( can we keep this to just discussing the guy please and not circular debate on the whole Coaching system etc.)
Who is Mike Marsh then?
http://www.lfchistory.net/Players/Player/Profile/373With thanks to this site above
‘”Marsh had a similar problem to Vladimir Smicer's as he excelled in training sessions but some felt seldom transferred that ability to the Reds' competitive fixtures. He was hardly an internationally known player like Vladi, but possessed enough skill to make people wonder what might have been. In 1987 Marsh was playing for Kirkby Town and Railway Pub on Sundays, the latter being sponsored by Kirkby-native and Liverpool's reserve-team coach, Phil Thompson. Tommo was advised to take a closer look at Marsh and Liverpool signed him up. Marsh was a reserve at Liverpool for four years, admitting that he felt not worthy of being in such exclusive company. The players had been his heroes one minute and teammates the next. The Kirkby lad finally got his big break in the 1991/92 season, playing in midfield and continued his good form into the following season.
His most memorable moment came in the UEFA Cup second-round tie versus Auxerre on 6 November 1991 at Anfield. Liverpool had lost the first leg 2-0 but Marsh scored Liverpool's second goal in a 3-0 win. Marsh was transferred to West Ham along with David Burrows in a swap deal to bring Julian Dicks to Anfield in September 1993. "I broke into the team at a difficult time," Marsh explained to the Liverpool Echo in 2003. "There were lots of injuries, lots of new players coming in and a new manager. Maybe if I'd broken into a settled side with the likes of Steve McMahon, Ronnie Whelan or Jan Mølby alongside me on a regular basis, things would have gone differently. I ended up playing alongside the likes of Paul Stewart. I actually asked to leave Liverpool. When it came to not getting into the side when I thought I was better than the one who was in, Again, I don't want it to sound as though I'm having a go at someone like Paul Stewart, but I suppose when the manager pays over £2 million for a player he's always going to play him.
Marsh later rejoined his former Liverpool boss, Graeme Souness, at Galatasaray for a couple of months in 1995. A knee injury finally ended his professional career at the age of 28. Marsh accepted an insurance payout, which meant he wasn't allowed to play in the Football League again. He won the Conference twice with Kidderminster and Boston but was unable to go up with them into the League. Marsh joined the Liverpool Academy in July 2009 and coached the u-16s and u-18s. In August 2012 he was promoted to Melwood to be a part of the club's first-team coaching set-up. New manager Brendan Rodgers explained: "When I looked at the staff when I came in, Marshy was someone who had come in with the u-18s. He was a terrific young player - he walked out of a pub team into Liverpool, which is an absolutely incredible story. His roots are here at the club, his passion is for the club and he's played for the club. He will help build a bridge between the first team and the Academy.”
I remember seeing him down at Colwyn Bay over a decade ago at least, in the Boston team, he was still good then, so I had a chat later in the clubhouse with him, a decent bloke who cares about this club.
The fact that he was transferred to West Ham with a decent lad like Burrows for Dicks shows you that any manager can have brain farts it is not a new phenomenon at all.
He was again one of those players I really rated. He who would come in and out of the team and do a job every time he was selected. We had many players like that in those days; we had a strong squad before people started talking about strength in depth in a squad.
To my thinking as Mike alluded to he was the right guy at the wrong time, he would have been great alongside Steve and Jan he was a bustling player all action and would have complimented Jan for sure. Stewart wasn’t bad but he was no better than Mike in my opinion.
He left everything on the pitch for us and I can see this attitude being a benefit to our young squad. He won’t get the headlines or the interviews but he will be putting in the hard graft on the training ground for the guys that do.
As a coach ironically I see him as being very similar to Tommo. A hard but fair guy who has this clubs badge engraved on his heart. Giving the way he felt overawed at first with the players who were his heroes, he is surely the right person to help bring through players such as Coady, Sterling, Suso, Ibe and Morgan to make the step up to the first team permanent by using his experience to mentor them.
Mike Marsh
Birthdate: 21.07.1969
Birthplace: Kirkby, Liverpool England
Other clubs: Kirkby Town (1984-87), West Ham United (1993-94), Coventry City (1994-95), Galatasaray (1995), Southend United (1995-97), Barrow (1998-99), Kidderminster Harriers (1999-2000), Southport (2000-01), Boston United (2001-02), Accrington Stanley (2003-03)
Bought from: Kirkby Town
Signed for LFC: 0 21.08.1987 Liverpool debut: 01.03.1989
Last appearance: 28.08.1993
Debut goal: 06.11.1991
Last goal: 22.08.1993
Contract expiry: 17.09.1993
Win ratio: 37.62% W: 38 D: 33 L: 30
Total games/goals opposite LFC: 4 / 0
LFC league games/goals: 69 / 2
Total LFC games/goals: 101 / 6
With thanks to lfchistory.net
In my opinion If we were ever going to recreate the bootroom he would be the first one in there, he has all the credentials the old bootroom guys possessed:
