Topic: Youth and Under 23 Thread

[kop306]

great performance from the lads

some serious talent there

[disgraced cake]

Nyoni was superb also.  Everything about him screamed level above.

Yeah, he does give that impression, can see why they brought him in and the fact he's already been around the first team squad a few times bodes well.

The most impressive of the attacking players for me is Kone Doherty, another one they'll definitely have high hopes for, great to see Koumas and Danns scoring so regularly though, hope they can make the step up.

[Asam]

Nyonni and Kone Doherty look the best, feel like Koumas doesn’t have the athleticism to go to the next level up, he’s a good penalty box player but not much more, Danns will end up in midfield IMO

[thaddeus]

Nyonni and Kone Doherty look the best, feel like Koumas doesn’t have the athleticism to go to the next level up, he’s a good penalty box player but not much more, Danns will end up in midfield IMO

Koumas looked athletic enough on the last goal!  His dad though, now there was a player that was a booster of athleticism away from being a top, top player.

[Higgins79]

Not sure if its been mentioned but Luke Chambers was MOTM in his debut at the weekend. Left centre back in a back 3. Nice little assist as well.

[sminp]

Not sure if its been mentioned but Luke Chambers was MOTM in his debut at the weekend. Left centre back in a back 3. Nice little assist as well.

Seems like an intelligent choice of team to move to if he’s going to play left side of a back 3. Good learning for tucking in from left back whilst our right back inverts into midfield.

[Kadafi]

Finally. A genuine no.9 who will finally come through? Seems like we have players through the years coming through in every position bar the no.9 spot

It has definitely been too long, but we've had a few who may have broken through if not for injury - typically an ACL   

[mattD]

IMO centre backs are different, as they have very different development curves from any other outfield players bar keepers I would argue.

Quansah might not have had the hype and quality of performance like a Colwill did, but to me it's more about attributes, and Quansah actually has them. Miles more natural talent than someone like Carra. Only thing he's lacking is elite pace, but he's otherwise physically perfect, he's very good on the ball, and arguably the most important mental attribute for a CB, calmness under pressure, he 100% has got. Only thing's for him to work on, are the basic things young CB's need to work on which are mental errors, and also ensuring he perfects his positional play given he won't have the speed to recover from mistakes like our other non Matip CB's have. If he does that, he's gonna be a world class CB for far longer than Carra was.

It's a good point, and I think Virgil even said as much when speaking about his development. Van Dijk wasn't that prodigious as a teen. When he went to Celtic, they knew they had a player but even then, I saw him get schooled by Inverness Caley Thistle in a cup game once.

Perhaps the closest I've seen to a prodigious teenage centre back is our own Joe Gomez. He's still sublime, I wonder what he'd be if he wasn't injury prone. Certainly would be England's best defender by far.... actually scratch that, he probably is still the best, but then they have that fool in charge of England.

Where Quansah is is very encouraging though.

[Kadafi]

I like Danns too, but the big question is whether he's still as effective when playing against men and his physicality isn't a difference maker.  But he has everything you'd need for a modern centre forward.

Here's the thing, the aspects of his game that have impressed me and I've found encouraging, have little to nothing to do with his size, such as his link play on the ground, finishing with both feet, driving with the ball and cutting in, etc. He could well have come away with a hattrick & 2 assists had it not been for a terrific save & some last-ditch defending.

If he can continue his physical growth & strength, all these abilities will help at the next level.

[dakid]

Elliott isn't really an academy player though, is he.  What's the criteria for this?

Criteria is it's sky sports so it must be sensationalised.

Both elliot and doak had already played first team football before they joined us. U21 football isn't academy football when you have people like Spearing and Mcshane playing games.

[Fromola]

Finally. A genuine no.9 who will finally come through? Seems like we have players through the years coming through in every position bar the no.9 spot

Brewster and Stewart were good prospects but battered by bad injuries at key stages of development.

Cannonier was doing well last season.

[Asam]

Koumas looked athletic enough on the last goal!  His dad though, now there was a player that was a booster of athleticism away from being a top, top player.

that’s my fear for him, he will definitely make it as a pro but at the top level you need to be a world class athlete

[phil236849]

Not sure if its been mentioned but Luke Chambers was MOTM in his debut at the weekend. Left centre back in a back 3. Nice little assist as well.

My fear for him is that he is not defensively dominant enough to be a CB for us and not attacking enough to be a LB for us but I think he was pretty nervous when he got first team minutes so let’s see

[Gainsbarre]

Haven't followed the youngsters for a while: who are the best prospects? Who's name should I remember?

[Samie]

Haven't followed the youngsters for a while: who are the best prospects? Who's name should I remember?

I'd say the best chance of stepping up into the first team squad currently is:

Nyoni (Centre Mid) (Already trained with first team squad)
Kone-Doherty (Left Wing)
Danns (Centre Forward)

[disgraced cake]

Another win/clean sheet tonight for Chambers with Wigan

[Fromola]

Another win/clean sheet tonight for Chambers with Wigan

Wigan scored the winner 20 minutes into injury time.

[disgraced cake]

Wigan scored the winner 20 minutes into injury time.

Referee got poleaxed during the game apparently. Can only hope it happens in a Liverpool game soon.

[Boston Bosox]

James Balagizi has completed a loan move to Scottish Premiership side Kilmarnock for the remainder of the season, subject to international clearance.

The 20-year-old Liverpool midfielder links up with Killie after spending the first half of 2023-24 with Wigan Athletic.

Balagizi, who joined the Reds as an U11 player, signed a new contract at the club last summer.

He has twice been named on the bench for the senior side under Jürgen Klopp and was part of the U18s team that reached the FA Youth Cup final in 2021.

Kilmarnock currently sit fourth in the Scottish Premiership and are next in action when they host Hibernian on Saturday.

[dakid]

Haven't followed the youngsters for a while: who are the best prospects? Who's name should I remember?

Kieran Morrison and Nyoni are the most talented then probably Davidson and Kone-Doherty. Misciur given they he has already trained with the first team and our history with academy keepers should also be considered.

[xbugawugax]

our u18 got spanked by ajax 10-0. yes you read that right. no idea who played though.

hendo already having an influence there i see .

[Boston Bosox]

Ajax U18s hammer Liverpool U18s 10-0 in Amsterdam friendly on same day as Jordan Henderson takes part in first training session with new club after switch from Saudi Arabia


Ajax's Under 18s side gave Liverpool's young guns a schooling in Amsterdam as they triumphed 10-0 in a friendly.

The Dutch youngsters made a blistering start to the game, going 1-0 up inside the first minute, and were eight goals to the good by half-time.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-13002013/Ajax-U18s-Liverpool-U18s-10-0-Jordan-Henderson-Saudi-Arabia.html

[paisley1977]

Ajax U18s hammer Liverpool U18s 10-0 in Amsterdam friendly on same day as Jordan Henderson takes part in first training session with new club after switch from Saudi Arabia


Ajax's Under 18s side gave Liverpool's young guns a schooling in Amsterdam as they triumphed 10-0 in a friendly.

The Dutch youngsters made a blistering start to the game, going 1-0 up inside the first minute, and were eight goals to the good by half-time.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-13002013/Ajax-U18s-Liverpool-U18s-10-0-Jordan-Henderson-Saudi-Arabia.html

There is no mention on the official website about this fixture.  And I can't imagine a strong team especially after Saturdays game. There was no Nyoni he was with the first team.
We have drawn Fulham in the next round of the Youth Cup at home.

[RJH]

Although there are a few reports mentioning a changed line-up, I can't find the line-up itself anywhere.

Ajax have the highlights up on their Youtube channel, if someone more familiar with the youngsters wants to have a go at identifying who played:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbTegIVm3zQ

[Kadafi]

Although there are a few reports mentioning a changed line-up, I can't find the line-up itself anywhere.

Ajax have the highlights up on their Youtube channel, if someone more familiar with the youngsters wants to have a go at identifying who played:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbTegIVm3zQ

The line-up according to this twitter account was

https://twitter.com/LFCApproved/status/1750152156588519793

Morana, Pitt, Evers, Enaharo-Marcus, Furnell-Gill, Airobama, Kelly, Laffey, Pennington, Danns, Figueora

[Chris~]

Good few posts about Klopp and the academy from I'm pretty sure a Manchester United fan
https://twitter.com/rowdencon/status/1750905896803143680?t=rNvEQay-XvIgbq183gHnaw&s=19

Wonder how long it'll be before we see another elite coach at a top Premier League club who is willing to use the academy like Klopp. Doesn't just focus on what they can do for him long term, but also how they can help in short term bursts, even when they're sub-elite prospects.

He's done it from day one, 30 games from Kevin Stewart + Brad Smith to 50 from Nat Phillips + R. Williams, Tyler Morton with more minutes for Liverpool than Mejbri for United, 5 seasons of Kelleher as back up GK + countless others, 2.5 seasons of N. Williams as 2nd choice RB.

It's not about 100s of games from the elite talents (TAA, Jones + Elliott), but the fact he plays + bigs up the next tier of players + still competes for every trophy. Rather than spending his whole reign moaning about transfers + demanding more and more and more like most peers.

Another thing that'll be hard to replace

[Boston Bosox]

Nottingham Forest U 18 V Liverpool U 18 12.30

Misciur , Pitt , Furnell Gill , Airoboma , Hewitt Giblin , K Kelly , Trueman , Martin , Figueroa , Lambie , Morrison ,
Subs
Gyimah , Morana , Enahoro Marcus , Evers , Upton

[Boston Bosox]

Goal
Nottingham Forest U 18 1 Liverpool U 18 0
Conor Lewis Brown 17'

[Boston Bosox]

GOAL

Nottingham Forest 1 Liverpool 1
Tyler Martin 20'
(Assist  K Figueroa )

[Boston Bosox]

Half-Time

Nottingham Forest Under 18 1 Liverpool Under 18 1

[Boston Bosox]

Goal

Nottingham Forest 2 Liverpool 1

Conor Lewis Brown 51'

[Boston Bosox]

Full Time

Nottingham Forest U 18  2  Liverpool U 18  1

[Boston Bosox]

Match Report

Liverpool U18s suffered a 2-1 defeat away at Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon.

Tyler Martin was on the scoresheet for the Reds but a double from Conor Brown saw the hosts clinch victory in the U18s Premier League North.

Martin equalised for the Reds after Brown's 17th-minute opener before the Forest forward struck again early in the second half to decide the affair.

Speaking to Liverpoolfc.com post-match, U18s manager Marc Bridge-Wilkinson said: "It was a difficult game, difficult pitch. We dealt with the conditions OK, although I think Forest dealt with them a little bit better than us and on the day I thought they were quite good.

"We had some decent individual moments but I don't think as a team we were hard enough to play against."

TEAM

Liverpool U18s: Misciur, Pitt, Furnell-Gill, Airoboma, Giblin (Gyimah, 64), Kelly, Trueman, Martin, Figueroa, Sonni-Lambie, Morrison.

Unused subs: Morana, Enahoro-Marcus, Upton, Evers.

NEXT UP

Liverpool travel to Manchester United in the league on Tuesday night.

The clash at the Carrington Training Centre kicks off at 7pm GMT and can be watched live on LFCTV and LFCTV GO.

[Boston Bosox]

Liverpool U 21 V Fulham U 21 (12PM )

Mrozek , Lucky , Pinnington , Nallo , Scanlon , Davidson , Pilling , Nyoni , Gordon , Danns , Koumas ,

Subs

Kone Doherty , O.G.Kelly , Miles , Spearing , Pennington

[Boston Bosox]

GOAL

Liverpool 1 Fulham 0
Jayden Danns 19'

[Boston Bosox]

TEAM SHEET

https://twitter.com/CaoimheSport/status/1751576152211157144/photo/1

[Boston Bosox]

Half Time

Liverpool  1  Fulham  0

[Boston Bosox]

GOAL

Liverpool 2 Fulham 0
Lewis Koumas 61'
(Assist Kaide Gordon)

[Boston Bosox]

Full Time

Liverpool  2  Fulham 0

[[new username under construction]]

Beck back to Dundee?