Topic: Ryan Kent

[Phil M]

A bit disappointed, because I like what I've seen of Kent and suspect that a second year in succession on loan may bode well for his personal development as a footballer, but suggests that that future is not seen at Anfield. Always room to be proven wrong, but he'd be the first.

Or that he has a few senior players ahead of him in his preferred position so makes more sense developing and maturing at a club where he will get some time on the pitch at top level.

[Giono]

yeah I think they want some assurances from teams.

I agree regards the Buli, and also, most of the teams tend to have a few young players they develop through the first team, they are strong on that aspect. And they are patient with them - as are fans. It's a good, technical league, with teams that generally want to play football rather than hoof-ball. Of course there are expetions, but generally it is that way.

Agree. I'm delighted we are sending players there. Much better league than Holland, Belgium or France and much better translatable playing style than Spain or Italy.

Interesting that you highlight patience of clubs and fans too. They do seem to have young managers with projects that they allow to run for a while to bear some fruit. Much better environment for our developing players than the CL or even the lower rungs of the PL where short-termism is king.

[HumanRed]

Great opportunity for him to showcase his talent. I think the preseason must have put have got top clubs interested in him, Normally, a player without much first team experience never moves to a top league, it's normally Div 1 or the Championship. Great opportunity for him to test himself against internationals week in week out.

[redmark]

Or that he has a few senior players ahead of him in his preferred position so makes more sense developing and maturing at a club where he will get some time on the pitch at top level.

There aren't that many - Mane, Salah certainly. But we loaned out Origi (who played some minutes wide) and didn't sign Lemar. The rest of the depth (which I'm fine with) is shuffling players around.

We have no record of players returning from successive loan spells to be a better player at Liverpool. We barely have a record of players doing so from a single loan spell. We do have a record of players selected for loan spells - even the most highly acclaimed academy graduates - being sold off within a year or two afterwards.

My disappointment therefore isn't that I think Kent is brilliant and should have been kept on; it's that I hoped he might be, but it seems likely (on our record) of being an indication that his level is projected to be a bit below where we want it to be - as Jack has said, and I virtually never agree with Jack. Which is a shame, is all, if it turns out to be accurate. He's not 18 or 19; he'll be 21 in a couple of months (we share a birthday).

[Filler.]

Very disappointed to see Kent go on loan. Saw him being one of the first picks in the League Cup and then to be there or thereabouts finding bench spots on the back of good performances in the league/europe, and a very handy player to have coming on for the likes of Salah and Mane over the course of the season, and possibly the odd start. Can't quite get my head around it.

[Xabier Alonso Olano]

Doubt he would make the squad for 90% of the season for us Filler. Origi didn't and thats with Lallana and Coutinho missing.

He will develop more (hopefully) playing week in week out, not just sporadic minutes in the league cup or FA cup or whatever.

He's got a real good move too. Nice to see a few British lads now broadening their horizons and plying their trade abroad for experience: Burke, Sancho, Hinds, Kent, Oxford. It will only benefit them imo. 

[Goalposts for Jumpers]

There aren't that many - Mane, Salah certainly. But we loaned out Origi (who played some minutes wide) and didn't sign Lemar. The rest of the depth (which I'm fine with) is shuffling players around.

We have no record of players returning from successive loan spells to be a better player at Liverpool. We barely have a record of players doing so from a single loan spell. We do have a record of players selected for loan spells - even the most highly acclaimed academy graduates - being sold off within a year or two afterwards.

My disappointment therefore isn't that I think Kent is brilliant and should have been kept on; it's that I hoped he might be, but it seems likely (on our record) of being an indication that his level is projected to be a bit below where we want it to be - as Jack has said, and I virtually never agree with Jack. Which is a shame, is all, if it turns out to be accurate. He's not 18 or 19; he'll be 21 in a couple of months (we share a birthday).

I agree with most of what you're saying, and it certainly doesn't bode well that he has been sent on loan 2 seasons in a row - there's not much precedent for players coming into the starting 11 after that. But I personally think he's got the talent to be buck the trend. However, Mane, Salah, Ox, Coutinho, Lallana and Firmino could definitely be regarded as "stiff competition" for the 2 wide positions. To suggest otherwise is laughable.

I would accept an argument that Firmino wouldn't be considered ahead of him, as he really has a specialist position in our starting 11, even though he can play wide aswell. But I think both Coutinho and Lallana can be classified as wide forward options on the condition that one of Mane or Salah is on the other side. Ox has played most his career as a wide-forward, regardless of whether he likes the position.

Kent's still got a chance with us, I'm certain of that. He will need to adapt/improve his game in certain aspects for it to happen though.

[sminp]

Gonna take a stab in the dark and assume he doesn't speak a word of German and if that's the case he's got a massive pair of balls going there to prove himself. Think he'll do well.

[Frank Becton]

Very disappointed to see Kent go on loan. Saw him being one of the first picks in the League Cup and then to be there or thereabouts finding bench spots on the back of good performances in the league/europe, and a very handy player to have coming on for the likes of Salah and Mane over the course of the season, and possibly the odd start. Can't quite get my head around it.

I agree, hoped he would stay with us.

[TepidT2O]

It's so good to see young players going abroad on loan....

For so many years English footballers have been almost entirely insular.

Whether we agree with him going on loan or not, I hope that plays abroad at this young age will make him a better footballer than staying in England.  A different  style of football, a different style of coaching.

Good on him for going, from his twitter he's clearly looking forwards to it..

[Joff123]

Doubt he would make the squad for 90% of the season for us Filler. Origi didn't and thats with Lallana and Coutinho missing.

He will develop more (hopefully) playing week in week out, not just sporadic minutes in the league cup or FA cup or whatever.

He's got a real good move too. Nice to see a few British lads now broadening their horizons and plying their trade abroad for experience: Burke, Sancho, Hinds, Kent, Oxford. It will only benefit them imo.

Interesting that Burke only lasted a full season as a sub at Leizpig and has made the move back to WBA.. but still progression from Forrest to RBL to WBA

[redmark]

I agree with most of what you're saying, and it certainly doesn't bode well that he has been sent on loan 2 seasons in a row - there's not much precedent for players coming into the starting 11 after that. But I personally think he's got the talent to be buck the trend. However, Mane, Salah, Ox, Coutinho, Lallana and Firmino could definitely be regarded as "stiff competition" for the 2 wide positions. To suggest otherwise is laughable.

I would accept an argument that Firmino wouldn't be considered ahead of him, as he really has a specialist position in our starting 11, even though he can play wide aswell. But I think both Coutinho and Lallana can be classified as wide forward options on the condition that one of Mane or Salah is on the other side. Ox has played most his career as a wide-forward, regardless of whether he likes the position.

Kent's still got a chance with us, I'm certain of that. He will need to adapt/improve his game in certain aspects for it to happen though.

However, Mane, Salah, Ox, Coutinho, Lallana and Firmino could definitely be regarded as "stiff competition" for the 2 wide positions.

Of course - if the competition was "which is the better wide player, Kent or ...?". Mane and Salah were already taken as read. Of the other four, at any given moment two or three of them are likely to be playing in other positions. Or, as is the case until November, one could be injured. I wasn't saying that Kent could force his way into the starting lineup any time soon, but that - if he was considered 'close' - he could get some sub appearances, in addition to cup appearances, particularly if two or three of those six were unavailable for any reason. Hence I suspect going on loan means he's not considered 'close'; which for a player who is 21 in 3 months, I think probably suggests there's not great confidence that he will make it here.

Now there's a wider discussion about whether a player benefits more from going on loan, or getting some (say, 1000-1200 minutes) game time over the course of a season with Liverpool. It should also be noted that - being a selfish git - when talking about the player's development, I really mean development towards becoming a good Liverpool player.

[Dim Glas]

Gonna take a stab in the dark and assume he doesn't speak a word of German and if that's the case he's got a massive pair of balls going there to prove himself. Think he'll do well.

I am impressed too that he's got the character to make a move not many young players from over here do (although a few more seem to be doing it now). But most of his team-mates will be able to speak English, which will help him settle in quite quick I'm sure.  It's going to be interesting seeing him play in the Bundesliga, it'd be great if he can play his way into getting regular appearances, playing at that level.

Interesting that Burke only lasted a full season as a sub at Leizpig and has made the move back to WBA.. but still progression from Forrest to RBL to WBA

Leipzig have far more talent in their squad than Freiburg mind.  It was tough for Burke there for sure, and in a way it's a shame he didn't want to stick it out, but that team does have a lot of really good players, and he didn't do enough to dislodge any of the regulars.

[Fordy]

Great move for him.. he is highly rated here and move is a smart one by Liverpool.
 
It hences the relationship between Liverpool and German clubs.

[BabuYagu]

I'm going to be watching a lot of Bundesliga it seems this season. Leipzig (Keita), Freiburg (Kent), Wolfsburg (Origi), Stuttgart (I like them), Dortmund (fun to watch), Hoffenheim (impressed me).

I could realistically see myself watching more German football than English and just catching up on most of it with match of the day

[Dim Glas]

I'm going to be watching a lot of Bundesliga it seems this season. Leipzig (Keita), Freiburg (Kent), Wolfsburg (Origi), Stuttgart (I like them), Dortmund (fun to watch), Hoffenheim (impressed me).

I could realistically see myself watching more German football than English and just catching up on most of it with match of the day

welcome to my world    I easily watch more Bundesliga than Premier League football. Each weekend I'll try and watch at least parts of 3 or 4 Buli games, a couple of them in full. The Friday night game is always a good way to start a weekend!

And for European games, I always watch the Bundesliga teams in action before all other teams (apart from LFC obviously).

[newterp]

welcome to my world    I easily watch more Bundesliga than Premier League football. Each weekend I'll try and watch at least parts of 3 or 4 Buli games, a couple of them in full. The Friday night game is always a good way to start a weekend!

And for European games, I always watch the Bundesliga teams in action before all other teams (apart from LFC obviously).

you should get a ..... girlfriend.

note - I said girlfriend. not wife - because wife leads to anger, anger lead to hate, hate leads to the dark side.

[Dim Glas]

you should get a ..... girlfriend.

note - I said girlfriend. not wife - because wife leads to anger, anger lead to hate, hate leads to the dark side.

It's to late for me - I'm already married    Lucky both of us love watching sport! 

[newterp]

It's to late for me - I'm already married    Lucky both of us love watching sport! 

I .... love your wife?

(ok ok at least my wife has allowed me to convert all the kids into liverpool fans and is excited to go to liverpool when we go visit the family in england next)

[Filler.]

Doubt he would make the squad for 90% of the season for us Filler. Origi didn't and thats with Lallana and Coutinho missing.

He will develop more (hopefully) playing week in week out, not just sporadic minutes in the league cup or FA cup or whatever.

He's got a real good move too. Nice to see a few British lads now broadening their horizons and plying their trade abroad for experience: Burke, Sancho, Hinds, Kent, Oxford. It will only benefit them imo. 

There's some sense of course in sending him on loan, but I was hoping to see a genuine wide player in the league cup matches to then hopefully stake a claim for some outings on the bench and as support to Salah and Mane.

We lack genuine wide players beyond Salah and Mane, tho of course we have many players who can fill in there, and Oxlaide-Chamberlain would be near the top of that list now. So, we're not short of some quality out wide, just a bit short of genuine width (tho of course we still have Markovic (?!)) and I was really looking forward to seeing him kick on.


Still... will be interesting to see how he does out in Freiburg.

[BabuYagu]

/snip

What is interesting is when I look at players in terms of skillset and where they fit the roles in our team, I still see Kent as that 8/10 hybrid Lallana plays more than a winger whose primary job in this team is to stretch play vertically and score goals. He is neither of those things in his natural game.

[BabuYagu]

Came on at half time at the weekend. Freiburg were losing 3-0 to Leverkusen. Lost 4-0 in the end. Haven't seen the match yet - takes forever to download for me with inclouddrive (anybody know a quicker way?)

https://www.inclouddrive.com/file/9v0UJimjeuRoBsHU_2UDqg/20170917-leverkusen-freiburg-1-eng-720p.ts
https://www.inclouddrive.com/file/eglDyFUR5Xaf0RQ9hw1fGA/20170917-leverkusen-freiburg-2-eng-720p.ts

Each file is 1.5gb+

[jooneyisdagod]

Came on at half time at the weekend. Freiburg were losing 3-0 to Leverkusen. Lost 4-0 in the end. Haven't seen the match yet - takes forever to download for me with inclouddrive (anybody know a quicker way?)

https://www.inclouddrive.com/file/9v0UJimjeuRoBsHU_2UDqg/20170917-leverkusen-freiburg-1-eng-720p.ts
https://www.inclouddrive.com/file/eglDyFUR5Xaf0RQ9hw1fGA/20170917-leverkusen-freiburg-2-eng-720p.ts

Each file is 1.5gb+

I expected a "he then led Freiburg to a rousing comeback so historic that the club has renamed itself SC Ryan Kent" type post. Instead, it's just a "and they lost 4-0".

Reminded me of this,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylftUmF-GSw

[BabuYagu]

I expected a "he then led Freiburg to a rousing comeback so historic that the club has renamed itself SC Ryan Kent" type post. Instead, it's just a "and they lost 4-0".

Reminded me of this,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylftUmF-GSw

One way to look at it is they were on course to lose 6-0 so he made the team 2 goals better. No?

[Mr Mingebag Squid]

Did he feature last night for them?

[jooneyisdagod]

One way to look at it is they were on course to lose 6-0 so he made the team 2 goals better. No?

You're a more positive guy than I. That's for sure!

[Maldini]

Did he feature last night for them?

They're playing tonight

[Fordy]

Did he feature last night for them?

Yes, came on around the 74 min.

[Dim Glas]

he's playing for them today, came on at half time, but it's going to be tough, Freiburg are down to 10 men since the first half, and are 2-0 down away to Stuttgart.

[BabuYagu]

he's playing for them today, came on at half time, but it's going to be tough, Freiburg are down to 10 men since the first half, and are 2-0 down away to Stuttgart.

He's picking up minutes and with it some experience. I guess the first half of the season is about him finding his feet in German football. Maybe we won't see much of him until January by which time he needs to have forced his way into the first team.

[Mr Mingebag Squid]

The couple of times I've seen him play, he'd looked good. It's just a shame the "good" Freiburg of last year aren't too good this year

[Gerry Attrick]

The couple of times I've seen him play, he'd looked good. It's just a shame the "good" Freiburg of last year aren't too good this year

They were not very good offensively last season either to be fair. They were definitely in the bottom 7 or 8 for goals scored despite finishing near the Europa League places. It's tough for attacking players to stand out in that team.

[Dim Glas]

He's picking up minutes and with it some experience. I guess the first half of the season is about him finding his feet in German football. Maybe we won't see much of him until January by which time he needs to have forced his way into the first team.

he had a couple nice moments today too. In what was a really tough game to come into.
The first few mins he was a bit passive and isolated - and was playing centrally, but he got stuck in more as the half wore on and played further wide as Freiburg bought on another central forward. And he had a couple decent runs, 2nd one he went past the fullback with great skill, cut inside, but unfortunately lost posessiom. Then later in the half he had their best chance, played a very good 1-2, but blasted over, he was mad at himself.

But definate glimpses in one heck of a tough situation in a side playing with 10 men up against it.

[jillcwhomever]

he had a couple nice moments today too. In what was a really tough game to come into.
The first few mins he was a bit passive and isolated - and was playing centrally, but he got stuck in more as the half wore on and played further wide as Freiburg bought on another central forward. And he had a couple decent runs, 2nd one he went past the fullback with great skill, cut inside, but unfortunately lost posessiom. Then later in the half he had their best chance, played a very good 1-2, but blasted over, he was mad at himself.

But definate glimpses in one heck of a tough situation in a side playing with 10 men up against it.

That's good to hear. Let's hope he gets more of a chance to prove himself this season, he has a lot about him does Ryan.