Yes, you can judge him better on a midfield with Henderson and Thiago at his side and van Dijk in his back, preferably 10 matches or so.
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Very early to be saying that, especially about Morton. Heâs got a long way to go to challenge any of the current midfielders for a place in the side.
He could be the next Carragher, a solid dependable player that has a long career here but the reality is heâll be another one of the many many young kids who get a few first team games, donât quite make the grade and go on to have something of a career elsewhere.
Who knows where weâd be had we got another CM.
judging off his performance in that game (including that great ball to release Mo who didnât take it down in stride), Iâd say Morton has a better chance that most of being a regular starter someday. I donât think that heâll be another Brannigan or Wilson.
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Iâm hoping you missed the word probably out by accident.
I donât think he has to become an automatic starter to stay. I think weâve fallen into a bit of a rut with the academy in recent years with players either good enough to be starters at top clubs (Trent, Sterling) or moved on in short order even if they seem to have something about them. We donât seem to have got into the idea of saving money and wages whilst making a really passionate, committed group of players by having our academy players graduate into squad roles instead of buying cover players.
For instance Conor Coady, not good enough to start for us sure, but a player who can do a job at CB and DM, seems to have a real great character and die hard LFC fan. Sold him at 21 in the same summer we brought in Kevin Stewart, 6 months before we brought Steven Caulker in on an emergency basis. We then added Klavan who was well liked and a good option but maybe Coady wouldnât have stopped that move or even be better (after working with Klopp) than he is now?
Ovie Ejaria can be hit and miss but after being OK for Reading for 2 years on loans we sold him for pocket change the summer we ended up struggling in CM due to Fabinho and Hendo having to cover CB. Could he have been an option for emergencies?
Wilson didnât actually leave till this summer after hardly spending a minute here for years. Meanwhile for 3 years of that we had Shaqiri filling a squad role for us, I like both players and Shaqiri is more experienced and a little better but Wilson was younger, more likely to develop further and a committed passionate red. Whilst it cost us about ÂŁ10m plus wages/bonuses to own Shaqiri for 3 years Wilson was at Derby, Bournemouth and Cardiff doing extremely well for 2 and a half years of it. Maybe we missed an opportunity?
I know itâs all conjecture but I do worry for the kids who arenât destined for nailed on starting roles. They arenât all going to be like Trent some will be more like our versions of Wes Brown or Phil Neville. But they can still contribute, do a job and make the side a bit more LIVERPOOL/passionate. If that makes sense?
Weâre one of the best teams in the world so any academy prospect that makes it here long term is going to need to be a serious player. The problem with them just being squad players is them getting enough game time initially to be sure they can do the job and then enough time to develop further.
Not saying he wonât make it but odds are not in his favour. Thereâs also a need for a healthy dose of luck along the way. It seems unfathomable now to think Trent wouldnât have made it but injuries to other players gave him his chance. Had Clyne stayed fit he might not have come into the team so soon and could have drifted like many other talents before him.
A lot has to be right for an academy kid to make it and weâll likely only keep hold of those we think can cement themselves in the side. If we want squad players weâll look for more experienced players that have a body of work behind them to show they can perform at the level weâre looking for.
This is the squad philosophy I donât agree with. The best, most dominant sides in recent years have had a lot of players they brought through themselves. Not just in the likely starting 11 but littered throughout. When you buy squad players youâre getting one of three types;
1; (Probably the best) The ambitious type that think theyâre good enough for a top team but just havenât been given the right chances and believe they can prove themselves to Klopp (a manager famous for judging on merit) and become a main player. These ones can be the best as they can drive some competition for places and they may be right and we end up with a starter. But their attitude might fall off a cliff if it turns out they were wrong and havenât got what it takes on they might want to move on quite quickly if they canât become more than a squad filler here. Jota was this type. I think Kabak was too, he believed he had what it took to fight his way into our long term plans.
2; (Probably the worst) Might be the nicest guys in the world but theyâre here purely for the money (not just about wages though). Theyâll go were the best deal is taking into account wages, exposure, endorsements and lifestyle. Theyâll happily chug along appearing as little or as much as needed enjoying themselves and just as happily leave when you find them another club with a good situation for them or their contract runs down. Theyâll be professional and may even enjoy winning and celebrating but thereâll be little genuine passion or attachment to the club there. Shaqiri fit into this category for me and probably Minamino too.
3; (Mixed bag) Those that know they arenât good enough for a top side and will probably never be a starter here but are happy to come and have the occasional run out and experience being at a top club. But theyâll want to move on eventually as theyâll still want to play a bit more in their career or theyâre older and approaching retirement age. Klavan and Adrian were this type I think.
There is always going to be a place for new squad players to be bought. The academy canât fill every hole that appears in the squad. And not every signing needs to be a star player expected to get lots of starts. But as a club we spend a hell of a lot on squad players and very rarely promote our own from within. Itâs something that could lead to us saving a lot of money and having a squad more emotionally connected to the club.
All just my opinion but when I think of the great Barca and Bayern teams and even the United (and to an even lesser extent Real) its something theyâve all got right as a balance.
We have a really good squad that can and has accommodated a good number of important absences, but the combination of absences that ALWAYS makes me nervous is Virgil and Hendo. They are both so important in holding things together that the sum of the parts never seems to be quite as good as when one or both of those guys are not around. I think that was the case on the weekend for players as individually good as Naby, so of course it was going to have an influence on someone like Morton.
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Naby had a pretty good game I thought, although he couldâve been a bit more careful during the action that led to their second goal. But overall, good little complete performance in both ways. Millie I think wasnât quite good enough (for his usual 7/10 standards). So it was clear with Mortonâs yellow card and Millieâs performance that we would change something (possibly both personnel wise and structure wise, like we did) shortly after HT.
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I donât entirely disagree but I think for the most part, the academy grads that make it at big sides are likely to be those who cement first team places rather than those that are more squad types. Iâve not done any research but thatâs how it feels to me.
Every team is going to buy the odd squad player too. Sometimes theyâre as you describe, sometimes they prove to be better than you expect like Tsimikas for example.
Ultimately, itâs a safer and more logical approach for a manager to buy someone like Shaqiri than give Wilson a go. If it doesnât work out with Shaq you can point to scouting, his previous body of work and the fact you can still sell him on and recoup a reasonable amount back. If Wilson doesnât work out then youâre responsible for misjudging him.
Anyway, Morton may make it here but I have my doubts. I think weâll sign a Milner replacement in the summer and thatâll ultimately be another blocker to him getting the game time and experience he needs. Heâll no doubt have a decent career but Iâm not convinced itâll be here.
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Weâll have to leave it there with a pleasant (finally 
) agree to disagree on this I think.
Just never bet against a lad from the Wirral, if you saw me and my fiancĂ© youâd know we can often achieve miracles nobody expects off us!
Seen more than a few with stick for Naby not going in for the challenge, that would have been late, and exposed him to getting piked, and not seeing that the pass from Trent was piss poor to put him in that situation. Trent had a super game going forward and creating, but was turned round and round by squad player Sessengon, and gave the ball away needlessly quite a few times.
Yeah, Trent played a few bad passes towards the central area of the pitch. Naby perhaps shouldâve kept possession, afterwards it was too late for him to catch his opponent. Plus, the rest that happened until the goal. A weak goal to concede for our usual standards, but it was also not our usual strong XI. Other than that, I thought Naby was one of our best players on the pitch.
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I have to say that Tyler Morton is unlikely to succeed here. He is well below Declan Rice at the same age, and Declan Rice even now is also unlikely to make it here.
Are you posting this in every thread? Iâve read it 3 times so far.
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All players donât develop at the same rate. Morton already had some good games, so we should appreciative.
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Didnât you hear, @Thomas1195 thinks Tyler Morton is unlikely to make it here⊠Well below Declan Rice at the same age, and Declan Rice even now is also unlikely to make it hereâŠ
As this is the 1st time Iâve read this rubbish I will indulgeyou.
Declan Rice and Tyler Morton are exactly the same build and mophology so that they should have exactly the same skill set is obvious. Even so Tyler Morton has greater technical abiolity than Declan Rice does now (let alone when they both had the same age). Morton is not going to be a DM btw! Go figure. 
If Morton is not going to be a DM, who is next in line to replace hendo or Fabinho???
Fabinho is 28, Hendo is 31 and still going strongâŠ
That question is more for down the line (possibly post-Klopp as well), especially since itâs Fabinhoâs spot now.
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Someone we buy? 
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