Academy column: Opportunities and loans
In the first of a brand new Academy column for the 2015-16 season, Academy director Alex Inglethorpe speaks about youngsters getting their first-team opportunity and the reason behind a number of loan moves.
It’s certainly been a hectic close season at the Academy and my staff have been really good in terms of our programme which works across 12 months, so just as one age group comes to an end during the school holidays the other ones are back in. It’s a huge demand on the staff but they have been absolutely brilliant as always.
Our manager Brendan Rodgers is a great believer in giving young players an opportunity should he feel they are ready, and once again it was fantastic to see seven boys getting the opportunity to go away with the first-team on their summer tour of Bangkok, Brisbane, Adelaide and Malaysia. It was wonderful experiences for all of them. Jordan Rossiter was back after his injury and got a number of minutes and some of the other lads like Ryan Kent and Joe Maguire had some nice cameos. Of course that continued in Helsinki and Swindon as well so it was an invaluable experience for them.
It was great for everybody to see Joao Carlos Teixeira playing again after the bad injury he picked up at Brighton on loan last season. Joao and Jordan worked ever so hard during the summer break to get fit again and it paid off for them when they were rewarded with a first-team opportunity. A lot of credit needs to go to the support they have had from our medical team but both boys have worked very hard and they contributed in the games. Both Joao and Jordan are realistic to know that they have a fight on their hands to get into the starting XI but they are getting closer.
We also saw 16-year-old Scouser Trent Alexander-Arnold make his first-team bow at Swindon. This is the great thing about our club at the moment. Last weekend me and Neil Critchley took the U17s and U18s including Trent to a football festival down in London, and I received a phone call to say we needed to drive him back because he was going to start at Swindon. That’s the way football should be and it was great to see him playing and I thought he got better and better as the game went on.
For any player in any club to feel motivated they have got to know there is a chance of the first-team one day. It’s not just a case of people saying there is a chance but to actually see it with your own eyes is fantastic. This pre-season Brendan has given these young players a chance and a challenge to say you’ve got to be good enough to not just go in and support the group but show your qualities and improve the team. There’s more than enough light at the end of the tunnel for our boys at the Academy at the moment and it is an inspiration when Jordan, Joao, Trent, Ryan, Dan Cleary plays for the first-team. Let’s not forget Jordon Ibe and the progress he has made as well. You almost think he’s not one of ours but he started life at the club in the Academy and he is a big inspiration for our young lads.
This summer already we have seen a number of our boys go out on loan and this week Sheyi Ojo has gone to Wolves to play Championship football for a season after signing a new contract. The loan system is very important for us. The U21s league serves a purpose but the truth is it’s an extension to the youth team because it’s not mens football and not a senior environment. Most of our boys pass through that quite quickly and they are ready for the next challenge. They want to progress and play senior football. If you deny players that opportunity they stagnate and become a little bit frustrated. They need to be constantly challenged. The U21s might suffer in terms of results but the up side to it is we are going to get players who will be ready for the first team. Jack Dunn suffered from a few injuries last season but it was also the campaign that he made his football league debut and scored a few goals. Jack did well at Cheltenham and there are a few clubs again who are very interested in taking him on loan. We have sent out Jordan Williams, Kevin Stewart and Lawrence Vigouroux on season-long loans to Swindon Town and they will benefit greatly from playing regular football at a really good level.
We also saw a change at the Academy during the summer when our U16 coach Pepijn Linders took up a new role working under Brendan as first-team development coach. His role is fairly unique and it’s the only one I can think of in the Premier League as he is a bridge between the Academy and the first-team. Pepijn will still be working across both sites and it’s great that the Academy can progress, not only players but coaches as well.
Last week Des Maher took our U17 squad to compete in the Milk Cup in Northern Ireland when the boys got to the semi-finals. Des did a great job with them. There wasn’t a great deal of time to prepare them but Des got them playing some brilliant football and they were unlucky to lose to Southampton in the semi-final. Des deserves a lot of credit for the work he did with the boys.
I will still continue to coach the boys as part of my role as Academy director. I think it’s important to be on the training pitch with the lads and I will be working with Neil [Critchley] and the U18s this season. I try and get out on the field most days. I think we have got some highly talented staff here and it is a genuine privilege for me to come in to Kirkby and work with them every single day.
This weekend we kick-off our Academy season with the U18s away at Manchester City on Saturday and the U21s hosting Chelsea on Sunday at Langtree Park (kick-off 11.30am BST). We know we will be playing against two strong teams and it’s great to pit ourselves against them and see how we fair. The season has come around very quickly, this year especially, and we can’t wait for it. It’s all systems go this weekend.