Liverpool F.C. Reserves and Academy

Liverpool F.C. Reserves and Academy
Liverpool F.C. Reserves is the reserve team of Liverpool F.C. 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 and Premier League 2. 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 the 2012–13 season, only three outfield players and one goalkeeper over the age of 21 can play for the reserves regularly.
Liverpool F.C. Academy is the youth set up Liverpool Football Club. It trains players from the U6 age group 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 with the U21 position vacant as of 2 March 2020. 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, four times in 1996, 2006, 2007 and 2019.
Liverpool F.C. Academy is considered to be one of the most productive football academies of the richer clubs 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 and Trent Alexander-Arnold, among many others.
Reserve team
Liverpool Reserves played in Premier Reserve League. The Reserves won the regional division title in 2000 and again 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. The team also participated 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); 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), Totally Wicked Stadium (the home of St Helens R.F.C.) and the Racecourse Ground (home of Wrexham).
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 people who at one point were first team squad members including Trent Alexander-Arnold, Steven Gerrard, Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen, Steve McManaman, Jamie Carragher and Raheem Sterling.
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.
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.
On the walls of the indoor centre hang the words 'Technique', 'Attitude', 'Balance', and 'Speed'. 'TABS' is the key word preached at The Academy. 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. 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 and maintains a number of football schools worldwide through partnerships with football clubs and commercial and sports organisations. LFC International Football Academy currently has branches in Scandinavia (Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Gran Canaria during winter), America (Texas and Plymouth, the latter through an affiliate with CS United Soccer Club), Egypt (Cairo), South Africa (Durban and Johannesburg), China (Guilin), India (Pune, in cooperation with DSK Shivajians), and Japan (Tokyo). Previously schools were also run in Abuja, Belfast, Boston, Charlotte, Cyprus, Dublin, Hong Kong, Iceland, Jakarta, Katwijk, Lisbon, Madrid, Malta, Mumbai, Manila, Nairobi, Saint Vincent, and Singapore.
Academy squad
Out on loan
Players listed in bold have made at least one senior first-team appearance.
Staff
Current coaching and medical staff
Academy director: Alex Inglethorpe
Head of Academy business: Andrew Powlesland
Head of Academy football operations: Nick Marshall
Education manager: Caitlin Hawkins
Head Academy physiotherapist & U23s head physio: Paul Kelly
U23s physiotherapist: Scott McAuley
U23s manager: Barry Lewtas
U23 Assistant Manager & U16 Manager
Jonathan Robinson
U23s fitness coach: Vacant
U23s goalkeeping coach: Mark Morris
Goalkeeping coach: Ian Dunbavin
Head of development analysis:vacant
Head of coach development: Martin Diggle
Academy chief scout: Dave Moss
Senior Academy scout: Matthew Newberry
Assistant Academy recruitment co-ordinator: Frederico Paciencia
U18s manager: Marc Bridge-Wilkinson
U18 fitness coach: John Hill
U18 Lead physiotherapist: Phil Bolland
U18 assistant physiotherapist: Gregg Blundell
U18s goalkeeping coach: Neil Edwards
Performance coach: Yvie Ryan
Nutritionist: Tom Maynard
Sports therapist: Joe Lewis
Floating physiotherapist: Tony Jones
Rehabilitation fitness coach: Paul Squires
Assistant Academy sports scientist: Oliver Morgan
Academy doctor: Dr Jim Moxon
Head of recruitment 14s+: Dan Hargreaves
Head of recruitment 9-13: Terry John
Head of local recruitment: Steve Gorst
Manchester scout 9-13: John Newby
U18s performance analyst: Scott Mason
U23 individual coach/analyst: Ray Shearwood
U15-U16s performance analyst: Brad Wall
U14-8 analyst: Daniel Spearitt
U10-U12 Lead coach: Michael Yates
U12 coach: Phil Charnock
U10 coach: Josh Wesselby
U6-U9 Lead coach: Anthony Ryan
U9 coach: John Thompson
Lead pre-Academy coach: James Williams
In addition, the Academy employ staff from the first-team.
Reserve team manager history
Bob Paisley (1954–1957)
Joe Fagan (1957–1974)
Roy Evans (1975–1984)
Chris Lawler (1984–1986)
Phil Thompson (1986–1992)
Sammy Lee (1993–1998)
Joe Corrigan (1998–2002)
Hughie McAuley (2003–2006)
Gary Ablett (2006–2009)
John McMahon (2009–2011)
José Segura (caretaker) (2011)
Rodolfo Borrell (2011–2012)
Alex Inglethorpe (2012–2014)
Michael Beale (2014–2016)
Mike Garrity (caretaker) (2016–2017)
Neil Critchley (2017–2020)
Barry Lewtas (2020–present)
Awards
Liverpool Academy Players' Player of the Year
Players in bold are still playing for Liverpool.
Honours
Reserves
League Champions
The Central League: 16(1956–57, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1989–90,
Premier Reserve League National: 1(2007–08)
Premier Reserve League North: 2(1999–2000, 2007–08)
Lancashire Combination: 2(1896–97, 1899–1900)
Cup Winners
Liverpool Senior Cup: 40(1893, 1901, 1902, 1903, 1905, 1907, 1909, 1910*, 1912*, 1913, 1915, 1920, 1925, 1927, 1929, 1930, 1934*, 1936*, 1937, 1939, 1942, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1951, 1952, 1962, 1964*, 1968, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1982*, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2009, 2010)
Lancashire Senior Cup: 13(1919, 1920*, 1924, 1931, 1933, 1944, 1947, 1956, 1959, 1973, 2010, 2017, 2022)
Liverpool Challenge Cup: 4(1954, 1959, 1960, 1961)
Youth
League Champions
Lancashire League Division One: 6(1965–66, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1971–72, 1977–78, 1982–83)
Lancashire League Division Two: 7(1961–62, 1965–66, 1967–68, 1972–73, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1992–93)
Lancashire League Division Three: 1(1960–61)
Cup Winners
FA Youth Cup: 4(1996, 2006, 2007, 2019)
Liverpool Youth Cup: 3(1954, 1956, 1958)
Lancashire Division One League Cup: 3(1960, 1966, 1967)
Lancashire Division Two League Cup: 5(1962, 1966, 1967, 1973, 1980)
Lancashire Division Three League Cup: 1(1961)
*Asterisk denotes a shared title.
Noted graduates
Established at Liverpool
Liverpool's youth system has only seen moderate success over the years; with only a few players who have come through it have gone on to feature in the first-team. The following players have gone on to play over ten competitive matches for the first team.
Pre-WW2
Harold Barton
Cyril Done
Alf Hanson
Jack Parkinson
Syd Roberts
1940s
Bill Jones
Billy Liddell
Jimmy Payne
Eddie Spicer
1950s
Alan A'Court
Eric Anderson
Gerry Byrne
Bobby Campbell
Don Campbell
Jimmy Melia
Ronnie Moran
Roy Saunders
1960s
Alf Arrowsmith
Phil Boersma
Ian Callaghan
Bobby Graham
Chris Lawler
Ian Ross
Tommy Smith
Phil Thompson
1970s
Jimmy Case
David Fairclough
Colin Irwin
Sammy Lee
John McLaughlin
1980s
Gary Ablett
Mike Marsh
Steve Staunton
Ronnie Whelan
1990s
Jamie Carragher
Robbie Fowler
Steven Gerrard
Dominic Matteo
Steve McManaman
Michael Owen
David Thompson
Stephen Wright
2000s
Dani Pacheco
Darren Potter
Emiliano Insúa
Jay Spearing
Martin Kelly
Neil Mellor
Stephen Warnock
2010s
Andre Wisdom
Brad Smith
Jack Robinson
Jon Flanagan
Jordon Ibe
Pedro Chirivella
Raheem Sterling
Suso
Sheyi Ojo
Trent Alexander-Arnold
Ben Woodburn
Curtis Jones
Neco Williams
Caoimhín Kelleher
2020s
Stefan Bajcetic
Nathaniel Phillips
Rhys Williams
Established 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.
1950s
Joe Maloney
Keith Burkinshaw
1960s
Ted MacDougall
1970s
John Gidman
Tommy Tynan
1980s
Alan Harper
Colin Russell
Craig Hignett
Dave Watson
Howard Gayle
John Durnin
Mark Seagraves
Mike Newell
Nigel Adkins
Paul Jewell
Brian Mooney
Ken DeMange
Kevin Sheedy
1990s
Nicky Rizzo
Alex Watson
Phil Charnock
Ryan Lowe
Jim Magilton
Paul Dalglish
Tony Warner
Danny Williams
Gareth Roberts
Jason Koumas
2000s
Besian Idrizaj
Adam Hammill
Alan Navarro
Calum Woods
Charlie Barnett
Craig Lindfield
Danny Guthrie
Danny O'Donnell
David Mannix
David Raven
Ian Dawes
Jack Hobbs
James Smith
Jon Newby
Jon Otsemobor
Lee Peltier
Max Harrop
Michael Burns
Paul Anderson
Ray Putterill
Ryan Crowther
Sean Highdale
Steven Gillespie
Steven Irwin
Antonio Barragán
Daniel Ayala
Francisco Manuel Duran
Godwin Antwi
Miki Roqué
Daniel Sjölund
Christopher Buchtmann
Marvin Pourié
Jimmy Ryan
Richie Partridge
Ronald Huth
Ryan Flynn
Astrit Ajdarević
Zak Whitbread
Layton Maxwell
2010s
Gerardo Bruna
Dean Bouzanis
Jake Brimmer
Nikolay Mihaylov
Jakub Sokolík
Martin Hansen
Nikola Saric
Henoc Mukendi
Adam Morgan
Adam Phillips
Alex Whittle
Andy Firth
Anthony Glennon
Cameron Brannagan
Connor Randall
Conor Coady
Craig Roddan
Daniel Trickett-Smith
David Amoo
Herbie Kane
Isaac Christie-Davies
Jack Dunn
Jason Banton
Jerome Sinclair
Joe Maguire
Jordan Lussey
Jordan Rossiter
Lloyd Jones
Matty Virtue
Michael Ngoo
Nathan Eccleston
Ovie Ejaria
Robbie Threlfall
Ryan Kent
Sam Hart
Shamal George
Stephen Darby
Tom Brewitt
Tom Ince
Tyrell Belford
Yan Dhanda
Madger Gomes
Mikel San José
Rafael Páez
Sergi Canós
Lauri Dalla Valle
Stephen Sama
Toni Silva
Yalany Baio
Andras Simon
Kristóf Polgár
Krisztián Adorján
Krisztián Németh
Patrik Poór
Péter Gulácsi
Zsolt Poloskei
Alex O'Hanlon
Conor Masterson
Corey Whelan
Daniel Cleary
Joseph Rafferty
Kristján Emilsson
Victor Pálsson
Bobby Adekanye
Emeka Obi
Edvard Tagseth
Ryan McLaughlin
João Carlos Teixeira
Paulo Alves
Rafael Camacho
Toni Gomes
Alex Cooper
Gary Mackay-Steven
George Johnston
Ryan Fulton
Alexander Kačaniklić
Kristoffer Peterson
Yusuf Mersin
Brooks Lennon
Marc Pelosi
Villyan Bijev
Danny Ward
Harry Wilson
Jordan Williams
2020s
Yasser Larouci
Dal Varešanović
Tom Clayton
Jake Cain
Liam Coyle
Luis Longstaff
Ki-Jana Hoever
Morgan Boyes
References
Sources
Who's Who of Liverpool (2006): Tony Matthews
LFCHistory.net
External links
News about the Academy at the Official Club Website
Under-21s Fixtures
Under-21s Results
Under-18s Fixtures
Under-18s Results
Liverpool Academy News Blog by Scott Taylor
Under-21s League Table
Under-18s League Table
Liverpool Academy Youth League profile at UEFA.com
The Liverpool FC academy way – These Football Times (2015)
Reserves and Academy
Football academies in England
Sport in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley
Sport in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral
Lancashire Combination
Lancashire League (football)
Premier League International Cup
UEFA Youth League teams
NextGen series