In which direction does a player go after being released from a Premier League club?
It is a question that many have learned the answer to the hard way, having seen their long-term dreams ended. Ninety-seven per cent of the former elite academy players now aged 21 to 26 years old failed to make a single Premier League appearance, according to data revealed by the i earlier this year, leaving them to carve out a new path.
Harrowing stories have come to light in recent years of individuals who have not been provided adequate support after failing to make it at the top level, resulting in mental health issues and youngsters ending their lives early.
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This is a topic Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold is particularly passionate about, having been one of the few stars to complete the journey from Academy hopeful to first-team regular. The Reds’ right-back released a video last month urging people who have lost their way in the game to reach out for support, stressing ‘I want to know their stories and how they felt’.
Also wanting to offer more in this department is former Everton striker James Vaughan, who now works as Tranmere Rovers’ sporting director and hopes to provide players with ‘another chance’.
“I think what Trent has been speaking about is crucial. You see so many players go out of the game, especially at the top-level, and can’t find their way,” Vaughan told the ECHO.
“Whatever anyone is doing to support those boys is fantastic and it feeds into what we’re doing. If we can get those relationships with the bigger clubs who tell their younger players ‘You’re not quite ready for us’, they may trust us to take on that responsibility. Hopefully that’s where our model can come in and say there is another chance for you.
“While we want to do loans, we want our own players. Finding our own players can come from that model of lads who have been deemed not good enough for a Premier League side. Who is good enough to play for Liverpool at this moment, other than the ones starting in the first-team? Because they’re not good enough for Liverpool does not mean they’re not good enough for us and a number of clubs. We just hope that, by building relationships with Everton and Liverpool, we can get the first pick on the good players and to ensure there are less players falling out of the game.”
Determining why fewer and fewer youth players are being provided with first-team opportunities is no simple task, for each club has varying circumstances affecting the ability for stars to step-up.
A number of youngsters who find themselves in Academy systems of Premier League sides are frequently loaned to EFL sides as part of their development, though can often struggle to adapt to their surroundings. The situation is equally as challenging for those continuing to compete in youth-level fixtures with little riding on the outcome, and Tranmere chairman Mark Palios believes the current system is in need of a major overhaul.
“During my time back in the game, one of the things that has surprised me and is a flaw in the system is under-23s managers wanting to win the league and not develop players,” Palios said when in conversation with the ECHO.
“I’ve actually had texts to the effect of ‘I want to win the league but know it is better for the player to come to you’. I won’t mention the club, it is not one of the local ones. I have had discussions like that and it is something we need to get over. We do tend to ignore the penalties clubs put in place regarding if their players don’t play with us, you pay. That is so wrong as a player shouldn’t come into any squad and have any entitlement that he should be playing.
“I think some of the clubs are getting it now, that they shouldn’t be winning the under-23s league but rather developing their players. That’s what your job is as an under-23s manager. There is an unrealistic expectation that their players can migrate from the under-23s league straight into a Championship side.
“I would ask every club to look at their loan manager and have a debate with them at the end of the season and ask ‘So how many games did the lads play?’ What I’ve seen is them trying to be pushed into Championship clubs and they don’t get a game. Some of them are ready, but a lot of them aren’t. A lot are pushed into League One when they should be going into League Two, a lot of them are pushed into League Two and they aren’t ready for League Two. They have to be really realistic as to what is appropriate and focus on the task of developing that player.
“It isn’t right going to the Championship for the experience of sitting on the bench. Even a relegation fight is part of your experience. It’s about changing attitudes of people internally. We can’t change the attitude of everybody, so that’s why we will focus on a limited number of clubs to start with."
On the topic of what could be changed to solve the issues facing Academy systems, Palios added: “I think they started an under-23s league because they had an under-21s league and didn’t know what to do with these other lads who were never coming through. I think eventually they will look at it again and maybe drop the under-23s league because, at that point, you’re past your prime in terms of development. You have to be developing between 18 and 21, if you’re really serious about progression.
“We have had teams approach us about acting as a nursery club and the one thing I won’t do is sell the ambition of the club. If we were ever to do that, it would be along the lines of it only being a temporary arrangement until we migrate up to the Championship, for example. You have to find a balance between becoming a nursery club as opposed to becoming a club in your own right.”
