Liverpool FC Official Thread

Ever since the Champions League Final between Barcelona and Manchester United, and considering the recent rise of Barcelona ​​with a lot of young players coming through their system, people have been talking about the differences between the Academy systems in Spain and England and the style of football in both leagues. Indeed the Premier League has recently produced a very detailed document (the Elite Player Performance Plan EPPP) that is a further attempt to modify the Academy system in England.

Facts

England have won no youth trophies at World Cup level. They won the UEFA European Under-17 Championship in 2010 but this was their only trophy since winning the UEFA European Under-18 Championship in 1993, 18 years ago. This can certainly be improved.

Analysis

Why hasn’t all the money spent on Academies produced better results in the lower age groups?
What is the difference in Spain for example who have won about 12 titles at youth level in the same period?
After many years in the ranks of Real Madrid as a coach and with my experience of the Liverpool Academy, the first conclusion I have drawn is that you must have a clear line of work and a person responsible for technical supervision (at Liverpool I brought Pep Segura to co-ordinate this plan). It is necessary to devise a plan to be followed and that all resources are geared to faithfully following that model.
Whether at club or national level, first you have to select coaches who want to teach, train and win in that order.
You then need to teach them what style of ​​play and what systems are to be used and how to coach this playing style. It is essential to train them how to coach what the Club (through the selected Technical Director’s leadership) wants to teach the players.
In addition to this, coaching courses run by the FA must have an up to date modern programme, helping forward-thinking coaches who should work at good clubs, and then the club itself should stamp its own trademark on the coaching.
The EPPP is introducing a ‘performance clock’ which should benefit each boy’s progression as this will enable the boy to move but take his ‘clock’ with him to ensure continuous development.

Quality

This is not the problem. British youth players do have quality, demonstrated at U17 and U21 recently and, indeed few weeks ago at first team level, against Spain, which proved that, individually, players can have a great future.

Scouting

A possible drawback to the development of grassroots football in England has been the rules for recruiting players. With the aim of ​​protecting the smaller clubs, they merely limited something that is allowed at the professional level and this is the ability to move between teams. A professional player who wants to switch teams can force a situation with his club and, after suitable figure is paid, can have a transfer; however a boy who wanted to go to another team has in the past been restricted by geographical limitations or maybe the club with most resources to improve this player was not allowed to sign him until he reached a certain age and only after many problems between the two clubs had been resolved. I note from the recent Premier League EPPP document that there are proposed changes to be made in the recruitment rules and this is something I have been advocating for several years. This should be an improvement on the previous system and the sooner it is implemented the better.
When I worked with the youth teams of Real Madrid, we used to trial hundreds of players each year, mainly coming from Madrid, but also from all over Spain and from other countries after they reached a certain age. Moreover, the scouts were looking for players throughout the whole country. As Pep Segura, Technical Director of the Liverpool Academy, says, we must gather the talent. If the most talented players cannot work with others of their level or higher, they will not progress and many well end up being missed.
In trying to protect the smaller teams, development of the players becomes difficult and competition amongst the clubs to improve the quality of teaching is not stimulated. The better you work, the more players you will produce and the more players will come to your club to learn. Some players will go to other clubs and you will be compensated, but you will continue to attract players for the quality of your work, not just because they live nearby and have no choice.
As well, in Spain for example, 3 times a year at 5 different venues, regional teams meet to compete and there is a rule that prevents the Federation selecting more than 4 players from the same club, allowing other players from smaller clubs to take part. This is where the work of the Federation’s selection for the national teams starts.

Competition

Another important aspect that stands out, as the former Technical Director of the Spanish Federation, Fernando Hierro (the famous former player of Real Madrid who knows the English structure from his time at Bolton) has noted, is the system of competition. In Spain the players compete every week and do so at the appropriate level. In England, at age 19, if they are not quite at the required level, they are not good enough to play in the Premier League so have to go to other lower clubs where the level and style of football may not help them improve their basic skills - yes they would have to have aggression and competitiveness, but not necessarily the basic techniques that will help them grow in the future. Those who are better but still not quite good enough sit on the first team bench and may be there for years until they get fed up with it or they are a ‘super class’ and play regularly. Once again I hope that the proposed changes to competition contained in the Premier League EPPP document provide a solution to this issue that concerned me greatly during my time at Liverpool.

Possible solutions?

U21 League

Change the structure of competition by creating a U21 League.
In the absence of the subsidiary teams of the club being able to compete in other divisions as happens in Spain, the only way to provide matches for these young players is through the Reserve League. From my point of view, this should be an U21 national competition with permission to select a limited number of first team players for them to keep pace with competition or recover from injury.

Investment in coaching and facilities

Invest in basic training of coaches, not just through facilities but also by training those coaches who spend most time with the youth players at the critical stage of learning.
Another aspect to consider, if you want to increase the quantity and quality of the sessions, there is the possibility of using modern artificial pitches in some age groups to improve technique and increase the number of hours of practice.

Local Regional teams

Create regional teams with a limited number of players per club to avoid prejudicing the daily work of the clubs, and with competitions between them a few times a year to start producing local players. These teams could be county based or regional based (as in Spain) following the regional set up of the FA and local county FAs.

Standardised style

Common guidelines to impose a particular agreed style of play and coaching for all these young local and regional teams. All coaches would be responsible for following this philosophy which should be devised by the Technical Department of the Federation

Obviously this is a personal view based on 10 years working in grassroots football and my experience at the professional level, but at least the ideas are there on the table for those who want to discuss them. I also hope to see the proposed Premier League EPP Plan implemented quickly and effectively so that it can come to fruition.

“Yes, it’s horrible,” said Pepe Reina. “It’s hard to handle, but you have to. It is the first year in my career that I have not played at all in Europe. It is just weird watching. I like to play twice a week as it gives me the rhythm of competition. That’s the situation, though, and we have to face it.”

Having outrun and outplayed Chelsea last weekend, Liverpool will look to channel their frustration against Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday afternoon. They will need to give everything.

“They are in a gear above everybody, a step ahead,” he said. “They are clear favourites to win the title. That’s what happens when you spend £300 million in such a short period of time.”

Not that Liverpool have been parsimonious themselves. John Henry and the Fenway Group have invested substantially in trying to make sure these players have games to occupy them in midweek next season — and it is not another go at the Europa League they are after.

“We have to be humble and we have to be patient,” Reina said. “We have to work hard. It is not that easy. You can’t just write a cheque and expect titles. We are doing well right now, developing a proper squad and we’re back being competitive with the biggest teams. We have to get back in the Champions League sooner rather than later.

“When the new owners arrived they asked us questions. They wanted us to tell us what it would take for us to improve the club. Basically we did what we thought was right. In my opinion [Henry] has done three very big things that have made the difference: appointed Kenny Dalglish, appointed Damien Comolli and deepened the squad.”
It is clear that Reina has bought into what Liverpool are trying to do. Competing with City financially is a non-starter, so Liverpool are looking to make the change a cultural one, to instil a philosophy of play in the club at every level, right down to the under-12s. It reminds Reina of the way he was raised at Barcelona.

“We played exactly the same as the first team, when we were kids. That means that when you get your chance with the first team you can cope because you are playing exactly the same way. We need that here. Once you have played that style in the younger divisions it makes it easier to make the step up; players know the style, the philosophy of play, the system.”

Reina is a perfect example of how much a footballer is shaped by what happens at this formative stage of development. In his case, the key year is 1992. “I was 10 years old when they changed the back-pass rule,” he said. “I was still young enough, thankfully. It caught me just in time, as I was beginning to develop my skills.”

The decision to stop keepers picking up back-passes was designed to prevent time-wasting but it also ended up creating a generation of keepers who had to be comfortable playing football.

What better place to learn to play football than in La Masia. Two years after that rule change, Reina was ensconced at Barcelona’s academy, drilling with Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Mikel Arteta and Thiago Motta.

“It was a special place to have grown up because you live with boys who have the same ambitions, the same dreams and the same nightmares too.” He was intensively trained to kick off both feet, to be able to pick a pass from his deep position. To this day he still takes part in the outfield players’ possession drills at Melwood.

Contingency smiled again. When Louis van Gaal arrived to take over at Barcelona he brought Frans Hoek from Amsterdam. Hoek had the vision to see how the role of the goalkeeper could be revolutionised and at Ajax he had helped form a gangling young Edwin van der Sar into the prototypical modern No 1, playing as an 11th outfielder. Hoek immediately set about forming Reina and Victor Valdes in Van der Sar’s image.
“Van der Sar was the one for me,” Reina said. “I followed him when he started to play as a sweeper-keeper at Ajax. Dutch keepers had always had something of that, from Hans van Breukelen to Ruud Hesp. So it was great for me to work with Frans, the man who had been Van der Sar’s goalkeeping coach.”

At 18 Reina was thrust into the Barcelona first team by injuries, keeping goal for a side containing Ronald de Boer, Pep Guardiola, Luis Enrique and Rivaldo. A change of manager saw a change of fortune, though. He was loaned out to Villarreal in 2002, made it a permanent move the following year. Then, in 2005, Rafael Benítez claimed he had brought “the best goalkeeper in Spain” to Liverpool.

He swiftly made a case for being the best goalkeeper in England, too, racing to 55 clean sheets in 100 games. His ability to play as a sweeper-keeper changed the way the whole team played, allowing them to squeeze up the field. He also became a dangerous counter-attacking weapon. He can throw the ball with power and accuracy to the halfway line and out of hand he kicks in the Latin American style, side on, sending the ball in a low arc up the field. “It’s a more direct way of delivering the ball to someone because it does not go so high in the air,” he said.

As the team came together on the pitch, the club spiralled into debt off it. Suddenly it got worse: players were sold, ambitions curtailed and Benítez left when the team missed out on the Champions League.

Reina shares an agent with his former manager and many expected him to follow Xabi Alonso, Javier Mascherano and Fernando Torres out of the club. But Reina stayed, despite Arsenal’s best efforts to tempt him to London.

“We could have gone into administration,” he said. “It was the darkest moment in Liverpool’s history. A year on the picture is much brighter, much clearer. The whole way through my mind was on Liverpool.

It’s true I could have left at some point. I decided to stay here and give the best of myself to try to help the team bring back the winning days. It was also a decision I made for my wife and my kids, they feel like Liverpool is home.

“I’ve been here seven years so I’m the third most senior player at the club, after Jamie Carragher and Stevie Gerrard. At the West Brom game they told me I was the oldest Liverpool player on the pitch. I’m 29: it’s a disgrace! It’s all gone so quickly. It’s a good sign for the team though, that they are at the right age to compete for many years at the highest level. It makes me feel old now though.”

Not that that means the end is in sight for Reina. Brad Friedel is making himself very popular among his peers by playing into his 40s.
“He’s setting us a great example,” Reina said. “I’m 29 but hopefully I have still got 10 years ahead of me. I’ve got four more years on my contract after this season and my head is in Liverpool. Everyone can be calm and chilled out about that. But at some point in the future I’d like to go back to Spain and play for Atletico Madrid like my father did. I probably won’t be in a position to choose, it will be up to them to take the decision for me.”

A little hint, that, of Reina’s fatalism. He has recently written a book that disclosed how incredibly superstitious he was ahead of games. The City game on Sunday will be no different. Last night he had his two cheese-and-ham toasties, washed down with a glass of wine, and this morning he will head to the same petrol station to fill up his tank, even though the tank is already near full. He will park in the same space at Anfield and then begins the elaborately choreographed routine of getting his into his kit and going down to the pitch.

“Crazy, eh?” he said. “You start with some superstitions then when you win games or keep a clean sheet you look for something. At some point it is just insecurity. If I do it I feel safe and ready for the game. My head works properly. If I miss one thing, I’m not the same. If I don’t fill my car before the game I’m not the same.” Liverpool will hope Reina’s routine is not interrupted: they will need him at his best if they are to beat City.

Pepe Reina on . . .
Hicks and Gillett: We could have gone into administration. It was the darkest moment in Liverpool’s history. A year on the picture is much brighter, much clearer.

Being superstitious: At some point it is just insecurity. If I do it I feel safe and ready for the game. My head works properly. If I miss one thing, I’m not the same. If I don’t fill my car with petrol before the game I’m not the same.

Manchester City: They are in a gear above everybody. A step ahead. They are clear favourites to win the title. That’s what happens when you spend £300 million in such a short period of time.

The future: I’m 29 but hopefully I have still got 10 years ahead of me. I’ve got four more years on my contract here and my head is in Liverpool. But at some point I’d like to play for Atletico Madrid, like my father.

ResurrectionRooney wrote:Pepe Reina on . . .
Hicks and Gillett: We could have gone into administration. It was the darkest moment in Liverpool’s history. A year on the picture is much brighter, much clearer.

What a disgusting comment. I hope that is a joke article.

Jay wrote:

ResurrectionRooney wrote:Pepe Reina on . . .
Hicks and Gillett: We could have gone into administration. It was the darkest moment in Liverpool’s history. A year on the picture is much brighter, much clearer.

What a disgusting comment. I hope that is a joke article.

U are 1 fuking cheeky kunt m8 i swear i'll wreck u i swear on my mum's life

ResurrectionRooney wrote:Right, so Hicks and Gillett were darker days for your club than Hillsborough and Heysel, glad I know that now.

Jay wrote:

ResurrectionRooney wrote:Right, so Hicks and Gillett were darker days for your club than Hillsborough and Heysel, glad I know that now.

U are 1 fuking cheeky kunt m8 i swear i'll wreck u i swear on my mum's life

Jord wrote:

Jay wrote:
U are 1 fuking cheeky kunt m8 i swear i'll wreck u i swear on my mum's life

Is there a story behind this?

Jord wrote:

Jay wrote:
U are 1 fuking cheeky kunt m8 i swear i'll wreck u i swear on my mum's life

Is there a story behind this?

ResurrectionRooney wrote:

Jord wrote:Is there a story behind this?

Yes, Down Syndrome.

ResurrectionRooney wrote:

Jord wrote:Is there a story behind this?

Yes, Down Syndrome.

I Andy I wrote:

Jord wrote:

I Andy I wrote:

i no u are scared lil bitch fuckin sad mate really sad jus shows what a scared lil gay boy u are fone me if u got da balls cheeky prick see if u can step up lil queer

samiz wrote:I'm sure Andy said something yesterday along the lines of having more logic than most of our members