Poaching Youngsters - Good or Bad?

We've been very busy on the youngster front.  Seems our scouts are hanging around all the playgrounds in Europe - hoping to spot a kid with promise.  After he's finished with the skipping rope.

It's all good when it's Liverpool getting these boys...but on the other foot, don't you think it's wrong that a club can nurture a player only for a 'big-boy' to come and pounce - pre any professional contracts (due to age).

I suppose that's football and you win some and you lose some.

It's also a kick in the teeth for the current English youths currently at the club.

We've been very busy on the youngster front.  Seems our scouts are hanging around all the playgrounds in Europe - hoping to spot a kid with promise.  After he's finished with the skipping rope.

It's all good when it's Liverpool getting these boys...but on the other foot, don't you think it's wrong that a club can nurture a player only for a 'big-boy' to come and pounce - pre any professional contracts (due to age).

I suppose that's football and you win some and you lose some.

It's also a kick in the teeth for the current English youths currently at the club.

Have you got Babel in mind when you talk about nurturing a player ?  I would certainly consider Ajax a 'big-boy' in  football terms.  Maybe he just wants to play for THE 'best team in Europe' not a mediocre one.  Given the chance and you were in his shoes (or should i say footie boots !) wouldnt you do the same ? 

Have you got Babel in mind when you talk about nurturing a player ?  I would certainly consider Ajax a 'big-boy' in  football terms.  Maybe he just wants to play for THE 'best team in Europe' not a mediocre one.  Given the chance and you were in his shoes (or should I say footie boots !) wouldnt you do the same ? 

Not talking about Babel, he's 20 and already proven and costing us £13mil, so we aint poaching him are we.  I'm thinking of pre-professionals and 16,17 and 18 year old. 

I guess clubs have academy's for two reasons.

To a) generate players for the first team and b) to sell on the products of the academies to other clubs.

We have promoted five players to the first team from the FA Youth Cup winning side.  Now some of that five may well end up being loaned out, but they all have a chance of breaking through if they perform well enough under Rafa's eyes.

We have sold some other players that were not promoted to the squad so that is giving us some funding back for the Academy.  I assume it happens at every other club as well.

I'm not saying its ideal and in the ideal world then Liverpool would consist of a full squad from players brought through the academy and they are all world class.  Unfortunately sometimes other clubs may come in for a player and it might make better sense for us to sell.

If you're referring to the Dani Pacheco kid (is that his name) from Barcelona then he actually turned down signing professional forms at Barca to join us.  I am sure Barcelona received some financial recompense for the time they spent training him.

I guess clubs have academy's for two reasons.

To a) generate players for the first team and b) to sell on the products of the academies to other clubs.

We have promoted five players to the first team from the FA Youth Cup winning side.  Now some of that five may well end up being loaned out, but they all have a chance of breaking through if they perform well enough under Rafa's eyes.

We have sold some other players that were not promoted to the squad so that is giving us some funding back for the Academy.  I assume it happens at every other club as well.

I'm not saying its ideal and in the ideal world then Liverpool would consist of a full squad from players brought through the academy and they are all world class.  Unfortunately sometimes other clubs may come in for a player and it might make better sense for us to sell.

If you're referring to the Dani Pacheco kid (is that his name) from Barcelona then he actually turned down signing professional forms at Barca to join us.  I am sure Barcelona received some financial recompense for the time they spent training him.

Thats the exact reason for academies, and it does make perfect sense to keep the good players and get shut of the ones who are good, but just not Liverpool standard! It's a cruel concept, training up kids and then flogging them to the highest bidder but footballs a cruel game isn't it?

As I've mentioned in the Pachecho topic, he probably has been given advice by his mentors or agent to pursue a playing career in England rather than stay with Barcelona and when the Liverpool offer came in he jumped at the chance! Hardly poaching, but Barcelona weren't best pleased!

Depends really, I work with a very clued up Milwall fan who says the Amoo Kiddy is a similair build to Adriano and looks to have a very very bright future ahead of him and joing us can only be a good thing, as if you can remember Cherno Samba he was another youngster with a bright future but stayed at Millwall who was linked with big clubs but he just went off the rails and ended up playing anywhere he could....

I think it just depends on the set up you have with the staff and ours now seems to look very strong....

Academies in general are a fairly recent concept, in the70s and 80s some kids did make it through the ranks and a few local lads made it into the first team as the game was still fairly localised, the difference now in the modern game is the importance money now plays and that is why Academies were set up. Think of the millions clubs can make and save if they can unearth a star in the making, Ajax for example have had Babel since he was 11yrs old and during that time they fund him and train him and watch him develop with the knowledge that one day they would have a prized asset on there books, one to use in the first team or one to sell for a huge profit and then use that money to improve the team, they really can’t lose.

That is why we have had this influx of young talent because even if two or three of them make it we have hit the jackpot, and I  would certainly not call it poaching as with the exception of Daniel Pacheco many of these youngsters come to us from lesser clubs and they are compensated and we get a promising young player who may or may not make it.
The last real impressive production of British talent from a youth system for me was probably when the Mancs had 7 or 8 come through at once but since that time who have they brought through and who is of the same calibre as them? And please don’t say O’shea or Richardson! Arsenal unfortunately have shown the way forward with their ‘spot the cockney’ kids teams they put out in the cups last year, they have been brought in from all over the world and Wenger has no qualms at all about playing a team with not an Englishman in it.
The game is now global and so a wider player base has become available to us and we don’t just bring in kids from local clubs but cast the net as far as we can but I still think you have as much chance of still being spotted as a 12yr old playing in Stanley park as anyone else does, you just have to be good enough!

And hey I don’t want to see gang’s of twenty odd year old fella’s playing footy in Stanley Park pretending they are 12!

Another point.

Big clubs can bring in who they want (youngsters) - as they have the pull factor.  But do they just 'poach' these youngster for the sake of it?

Is it a percentage game.  I.e. Bring in ten youngsters, 2 could make the grade.  Then the others are shipped back out, or don't even make the grade of being professional....and that's just down to not being given a chance of progressing into the first team.

Take this Millwall lad.  If he had stayed there...coud be looking to break into the first team, next season.  When is he likely to do that at the Reds?

Also, do you know what word is really really bugging me at the moment - STARLET.  How many times is this over-used!

Is it a percentage game.  I.e. Bring in ten youngsters, 2 could make the grade.  Then the others are shipped back out, or don't even make the grade of being professional....and that's just down to not being given a chance of progressing into the first team.

That's exactly how it works. Being the best as a kid does not mean you will automatically be the best as an adult, sometimes it's the less likely youngsters who progress & end up better. The only way to go is get as many promising youngsters as you can in & see how they develop. The problem I feel we have at the moment is that youngsters seem to  be able to make it through the academy into the reserves, but then never get their chance to prove themselves in the first team. I would like to see us take a leaf out of Wenger's book & field our kids in the Carling Cup, although I would still like to see a few first teamers in amongst them.

That's exactly how it works. Being the best as a kid does not mean you will automatically be the best as an adult, sometimes it's the less likely youngsters who progress & end up better. The only way to go is get as many promising youngsters as you can in & see how they develop. The problem I feel we have at the moment is that youngsters seem to  be able to make it through the academy into the reserves, but then never get their chance to prove themselves in the first team. I would like to see us take a leaf out of Wenger's book & field our kids in the Carling Cup, although I would still like to see a few first teamers in amongst them.

Good idea, could try a line-up like this:

                Carson

Peltier   Hobbs  Hyypia   Insua

Pennant Sissoko Leiva Hammill

            Idrizaj Voronin

(Obviously if Hammill hadn't gone out on loan)

This sort of lineup would give a good number of youngsters a chance whilst providing a bit of experience to steady the ship.

How many of these youngsters make it to the first team when they have been poached?not many id say,i think most of the time teams just poach them to stop the other big guns from getting them.