Liverpool FC Forum

by **The Manhattan Project** » Wed Dec 05, 2007 11:48 pm

David Raven

I wish I was called David Raven.

Seriously. That's a name worthy of a superhero.

I could solve crimes, protect the innocent, and nest among the skyscrapers of Gotham City.

by **peterc1992** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 12:34 am

All of the Liverpool players are young(<20) and they outplayed a team with alot of older players.Thats a good sign,most of the everton players were players that probable didnt make the first team last week and some good players that are out injured while our team is made up of lots of youngsters.

Nemeth looks inpresive,he was out injured for a while and now he has 4 in 2,we all know about lucas,hobbs is looking decent so far and could start for senior on saturday,el zhar is looking good so far,spearing is a decent hard workin midfielder,insua looks good.the future looks good.

by **Fowler_E7** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 12:44 am

the reserves have been quite impresive this year BUT it is a huge step from reserves to the first team. Sebastion Leto looks like Leo Messi in the reserves but has been very average when starting a first team game, but hopefully some of them will make the grade.

by **mungi** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 5:51 am

dean bouzanis will be sitting on the first team bench in 2-3 years. give him 2 more years and he will be good enough to keep in most EPL first team. this guy is absolutly brilliant

by **JoeTerp** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 6:23 am

anyone else notice the amount of famous players we have on our youth team:
Steven Irwin (captain) - glad to see he survived the stingray attack
Michael Collins - Not just an Irish revolutionary and pilot of the moon landing but a footballer too
Michael Scott - The American David Brent
Joe Kennedy - Famous American businessman and father of JFK
Shane O-Connor - didn't he sing "Nothing compares 2 u" when he had his head shaved?

by **Owzat** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 8:28 am

Leonmc0708 wrote:Players from the youth or reserves that have played in the first team in the last four years:

Emanual Insua
Sebastian Leto
JAck Hobbs
Nabil El Zhar
Stephen Warnock
Darren Potter
Neil Mellor
Zak Whitbread
John Welsh
Mark Smyth
David Raven

There may be more.

Point being they are not good enough.

All these great clubs that do it, who are they ?

It's all part of the manc myth, they managed to bring through four kids who were good enough - Scholes, Giggs, Beckham and Neville - so we never hear the end of it. Funnily enough no team plays with four players and yet Hansen still gets slaughtered for his "you win nothing with kids" comment. BUT he was right, every time fergie or any other manager fields kids they struggle, even when we've gone on runs it hasn't been the kids in the final. Even Wenger maintains a balance, many people talk as if he never spends a penny on players, but the wise among us know that's far from true. He doesn't spend lots, he buys in and fills in the rest with young players. He is without much doubt the best identifier of bargains, fergie doesn't even bother looking and hardly ever buys a player worth more than they pay for them

By the way am I the only one thinking we might have been better off keeping Warnock?

General rule of thumb for me is if the player is good enough then they'll be in the first XI not shipped out on loan or getting the odd appearance.

by **stmichael** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 1:08 pm

reserve highlights:

http://www.zshare.net/download/54124447a84669/

by **Leonmc0708** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 1:12 pm

Owzat wrote:
Leonmc0708 wrote:Players from the youth or reserves that have played in the first team in the last four years:

Emanual Insua
Sebastian Leto
JAck Hobbs
Nabil El Zhar
Stephen Warnock
Darren Potter
Neil Mellor
Zak Whitbread
John Welsh
Mark Smyth
David Raven

There may be more.

Point being they are not good enough.

All these great clubs that do it, who are they ?

It's all part of the manc myth, they managed to bring through four kids who were good enough - Scholes, Giggs, Beckham and Neville - so we never hear the end of it. Funnily enough no team plays with four players and yet Hansen still gets slaughtered for his "you win nothing with kids" comment. BUT he was right, every time fergie or any other manager fields kids they struggle, even when we've gone on runs it hasn't been the kids in the final. Even Wenger maintains a balance, many people talk as if he never spends a penny on players, but the wise among us know that's far from true. He doesn't spend lots, he buys in and fills in the rest with young players. He is without much doubt the best identifier of bargains, fergie doesn't even bother looking and hardly ever buys a player worth more than they pay for them

By the way am I the only one thinking we might have been better off keeping Warnock?

General rule of thumb for me is if the player is good enough then they'll be in the first XI not shipped out on loan or getting the odd appearance.

I liked Warnock, but hand on heart he was not much improvement on Riise defensively and added nowhere near the goals Arnie does.

Neither are good enough.

by **JC_81** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 5:46 pm

Have to admit I've never watched that much reserve team football in previous seasons, but I've watched a fair bit this season and youth team games on the LFC channel.

There are a couple of players that stand out I reckon. Marvin Prurie - the German 16yr old we got from Dortmund - is the stand out player in the under-18s for me. Very direct striker, good all round, very good finisher. He has a temper though, got a straight red a few weeks back for lashing out and I've not seen much of him since. The Swedish midfielder Ajdarevic is also good on the ball but needs to develop a bit more physically. Gary Makaay Steven, the Scottish kid, also looks a talent but very injury prone which isn't a good sign at his age.

In the reserves I like Plessis in midfield. He's a very good defensive shield, passes the ball well and wins plenty of headers. I also like Nemeth, he's put in 2 excellent performances in the last 2 games, keen to see more of him.

Sadly none of the players that have caught my eye are local lads. I can't help thinking that it could be some time before we see a Gerrard come through the ranks again.

by **Ace Ventura** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 10:54 pm

john craig wrote:Have to admit I've never watched that much reserve team football in previous seasons, but I've watched a fair bit this season and youth team games on the LFC channel.

There are a couple of players that stand out I reckon. Marvin Prurie - the German 16yr old we got from Dortmund - is the stand out player in the under-18s for me. Very direct striker, good all round, very good finisher. He has a temper though, got a straight red a few weeks back for lashing out and I've not seen much of him since. The Swedish midfielder Ajdarevic is also good on the ball but needs to develop a bit more physically. Gary Makaay Steven, the Scottish kid, also looks a talent but very injury prone which isn't a good sign at his age.

In the reserves I like Plessis in midfield. He's a very good defensive shield, passes the ball well and wins plenty of headers. I also like Nemeth, he's put in 2 excellent performances in the last 2 games, keen to see more of him.

Sadly none of the players that have caught my eye are local lads. I can't help thinking that it could be some time before we see a Gerrard come through the ranks again.

I havent seen any of the under 18's myself so cant comment on them at this point.
Agree about Plessis he looked a bit raw the very first time i seen him but with each game has got better and better.
Wins so much of the ball and uses it well, looks like he has a decent touch as well. He played a superb 40 yard left foot sweeping pass from left to right against Everton, it put El Zhar in for the challenge that could of been a penalty. Looks top drawer and gets better with each game.

With regards to the local lads i can see where you are coming from although for me Jay Spearing is standing out with every game.
Heighway said that he could play in the first team after the youth cup final win and to be honest i dont think he is quite there yet, but he is so good in posession and a great tackler as well, he is only small but reminds me alot of a young Peter Reid, high praise i know but thats how it looks from me. If he keeps on improving he has a chance, his versatility could either be a bonus or a negative though.

by **JoeTerp** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 11:54 pm

Spearing is going to need some time, just last year he was the centre half and captain of the youth cup winning u18 team, then in the summer they were preparing him to become a defensive midfielder because it would seem the natural step up for someone who was lacking size but understood the game well for his age and liked to put in a tackle. The we got Plessis and we had to move Spearing further forward, and I like what he has done there, he plays direct and is a decent finisher, but he is going to have to compete with the trickery of Bruna (rated the number 10 "most exciting teenager" by world soccer magazine) as well as Fransisco Duran who has been out for the last 9 months but posses some quality.

As far as the other local lads, Lindfield, Darby, Putterill, Adam Hammill, Threlfall, Peltier, (not sure if Guthrie is in there because he is from the midlands but he has been with the club for 5 years) (Hobbs, Anderson, David Amoo, David Martin, Crowther are a different category because they aren't local, but they are English and were bought when they were 17ish and are still very young)

Lindfield seemed to be a decent goal poacher last season in the reserves and dominated in the youth cup runs. I think he is a country mile ahead of Jordy Brouwer, and would like to see him play in the FA Cup fixture

Darby is described as a "Steady Eddy" type player and gets a lot of comparisons to Steve Finnan, which might be a bad thing for a youth player trying to break into Liverpool. Why? because he is going to need to get a LOT of time in a lower division and just do the job day in day out then do it at a lower table prem team before we snatch him back up again.

Puterill was a good youth player and sometimes shows flashes in the reserves, but I just can't see him making it in the first team.

Don't think Peltier will stay on the books much longer.

Adam Hammill I have a LOT of hope for, same with Guthrie.

Can't see Threlfall making the breakthrough with Insua here. Although it is interesting that Rafa picked him to go on that Asian tour.

I have hope for Anderson and Hobbs as well.

And then there is the category of the young internationals that we have brought in: Insua, Daniel Pacheco, Gerardo Bruna, Leto, El Zhar, Idrizaj, Plessis, Antwi, Ryan Flynn, Huth, Nemeth, Marvin Pourie, Ajdarevic, Bouzanis, Mikel San Jose, Gary Mackay Steven, Daniel Ayala, Mihaylov, Miki Roque, Andras Simon, Martin Hansen, Fransisco Duran, Jordy Brouwer. Leto and El Zhar are the oldest at 21

And lets not forget that Babel and Lucas are both only 20 years old !

by **Leonmc0708** » Sat Dec 08, 2007 12:25 am

Jay has always been a little lad, and I fear that this might mean he wont make the grade, sadly.

He is a proud scouser and has a big heart to match his talent.

Not many little fellas make it at the top level, Zola had something magical and is an exception. Cant think of many more who have done so.

Hopefully he will have one final growth spurt in the next 12 months and bulk up a bit, if he does he will be a versatile addition to the squad.

by **Ace Ventura** » Sat Dec 08, 2007 9:16 am

JoeTerp wrote:Spearing is going to need some time, just last year he was the centre half and captain of the youth cup winning u18 team, then in the summer they were preparing him to become a defensive midfielder because it would seem the natural step up for someone who was lacking size but understood the game well for his age and liked to put in a tackle. The we got Plessis and we had to move Spearing further forward, and I like what he has done there, he plays direct and is a decent finisher, but he is going to have to compete with the trickery of Bruna (rated the number 10 "most exciting teenager" by world soccer magazine) as well as Fransisco Duran who has been out for the last 9 months but posses some quality.

As far as the other local lads, Lindfield, Darby, Putterill, Adam Hammill, Threlfall, Peltier, (not sure if Guthrie is in there because he is from the midlands but he has been with the club for 5 years) (Hobbs, Anderson, David Amoo, David Martin, Crowther are a different category because they aren't local, but they are English and were bought when they were 17ish and are still very young)

Lindfield seemed to be a decent goal poacher last season in the reserves and dominated in the youth cup runs. I think he is a country mile ahead of Jordy Brouwer, and would like to see him play in the FA Cup fixture

Darby is described as a "Steady Eddy" type player and gets a lot of comparisons to Steve Finnan, which might be a bad thing for a youth player trying to break into Liverpool. Why? because he is going to need to get a LOT of time in a lower division and just do the job day in day out then do it at a lower table prem team before we snatch him back up again.

Puterill was a good youth player and sometimes shows flashes in the reserves, but I just can't see him making it in the first team.

Don't think Peltier will stay on the books much longer.

Adam Hammill I have a LOT of hope for, same with Guthrie.

Can't see Threlfall making the breakthrough with Insua here. Although it is interesting that Rafa picked him to go on that Asian tour.

I have hope for Anderson and Hobbs as well.

And then there is the category of the young internationals that we have brought in: Insua, Daniel Pacheco, Gerardo Bruna, Leto, El Zhar, Idrizaj, Plessis, Antwi, Ryan Flynn, Huth, Nemeth, Marvin Pourie, Ajdarevic, Bouzanis, Mikel San Jose, Gary Mackay Steven, Daniel Ayala, Mihaylov, Miki Roque, Andras Simon, Martin Hansen, Fransisco Duran, Jordy Brouwer. Leto and El Zhar are the oldest at 21

And lets not forget that Babel and Lucas are both only 20 years old !

Could it not just be the same sort of thing that we were doing with Hobbs, when we played him centre midfield to enhance his versatility and to improve his composure etc ?
The thing for me is no matter what position i see him in he always plays well.
Leon is right about the size aspect, unfortunately too many coaches and managers worry about players being big strong and athletic. I cant see Jay growing too much (although you never know, it happened with Steven Gerrard.
Lets just hope that common sense prevails with our coaches with him because he is definately going to be a very good player.
Lets not forget Makelele is not the biggest and he gets away with it at centre midfield.

by **JoeTerp** » Sat Dec 08, 2007 11:15 am

With Hobbs, the plan was to always move him back to Centre Half. It is hard to tell where Rafa or Ablett see Jay's long term position. He is just such a solid all around footballer, that I think he has to be picked every week for the reserves. Now that Duran is back healthy and that Gerardo Bruna seems to be working his way into the reserve team, I would like to see Spearing in a holding role and a player with more flair in their arsenal in the attacking role.

by **RedBlood** » Sat Dec 08, 2007 1:33 pm

nemeth looks like a star for the future but at the moment the reserves are littere3d with potential and just goes to show what a good job rafa and his staff are doing

and lets not forget there are many young prospects on loan

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