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Posts Tagged ‘defender’

• Academy graduate made debut in win over Manchester City
• Dalglish spent two years working with Liverpool youngsters

Liverpool’s latest academy graduate, John Flanagan, has predicted an influx of young talent into the first-team ranks thanks to the guidance of Kenny Dalglish.

The 18-year-old produced a flawless first-team debut in the 3-0 win over Manchester City on Monday, when Dalglish was quick to pay tribute to the work of the Liverpool youth academy over the past two years. Dalglish worked at the Liverpool academy on his return to the club in 2009, when the former manager Rafael Benítez, dismayed at the lack of players coming through, orchestrated an overhaul of the coaching structure.

Under the academy director, Frank McParland, and the technical director, José Segura, Liverpool have a pool of promising talent pushing towards the senior squad, including Raheem Sterling, Andre Wisdom, Jésus Fernández (known as Suso), Michael Ngoo and Toni Silva. And Flanagan, who excelled at right-back in the absence of the injured Glen Johnson and Martin Kelly, another home-grown player, and alongside the midfielder Jay Spearing, believes Liverpool’s production line has been given added impetus by the appointment of Dalglish as temporary manager.

“Kenny has been a big help to me and the other young players,” the defender said. “He’s been working at the club for the last two years and he was at the academy so he knows all of the youngsters well. He’s always a big help to us, telling us what to do. It helps us just the fact that we already know him well from the academy because it means that he knows us well too.

“It gives all the young players a boost because we all know that Kenny is looking at us and is willing to give us our chance so that gives us confidence. The thing for us is that when we do get a chance we have to take it. There is a great bunch of lads at the academy, we were unlucky in the Youth Cup but we’ve got great teams in the academy and the reserves.”

Flanagan’s father, Jonathan, was also on Liverpool’s books as a teenager but his failure to make the grade will, the defender says, now serve as an inspiration. He explained: “My dad was here when he was younger but unfortunately he didn’t make it. But even that is something that can help me because he’s able to speak to me about what worked and what didn’t work for him and that means I can learn from his mistakes. He keeps telling me he used to clean Kenny’s boots! My dad wants me to go all the way and so do I.”

LiverpoolKenny DalglishAndy Hunterguardian.co.uk

• Carragher commits to Liverpool to 2013
• Defender has made 641 appearances over 13 years

The Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has signed a new two-year contract extension which will keep him at Anfield until June 2013, when he will be 35.

The Bootle-born centre-back, who turns 33 in January, has been keen to secure his future and is now likely to end his career at the club he joined as a schoolboy.

Carragher has been a key member of the side since making his debut in 1997 and is sixth in the list of all-time Liverpool appearances, having played 641 times. He has won 10 major honours with the Reds, including two FA Cups, two League Cups, a Uefa Cup and the Champions League.

The veteran defender held a testimonial against Everton, the club he supported as a boy, at Anfield last month. Prior to that game he spoke of his desire to continue playing for a couple more years. “I want to play football until I’m about 35 or 36,” the Liverpool vice-captain said at the time.

Carragher is taking his coaching badges and the assumption is he will join the backroom staff at Liverpool when his playing days are finally over. There are no provisions in his new contract for that to happen but the former manager Rafael Benítez tipped the defender as a potential Reds manager one day. Carragher said last month: “I think I would find it very hard not to have football in my life. If I go down that road I might be coaching, scouting… I don’t know. Here would be great. But Liverpool always have top managers and you would have to earn your stripes.”

Jamie CarragherLiverpoolguardian.co.uk

• Ankle-problem means £17m signing won’t fly to Lisbon
• Defender Martin Kelly also out for season

Liverpool’s midfielder Alberto Aquilani has been ruled out of tomorrow’s Europa League quarter-final first leg clash with Benfica. The Italy international sustained an ankle injury in training this morning and will not fly out with the squad to Lisbon later today.

“He will not be available for this game,” said manager Rafael Benítez. “He had a problem with his ankle this morning and we have to fix it. It doesn’t seem too serious but it’s the same ankle as before so we’ll have to analyse the situation carefully.”

Aquilani arrived in the summer after a £17m move from Roma with an ankle injury which had ruled him out of the latter stages of the 2008-09 Serie A season. It took a while for him to regain match fitness and, as a result, he has made just eight starts and 11 substitute appearances this season.

Benítez also confirmed that the defender Martin Kelly will undergo a knee operation today which will rule him out of action for the rest of the season. The 19-year-old defender tore the meniscus – a similar problem to the one which resulted in the striker Fernando Torres having surgery in January which sidelined him for five weeks – in training on Saturday.

LiverpoolUefa Europa Leagueguardian.co.uk