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. 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 Academy
Full nameLiverpool Football Club
Nickname(s)The Mighty Reds
Founded2014
GroundThe Academy, Kirkby
ManagerBarry Lewtas (U23)
Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (U18)
LeagueProfessional Development League 1
2020–217th
WebsiteClub website
Third colours

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.[1]

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 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 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 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);[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), 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
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.[4]

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). 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.[7]

Academy squad

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
42 FW  ENG Bobby Clark
43 DF  ESP Stefan Bajcetic
49 FW  ENG Kaide Gordon
50 MF  SCO Ben Doak
52 MF  ENG Isaac Mabaya
53 MF  ENG James McConnell
54 GK  NIR Liam Hughes
57 MF  ENG Cody Pennington
58 DF  GHA Francis Gyimah
59 DF  ENG Terence Miles
61 MF  USA Matteo Ritaccio
64 MF  ENG Jake Cain
67 MF  ENG Lewis Koumas
70 FW  ENG Tommy Pilling
71 MF  ENG Jay Spearing
73 GK  ENG Luke Hewitson
74 GK  ENG Oscar Kelly
76 DF  ENG Oludare Olufunwa
77 DF  ENG James Norris
78 DF  ENG Jarell Quansah
79 MF  ENG Dominic Corness
81 FW  ENG Layton Stewart
83 MF  IRL Thomas Hill
86 FW  ENG Harvey Blair
No. Pos. Nation Player
87 FW  ENG Oakley Cannonier
88 DF  ENG Luke Chambers
90 DF  ENG Lee Jonas
91 MF  ENG Luca Stephenson
92 MF  POL Mateusz Musiałowski
93 GK  POL Fabian Mrozek
94 MF  GER Melkamu Frauendorf
95 GK  ENG Harvey Davies
98 DF  ENG Charlie Hayes-Green
— GK  ENG Nathan Morana
— DF  ENG Niall Osborne
— DF  ENG Calum Scanlon
— DF  ESP Wellity Lucky
— DF  ENG Kerron Samuels
— DF  ENG Josh Davidson
— DF  ENG Nathan Giblin
— MF  ENG Michael Laffey
— MF  ENG Kyle Kelly
— FW  WAL Iwan Roberts
— FW  ENG Ranel Young
— FW  IRL Trent Kone-Doherty
— FW  USA Keyrol Figueroa
— FW  ENG Jayden Danns
— FW  ESP Elijah Gift

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
48 FW  GER Paul Glatzel (at Tranmere Rovers until 30 June 2023)[16]
56 GK  CZE Vítězslav Jaroš (at Stockport County until 30 June 2023)[17]
63 DF  WAL Owen Beck (at Bolton Wanderers until 30 June 2023)[18]
65 MF  ENG Leighton Clarkson (at Aberdeen until 30 June 2023)[19]
68 MF  ENG Jack Bearne (at Kidderminster Harriers until 30 June 2023)[20]
69 MF  ENG Fidel O'Rourke (at Caernarfon Town until 30 June 2023)[21]
75 GK  POL Jakub Ojrzyński (at Radomiak Radom until 30 June 2023)[22]
No. Pos. Nation Player
80 MF  ENG Tyler Morton (at Blackburn Rovers until 30 June 2023)[23]
82 FW  ENG Max Woltman (at Doncaster Rovers until 30 June 2023)[24]
84 DF  NIR Conor Bradley (at Bolton Wanderers until 30 June 2023)[25]
85 MF  ENG James Balagizi (at Crawley Town until 30 June 2023)[26]
89 DF  FRA Billy Koumetio (at Austria Wien until 30 June 2023)[27]
— DF  COL Anderson Arroyo (at Deportivo Alavés until 30 June 2023)[28]
— DF  ENG Adam Lewis (at Newport County until 30 June 2023)[29]

Players listed in bold have made at least one senior first-team appearance.

Staff

Current coaching and medical staff

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)[31]
  • 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.

Season Name Nationality Position Ref(s)
2013–14 Jordan Rossiter EnglandMidfielder[32][33]
2014–15 João Carlos Teixeira PortugalMidfielder[34]
2015–16 Brad Smith AustraliaDefender[35]
2016–17 Trent Alexander-Arnold EnglandDefender[36]
2017–18 Harry Wilson WalesWinger[37]
2018–19 Not Awarded

Honours

*Asterisk denotes a shared title.

Noted graduates

Established at Liverpool

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 ten competitive matches for the first team.

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.

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

References
  1. Smith, Oliver (20 July 2011). The Return of King Kenny – Liverpool FC's 2010-2011 Season from a Fan's Perspective (Unauthorised). Punked Books. ISBN 978-1-908375-10-0.
  2. "Alex Inglethorpe insists it is important for Liverpool FC to bring through local talent". Liverpool Echo. 7 September 2014.
  3. "Reserves Travel – Liverpool FC". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
  4. "Photos: Jordan's rise through LFC's ranks". Liverpool F.C. 23 September 2014.
  5. Griffiths, Ian (22 March 2003). "Just for kicks". The Guardian. London.
  6. "Sándor Károly Football Academy". Retrieved 24 March 2015. The Academy also has a partnership agreement with Liverpool FC. The Academy is regularly inspected by representatives of this outstanding club to be informed about the players' development first hand.
  7. "LFC International Academy – International Courses". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  8. "LFC International Football Academy Scandinavia". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  9. "LFC International Football Academy America". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  10. "CS United Soccer Club". CS United Soccer Club. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  11. "LFC International Football Academy Egypt". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  12. "LFC International Football Academy South Africa". Liverpool F.C. Archived from the original on 23 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  13. "LFC International Football Academy Guilin". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  14. "LFC International Football Academy DSK Shivajians". Liverpool F.C. Archived from the original on 1 April 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  15. "LFC International Football Academy Japan". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  16. "Paul Glatzel: Tranmere Rovers re-sign Liverpool forward on season-long loan". BBC Sport. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  17. Urquhart, Joe. "Vitezslav Jaros makes loan move to Stockport". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  18. "Owen Beck joins Bolton Wanderers on loan". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  19. "Leighton Clarkson makes loan move to Aberdeen". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  20. "Jack Bearne joins Kidderminster Harriers on loan". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  21. "Fidel O'Rourke joins Caernarfon Town on loan". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  22. "Jakub Ojrzynski joins Radomiak Radom on loan". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  23. "Tyler Morton joins Blackburn Rovers on loan". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  24. "Max Woltman: Doncaster sign Liverpool forward on a season-long loan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  25. "Conor Bradley joins Bolton Wanderers on loan". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  26. "James Balagizi signs new LFC deal and completes Crawley loan". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  27. "Billy Koumetio seals loan move to Austria Vienna". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  28. "Anderson Arroyo extends LFC deal and completes Alaves loan move". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  29. Carroll, James. "Adam Lewis joins Newport County on loan". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  30. "Academy, U21s and U18s". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  31. "Dynasty: The Joe Fagan Years 1983-1985". LiverpoolHistory.net. Archived from the original on 29 February 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
  32. "Suarez bags treble at awards dinner". Liverpool F.C. 6 May 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2015. Hot prospect Jordan Rossiter scooped the Academy Players' Player of the Year honour
  33. "Rossiter: This prize means the world". Liverpool F.C. 8 May 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  34. "2015 Players Awards". Official Site Liverpool FC. 18 May 2015. Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  35. "Quartet of accolades for Philippe Coutinho at LFC Players' Awards". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  36. Shaw, Chris (9 May 2017). "Sadio Mane takes top prizes at LFC Players' Awards". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  37. Shaw, Chris (10 May 2018). "Mohamed Salah takes top prizes at LFC Players' Awards". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 5 August 2018.

Sources
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