Topic: So what are these Youth/Reserve Lads like?

[kneeys]

full time

[iamrobk]

1-1 FT.  Great effort against a strong Bolton Reserves side.  Good job by the Reserves!

[kiNki]

ahh unlucky lads, deserved more.

[SteLFC91]

Oh great effort from Coady there.

Very good performance from the lads there I thought against a very experienced Bolton side. Silva made a massive difference replacing Eccleston who was fairly anonymous.

[bigbear]

How has the game gone ?

Who did well ?

[suptoyou]

Great performance by the lads.
4-1 would have been fair. 

[Daniel Cabbaggio]

highly enjoyable match despite drawing, the kids are still looking very decent against older opposition

[iamrobk]

Very good performance from the lads there I thought against a very experienced Bolton side. Silva made a massive difference replacing Eccleston who was fairly anonymous.

Totally agree about the Silva/Eccleston comment.  With Suso and Wisdom in I think we would have won, and I'm a bit disappointed not to see Pelosi, but oh well.

[Derzyjudek]

Very good game,great effort by the lads,many good performances,stand out for me was Brad Smith who seems to be improving very fast.

[Dobby_1979_]

Ngoo was my man of the match. For a huge lad the boy has got some real skills. He was gliding through players with his close control footwork. Deserved more than a draw and had the chances to win but like the 1st team we just didn't take them

[CorKopite]

How has the game gone ?

Who did well ?

We were pretty decent all over to be honest. Controlled the game, very very unlucky not to get the 3 points, by far and away the better side. Sterling/Adorjan/Ngoo all played very well in the attacking third. Silva was absoloutely brilliant when he came on too.

[SteLFC91]

How has the game gone ?

Who did well ?

Sterling was very good all game. Best I've seen him play for the reserves in a while. Was up against Boyata too who has PL experience. Sama was a rock at the back, heading everything that came near him. Coady had a good game in the middle up against Sean Davis and deserved his goal. Silva came on after about 60 mins for Eccleston and changed the game IMO. Tortured their left back, got the assist for the goal and hit the crossbar from around 20 yards out. Adorjan also played well and had a shot which somehow managed to hit both posts but not go in.

[MBL?]

I'm a bit disappointed not to see Pelosi, but oh well.

Same here. Think he probably should have played for the u18's with hindsight.

[barnseysleftpeg]

Same here. Think he probably should have played for the u18's with hindsight.

He would have played for the U18s but he missed the game with an injury

[MBL?]

He would have played for the U18s but he missed the game with an injury

Fair enough, didn't know that.

[royhendo]

Really enjoyed watching them. Brad Smith, Sterling, N'Goo and Silva looked tidy, Adjoran looks like he's amost a real playmaker.

[El_Pistolero]

That attacking unit we have (N'goo, Silva, Sterling, Suso, Adjoran) is boss.

[bigbear]

We were pretty decent all over to be honest. Controlled the game, very very unlucky not to get the 3 points, by far and away the better side. Sterling/Adorjan/Ngoo all played very well in the attacking third. Silva was absoloutely brilliant when he came on too.

Sterling was very good all game. Best I've seen him play for the reserves in a while. Was up against Boyata too who has PL experience. Sama was a rock at the back, heading everything that came near him. Coady had a good game in the middle up against Sean Davis and deserved his goal. Silva came on after about 60 mins for Eccleston and changed the game IMO. Tortured their left back, got the assist for the goal and hit the crossbar from around 20 yards out. Adorjan also played well and had a shot which somehow managed to hit both posts but not go in.

Thanks guys. I like seeing the young lads play against seasoned pros as it gives a marker for them.

[lfcderek]

FT 1-1. Very good performance from us.

We were poor

1-1 FT.  Great effort against a strong Bolton Reserves side.  Good job by the Reserves!

Bolton were worse.

Ngoo was my man of the match. For a huge lad the boy has got some real skills. He was gliding through players with his close control footwork. Deserved more than a draw and had the chances to win but like the 1st team we just didn't take them

Ngoo was dreadful.

Silva was good. In fact, very good.

The reserves seem to have caught the 'can't finish syndrome'.

[lfcderek]

Should add I usually rave about them (on the tv). Should have stayed at home tonight and watched the game most of you saw.

Bugger.

[JohnOK]

Sterling was great tonight and Silva showed when he came on that he should start every game on the right for the reserves.

[gazzathered]

We were poor

Bolton were worse.

Ngoo was dreadful.

Silva was good. In fact, very good.

The reserves seem to have caught the 'can't finish syndrome'.

Watched a different game to me, Ngoo was very good, they played well considering some of the experience in the Bolton team.
Mendy was poor but I thought the rest did well.

[lfcmaster]

good performances from the reserves

impressed with samma, silva, smith, coady and adorjan

[stevied]

That pitch was so bad all the plyers looked they were running in glue, Silva made a great impact enjoyed it though

[lfcderek]

That pitch was so bad all the plyers looked they were running in glue, Silva made a great impact enjoyed it though

Yes. The pitch was awful. Mendy spent half the match on his arse.

[Cpt_Reina]

Was a really enjoyable watch tonight.

We played some great football. Finishing was a bit off but there was a lot of good approach play.

Sterling was the personification of this really. Played some of the best football he has all season, but lacked the final ball or the finish. Hope he managed to see Henry's goal tonight because Sterling gets himself in to that position at least once a game. Henry is the master of opening himself up and placing the ball in the opposite corner. If Sterling can get that finish down pat then he'll reach an entirely new level.

Thought Ngoo worked very hard. Hope we keep the faith with him, he's got so much natural talent. He needs a lot of coaching but he could be a real player if he's given some time.

Adorjan played like Adorjan. Much as he has for the entire time he's been here. He's made the transition to Reserve team football look quite easy really. There's been no notable drop off in his performances at all. Its very noticeable when he doesnt play, the team misses him.

Silva changed the game and Smith looked as good as he always does.

Bring on the Mancs next week.

[liverpoolfcmike]

Adorjan is a very good player. Can see him having a future here. Will probably need to bulk up slightly, but he's not small. Looks, as Roy already said, like a proper playmaker already.

[Saul Goodman]

Hopefully one or two of our players might have caught the on looking Owen Coyles eye tonight.

[SteLFC91]

Adorjan is a very good player. Can see him having a future here. Will probably need to bulk up slightly, but he's not small. Looks, as Roy already said, like a proper playmaker already.

Only problem with Adorjan is that he isn't really versatile enough to play on the wings or in any other role than the attacking midfield role. The problem with this is that there's already a number of players who want to play there already. Gerrard, Shelvey, Henderson and Suso all prefer that more advanced central role. Tough to see how Adorjan will get minutes to improve himself.

[Cpt_Reina]

Only problem with Adorjan is that he isn't really versatile enough to play on the wings or in any other role than the attacking midfield role. The problem with this is that there's already a number of players who want to play there already. Gerrard, Shelvey, Henderson and Suso all prefer that more advanced central role. Tough to see how Adorjan will get minutes to improve himself.

Think you're right but I wouldnt put Suso in that position over Adorjan.

Suso's best football has almost exclusively come when he's been played out wide.

Also think Adorjan is much different to all of those other players stylistically. That could help his cause. He's much more continental in his play then Gerrard or Shelvey. Not sure Henderson will ever really play that role.

[SteLFC91]

Think you're right but I wouldnt put Suso in that position over Adorjan.

Suso's best football has almost exclusively come when he's been played out wide.

Also think Adorjan is much different to all of those other players stylistically. That could help his cause. He's much more continental in his play then Gerrard or Shelvey. Not sure Henderson will ever really play that role.

All good points. Think a lot of it depends on what style of football and formation Kenny wants to play. I think the 4-2-3-1 Rafa played and that the Ressies use now is the perfect formation for him. Just not sure how we would fit in with the 4-4-2 or 4-5-1 formations Kenny likes to play. Not to say I don't rate him or anything, I love watching him and think he's fantastic, just not sure how he'll fit in with us in the future.

[iamrobk]

Think you're right but I wouldnt put Suso in that position over Adorjan.

Suso's best football has almost exclusively come when he's been played out wide.

Also think Adorjan is much different to all of those other players stylistically. That could help his cause. He's much more continental in his play then Gerrard or Shelvey. Not sure Henderson will ever really play that role.

Yeah, Suso has been great at RW.  I think it may be best if we keep him there for 3-4 years and maybe slowly transition him centrally, giving him time to learn how to really control a game from that CAM spot.

[jimmyjr86]

Well done lads. did us proud. experienced Bolton side that we faced and we were the better team. Adorjan was very impressive. loved seeing Ngoo outpace and outmuscle Boyata. Raheem seemed more at hone on the right and Silva just tore the left back to shreds in the last half hour. Glad i stayed up to watch it

[DanA]

Really like watching the reserves and last years U18's. The brand of football they play is really exciting and they always put in a performance even when they lose. It's almost a shame we see so little of Flanagan & Robinson in the team now.

[SteLFC91]

Really like watching the reserves and last years U18's. The brand of football they play is really exciting and they always put in a performance even when they lose. It's almost a shame we see so little of Flanagan & Robinson in the team now.

I actually don't understand why Flanagan doesn't play in the reserves. Mendy plays right back regularly for the ressies, and with all due respect to the lad as he improved greatly last season, but he's never going to make it here. Think he's almost 21 too. Flanno needs games and he should be getting them.

Robinson has been injured all season though, had an operation on his foot and has been on crutches for a while now. Don't think it was ever confirmed what the actual injury was though?

[leroy]

Really like watching the reserves and last years U18's. The brand of football they play is really exciting and they always put in a performance even when they lose. It's almost a shame we see so little of Flanagan & Robinson in the team now.

Yup, the reserves (and the 18's last year) are enjoyable to watch in their own right (regardless of any interest in getting players through to the first team).  Good ball players, dribbling wingers, fast play. 

[Xabier Alonso Olano]

Decent enough performance, Coady best on the pitch by a fair distance for us imo. All the Tunicliffe talk from a few pages back seems silly when he puts in performances like that, glad he is here for this season, he has got plenty of time to go out on loan and prove his worth. He looked as composed and assured as Spearing did when he last stepped down for the ressies (sunderland?). Next one to come through I think.

Can only echo the previous posts about how enjoyable it is to watch these lads as they develop, still plenty of mistakes and errors in decision making but that's what ressie level is all about I guess. Good to see them up against Tuncay et al, thought they gave a decent account of themselves without hitting the heights that I think a few of them eventually will.

[AMP]

Although there were some really wonderful team individual performance (Smith, Coady, Sterling, Ngoo, Adorjan and Sama). What was great was this has to be the best team performance the lads have given, considering the standard of opposition. Yes they do need to work on the finishing but the way they created and worked for each other was superb.

The only disappointment was Eccleston not bad going forward, but unlike Sterling and Adorjan just doesn’t seem to want to put his fair share of tackling back in. Comparing what I saw last season with this it seems to be an area of the game Sterling and Adorjan have been working hard on.

[DanA]

Although there were some really wonderful team individual performance (Smith, Coady, Sterling, Ngoo, Adorjan and Sama). What was great was this has to be the best team performance the lads have given, considering the standard of opposition. Yes they do need to work on the finishing but the way they created and worked for each other was superb.

The only disappointment was Eccleston not bad going forward, but unlike Sterling and Adorjan just doesn’t seem to want to put his fair share of tackling back in. Comparing what I saw last season with this it seems to be an area of the game Sterling and Adorjan have been working hard on.

I noticed a similar thing this time last year with Suso too. Start of the season he only went one way and by the end of it he was quite a little terrier.

[lamonti]

Only problem with Adorjan is that he isn't really versatile enough to play on the wings or in any other role than the attacking midfield role. The problem with this is that there's already a number of players who want to play there already. Gerrard, Shelvey, Henderson and Suso all prefer that more advanced central role. Tough to see how Adorjan will get minutes to improve himself.

The problem is that we are very very reluctant to give any of the youngsters a chance except in the case of injury. The best thing is that all of them recently, Kelly, Robinson, Flanagan (though he's had a few dodgy games) and Spearing have all proved that they have enough quality to be there.

I mean, we'd never just give Adorjan a shot, which is why we'll never find out if he's able to hack it in the first team. Same with Pacheco (to whip out that old broken record).