24 Oct 2017 23:06:28
Ed's do you think Conor Masterson will ever make it into the first team. Here in Ireland we have High hopes for him. He has been included in the cl squad and has trained with the 1st team a fair bit.

He is a big centre half who can play a bit too. He was signed from a schoolboy club Lucan utd I believe. The deal was done when he was 13 and could be potentially up to a million for the club. However I haven't seen him play just heard good things. Is he good enough and Do you think he will get a chance this season? Surely can't be any worse than our cbs now!

{Ed001's Note - it is very difficult to tell with defenders, particularly centre backs, as the development tends to be slower and they emerge later. If we were in a better position and playing well, I think he would have got a chance by now. His only chance this season now looks like being an injury crisis, as managers usually turn to experience when things are not going well.

Long term I would expect him to be gradually bled into the team over the next few years and given some chances to see what he can do. I hope so anyway, he is talked of in glowing terms.}


1.) 25 Oct 2017
25 Oct 2017 07:19:12
Reminds me of a certain conor coady, not exactly the same position but he was talked in glowing terms too. Next captain, too accomplished, next gerrard what not.
Youngsters have simply been wasted by LFC over the last decade.
There were so many who were talked in high regards but never made anything anywhere.
I am excited with the current crop of youngsters and u-18's we have, seeing u-23's. there is some ridiculous talent there in - woodburn, wilson, ovie, grujic, masterson, dhanda, brewster, grabara, juanma, and now tasgeth.
so many players! will they ever see light of the day at LFC? i am not sure under our current circumstances anybody gets a run.
i would want to give woodburn, grujic and wilson a first team run, they for me look first team ready.


2.) 25 Oct 2017
25 Oct 2017 11:18:54
Jack Robinson
Jordon Ibe
Conor Coady
Jordan Rossiter
Thomas Ince
Jerome Sinclair
Dani Pacheco
Ryan Mclaughlin

and many many others were all pinned to be the next great player and was praised beyond belief by many but the reality is people overate the youngsters all the time because they simply fail to understand the huge huge gap between youth football and real football.

{Ed001's Note - that is not actually the issue in the case of most of those. Robinson had attitude issues after showing he could easily cope with senior football. Rossiter had major injury problems and is still suffering with them now. Ince had a stinking attitude, as did Sinclair. McLaughlin had injury problems and Pacheco just never got an opportunity to know one way or the other.}


3.) 25 Oct 2017
25 Oct 2017 11:43:43
But why is it so ed 01, i don't think at present there is any club worse than LFC in bedding youth from academy in first team.
i mean our neighbors are good at it.
Trent is getting fair chances i think but probably beacuse Clyne has gone AWOL.
we have unbelievable talent in academy and i can vouch for it having seen them play on TV and in person. Wilson, woodburn and grujic are first team material, may be not week in week out, but against say lesser oppostion they are more than just good.
out for future i think Dhanda and brewster are going to be special.
But will they ever be integrated in to the first teams?
We are out of EFL and this is what i feared most, no chances for these players anymore.
I know the what if case in our current situation. the team and coach are under tremendous pressure and if we start these players it might do more harm than good. But i think, no i believe its time to get into regular first team football. and yea probably coutinho, firmino, hendo are too big a name to be dropped.
i still feel once mane got injured either of woodburn or wilson should have got a chance instead of moving coutinho from midfield out wide. Gini/ hendo should have been replaced by grujic.
every year these players get older with no first team experience and then it gets way to late ( ala pacheco, coady before brannagan and kent now) . coutinho, can are just passing time, and we have their adequate replacements in wilson/ woddburn and grujic/ ejaria but without them getting chances we are just going to end up wasting loads on replacements from other teams.

{Ed001's Note - the fault has to be laid at the door of the managers. They are the ones that pick the team, successive managers have gone for quick fixes instead of long term solutions.}


4.) 25 Oct 2017
25 Oct 2017 12:27:16
And that is my biggest grief with Klopp. For all his undoings and not sorting things the only thing i hate is how is just a shadow here of what he was at dortmund. At dortmund he favoured youth big time, played youth and made players.
At liverpool although only too seasons in and may be the relentless pressure in EPL he has not even bothered with any youth. (bar trent because clyne is AWOL) This current crop is so difficult to ignore.
i mean answers are right there at his academy sitting and waiting and he sticks with can/ coutinho/ lovren/ moreno's/ migs. ( not saying the are bad players but they are just passing time tbh) Five players in first team who he knows are not going to be here next season.
I wish for once Klopp throws his weight around and gets the youth in. too much talent there for his eyes to miss.
Maybe it won't work, this season it is not working anyways. i mean hell even mourihno is going around with lingaard and rashford!
Klopp has been no different in any regard to our recent past managers till now, when pressure has come on him he has been reluctant to make big calls.
i don't know how but i feel if this season if we donot try woodburn wilson and grujic gomez masterson it will be too late next sesaon because we will be looking for clear replacements for departing players (can/ coutinho/ lovren/ migs/ moreno/ others who might be moved like clyne/ milner and may be even mane if someone big comes in calling etc etc. )
The time is high and the calling is right. Klopp has to trust his academy players, he has to push them and he has to trust them.