a rare breed, but surely it's not too much to ask that the club's scouting network identifies ONE decent prospect in 15 years?  Surely it's not out of the question expect that at least ONE young attacking player would come through in the last 15 years?

    Liverpool is bursting at the seams with promising attacking talent at the moment, but none of them get given a chance.  

    And look at Shelvey - an attacking midfielder but even he got shunted out on loan whilst the defensive likes of Flanagan, Kelly and Spearing got given chances.

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  3. 'yes dude, this kanwar cunt only likes to say bad things about liverpool. he is also a biased dick head, which shows why his site gets very less visits compared to other liverpool fan sites. probably he should support Salford Cunts!

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  4. Joao Carlos is 19 though, the same age as David Ngog when he first joined Liverpool. I'm not certain that this is merely a signing for the youth set up

    If nothing else, I hope this signing puts to bed the rather embarrasing rumours of us looking to sign Luc Castagnos on loan - Surely the thought of signing a player on loan merely to develop him for another club is far more pointless for us than the above?

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  5. Spot on - these youngsters are noy as good as we kid ourselves they are - our youngsters were humiliated against Portugese equivalents - the people picking them are clueless -HONEST FACTS DONT LIE

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  6. you forgot to mention the state of our club during these times. those managers understandably didn't have the academys best interests at heart, or did but couldn't go to great lengths to do much about it (until Rafa). I love watching the youngsters on LFC TV and stay positive about them having an impact. some players you've mentioned like suso sterling morgan etc. aren't even ready yet so lets wait a bit yes...

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  7. Hmmm. I think you should get your facts straight. There is only ONE other independent LFC site on the net that gets more visitors than this one, and that is RAWK, which is a message board.

    This site gets more visitors than ThisIsAnfield, SixCrazyMintus, Empire of the Kop, Red All Over the Land, LFC Online, Live4Liverpool, and any other independent site you care to mention. Check Alexa for the stats.

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  8. its going to be interesting to see how we keep borrell happy considering none of his good work is given a platform to grow. it seems the concern is always about not loosing , hence why attacking players, who may give the ball away in dangerous areas sometimes, are not given a chance.
    perhaps kenny should have gone for the uefa place with a little more conviction. we have now added around 5/6 top class youngsters to the group from the video, and should be expecting to be a top top class youth side in the not too distant future.

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  9. Kristian Walsh (@Kristian_Walsh)
    18/01/2012 13:16
    BREAKING: Liverpool confirm talks with SSC Napoli over Cavani transfer; bid accepted by Italian club. #LFC #Napoli bit.ly/yxG5mw
     

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  10. he is only the best young player in the world, we now have the best two, whats the point ? success thats the point.

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  11. this lad is not as good as you think he is - he is a thousand times better - £10 million would be a steal.

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  12. stopthisnonsense - please
    he is the guy who humiliated us.

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  13. Best young player in the world?  Is that why Liverpool managed to buy him without opposition?  

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  14. i think kenny is going nuts...we need a striker...not a future player...we had pacheco very good but now is on loan....why is he not listening to the fans...we need a top class striker for God sake...newcastle have signed one already cisse...and we are on a day dream of top four...with the manager we have and the players he signs top 10 is what we deserve...and lets stop defending kenny just because he is a king...or legend....we did not hire him to be a legend but a manager....time is running out and we barely have a clue of who will be brought in....it hurts  kenny of all people should know that..get us a striker or you are out...

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  15. The youth set-up has only undergone a reboot within the last two years and the movement of personnel (i.e. Borrell as Reserve coach and making the reserves the final step for youth see first team action) is indicative of remodeling LFC's whole system.  It may be more fair to judge how our youth strikers feature over the next few years, not while we're in systemic transition.  Barcelona's stars from La Masia didn't become all conquering overnight.  Time and patience is required to see if our new system works out well, and I think we are on the right track.   Unfortunately, modern day football and its general structure (owners, fans, media, sponsors - ahem Adidas) demand immediate results.

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  16. The only reason this site gets more visitors than the ones you've mentioned is because every item you put on here you do so under a sensational headline and 90% of the time the actual article is out of date or irrelevent rubbish. Not sure if you are an LFC fan or just trying to get hits on a crap website. And before you say it.........I won't be coming back and would urge others to give it a miss also.

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  17. so we look ahead, we take up the worlds best youth model, we bring in top talent from around the world, what's the point ? err let me try to figure it out.

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  18. I agree with your points but it has been 15 years now since a young *attacking* player came through the ranks and got estanlished in the first team. That's just not good enough. Liverpool produced McManaman, Fowler, Owen et al, but now, with even better facilities and more money, there's seemingly no one good enough to be given 20 minutes against Oldham in the Carling Cup?!

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  19. Your comment is a merely re-stating what I said as long ago as last year. The I was always mentioning teams like Arsenal who believe that 19/20 year-olds are good to play 1st team. Many teams have done this with great success but we at LFC have no faith in the young and , seemingly , less in their talent. We are at the moment floundering around with no player able to score and still no sign of these "young stars" to be blooded. Do you think other EPL clubs would do this? I rather think not. When the time is called for them to step up to the plate ( coining that baseball idiom) they seem to do so. Our management seems to require that they are well into their 20's before they are considered for even one outing!  Ridiculous.

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  20. Agree, why not let the reserves/u-18 trainer pick one player pr. 1.team match to join the bench as a sub. The player who deserved it the most get benched for the first team. Dalglish still have 5 other outplayers to choose from which should be enough. I dont understand it. Why can not Liverpool get any young attacking players in the squad of 18 players?

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  21. why did nobody buy him ? as far as i know he appeared in a couple of games on lfc tv. had it been on mainstream he would be worth £10 million.

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  22. We do need to give more attacking youngsters a chance but that said, this article is less critical and reads more anhedonic.

    Also you've forgotten David N'gog. Not that he was brilliant, but he was given a fair crack and we bought him young.

    As the man above says when did someone last leave Liverpool and go on to be big elsewhere? Guthrie has done alright and so has Hammill but beyond that?

    You make it sound easy to produce quality attacking youngsters. Chelsea threw money at it for half a decade and they're still waiting on Josh McEachran. Bertrand, a defender, looks like he might come through first. McEachran has to go on loan at Swansea. They paid nearly £20mil for Lukaku and he has started less than 5 games (don't know exact number, not many, I remember 1). Sturridge was given his chance after a loan period and even then, you could tell his form forced AVB to play him rather than AVB particularly wanting to. Now he is often subbed etc. proving the manager is worried about relying on him. Romeu on the other hand has had plenty of chances and with Essien out would be the choice to anchor midfield. Kakuta, a player who they really wanted has just been farmed out on a series of unimpressive loans (he's at Dijon now).

    Arsenal, the academy everyone looks up to over here, has produced, so far, Wilshere. Vela has fell by the way side, Myachi hasn't had his chance, Sunu too has been and gone. Defensive players though? Djorou, Coquelin, Gibbs, Miquel (who started his first game against Swansea). Jenkinson has started more games than £10mil Oxlade-Chaimberlain, despite the fact the latter has impressed more, according to fans, in his scant appearances.

    What I'm trying to say is this is the trend for the bigger clubs. In that case, it is important to decide: are Liverpool following a standard, advised procedure for blooding youngsters at a big club or are all the big clubs making the same mistake? Worse still, are all the clubs either failing to find the talent or nurture it properly?

    It seems to me, this isn't a 'Liverpool' problem, not now that we're getting youngsters coming through in other positions which we didn't for a while, it seems wider spread. It is impossible to know for certain which of the latter three of those four points is most salient, and any guess would be conjecture, but something needs to change. I can say, at the very least, I am more confident in this administration's ability to identify talent (Comolli has a good track record and seems persuasive) and nurture it (Pep Segura and Rodolfo Borrell? There credentials are obvious).

    According to Guardiola we've the second best academy in the world; I'm willing to sit tight for a while.

    United have had Jonny Evans, Rafael, Fabio and they've bought in Jones and Smalling. Who've they produced attacking? They tried to force Gibson and everyone hated him because he wasn't ready. They've got Welbeck but only now that he is about 22 and after a full season on loan.

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  23. i agree with you 100%. what we want is prayers for today, give some of this prayers a chance. through them in the lion den. the youth team looks better.

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  24. Everytime I read your stories it makes me sick. This is a great signing for the club stop pouting all the time

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  25. What Happened On Our Attacker Young jamie ? Where Is Nemeth ? Where Is Pacheco ? Where Is Mellor ?
    But For Example San Jose Play Regularly For His Team In La Liga . Maybe We Don't Choose Good Option .  Every Big Club See Attacker Player Regularly and What Percent  Of Them Choose Us ? But I Sure Sterling and Morgan Can Be Our Legend !

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  26. Why would you keep doing something that makes you 'sick'? Sounds a bit silly to me. If you can't hack a different point of view then you don't have to visit this site, do you?

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  27. 19 isn't too young to be in the first team. Is he good enough now like Owen, Fowler, Gerrard etc were at 19? If not I'd be 99% certain he won't be good enough ever. 

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  28. I am in agreement, I think we should give the youth a chance up front. Wayne rooney made his englan debut at 17, this lad and other liverpool youngsters are older.  the team at the moment are anxious and the fact that they need to score more may be playing on thier minds, giving one of the youth players a game with no pressure on them may bring some surprising results. we saw last year with flanagan and robinson, they done a good job so why dont we give our youth a chance up front. i remember when fowler come on the scene he exploded and went from youth player to world class finisher overnight!!

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  29. Don't feed the troll that Kanwar is

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  30. I don't think it is just a problem at Liverpool. There was just a generation of average players. After Gerrard & Owens age group went through there was a lull in attacking quality coming through the ranks in British Football. There will always be one off exceptions, for example Rooney. But on a whole that generation was awful. No British club produced anything of any attacking quality , thats why the supposed 'Golden generation' of Gerrard, Owen and Lampard have never been challenged for a place in the national team. The new generation of 18-21 year old are light years ahead of the previous crop. I don't think it was a problem just at Liverpool, no team produced anyone near first team standard

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  31. That's probably because the Liverpool academy has been utter dross up until Rafa completely overhauled the place. Now that the attacking players we have are actually good enough I fully expect some to come through in the next few years. It's no use simply chucking these lads in when they clearly aren't physically ready yet, that will only do them more harm than good.  

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  32. Simple, because we bought so many players with the backing of our owners. People now want instant success, money does it for you. Breeding youngsters is hard in England where it is so competitive, if you do it the Arsenal way, you suffer for years without trophies, if you do it the Man City way, then instant success almost guaranteed.

    Compared to La Liga, where it is more of a two horse race than anything else, Real Madrid and Barcelona can slowly introduce the players slowly and gel with the first team. In England it is really hard to do so as evident in the Arsenal example.

    That said, I doubt if Liverpool would go down the road of Arsenal by blooding youngsters constantly. I believe generally, the long term plan is to secure a winning squad and slowly replace the aging players with the youngsters while maintaining the core which includes reina, agger, skrtel, lucas, henderson, suarez, carroll. by the time the winning squad is formed, key players like enrique, johnson, gerrard, adam, downing, kuyt, bellamy would be in their 30s and slowly we can replace them with what we produce in the academy.

    Foreseeable future lineup if everything goes well (with minimum transfer dealings):

    Reina Flanagan Kelly Coates Robinson Lucas Coady Sterling Shelvey Suso Suarez

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  33. The point of buying up talented youngsters with potential is not solely for playing them in the first team squad. The majority of them may never make it but if we can sell them on in a few years and make a profit then they will have acheived their aim. LFC is a business run by top businessmen, buying talented young players is a way of generating future income. When you see that Mike Ashley of NUFC made £35 million on a certain youth prospect you can see the financial rewards on offer if you buy and sell young players at the right time.

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  34. Some of your articles i do not agree with Jamie. However you are spot on with this article. We do have a good range of attacking players in the reserves and under 18's squad. Problem is this year Liverpool have had no European Football so this is why the League Cup and FA Cup have started with a strong 11. Were maybe they would of had a better chance to play first team football.

    I would wish we gave a chance to young players, and you are right why couldn't have we found the next Owen or Gerrard by now? What makes me laugh is that Liverpool bought Paul Konchesky and allowed one of the brightest young players at the academy to go in the other direction Lauri Dalla Valle. CRAZY!!!

    In life we never know until we try, so why shouldn't we try to bring in the youth players. Whats the worse that can happen?

    Sterling needs to start a game surely, he looks the real deal. Yes we can say hes not ready but was Owen or Gerrard when they made the first appearance? Their are others in the reserve like Silva, Ngoo, Adorjan, Morgan, who are all very very good players!

    I feel your frustration!

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  35. Great another young player who won't be near the first team for a while, whilst we make a mess of the rectifying the first team after the dodgy first team squad mess left behind by Lord Rafa.

    Good luck Teixeira, hope you enjoy filling the daunting boots of fallen giants Nemeth and co.

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  36. just demoted Caroll to reserve team. Give chance to other. I would like to see Raheem and Suso paired up rather than Henderson and Caroll

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  37. JaimieKanwarTalksPureCurry7:20 pm, January 18, 2012

    Jaimie you are a class a prick! Every time I read one of your storys its negative!!! Why dont you go buy a man utd shirt and F**k off to manchester where you can slag of Kenny, Suarez and everything LFC does with pride. Plastic fans like you really make me mad and for all your talk you dont know what it means to be a true LFC fan...

    Chewit!

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  38. I think you are right on this one! Last season when we needed wingers Ince and Bruna could have been given games and given a chance to proof themselves but nothing happened and to top it all they both get sold in the summer and we spend big on Downing. Leave us with only one reserve winger over 18 Amoo who keeps getting sent out on loan . Sterling is still to young Silva is erratic!
    What is the point of our reserves if none of them are going to get a game given some hope for the future or a chance like now when the forward line aren't doing their job.
    They are also looking at  Mumuni Abubakar an Ghanaian U20 midfield player who has been on trail.

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  39. Jaimie thats coz secret man utd fans like yourself are on here too, hating on EVERYTHING Liverpool FC does... Do us a favour chewit! DIE!!!

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  40. Another golden prospect like Ant Le Tallec and Mark Gonzales et al

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  41. The only reason this farce of a website is on my radar is because of NewsNow. Undoubted Manc on a permanent fishing expedition....either that or you really are utterly clueless.

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  42. lmao what is that statement even based on? 

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  43. Sometimes I think you don't actually know what's going on.

    We don't give Sterling a chance? He's 17! That would kill him, playing at this level so young. The reason defenders got given a chance was through injury.. If Glenno, Aurelio etc.. were all fit, do you think they would have played? NO. This kids 19, so he will probably get some sub appearances this season. Wait a season or two and he, along with others, will play more regularly. 
    I'm sure Rodolfo Borrell is a better judge of when the time is right than you, Jamie, I'm sorry.

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  44. As far as I'm concerned, the reserves were better a few seasons ago with the likes of Nemeth, Pacheco, Bruna, Plessis, Insua, Hobbs etc. We can use hindsight to argue about their quality, but those kids stood out more than the kids I've been watching over the last year or so. 

    And the reserves were playing better football before Borrell took over imo too.

    Hopefully a few of them are given a chance to break through into the first team (unlikely from looking at Dalglish's use of the squad when under no pressure at all last season), but this much vaunted overhaul of the academy just sounds like a load of hype to me

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  45. Does that mean we're not allowed an opinion now? Who cares if Borrell is a better judge? This is what fans do - we speculate.

    Sterling is 17 - if you're good enough, you're old enough. Would the world have exploded if Sterling played 20-30 minutes against Oldham the other night? Don't you think you're being a tad melodramatic saying 'it would kill him'?!

    He's a young, fit sportsman. It's football. he can handle it. No one is saying play him for 90 minutes every week, but how are we supposed to know if these players have got what it takes if they never get a chance in the first team

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  46. The only reason this site gets hits is due to the sensationalist link headlines Kanwar/Wankar has been expelled from Rawk The Liverpool Way and Lfc Online due to lie,s sock account,s and his limited inteilect IE he,s a Manc in disguise,This site went into decline when Wankar was on Remand for  sexually abusing a 3yr old Jack russell called Harry.Any true LFC fANS READING THIS DO NOT BOTHER with this cunt.

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  47. Out of the current lot, the likes of Ngoo, Sterling, Silva, Suso etc have shown A LOT more talent, and are no less physically ready than the likes of Robinson and Flanagan who somehow got promoted to the first team. And there have been plenty of opportunities to give some of the attacking reserves a chance while the senior counterparts have been floundering so badly over the last couple of years.

    Anyway, just because a player doesn't make it after leaving Liverpool that doesn't prove that he was never capable of doing so. Would N'gog be starting for Bolton if Liverpool had just hidden him away in the reserves for the last few years? I seriously doubt it...

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  48. Bloody hell everyone do you not pay attention to what is actually happening here...?!

    We have the best people in place now (Segura and Borrell) and Barca have even attempted to buy them back from us.

    Our next gen team is the youngest in the competetion for a reason!

    Along with Barca and Lisbon we have the best youth setup in the game.

    Borrell has got rid of ALL the so-so players in the reserves and promoted the quality youth players to the reserve squad so we are now playing with the youngest reserve squad in the repsective league.

    The idea is to give these talented young players time to play together in the reserve league and next gen competetions against more experienced players.

    They will develop a understanding with each other and become polished, confident, showing their best ability and win often to create a winning mentality.

    Pass and move is being drilled into them so that they are very confident on the ball and will have a better chance of making the set up the 1st team. 

    Sterling is the most promising young player in England, Suso and Teixeia are a different class and will be in and around the 1st squad next season. We came in for Teixeia before anyone else because we have had first hand experience at how good the lad is.

    Morgan is a top goal scorer for his age but his game intelligence is not good enough YET to make the setup to the 1st team.

    The other players like Brad Smith, Wisdom, Coady, Sama, Silva, Ngoo Adorjen etc are all very good but not as promising as the 3 aforementioned.

    We are handing trails to the most talented young players around like the Ghainan best young player and the baby drogba.

    The mexican Beuno will sign once he is 18. We also bought captain america - the youth captain of the american U17 side.  

    The club now has a structure in place to give themselves the best possible chance of developing another Carra, Gerrard, Fowler. Albeit they will probably be Spanish, Portugese etc.

    If it succeeds it will give us a platform to challenge the likes of Chelsea, Utd and City who far outweigh us in terms of spending power. 

    Just watch it develop, i'm sure the doubters will be suprised.

     

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  49. just no patience wat so ever, poor kenny, hope he gets a propper chance.
    incase some people  forgot the NEW owners wanted liverpool to improve the youth system and invest for the FUTURE. which they clearly have been trying to do. unfortunatly you cant turn a 17-18 year old lad into a 21-22 young man in less than a year, because players like your gerrards owens and rooneys off the top of my head are one offs, and others need more time.
    i must agree that shelvey should be playing more first team, hes class and can make good difference with his vision and eye for goal.

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  50. You can have an opinion, just this isn't speculation, this is slagging off the club and it's youth approach. I care if Borrell is a better judge, he, KK, Steve Clarke all know when a player is ready, better than you can gauge by watching reserve team matches.
    I'M melodramatic? You're writing off his first team chances before he's even HERE! Stupidity in my mind. 

    I agree that they should get a chance, I was all against Pacheco going out on loan, rather than getting game time here, but it's ludicrous to say they will never get a chance.Sorry, but 17 isn't old enough.. Maybe he should get time against teams like Oldham, but trust me when I say if he made a mistake, he wouldn't be able to forget about it, even if we win. How about you do to Sterling, ask him if he thinks he's ready, then decide.

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  51. This is typical of the over-emotional response of so many fans. Please cut and paste the section in the article where I 'slag off' the club. Highlighting areas for improvement is NOT 'slagging off', but you label it that way because you don't like my opinion. If I was criticising something you agreed with, I doubt you'd be labelling it as 'slagging off'.

    I made valid points, and backed them up with factual reasoning.

    I'm not writing him off before he's here - I'm using historical evidence as an indicator, and in this case, it's persuasive evidence.

    With respect, you need to stop labelling opinions you don't agree with as 'slagging off the club'.

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  52. Jaimie... This is why you write for a watless website and Dalglish manages Liverpool FC! Your opinion means nothing to anyone who knows anything about football and the reason this site is visited more than the others is because people want to disagree with you... Fact! How many comment are not posted on here due to you being told whats what? You constantly have negative comments about Dalglish, LFC and especially Suarez... Why dont you go support man utd, they would appreciate these RUBBISH stories more than true LFC fans!

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  53. Far too negative, Jaimie. Do you realise just how young some of the players are? Raheem was 17 barely a few weeks ago, and Adam Morgan is still only 17. For crying out loud give Kenny a chance. Introducing players too soon can do more harm than good.
    Several years ago I had a chat with a senior coach at the Academy and asked him about how much interest Gerard Houllier took in the Academy. He told me "He never comes near the place". Kenny, on the other hand, takes a great interest in the Reserves and the Academy, as his regular attendance at their games would indicate.

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  54. The points made in the article are valid, and it's not just me who thinks like this. once again: just because someone posts an opinion you don't like/agree with doesn't make them negative.

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  55. 2 bright attacking players Dalla Valle and a winger Alex Kacaniklic .
    Arsenal v Liverpool Youth Cup 2009 none of our players mentioned in the goal have played more then 1 game, Amoo!
    Klancaniklic scoring.http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=d9aPBhR_tY8

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  56. We need to stop mentioning Spearing for this season and even last as a youngster.  He's 23 now, no longer 21 or under, and Shelvey is still a youngster.  You can't compare them for this season.

    Also, you forgot to mention Ngog, who did not come through the academy but he was a reserve who was a youngster and broke through and got plenty of games.

    Suso still has a chance, he's still young, but perhaps Pacheco will never make the grade at LFC, but he had some chances.  Also, Sterling's still quite young and he will still get a look-in, maybe next season.

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  57. I think the fans are partly to blame, if after a few games your not deemed good enough then you get slated......Lucas anyone. It took great mental strength for him to carry on and actually make it at anfield although still some dont like him because he will rarely score from 30yards or so.

    I remember Dalglish actually saying last year they need to be protected because otherwise if after a poor game too early on in there carear they may never recover.

    + we live in an era where results matter most and unfortunately the young players just wouldnt be able to perform, such as Pacheco. All fans who had seen him in the reserves wanted him to play and when he got his chance which was rare i know but he hardly stood out or did much impressive.

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  58. I wouldn´t call Shevely a defencive player...? Pacheco got a few chances... Also El Zhar... Pongnolle... Richie Partridge... Eccleston...

    I think the problem is rather that the attacking playsers haven´t proven to be good enough when push came to shove...

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  59. Completely agree with you Jaimie. I submitted a comment after the Stoke game and mentioned the same fact that you have stated here, that we seem prepared to give defenders a chance but not attackers! I cannot believe that people consider that it is to risky to play 17 year old players. Arsenal haven't done to bad out of giving youngsters a chance. It's not as though they are expected to play 90 minutes. Against Stoke what harm would it have done to have had Sterling, Morgan or Ecclestone available and to have given them 10 - 15 minutes. They couldn't have done much worse than some of the dross that were on the field !

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  60. Where are Man Utd's young homegrown stars, or City, or Chelsea, or Spurs, or Arsenal? Welbeck the only one?

    The Prem League is a ruthless arms race. Teams seem not to be willing to risk blooding youngsters

    Liverpool have given decent exposure to Kelly, Flanagan, Spearing - all defensive granted but surely a bigger leap of faith as errors exposed more easily. Flanagan is a case in point, he was culpable for Larsson's volley on opening day

    I would love to see Sterling, Morgan, Adorjan (he will be a superstar, classy, silky skills, eye for killer ball) but they are all a little too young

    We will have some team in 2015 but need to ensure swift return to Europe to ensure stadium etc goes to plan

    We are signing this kid on insistence of Seguera

    Not sure of your logic with the "what exactly is the point" comment. 1 million pound is nothing for a team like Liverpool to spend on a possible good talent. We could hit the jackpot with him and if not we will recoup something on him

    YNWA

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  61. Everton have been successful in the local area recently

    We missed out on a truckload of local lads while Houllier tried to outdo Wenger by picking up continental "talent" such as le Tallec etc

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  62. Pep Guardiola has given debuts' to 25 players in the last 3 years from the Barcelona B team!!!!!!!!!Says it all really.

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  63. If we had taken another 5 or 6 points from all those home draws, and we were in 4th place, I would say be patient. But if we only have 24 goals to our name and we still cannot put the youngsters on the bench, there is something wrong. When we are 3-1 up against Oldham, a couple of those lads should have come on.

    And it is not surprising if none of our attacking players make it after they leave us, if we ruin them before they leave! I've been watching N'gog at Bolton, and, although it was right to move him on, he looks better than Carroll at the moment. What's that about? I'd leave Henderson and Carroll out of the criticism at the moment, but Adam and Downing need to be taken to one side and have it explained to them what is required. Downing, in particular has not been anywhere near good enough. His signing was the most important of the summer, for Carroll and for our weakness on the flanks. He cost far too much to not have solved those problems. As for Sterling, I think he looks the business and if he can't do better than Kuyt has been doing, move him on now!

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  64. I believe players in ngoo,adorjan,sterling,suso are very much ready for pl start

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  65. Haha, I would copy and paste if you didn't yeahh and okaii <3 you in school? make it impossible!
    When I say "slagging of the club" it's in reference to the youth policy, which you take issue with.
    Face facts, you made a pointless article. KD has been back a year, it's not his fault no attacking players have come through. I would expect those such as suso,morgan etc. to feature NEXT season.
    Anyway, seeing as this guy hasn't made a 1st team appearence, maybe he's just not ready yet. Wait, have I said that before?
    Btw, you're not writing him off, you're writing off his future at the club as clearly stated.

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  66. Haha, I would copy and paste if you didn't yeahh and okaii <3 you in school? make it impossible!
    When I say "slagging of the club" it's in reference to the youth policy, which you take issue with.
    Face facts, you made a pointless article. KD has been back a year, it's not his fault no attacking players have come through. I would expect those such as suso,morgan etc. to feature NEXT season.
    Anyway, seeing as this guy hasn't made a 1st team appearence, maybe he's just not ready yet. Wait, have I said that before?
    Btw, you're not writing him off, you're writing off his future at the club as clearly stated.

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  67. Sterling Has just turned 17. He is 5 ft 7 inches he is not ready simple as that. Rooney was bigger than sterling at 17 and bulkier you introduce him now and it could kill him. Imagine he comes on final few minutes and Managed to miss a sitter for LIVERPOOL! That would surely play on his mind. If he is not ready to be starting games then he shouldn't be in there.

    I also believe in raising the standard of the current crop as it forces the best players to strive a bit harder and the rest of the group as a whole forward

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  68. Have Suarez carry Sterling onto the pitch when he is available, he's only a small lad. It will kill two birds with one stone!

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  69. Morgan displays better game intelligence than Carroll, Henderson and Downing.

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  70. Largely at other teams, but with varying degrees of success. Sturridge was from the City academy, as was Micah Richards. I wouldn't say not willing to blood youngsters, but extremely sparingly. It's also largely about who's ready, we don't know this regardless of how things appear. Suso, Sterling and Adorjan definitely appear ready and Morgan does look better than Carroll and Kuyt but if they're not playing, surely the coaches know something we don't. However, the theory on defensive players would be true if we suddenly saw Coady, Wisdom or Sama getting their 1st team appearances first!

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  71.  Texeira and Teixeira. Welcome David and Joao?

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  72. If Carroll can have his chance why can't some of the youngsters. From what I saw of Pacheco in his games for Liverpool, he seemed comfortable in possession and had way more movement. If Carroll can come out and say "I hope for a run of games then I can really kicks start my game", why can't some of the youngsters have the same say. In MY OPINION, most of the youngsters are as good as Carroll atm (and most likely in the future too) especially when Carroll isn't even offering goals. I think that's why Kenny left out Carroll out of the team for a while and is now bringing him back in, because he wanted to alleviate the pressure of any competition coming from reserves and youth ranks. How would it look if a youngster, valued in peanuts, outperforms Carroll. It would make Carroll a bigger laughing stock than he already is. This is my opinion, but I don't see much difference between the truth either. 

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  73. Get us a striker or you are out!!!!
    Do you even know who Kenny Dalglish is?
    Ok, quick quiz:
    Name the managers who have won the premier league with two diff clubs.

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  74. You plum! What's wrong with a site that gives a different opinion to just about all the rest. Best you get back to the Daily Mail website

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  75. Well said, he'll never play. Then loam him, we have seen enough examples.

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  76. Very true and enjoyable read, please give this wealth of attacking options the chance to be right or wrong; if not then stop wasting our money on them.

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  77. I agree with the article. The news of this signing is hardly worth reporting.

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  78. Agree too. We just came thru a big change in my youth setup so to take into consideration the last 15 years will not be fair (since we producted nothing of note before this change). We are moving in the right direction and to be fair, the defensive lads are getting more chances could really be a case of opportunity. We had shortage of right backs when Glen was out so John and Martin got the look in and Seb got the chance simply becoz he was never meant for the youth setup (for god sake he was already capped). With Lucus out, that opened up the def mid role so Jay came in (btw i don't think Jay can be considered a youth anymore...more a squad player).

    Having said that...i agree we should milk some of our young lads (though i know nuts of how phyiscally ready are they...if u look at most of our supposed best...they aren't really that strong looking) especially when our attack sucks now.

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  79. not one of you have mentioned ian rush and ronnie whelan, both brought into the first team at age 19 and both had a little success.if you don't pick players how do you know what they will do?

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  80. Jaimie i think your spot on KD doesnt risk when it comes to attackin option having watched Raheem,Morgan and Suso am sure other club managers would try them coz there game is up there if carrol can do it Morgan can do it better same goes to sterlin n suso vs Downing,henderson

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  81. Thanks - A far more balanced view, yes. Jumping to the most apparent conclusion "Liverpool clearly don't identify or nurture talent" is the typical negative and lazy position of impatient fans and pundits alike. We are most likely tackling this as well or as badly as everyone else. It is most likely that we Liverpool supporters are simply more exasperated than a lot of other clubs because we always seem to "come so close..." to the title, the next big talent, our 'overdue' revival. Our lack of cutting edge in securing trophies or top players, is currently reflected in our ability to put the ball in the back of the net. It is because, a winning culture is easily lost, and REALLY hard to get back. LFC appear to be doing the right things to go forward - investing in youth, a new stadium, a home grown spine (although I'd love to see more local Liverpool lads in there), and getting a tried and tested manager who the club and fans believe in. The psychology and culture of winning, getting everything we want, is a big and enigmatic thing - something needs to click in the camp to make all these good moves come together - a spark that will seem very obvious when it comes, which until then feels impossible to find, buy, or fight for. But we have to keep trying.

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  82. I disagree with you and Jaimie on this point. I doubt any other manager knows and watches his youth squad more than Kenny. He's not stupid - he's desperate to win and succeed and I'm sure if he thinks one of the lads in the academy will help us in that, he will bring them through. It would be foolish to incur physical or more importantly psychological damage from brining a player in too early - there is a huge difference that results from a young player coming in and making an immediate impact. It is better to wait and be more sure of that happening than to gamble and risk them getting injured through being physically underdeveloped or lose confidence through having to make too big a step up.

    I would say in agreement with you that Sterling is looking very ready - it's got to be a matter of months before we put him in there surely? He does look like the real deal and far more adventurous and crucially 'fearless' to have a go, than our current 1st team options.

    A lot of players really don't perform when they are afraid to lose, but do far better individually and collectively when they enjoy themselves and sniff victory. Changing the culture from fear of losing to hunger for winning is what is needed: that alone is the difference between Liverpool succeeding or failing to score goals and get where we want or not right now....but it's so hard to instill that mentality in EVERYONE at the club - because that is what is required to change the culture of a place.

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  83. Yes, Pacheco was a great success, after all the praise he got during the youth ranks eh(!)

    More of the same please, Borrell and Rafa(!)

    Have you even seen 'Teixeia' play regularly, for you to hype him up so much?

    Laughable rose-tinted post

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  84. I had to reply and mention two attacking players that did make the grade.
    1. Florent Sinama Pongolle - straight after he left us he had an immense impact on Athletico Madrid's campaign.
    2. Danny Guthrie - Still playing for Newcastle, isn't he? I do not want to, but I will mention that they are currently above us at the table.

    Also - Nabil El Zahr (which I absoloutely hated) was given a run in the first team.

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  85. You do not use 'conclusive' evidence Jaimie, but rather conjecture. Yes you made valid points and backed them up with factual reasoning...but that is YOUR reasoning, your interprettation of the facts, selected facts that you have chosen. Facts merely lead us to think and interpret those facts - they don't typically lead to only one interpretation. In this instance, I think you've reasoned and jumped in with your opinion: "We've not seen many attacking youngsters come through the ranks, therefore this is a problem uniquely associated with Liverpool, and therefore young Teixeira will not get chances either". Blah + blah = blah.

    The same facts might lead us to concluding alternative opinions:
    1. Attacking players are a rare commodity and the emergence of attacking young talent at Liverpool broadly reflects the patterns at other clubs. 2. Liverpool's dwindling reputation and top flight opportunities has meant we cannot attract the talent that other clubs can - i.e. Liverpool's young attacking talent is not as talented as we believe they are. 3. Liverpool's streaming of young talent into it's 1st team is very good - as fans without the everyday insight the management and coaches at the club have, it is difficult to accurately assess the potential impact of our youth. 4. Over the past 15 years, Liverpool has struggled to compete financially with other top teams to attract young players. Etc.

    More broadly, I've noticed in so many of your articles Jaimie, that you believe your use of facts necessarily leads to a singularly valid interprettation. I think this is what so often annoys people who read your blogs...alongside your misleading or sensationalised titles / 'hooks'. Access to facts does not give you exclusive access to truth. The facts you give lead to the opinions you give and that is all. However you appear to believe the unquestionable facts lead to unquestionable opinions - or at least that's the tone you have - and 'in my opinion' it annoys the hell out of people. At best it's conjecture, at worst it's lazy journalism.

    Your opinion is as important as anyone else's...but like mine, that is all it is.

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  86. No where near impossible to copy and paste, just more annoying ;)

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  87. Barca, not Real. Real has a few of their own players, but minimal. For Barca, more than half of their starting 11 went through La Masia at some point(Pique and Fabregas left for a bit).

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  88. what a stupid stupid post. Andrew Wallen 68 why are you bothered by what Newcastle have done it doesnt matter. The Management Team at anfield will decide the transfer policy of the club. if they think they need a striker they will buy one. I suspect they wont and these are the reasons why.
    1) Gerrard is easing back to full match fitness
    2) Suerez will be back in Feb.
    3) With both these players fit and providing a decent service to Andy Carroll maybe we will see the best of him.

    A striker needs decent service, has AC had it ..........no maybe if he does he will turn into a £35 million striker

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  89. Am I on a different planet to some on here? We have NOT signed this guy at all! KD actual states that he has MADE AN  OFFER ( some say in the region of £800,000 to £1M ). Now there is no place that reports a contract has been signed and that the player is now Anfield's. What amazes me also is that "The Guardian" says it is completed. Am I to take it that KD is wrong in his comment today then?

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  90. We haven't bought Teixeira yet! It was an offer only.

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  91. Gentlemen! Gentlemen! We have NOT bought this guy ; only made an offer.

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  92. i agree with jaimie.this is a fact i was not aware of.i really loved shelvey and pachico who seemed to remind me of magic johnson of la lakers in that they could attack anytime without warning or could supply the ball to a team mate whose position you could think they werent aware of.I was also appalled by the display against manchester city at home where in the last 15 minutes,we had obvious chances go begging.however,jaimie needs to agree that at least benitez re organized the academy and never got the chance to reap its rewards seeing that he never sees any positives from that era.

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  93. In hindsight, maybe giving one or two of the young strikers a go wont be such a bad idea... I mean, i still have faith in AC, but the lad spends more time flat on his ass or on his face than he does with the ball at his feet. The likes of suso, sterling and morgan.. even young Coady cud do a good job me thinks.

    Meh.. i have faith in KK... I really hope KK signs a fwd before the end of Jan... BTW - in the last couple of games, why wasnt MAXI in the team?

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  94. Jaimie, in response to your comments with DanielLFC, and because I'm waiting ages for you to approve my comment:

    You do not use 'conclusive' evidence Jaimie, but rather conjecture. Yes you made valid points and backed them up with factual reasoning...but that is YOUR reasoning, your interprettation of the facts, selected facts that you have chosen. Facts merely lead us to think and interpret those facts - they don't typically lead to only one valid and acceptable interpretation. In this instance, I think you've reasoned and jumped in with your opinion: "We've not seen many attacking youngsters come through the ranks, therefore this is a problem uniquely associated with Liverpool, and therefore young Teixeira will not get chances either". Blah + blah = blah.

    The same facts might lead us to concluding alternative opinions:
    1. Attacking players are a rare commodity and the emergence of attacking young talent at Liverpool broadly reflects the patterns at other clubs. 2. Liverpool's dwindling reputation and top flight opportunities has meant we cannot attract the talent that other clubs can - i.e. Liverpool's young attacking talent is not as talented as we believe they are. 3. Liverpool's streaming of young talent into it's 1st team is very good - as fans without the everyday insight the management and coaches at the club have, it is difficult to accurately assess the potential impact of our youth. 4. Over the past 15 years, Liverpool has struggled to compete financially with other top teams to attract young players. Etc.

    More broadly, I've noticed in so many of your articles Jaimie, that you believe your use of facts necessarily leads to a singularly valid interprettation. I think this is what so often annoys people who read your blogs...alongside your misleading or sensationalised titles / 'hooks'. Access to facts does not give you exclusive access to truth. The facts you give lead to the opinions you give and that is all. However you appear to believe the unquestionable facts lead to unquestionable opinions - or at least that's the tone you have - and 'in my opinion' it annoys the hell out of people. At best it's conjecture, at worst it's lazy journalism.

    Your opinion is as important as anyone else's...but like mine, that is all it is.

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  95. Completely agree!!

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  96. In reply to Jaimie K: You do not use 'conclusive' evidence Jaimie, but rather conjecture. Yes you made valid points and backed them up with factual reasoning...but that is YOUR reasoning, your interprettation of the facts, selected facts that you have chosen. Facts merely lead us to think and interpret those facts - they don't typically lead to only one valid and acceptable interpretation. In this instance, I think you've reasoned and jumped in with your opinion. You say: "We've not seen many attacking youngsters come through the ranks, therefore this is a problem uniquely associated with Liverpool, and therefore young Teixeira will not get chances either". Blah + blah = blah.

    The same facts might lead us to concluding alternative opinions:
    1. Attacking players are a rare commodity and the emergence of attacking young talent at Liverpool broadly reflects the patterns at other clubs. 2. Liverpool's dwindling reputation and top flight opportunities has meant we cannot attract the talent that other clubs can - i.e. Liverpool's young attacking talent is not as talented as we believe they are. 3. Liverpool's streaming of young talent into it's 1st team is very good - as fans without the everyday insight the management and coaches at the club have, it is difficult to accurately assess the potential impact of our youth. 4. Over the past 15 years, Liverpool has struggled to compete financially with other top teams to attract young players. Etc.

    More broadly, I've noticed in so many of your articles Jaimie, that you believe your use of facts necessarily leads to a singularly valid interprettation. I think this is what so often annoys people who read your blogs...alongside your misleading or sensationalised titles / 'hooks'. Access to facts does not give you exclusive access to truth. The facts you cite lead to the opinions you give and that is all. However you appear to believe the unquestionable facts lead to unquestionable opinions - or at least that's the tone you have - and 'in my opinion' it annoys the hell out of people. At best it's conjecture, at worst it's lazy journalism.

    Your opinion is as important as anyone else's...but like mine, that is all it is.

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  97. bet you're feeling like an idiot now you fucking cunt

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  98. Eating your words yet you mug!

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  99. Seems like Brendan Rodgers disagrees with you mate. Suso and Sterling may have a say in the matter also.

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  100. Lol. I bet you feel stupid after writing this now.

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