Why did Liverpool's development teams struggle last season – and does it matter?

New York Times

21 hours ago

Liverpool's first-team took the Premier League by storm under Arne Slot last season, but for the club's development sides it was a different story.
The under-21s finished 16th out of 26 in Premier League 2 and lost to Manchester City in the first knock-out round of the play-offs. The under-18s, meanwhile, endured a torrid campaign, finishing 11th out of 13 with just five wins all season and looked like a team drained of confidence since the turn of the year. Both will have new head coaches next season after internal changes.
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By common consent, the current crop of under-18s are not as strong as in previous years and players such as Rio Ngumoha, who started with the group having joined from Chelsea last summer, have been pushed up to the higher age bracket for most of the campaign. Even his return on the final game of the season couldn't spark an uplift, though, as the team lost 3-0 to local rivals Everton in a game that summed up the miserable campaign.
Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, the under-18s coach, has left after 10 years at the club and five years in the role, with Liverpool expected to make an external appointment for his replacement. Bridge-Wilkinson returned to his previous club, Huddersfield, this week as an assistant first team coach.
It was a disappointing end to his tenure. Asked by The Athletic last month whether the league table was an accurate reflection of the season, he said: 'It probably is because we haven't won enough games. We know improvements have been made and a lot of hard work is going into it but we don't always get to see that on a Saturday.
'There's been improvement within the individuals but we haven't been able to get that into the team setting enough on a matchday. It's been tough, although we've shown as a club and an academy what we can do with players to get them close to their potential.'
Under-21 head coach Barry Lewtas is also leaving after 12 years at the club and five in his current role. 'Sometimes you just know the time is right for a new adventure and I really feel the perfect time for me is now,' he told Liverpoolfc.com. Lewtas hopes to become a head coach at senior level.
For Liverpool it is a time to reflect on years of good work and refresh the setup for the future.
Results and league positions are not the most important factor to consider when analysing youth football, especially as this was still another season of relative success for the academy with 14 graduates used in first-team games across all competitions and many more sent on loan to gain valuable experience.
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The main objective for staff working at the club's Kirkby base is to prepare players for either a crack at representing the club at senior level in the future, or to succeed elsewhere. If those who do not make it are moved on for sizeable transfer fees, that also represents good business, and with Liverpool's list of talent they are well-positioned to achieve both.
Take Trey Nyoni, for example. The 17-year-old is eligible to feature for both the under-21s and under-18s but is recognised as a first-team player as he trains with the seniors and has made five appearances for Slot's team this season across the Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup. He has only played in development games when the schedule allows.
Although Tyler Morton, 22, (six appearances) and James McConnell, 20, (four appearances) have not featured as often as either would have hoped, both are set up nicely for the future whether that be at Anfield or beyond. Jarell Quansah's rise is another success story for the academy and helps provide evidence that a pathway is there for the most talented players.
Yet there is still a degree of expectation for the club that has just won its 20th English league title to flex their muscles in the older age groups through results on the pitch.
Manchester City's under-18s earned 46 more points than Liverpool to finish top of the league with Manchester United and Everton below in second and third. City's under-21s, who also finished top of the pile, recorded 20 points more than Liverpool to further underline their dominance. Aston Villa won the FA Youth Cup, beating City in the final. Liverpool were beaten 4-1 by Preston North End in the third round.
City remain strong recruiters at academy level and are often the first choice for players and families who have multiple options to consider, so their success is no surprise. Like Liverpool, City also allowed a number of their most progressive young players to depart on loan while keeping a select group around to use across first-team games and training.
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The difference, however, was in the sheer volume of players who left on a temporary basis. Liverpool sanctioned deals for 13 players to move on loan and that affected the way the under-21 team operated thereafter.
In many of the games the team needed a ruthless finisher up front to put away chances. Jayden Danns, 19, who agreed on a loan move to Sunderland but wasn't able to feature due to injury, would have made a huge difference if he had been available, as would Lewis Koumas, 19, who spent the season on loan at Stoke City. Yet both players were at an advanced stage and had outgrown development football.
Liverpool place a priority on sending players out to play men's football when the right opportunities arrive and have plans to bulk up the staffing levels around that department following Matt Newberry's promotion from director or loans and pathways to director of global talent. Newberry still oversees the progression of players on loan but will be assisted with more support moving forward.
Like the previously successful loan spells of Harvey Elliott (Blackburn Rovers), Conor Bradley (Bolton Wanderers) and Quansah (Bristol Rovers), a number of players have succeeded away from the club this season. Ben Doak was performing well at Middlesbrough before his injury, as was Owen Beck at Blackburn. Calum Scanlon showed signs of promise at Millwall, Stefan Bajcetic built up his durability at Las Palmas and Luca Stephenson featured heavily for Dundee United in the Scottish Premiership.
Other players who have spent periods on loan this season include Fabian Mrozek, Luke Chambers, Kaide Gordon and Calvin Ramsay. For most of those players, the experience will benefit the club in the future.
Had Liverpool kept some of them around, the development league tables might have looked rather different. But while results need to improve next campaign, nobody at the club is losing sight of the bigger picture.