Just reading about that wage cap for youngsters. 40k a year is surely handicapping yourselves? When other clubs in the league will pay more for talent abroad per year and try persuading them to leave by offering your top talents a lot more.
I was listening to something on this the other day and it jogged my memory I never fully answered this. Apologies.
It's a real difficult one to balance up between not giving kids too much, too soon. And not losing out on top young talents in so doing. You always want the best possible players to go along with the best possible coaches. But that shouldn't come at the expense of sacrificing your values and there has to be a limit IMO.
It's inevitable you're going to lose out on some talents when the likes of Chelsea, City and Utd are prepared to pay far more in wages and agent fees for fear of losing out on that one potential gem. When unscrupulous agents are offering young kids 6 figure fees to sign with them and go to a particular club, I would imagine most parents who could never dream of earning that would be quickly swayed. Even if the move isn't in their boys best interest and is enticed by people who don't have their sons best interests at heart as they should. But personally speaking, I'd much rather take that chance of losing out on a talented kid and love the idea of the wage cap we've introduced at youth level.
The one thing you always need from young boys is the hunger and desire to come in and improve to hopefully go on to the best possible career they can. If I'm paying you a **** load of money before your first pro contract at the age of 16/17 or even younger in some cases, where do you go from there? Where's the incentive to push yourself for greater reward? L'pool have always rewarded their players superbly well. No less with kids coming through where contracts regularly get ripped up and bumped up the more they progress in the first team. Rewards come with development. And that's the key for me. You need the boys to have those values of hunger and desire to keep working hard and be enthusiastic to learn knowing that the rewards are there once they earn that first contract. Key word being 'EARN.' You EARN the right to those financial rewards with progression. Again, give a boy too much too soon, where does he go from there? Youth contracts have gotten WAY out of hand and it's refreshing to me L'pool, Tottenham and Stoke are making a stand.
What you hope going forward, from a L'pol POV, is parents and their children continue to realise that Liverpool FC has their kids best interests at heart and they trust the coaches and the stable, fair set up in place we have that there is a clear pathway to the first team and the rewards will come if they're good enough to make it through. And if not, they'll have an excellent grounding to go on with that hunger at a lower level to start their careers. One obvious thing I hadn't considered I was reminded of the other day is the stability in Klopp being here for at least the next 6 years and what that gives as a selling point. You know if you're 16 say, that if you continue to develop well, by the time you're 18/19, he's still here and he's shown he's completely behind promoting our own. Having that stable structure in quality coaches right down through the club and a clear pathway to the ultimate, coming through to represent L'pool at first team level hopefully will balance out the inevitable kids you do miss out on that chase the money elsewhere.
I'm fully behind it personally and hope more clubs follow suit. It ultimately comes down to the values and principles you have as a football club and what you want your players, at every level, to adhere to. And if that hunger and desire to represent and improve is negated by too much, too soon; then you're potentially in no better situation with the child regardless of talent.
It's a difficult balancing act but if the kids and their parents don't want to be here for the right reasons knowing the rewards will be plentiful down the line when they
earn them, all the while getting the best possible upbringing with the boys best interests at heart; then I'm quite happy missing out on any potential super star.
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Paul Senior
