After six-and-a-half years of distinguished service at the Academy, Critchley - most recently the Reds’ U23s boss - has taken up the position of head coach at Blackpool.
And, following confirmation of his move to the League One side, the 41-year-old spoke warmly of his period on Merseyside.
“The time I’ve had at Liverpool has been truly special,” Critchley told Blackpool’s official website.
“I’ve been incredibly well supported there from Alex Inglethorpe, the Academy manager, and all the staff. It’s a truly special football club and it’s the people that make the football club the place that it is. It would have had to have taken something equally as special, if not more, for me to even think about leaving.
“But from the conversations I’ve had here [at Blackpool], I got a really good feeling about the people, where they want the club to go and how they want it to grow.”