Liverpool F.C. Reserves and Academy

Liverpool Reserves

Full name	Liverpool Football Club Reserves
Nickname(s)	The Young Reds
Founded	1892
Ground	Prenton Park, Birkenhead Anfield, Liverpool Langtree Park, St Helens Deva Stadium, Chester (all U21s)[1] The Academy, Kirkby (U18s)
Manager	(U23s) Neil Critchley (U18s)
League	Professional Development League 1
2015–16	7th
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Liverpool F.C. Reserves is the reserve team of Liverpool. It is the most senior level of the Liverpool academy beneath the first team. In the summer of 2012, the whole English reserve football system was overhauled and replaced with an Under 21 league system, the Professional Development League. Liverpool's Reserve team became the Liverpool under 21 team and competes in the Professional Development League 1 which is also known by its sponsorship name of Barclays under 21 Premier League. The team generally consists of Under-21 players at the club but at times senior players also play for the reserves when they are recuperating from injury. Following the introduction of new regulations from 2012-13 season, only three outfield players and one goalkeeper over the age of 21 can play for the reserves regularly. The current reserve team is coached by Michael Beale.

In 2012–13 Professional U21 Development League the reserve team of Liverpool reached the semifinal before losing to the eventual winners Manchester United. The following season in 2013-14 the reserves team again lost to Manchester United reserves in the semis.

Liverpool F.C. Academy is the youth set up Liverpool Football Club. It trains players from the U6 age group^[2] up to the U21 squad. The academy has separate head coaches in charge of development in the U6-U9, U10-U11, U12-U14 and U15-U16 age groups. At U21 and U18 level there are dedicated coaching teams managed by Michael Beale and Neil Critchley respectively. Alex Inglethorpe was promoted from U21 manager to Academy Director in the summer of 2014 and hold overall responsibility for operation of the academy. The academy has won the FA Youth Cup, a competition for players of age 15 to 18, three times in 1996, 2006 and 2007.

Liverpool F.C. Academy is considered to be one of the best and one of the most prolific football academies both in England and in the world. Various current and past Liverpool players have graduated through the academy with the likes of Billy Liddell, Ronnie Moran, Ian Callaghan, Phil Thompson, Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman, Michael Owen, Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard, Jon Flanagan and Raheem Sterling among many others.

Reserve team

Liverpool Reserves played in the FA Premier Reserve League. The Reserves won the regional division title in 2000 and again in 2008 winning also the national league that year. It competed in the Lancashire Combination from 1896 to 1911, with the exception of the 1898–99 season, in which it joined The Combination. From 1911 on, it took part in the Central League until becoming inaugural members of the Premier Reserve League North in 1999. It also used to participate in the Liverpool Senior Cup and the Lancashire Senior Cup; the last time it took part in them was the 2009–10 season when it also won both competitions.

The last reserve team manager was Rodolfo Borrell, who was appointed in July 2011 and led the reserve team during its final season before taking over the newly formed under-21 side in July 2012. The reserves last played their home games at Prenton Park (the home of Tranmere Rovers);^[3] in previous seasons the team has also played at the club's academy, the Halliwell Jones Stadium (home of Warrington Wolves), Haig Avenue (the home of Southport), Knowsley Road (the home of St Helens RLFC) and the Racecourse Ground (home of Wrexham).

The team was the subject of a famous quote from Liverpool FC manager Bill Shankly, who, while telling a joke at the expense of local rivals Everton, declared, In my time at Anfield we always said we had the two best teams on Merseyside, Liverpool and Liverpool Reserves. Another version of the quote has Shankly saying, There's only two teams in Liverpool: Liverpool and Liverpool Reserves.

The most successful Liverpool Reserves manager was Roy Evans. Evans spent most of his playing career as a reserve team player, making only 11 appearances for the first team. After an injury ended his career in 1974, he was appointed manager of the reserves by Bob Paisley. Evans subsequently led the reserves to victory in a series of Central League championships, including three in his first three seasons, a four in a row sequence from 1978, and two more in the early 1980s. Throughout the history of Liverpool FC, many of the club's best known players have progressed through the reserve team. These include current first team squad members Trent Alexander-Arnold, Cameron Brannagan, Ovie Ejaria, Connor Randall, Kevin Stewart and Sheyi Ojo as well as Steven Gerrard, Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen, Steve McManaman, Jamie Carragher and Raheem Sterling.

The Academy

The Academy

In 1998, a new state-of-the-art Youth Academy was opened in Kirkby, Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley. It replaced the older, more informal youth system, and enables the club to focus their youth development and scouting, employing new techniques and FA standards.

It was overseen by Frank McParland. The Academy now allows the main training ground at Melwood to be kept solely for the first team squad and allows all the areas there to be kept in excellent condition. It also provides a stepping stone for youngsters to progress to the highest levels of football at Liverpool.

Scouts attend many local youth matches looking for talented boys. A boy will then be invited to attend training sessions at the Academy. They are currently taken in as young as the age of six. Former England International player Jamie Carragher started at Liverpool when he was aged just nine, with Michael Owen joining at eleven, and Steven Gerrard joining at the age of eight. Current Liverpool first team player Jordan Rossiter first represented the club at U6 level.^[4] At this age, the boys start by simply attending after-school training sessions, but as they reach their middle-teens, their academic needs will be taken over by the Academy if they are deemed athletically talented enough. As such, the Academy has a lecture theatre and a computer-equipped classroom.

The Academy can handle up to twenty boys in each year group, although the actual number in each year group is usually around eighteen. Between the ages of eight and twelve the boys play in eight-a-side games of three twenty-minute periods. It allows the boys to play as defenders or as attackers in small groups within a system and is not as physically demanding as playing eleven-a-side matches.

There are four full-size grass pitches and one with a Polytan surface. There are also a further seven smaller pitches and an indoor arena. The grounds cover an area of 56 acres.

On the walls of the indoor centre hang the words 'Technique', 'Attitude', 'Balance', and 'Speed'. 'TABS' is the key word preached at The Academy.^[5] Academy director Alex Inglethorpe has said the remit of the academy is to produce physically, technically, tactically and mentally elite players with enough quality to represent the senior side in the Champions League.^[2] Liverpool won the 2005 Champions league with two locally born academy graduates starting in the final.

Academy Partnerships

The Academy has a long-lasting affiliation with MTK Budapest's Sándor Károly Football Academy^[6] and maintains a number of football schools worldwide through partnerships with football clubs and commercial and sports organisations.^[7] LFC International Football Academy currently has branches in Scandinavia^[8] (Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Gran Canaria during winter), America^[9] (Texas and Plymouth, the latter through an affiliate^[10] with CS United Soccer Club), Egypt^[11] (Cairo), South Africa^[12] (Durban and Johannesburg), China^[13] (Guilin), India^[14] (Pune, in cooperation with DSK Shivajians), and Japan^[15] (Tokyo). It used to run schools in Boston, Charlotte, Saint Vincent, Iceland, Belfast, Dublin, Katwijk, Madrid, Lisbon, Malta, Cyprus, Abuja, Nairobi, Mumbai, Singapore, Jakarta, Manila, and Hong Kong.^[7]

Academy squads

As of 27 July 2016.^{[16][17][18][19][20][21][22]}

U23s

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player — GK Andy Firth [23] 87 GK Shamal George — DF Tom Brewitt 57 DF Joe Maguire — DF Juan Manuel Garcia [24] 3 DF Mamadou Sakho — DF Nathan Phillips — DF Kane Lewis [25] 87 DF Conor Masterson — DF Corey Whelan 66 MF Trent Alexander-Arnold — MF Brad Garton

No. Position Player — MF Adam Phillips — MF Paulo Alves — MF Jake Brimmer 53 MF Ovie Ejaria — MF Madger Gomes — MF Matthew Virtue 49 MF Jordan Williams — MF Harry Wilson — FW Toni Gomes — FW Brooks Lennon 58 FW Ben Woodburn

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player — DF Sam Hart (on loan at Port Vale for the season)[26] 41 MF Jack Dunn (on loan at Morecambe until January 2017)[27] 51 DF Lloyd Jones (on loan at Swindon Town for the season)[28]

U18s

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player — GK Dan Atherton — GK Kamil Grabara — GK Caoimhin Kelleher — GK Ben Williams — DF Anthony Glennon — DF George Johnston — DF Diego Lattie [29] — DF Adam Lewis — DF Suleman Naeem — DF Kris Owens — DF Mich'el Parker

No. Position Player — DF Dylan Ryan — MF Bobby Adekanye — MF Liam Coyle — MF Herbie Kane — MF Harvey Whyte — FW Rhian Brewster — FW Rafael Camacho — FW Yan Dhanda — FW Liam Millar — FW Glen McAuley — FW Okera Simmonds

U16s

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player — GK Ted Cann — DF Morgan Boyes — DF Tom Clayton — DF Patrik Raitanen — MF Leighton Clarkson — MF Elijah Dixon-Bonner — MF Curtis Jones — MF Abdi Sharif

No. Position Player — MF Luis Longstaff — MF Edvard Sandvik Tagseth — MF Neco Williams — FW Marley Blair — FW Paul Glatzel — James Berry-McNally — Daniel Griffiths — Rhys Williams

Staff

Current coaching and medical staff

In addition, the Academy employ staff from the first-team.

Reserve team manager history

Awards

Liverpool Academy Players' Player of the Year

Players in bold are still playing for Liverpool.

Season	Name	Nationality	Position	Ref(s)
2013–14	Rossiter, JordanJordan Rossiter	England	Midfielder	[31][32]
2014–15	Carlos Teixeira, JoãoJoão Carlos Teixeira	Portugal	Midfielder	[33]
2015–16	Smith, BradBrad Smith	Australia	Defender	[34]

Honours

*Asterisk denotes a shared title.

Noted graduates

Those who made it at the Club

Liverpool's youth system has been successful over the years; many players who have come through it have gone on to feature in the first-team. The following players have gone on to play over 5 competitive matches for the first team.

2010s

• Andre Wisdom
• Brad Smith
• Cameron Brannagan
• Connor Randall
• Jack Robinson
• Jerome Sinclair
• João Carlos Teixeira
• Jon Flanagan
• Jordon Ibe
• Jordan Rossiter
• Pedro Chirivella
• Raheem Sterling
• Suso
• Sheyi Ojo

And those who made it elsewhere

Many of the former Liverpool youth and reserve team players have found success with other clubs. None of these players became established members of the Liverpool first team.

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

References

Sources

• Who’s Who Of Liverpool (2006): Tony Matthews
• LFCHistory.net

External links