JANUARY was always going to be a month when loan moves were evaluated and assessed. While some moves for the likes of Lazar Markovic and Mario Balotelli were a year long with no backsies, for many of the youngsters the deals only took them to January — sensible with the risks of playing time and settling in attached.
Maybe then it was inevitable that some would come back at this time. Sheyi Ojo, for example, wasn’t getting his game at Wolves after a promising start, so it was logical, under any manager, for him to come back to Liverpool.
You fancy, however, under Brendan Rodgers, that they would have tried to find him another club more suitable, while under Jürgen Klopp it sees he’ll remain at Melwood, at least for the time being.
It seems a definite change of policy, one that Klopp has hinted towards ever since he arrived.
The manager has spoke of the importance of players developing together, in a similar youth system to the one he enjoyed the fruits of at Borussia Dortmund.
He wants Liverpool players working with Liverpool coaches, learning how to play how he wants, in a system he is likely to play.
It would be interesting to know if all at the club share his view.
In the past Liverpool youth coaches have spoken of the importance of the loan system in developing players.
Was this a toeing of the party line at the time, or suggestive of a conflict in opinion now? No matter, I suppose. The manager wins out. That’s not to say all loans are being recalled, of course.
Sergi Canos — probably the biggest success of all the outfield loan players this season — has extended his loan spell at Brentford.
Probably because they are flying in the league, and he is having a great time.
But then it was similar situation for Danny Ward, and we’ve asked him to come back. So what of these lads now they are back?
Officially they are competing for first-team places, and the selection at Exeter might have given hope to a few that chances are there.
It certainly did for returning Tiago Ilori who said, “hopefully there will be more minutes to come for me in a Liverpool shirt” in an interview with the Liverpool Echo that was printed yesterday.
Since then the manager has done a press conference saying we have three centre halves available, naming a midfielder but not him, and then signed another defender in Steven Caulker as back up. So best of luck with that Tiago, lad.
Other returning players will probably find it just as tough, especially as players, hopefully, recover from injury.
It’s one thing giving players a run at Exeter, but will the manager feel he can do the same should we get through to face West Ham, a team that has already beaten us home and away in the league.
He’s also shown little inclination for resting players in the Europa League, a competition he clearly takes seriously.
It’s highly likely that Klopp, by recalling these players, just wants a closer look at what he’s got before the tough decisions are made in the summer.
How much can he learn about Ojo making fleeting substitute appearances at Wolves? How easy is it to assess Ryan Kent playing in League One?
Ward might have proved himself a good keeper in Scotland, but can he do the things our manager requires a goalkeeper to do?
Jurgen will have been briefed on the quality and potential of all of the young players at the club and he can watch videos when he finds time but it’s not the same as analysing the players in the flesh.
It’s understandable why a new manager would want a closer look with his own coaches. Especially one who plays in such a distinctive way, a style not often replicated by the clubs carefully chosen by the previous regime. “Ok, you can do that, but can you do this?”
Jurgen needs to know all this, and quickly. He’ll be thinking of next season already, trying to use this season as a learning year while at the same time trying to pick up as many points as possible.
Before he knows what he needs, he needs to know what he’s got.
He’ll probably be hoping for just one or two gems from the returning pack that he can move forward with.
That might not quite be what the returning players think they signed up for, a few months of Under-21 football and a manager seeing if they can flourish playing in his style, but it might be what they get.
This has a knock-on effect, of course. Flood the Under-21 team with 20 and 21 year olds who need a game, and what does this mean for the 18 and 19 year olds who ultimately may have more potential but suddenly nowhere to play. Especially in a league which is hardly flooded with fixtures.
Do they grow despondent, or slow down due to a lack of football? It comes back again to faults in the system — problems that aren’t necessarily Klopp’s to solve, but ones he will have to deal with.
He might find in the future he has to revert back to a loan system he sees as less than perfect to help bridge the gap between youth football and the Premier League, and make sure everyone contracted by the club is playing regularly at the highest level possible.
But, for now, he’ll watch and analyse what he has.
EIGHT POINT FIVE.
Tks John. IMO you are the expert on our youth and please keep it up. We get to see the 1st teamers in the stadium or on tv.(and comment as if we all were Klopp level football experts :) But all we see of the U21 are based on YouTube clips (when they score one~off wordie) or against Exeter…
I hope at least 5 of these kids make to the 1st team squad. I don’t really care which 5, but would be really pleased if any of these youth progress into the 1st team.
I can’t remember any loan spell rounding off ANY returnee to our benefit.
Do I remember right that Ibe spend half of last season at Derby?
Ah, yes. I’d forgotten that.
Not quite ’rounded off’, though.
You are spot on though. Apart from Ibeeee we have not seen anyone progress through loan system in recent season (apart from borderline case of Wisdom)
When Klopp was asked, he made a big deal of the word “senior”. Not clear that he didn’t take the term quite literally. I believe he did, especially given the jocular reference to Kolo Toure as being, specifically, a _senior_ center-half available.
With Toure, Sakho, Caulker and Ilori we will have 4 actual center-backs in the squad. With the return of Skrtel and Lovren, we can ease return Toure to his ‘elder statesman, deep cover’ CB status and Ilori can be the prospect.
Wouldn’t mind a Caulker-Ilori or a Kolo-Ilori CB tandem for the replay of the FA Cup tie vs Exeter City.
I our golden years, our rezzies won the Central League almost every year – about 17 seasons between 1968 and 1986. Whats wrong with reserve football these days? Players go weeks/months without playing. I don’t like the ‘loan out’ mentality. Under Rodgers we bought players and pumped them out, never to be seen again.
The old reserve league was changed back in 2012 into the Professional U21 Development League.
You can play 3 over 21 year olds I think.
Liverpool are I division 1 – in a league with 12 teams. So only 22 games a season. Which are not regular.
I remember RB suggesting B teams being used in the lower leagues as they do in Spain & Germany. If you see how their young players evolve, it may not be a bad idea. Although I can’t see the FA going for it.
I appreciate you watch more junior football but what’s the reason for the hate towards Ilori? He’s had 45 minutes since he signed and is only 22, watching him at last year’s Euro U-21 he looked to have talent and dealt well with Harry Kane. So Gibbo why do you appear to dislike him so much?
For me having our loanees return suggests that everyone who can will get a chance to impress before Klopp has a clear out I the summer. Best to have a look at everyone at close quarters
the article was just stating the facts related to Illori (during the past week, since his return from Villa). Ididnt see any anti-Illori sentiment in that one.para.
Any true Reds fans (I am sure John is one not them) want the team to do really well. The team include any player young, old, white, black, yellow, pink, etc etc.
cheers
It raises quite interesting points and ones I’ve only really starting to think about this week. From listening to the shows on here (and this article) I’m hearing there are issues with matches and the leagues at youth level and it makes you wonder what is the best formula, loan or club. My instinct says club.
Don’t want to speculate on what you’re alluding to but one things for sure, FSG will be supporters of the loan system. I’d guess they probably feel it makes sense from a development point of view too but they’ll certainly feel it does financially. To be honest, I don’t actually know how loans work, in saying that, but I presume the club gaining the player will pay the wages or part of them at least. Another thing that clouds the issue is there’s clearly 2 types of loan. There’s development and there’s shop window. Just because a player is young it doesn’t mean the club haven’t taken the decision player A isn’t going to make it so let’s loan him out and hope he does well and gets retained.
Then there’s Klopp. Who knows what he’s thinking. I too buy into the theory that he’s a fair man, we’ve heard about his strategy at other clubs and he just wants to get them together and develop them in a certain way. It’ll be interesting to see how it pans out. Whether they go out on loan again, stay at Melwood or I as suspect about 80% of them are simply told to look for new clubs and then the cycle begins again. It’s all very interesting because we think we’re clearly seeing a battle play out between the extremely corporate PL models and the model of the morally correct, all embracing, anti capitalist hippy from the forest but we shouldn’t underestimate how shrewd Klopp is. I think the next few years will be fascinating to see what kind of manager we really have and what direction the club moves in bearing in mind I’m already convinced the club does as he says. I just can’t see him accepting football advice from someone who doesn’t know football. He doesn’t have to. In a sense, he’s the one doing us a favour in this arrangement.
The current youth system isn’t a success. Not knowing that much about it, it’s difficult to back that up but I know what I see in the first team. Yeah, we bought a couple 15 or 16 year olds that are doing well. Maybe Klopp has looked at all the big clubs and realised all this effort for 1 average player every 3 years isn’t worth the effort. None of the big clubs are producing first team players and despite my little knowledge on this, I don’t think they’re even producing players that aren’t quite good enough for us but can play for Villa or West Brom. Obviously, I can think of a few but it’s not many. Maybe he’s got an idea to improve things. It’s all intriguing. A bit like a soap opera but good.
if Klopp’s new system of “internal development as a group” produces a string of 1st teamers in the next 3 seasons, for example, I am sure all other clubs would follow our lead.
It is another issue though if the U21 league is strong enough or competitive enough to give the boys real sense of fighting for result. Time will tell.
The top clubs need to get together and re-instate the equivalent of the Central League.
The loan system is not fit for purpose. Players get farmed out to clubs where the ethos is different and there is little or no guarantee that they will get playing time.
The old Central League ensured better youth player development and also had the benefit that first teamers returning from injury could get some playing time too.