In September, Blackpool winger -and former Liverpool youth player - Thomas Ince admitted that he was glad he left Anfield in 2011, and explained that he'd rather take a risk at a smaller club than 'sign a 4-year deal and not play'. Ince's move to the Seasider's has worked out fantastically well, and according to Blackpool manager Ian Holloway, the youngster was stifled at Anfield, and made the right decision to leave.
Speaking to the Daily Mail a few days ago, Holloway - who also signed Reds midfielder Jonjo Shelvey on loan last season - said:
"What held him [Ince] back was he went to a club [Liverpool] that had an academy and there was no way through.
"He got fed up with that so he came and learnt his trade here.
"God knows what he could do with one of their [Liverpool's] shirts on now.
"He has been absolutely unplayable for us and has been outstanding in such a short period of time"
Thankfully, young players are now progressing through the academy and into the first team, which is great to see.
Ince grabbed 16 goals and assists in 29 starts for Blackpool last season, which is a great return for a 20 year old, and if not for a cruel late goal in the play-off final, the youngster could've been playing against Liverpool in the Premier League this season. He has started this season in fantastic form too, grabbing an amazing 6 goals and 6 assists in 8 games so far, a return that has attracted the attention of Manchester United.
Many Liverpool fans feel that the club let Ince go too early, but the reality is it was his choice to leave, and the youngster has no regrets about doing so. He observed:
"I worked with some great people [at Liverpool] like Steve Heighway and Hughie MacAuley and I had a great schooling, but I didn’t want to sign a four-year deal and not play.
"Blackpool gave me the stage to play regularly and I haven’t looked back. It was only right I put my faith in Blackpool because they had put their faith in me. They have helped me become the player I am and they are the reason I have got this chance with England."
It took some guts to leave a massive club like Liverpool, but the gamble has paid off, and I wouldn't be surprised if a few Premier League teams will be casting a covetous eye his way in January, perhaps even...Liverpool?
Jaimie Kanwar
Speaking to the Daily Mail a few days ago, Holloway - who also signed Reds midfielder Jonjo Shelvey on loan last season - said:
"What held him [Ince] back was he went to a club [Liverpool] that had an academy and there was no way through.
"He got fed up with that so he came and learnt his trade here.
"God knows what he could do with one of their [Liverpool's] shirts on now.
"He has been absolutely unplayable for us and has been outstanding in such a short period of time"
Thankfully, young players are now progressing through the academy and into the first team, which is great to see.
Ince grabbed 16 goals and assists in 29 starts for Blackpool last season, which is a great return for a 20 year old, and if not for a cruel late goal in the play-off final, the youngster could've been playing against Liverpool in the Premier League this season. He has started this season in fantastic form too, grabbing an amazing 6 goals and 6 assists in 8 games so far, a return that has attracted the attention of Manchester United.
Many Liverpool fans feel that the club let Ince go too early, but the reality is it was his choice to leave, and the youngster has no regrets about doing so. He observed:
"I worked with some great people [at Liverpool] like Steve Heighway and Hughie MacAuley and I had a great schooling, but I didn’t want to sign a four-year deal and not play.
"Blackpool gave me the stage to play regularly and I haven’t looked back. It was only right I put my faith in Blackpool because they had put their faith in me. They have helped me become the player I am and they are the reason I have got this chance with England."
It took some guts to leave a massive club like Liverpool, but the gamble has paid off, and I wouldn't be surprised if a few Premier League teams will be casting a covetous eye his way in January, perhaps even...Liverpool?
Jaimie Kanwar
Rumour: He is joining Man Utd like his dad ...
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think sterling is a better player than him or Saha....and we won't regret much on him leaving LFC. Suso, Pacheco, Morgan, et al we got similar/better forwards coming through Academy.
I dont think Pacheco will ever make it he went to Norwich on loan and was poor and also when he went back to Spain.
ReplyDeleteInce is typical of many an English youngster at a big club, their progress is stifled by the import of foreign talent, as owners and fans demand instant success. Only the very very best come through, my view is to go on loan to a smaller club blossom and come back and hopefully more doors will be open for you.
holloway is an idiot, Inces problems were his Ego and his Dad. one though he was and the other wanted Pele's wages.
ReplyDeleteWow! Imagine if he was at the club now with BR in charge! Would hate if he goes to United and becomes a massive player Arghh
ReplyDeleteThat's a clip of one game!!! Most the passes he made in that clip didn't even reach another Blackpool player... Not a great player and would be lost if he joined a top club in the Premier League IMO but a couple more years he'll be good enough
ReplyDeleteWas his move a bit premature? What with youth players now getting a good look in?
ReplyDeleteproblem with Thomas Ince was his attitude! i hear he demanded first team inclusion, and his father tore into the manager, good riddance!
ReplyDeleteI suppose having Ince in your team would cause his brat of a dad to be hanging about putting in his opinion, a bit like Wright Philips and Ian Wright, who used to blast Sven on tv for not including him in the England team when he was a pundit. (think he got sacked by BBC)
ReplyDeletei watched a few reserves games, a couple of years back when ince & eccleston where playing, tbh neither were brilliant, so goodridence.
ReplyDeleteQuite right. The situation was a bit like Hamilton and his father in F1. The parents couldn't keep their noses out of their child's development. I know this is natural but there was always the "father knows best" attempt at picking the side.
ReplyDeleteLets get real -still alot to learn but as i told him personally he needed to get game time and fair do's to KK he let him go on loan
ReplyDeleteClearly if he had stayed BR would have had him in or near the 1st team squad now;(
Sterling, Suso, Adorjan, Pacheco, Ibe, Sinclair are all better than Ince. Honestly it would have been tough for him to break into U21 side which is now in the premier position in U21 league.
ReplyDeleteI think his dad will ruin his career he has too much influence on the young lad, although i think thomas his a good player but his temper will let him down unfortunately. Raheem Sterling and Suso are both more mature and Imo better players and thats not sour grapes thats the truth, Ian holloway needs to be thankful to our club for letting him go too blackpool he needs to focus on his own club and stop making assumptions over how our youth players have been stifled. Thomas ince would have got his chance with Brenden Rodgers but his dad thought he was better than he actually his, and his decision may have damaged the lads career. Its all about the money, money, money.
ReplyDeleteInce isnt anywere near as good as this video suggests, and he would only become a big time charlie like his old man if he ever made it, which is very unlikely!
ReplyDeleteOn another note, can "Being Liverpool" please be edited as BR is looking more like david brent with every passing episode, its becoming embarrassing, it would be so much more interesting with less of the self styled messiah on show
He was not all that at all, I watch all Liverpool's youth games and he lacks ability at the top level.........................Championship is about his level.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you over Dani Pacheco although the lad works his heart out for the club, he dosen`t seem to be as talented has some of the other youngsters imo but lets hope he proves me wrong.
ReplyDeleteWhat a worthless video !!!!
ReplyDeleteThe saying....The grass Isn`t always greener springs too mind.
ReplyDeleteAgreed on Pacheco, didnt impress on any of his loan spells and alot of LFC managers having thought he was worthy of a run in the first team.
ReplyDeleteInce has not proven himself at the top level yet, Kacanaklic and San Jose seem much bigger losses at present.
ReplyDeleteI have exclusive never been seen footage of Friday's being Liverpool when Rodgers will reveal the 3 people he expects to let Liverpool down this season.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.talksport.co.uk/magazine/virals/121010/being-liverpool-names-brendan-rodgers-envelope-revealed-182814
i really like the way adorjan plays, hope he gets a chance soon.
ReplyDeleteyou the only other person iv herd mention his name
Would love to have seen him on the right flank for us, with Sterling on the left, in the long term at least. Seen a few bits of him at Blackpool and he has been very good. Of course, a different level but would have been nice to have him back in the squad for us. It is understandable and predictable some of the comments about him but hey, hardly surprising, considering the manner of his exit and the way people react to that.
ReplyDeleteInce was a good player at the Academy and he's still a good player who will move to a bigger club than he's currently at pretty soon. To some extent, I agree that under Rafa there was no hope for young players to get a chance ahead of senior players. God knows why because at the same time Rafa invested heavily into attracting these kids. That said, they can't all become first teamers and as far as pedigree goes I don't think we're getting the short end of the stick with the likes of Suso and Sterling. I think they're both more talented and better players than Ince so imo he would have been on the bench at best if he'd stayed at Anfield.
ReplyDeleteI thought he was a decent prospect at LFC that had a chance. Done well at Blackpool but these rumours of signing for Man United, I don't think he is ready yet to be a first team squad regular and to a lesser/bigger extent as the situation at LFC, it could stop his progress by going to a big club.
ReplyDeletehe won the golden boot with Spain in the under 19 championships, he has to have something.. I get the feeling his confidence is shot and/or the English coaching methods of track back and aggression have done him damage. Who knows?
ReplyDeleteseem to remember holloway making similarly glowing remarks about charlie adam in an attempt to drive up the price. lets not forget that soon after his blather about adam it emerged that holloway had negotiated for a share in the transfer fee. adam turned out to be a run of the mill mediocre premier league player which is a similar level that ince is likely to attain. in the period since his departure, shelvey, kelly, spearing, wisdom, sterling, flannagan and robinson have all gone on to be a part of the first team squad with three of those players achieving full england caps. Ince showed a lack of respect for other squad players, a lack of humility and a lack of patience. Lets hope man utd pick him up
ReplyDeleteI think what would benefit the youngsters at clubs like us, Man Utd, Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea, is to have a 'B' side and put them in a lower league where they can compete in a full season and in cup competition, much like Real Madrid and Barca do, the main reason why they have so many youngsters coming through. This is something Rafa suggested when he was in charge and it was scoffed at, however, this would solve the problem of having to send players out on loan and playing in a different system to the first team and losing the cohesiveness of the team.
ReplyDeleteApparently Ince had/has an attitude problem, thinks he is bigger than he is, needs someone like Holloway to stroke his ego and not be at a club where he isn't the biggest player.
ReplyDeletehis dad is charlie as fergie calls him i doubt he will play for them fergie picks players on their attitude as well as their abilty
ReplyDeleteThere was no hope? Then why did he play Plessil, Pacheco, El Zhar, Ayala, Insua, Paletta, just to name a few. Rafa played youngsters quite a bit, but being that he started as a youth coach for Real Madrid, he knew when they weren't ready.
ReplyDeleteIt is dilglsih fault, he did not gave chances to our youngster. If manager is not willing to give our youngster a chance than what is the use of our acadmey and where these boy will go. Its mean we have made a acadmey to bring talent from all over the world and than make them reserve player and ruin their future. Kenny wasted 125 million, instead if he would had looked into acadmey he would had finished better. Now here is a manager who is giving youngster chance to shine therefore, kids are looking more energetic and positive, these Kids are not only saving clubs precious resources but also provide all the help to manager. We get pleased even if we lost to see our kid playing rather than getting pleased to see big money spend are wining a game for us. We want to see our own youngster on the pitch to flourish and demostrate
ReplyDeletehe is no better than sterling or suso and we have adorjan and ibe coming through so no need to regret
ReplyDeletethat is how i view it too,when he first came over he was HOT and even under rafa whenhe made some camio apperances he made things gome to life...its deffo a confident issue...he has the talent but can we used it and nurish in the right way is the question.
ReplyDeleteMany players had the ability - Le Tallec and Pongolle were the top talents in Europe - but never made it. Whether they lack the right mentality or what is a mystery, but talent is not everything. Pacheco has talent but very little to show for it
ReplyDeletehe never really looked good enough to be in the reserve team so its no surprise that they let him move on .....
ReplyDeletedon't think he would get near the first team squad - unless his dad was the manager !
ReplyDeleteif Ince was good enough to play on the right, we would have kept Amoo who was better, and kept Ince out in the reserves
ReplyDeletewhat utter nonsense. Dalglish played Flanagan, Robinson, Kelly, and laterly Sterling. He did not waste £125 million, a gross exageration. One or two - mainly Downing and Carroll - haven't worked out. I suppose he wasted money on Suarez too ? Yes we want to see our kids coming through under Rogers - its great - bont dont issue false blame at Kennys door. And quite how he wasted £125m when hspend was about £50m is quite hard to fathom
ReplyDeleteWhy are we even discussing this ? Sterling, Suso, Adorjan, Robinson, Wisdom, Coady, Flanagan, Coates, Sama, Ibe, all great prospects. Ince ? wasnt good enough for the reserve team.
ReplyDeleteI didn't rate Amoo better than Ince when they were with us, all he has is pace and power (as well as his loan spells were dire, whereas Ince has been a hit at a better level than Amoo was at Bury) but that is of course a somewhat subjective opinion as well as judging youth at that age is unpredictable as to how good they turn out in the long term. 'flatter to deceive' comes to mind, when illustrating the dodginess of a fan (me included) judging youth players.
ReplyDeleteUnlike Ince, Amoo has been a dud in the lower leagues to date. To quote a PNE fan on a forum about Amoo's performances for them, 'dog sh*t'.
Carroll, Hendo, Downing and Adam all cost together more than £50m, in terms of expenditure. AC = £35m, Hendo = £16m, Adam = £9m, Downing = £20m, Enrique = £5m. £125m maybe an exaggeration, so too is playing down the figure to 'about £50m'. 'one or two.....haven't worked out'? Looking at that list, clearly more than 1 or 2. Downing, AC, Adam & Hendo, as well as maybe Enrique who has been a half-a-season wonder is all, who have all been disappointing to say the least. I don't know how reliable the info is but I read that Suarez interested the club well before KK II came along, although admittedly that could be IRWT brigade spin.
ReplyDeleteKK II did give kids a chance, had to with the sorry state of the squad, just the same that Rodgers has had to as well, although credit to Rodgers for the manner of their integration into his system.
I don't believe Ince is good enough to play for LFC , i watched him the other night in the under 21 and he did nothing special to make me realise we missed him in the league.
ReplyDelete