Until TAA stood in for Clyne when he was injured… He had been brought through the ranks at Anfield, since he was 8yrs, old playing midfield… Maybe he eventually got fed-up with the stick he was receiving every poor display he offered… I suppose to Trent, playing at full-back, is akin to playing out of his natural position - Next season will be interesting to see if his role evolves
He’s one of the best passers of the ball in world football, I’d be surprised if he didn’t want to play in midfield. There’s a reason they all tend to play there.
We did a job of accommodating him at right back when the side was dominant, but this season he was hung out to dry. Your most creative player shouldn’t be spending 90 minutes running backwards trying to catch Mitoma, Martinelli etc.
He brings something similar to Gerrard in 13/14, that unbelievable ability to create in the centre, but with far more legs and ability to help out in the defensive phases of the game.
So far, so good. I hope it’s something we find a way to make work long term, the payoff will be spectacular.
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Because Jones is one?
The quality and variety of passing are sublime = Midfield masterclass.
BTW I also thought he was excellent in his defensive role against Leeds
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Scouse Pirlo.
Behave Pirlo the Italian Trent
Possibly simply comparing what they do?
Trent wasn’t thrown in cold at Right Back. He made the move in the U23s, because Inglethorpe and the rest of the coaches identified it as the best way for him to get into the first team.
Belling-who?
Trent is like a new signing.
“Current player is like a new signing” is our identity. 
Good on you Trent!
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It’s great that he is supporting this. I heard an interview a while ago with the actor Matt Smith (Doctor Who, The Crown etc). He was the youth team captain at Leicester City but he had to pack it in due to a back injury. He said he was very despondent about it at the time and it was one of his teachers that encouraged him to take up acting as another outlet.
There are a lot of possibilities for kids that don’t make it whether it is related, sports science and so on, or something outside sport. However it must be tough as they have probably been the best player in their school, group of friends, boys club etc, and it is possibly the only thing they were ever good at (a friend of mine was Jordan Pickford’s science teacher - apparently he was a nice kid but not exactly the next Einstein). Realising that they aren’t going to be the next Trent and the uncertainty that goes with that is tough.
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This is a really nice initiative. The problem as I see, particularly with Liam’s comments, is that the damage is already done in those youth years where there is little to no focus on education or career paths - other than football - that its either make or break based solely on the football side. It really needs to become mandatory that clubs enforce education and alternative career paths on young players. I know going down that road the argument will be that younger players won’t have that opportunity to usurp first team players if they can’t focus on football 100%, but would it be such a crime if players had their careers delayed by a few years so that they can at best be playing first-team football at 21-22yo? They would also be much more mature in terms of handling the money and the pressures that come with being such a professional.
Unfortunately, like in life in general, there is a tiny fraction of people at the top holding the overwhelming majority of wealth while the millions of peasants eke a mere existence. That wealth imbalance means this will always be the story of lives ruined by football.
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I read a BBC article a couple years ago about young players and it stated that only 1% make it to the professional level. What’s more harrowing is that they spend so much time and energy that they seriously struggle to rebuild their lives outside football.
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Yeah that 1% figure gets bandied about really easily but I think they are talking about the really, really young age groups while portraying it like its the U18 age group.
Most U18s at Premier League clubs will at least get a few years of professional football out of it.
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6 assists in 5 games since his position change. The team’s shape defensively still needs more work but we are right to be unleashing Arnold as much as we can.
In his last five games he has more assists than Rashford, Martinelli, Son, Foden, Mitoma or Bernardo Silva do all season.
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Yeah, we need a right back
One thing I have noticed, and this may be one of those things that you see what you look for, but we’ve developed a tendency of the man on the ball wanting to spread the ball out of the right, with that ball being on, but there being no one there to receive it. Presumably this is either Hendo (or Elliott in the last game) or Mo not rotating out there, but for a team that has used that as a default ball so often over the years its looking like a bit of a teething problem
Just read this stat about Trent’s performance against Leeds
Against Leeds, Alexander-Arnold took 153 touches – the second-most of any player in the Premier League this season – and he became just the fourth player since 2003-04 to register two assists and complete at least 90% of his 100-plus passes, along with star midfielders Paul Pogba, David Silva, and Santi Cazorla.
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