there seems to be a lot more activity

[Mike]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/t...nds/4869702.stm

 

Rushden teenager in Anfield trial

 

Tomlin is still awaiting his first senior goal for the Diamonds

Rushden and Diamonds striker Lee Tomlin is to join Liverpool on trial.

The 17-year-old made his League debut in October when only 16, has started only four games for Rushden and is still awaiting his first senior goal.

 

"We wouldn't send him to Liverpool if there wasn't a deal on the table," Diamonds assistant manager Geoff Harrop told his club's website.

 

"All I would say to their manager Mr Benitez is 'get your cheque book out'. We need the money at this club."

 

He added: "Lee has been unlucky over the past few games but he will come good, rest assured. He'll have a lovely week at Liverpool.

 

"I'm sure he'll come back with loads of ideas of how to be the next Robbie Fowler.

 

"I don't see any mileage in them having a look at him for the fun of it."

[Bailo]

Aguero and Tomlin up front next season

[Ombudsam]

we had loads of trialists and the like under ged. How desperate is that chairman

[Mike]

we had loads of trialists and the like under ged. How desperate is that chairman

 

nowhere near as many

[McBain]

Rafa will lose interest once he finds out he's not a cb

[Falconhoof]

Its a dream come true for a 17 year old playing at Rushden and Diamonds. Imagine when his manager told him Liverpool were interested and wanted him to go for a trial.

 

We seem to be picking players up a lot earlier into their careers than we used to. There's Anderson who'd only just made the breakthrough at Hull, same for Carson at Leeds and Hobbs at Lincoln if I remember rightly.

The scouts are finding a lot more young prospects than they did under Houllier. the reserve and u19 results seem to suggest its all working well.

[Ombudsam]

nowhere near as many

 

Do you remember the likes of the two trialists from argentina (not that Velez sarsfield LM) and the brazillian LB? All this stuff gets lost

[Falconhoof]

Rafa has signed the following teenage prospects in the short time he's been here

 

Hobbs

Anderson

Antwi

Carson

Rogue (edit: I mean Roque)

Barragan

Mimms

Calliste

Martin

Idrizaj

and the Argentinian centre half who's yet to arrive.

and now this Rushden and Diamonds striker on trial.

 

I doubt Houllier took that many in the whole time he was at Liverpool, let alone in 2 seasons.

Edited April 2, 2006 by Cardinal Fang

[McBain]

While i'm no expert I would imagine that the youth system that Houllier got from Evans was better than the one he left Rafa

[liverbird04]

At the time of roy evans we had a great set of youngsters coming through ,doesn't mean it was down to him just that these things come around in cycles. The academy at kirkby was set up when houllier was manager wasn't it ? so how can he have left the youth set up in a worse state .

[Sara]

Seems to me he turned up for the grand opening and never bothered visiting again

[Falconhoof]

At the time of roy evans we had a great set of youngsters coming through ,doesn't mean it was down to him just that these things come around in cycles. The academy at kirkby was set up when houllier was manager wasn't it ? so how can he have left the youth set up in a worse state .

 

 

Yes but its not about building an Academy is it ? You can spend as much as you want on the buildings and facilities but it won't make a blind bit of difference if you haven't got the scouts to find the right quality of young players. Under Houllier we stuck too rigidly to the new rules where trainees have to be born and bred locally. Rafa and his scouts have circumvented this rule by getting top quality young players from the lower leagues and abroad, paying relatively little for them. You only need to watch the reserves to see that they all have the potential to play at the premier legue level in the future if they keep working at it.

 

I'm not saying Houllier left the academy in a worse state but what he did with it was extremely disapointing considering his work with young French players in their national system. Some have said that its still early days for an academy to bear fruit and we'll start to see the 1st few come through soon. The way Rafa is handling it is far more pro active and sensible IMO. He's finding the right quality of young player from far and wide and not just relying on the assumption that the coaches will be able to develop kids from merseyside into the necessary quality.

[Falconhoof]

All Houllier, Vignal also and Diarra was only 21 or something.

 

 

How old was Vignal. Diarra 21, yeah but if you include him then you could just as well include Alonso 22 and Momo 20.

 

However you look at it, benitez has brought in far more young players than Houllier ever did.

[Ombudsam]

How old was Vignal. Diarra 21, yeah but if you include him then you could just as well include Alonso 22 and Momo 20.

 

However you look at it, benitez has brought in far more young players than Houllier ever did.

 

I'm pretty sure they were both younger than that. Momo cost £5.6mill i think he's in a different bracket.

[Falconhoof]

I'm pretty sure they were both younger than that. Momo cost £5.6mill i think he's in a different bracket.

 

 

Le Tallec and Pongolle cost a fair whack too but they have been included to bolster the numbers of promising young players Houllier brought in.

Look at the long list I posted earlier in this thread and its clear that Rafa has already brought in more young players in than Houllier did in the entire time he was manager.

[Ombudsam]

Le Tallec and Pongolle cost a fair whack too but they have been included to bolster the numbers of promising young players Houllier brought in.

Look at the long list I posted earlier in this thread and its clear that Rafa has already brought in more young players in than Houllier did in the entire time he was manager.

 

they were £6mill for the pair and we initially got them when they were 16. It's not about boosting numbers. the original post was about some kid on trial and saying we're doing a lot more scouting. But i remember people coming in on trial and being released that's all. I think we did a lot of scouting then too.

[Mike]

they were £6mill for the pair and we initially got them when they were 16. It's not about boosting numbers. the original post was about some kid on trial and saying we're doing a lot more scouting. But i remember people coming in on trial and being released that's all. I think we did a lot of scouting then too.

 

im not sure why you are arguing without any evidence sammy yar.

we have brought in several more kids from out of the country - not just on trial but signed - than at any time previously.

the signs are that we will sign even more this summer.

[Falconhoof]

the original post was about some kid on trial and saying we're doing a lot more scouting. But i remember people coming in on trial and being released that's all. I think we did a lot of scouting then too.

 

 

The original post was right to say we are doing a lot more now, thats obvious. One or two trialists under Houllier doesn't change the fact that we're doing a lot more now. Don't see what you are arguing with TBH.

[Ombudsam]

I'm not arguing i just think we did a lot of scouting of young players back then because i remember lots of people coming in that's all.

[Falconhoof]

I'm not arguing i just think we did a lot of scouting of young players back then because i remember lots of people coming in that's all.

 

 

Lots ? Really ?

[Benitez]

Another reason that Rafa and Herrera are taking on a lot of young players, is cos from what I can gather, he wants to run the reserves as a b-team rather than as a conventional reserve team. So for that, you need more players.

 

I'm sure a lot of 'em will just come and go and there will be a pretty high turnover.

[Andythered]

I remember reading about Rafa moaning a year or so back about the fact that there were no scouting notes on a number of players that Ged had purchased.

[Maldini]

Another reason that Rafa and Herrera are taking on a lot of young players, is cos from what I can gather, he wants to run the reserves as a b-team rather than as a conventional reserve team. So for that, you need more players.

 

I'm sure a lot of 'em will just come and go and there will be a pretty high turnover.

Yeah, which is probably how it should be run, a lot can go wrong between the ages of 16 and 20 as we've seen over the years so those players who looked like potential world beaters can often turn out to be duds. I think that's the reason we signed so many young CBs.

[jimmylibel]

Yeah, which is probably how it should be run, a lot can go wrong between the ages of 16 and 20 as we've seen over the years so those players who looked like potential world beaters can often turn out to be duds. I think that's the reason we signed so many young CBs.

 

That and the fact that Rafa is trying to creat a worldwide shortage for all other clubs!!! Look how difficult it is to buy a defensive midfielder now after GH harvested all that young crop!

[Maldini]

That and the fact that Rafa is trying to creat a worldwide shortage for all other clubs!!! Look how difficult it is to buy a defensive midfielder now after GH harvested all that young crop!

Very few good "New Zidanes" either