WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE 6 AND 5 RULE ?

i do not think with the euro laws, you can stop freedom of movement. as you said plantini, and blatter are dickheads. i only care about lfc, not england, were in the common market, so that meens freedom of movement..

I think this foreigner rule would be a good thing for all of world football. The way things are at Arsenal is a bit of a joke and it's the same at Liverpool. Even the youth teams now are full of young lads from all over the world. But for what? Liverpool brought through Fowler, Macca, Owen, Carra and Gerrard without bringing in youths from all over the globe. And it's yet to be seen how many of these young foreign guys become 1st team regulars.

Players who are brought through the ranks at Liverpool from 8-9 or guys who supported the club all their lives have more passion for the shirt and what it represents than guys coming in for wages.

Of course world class players like Torres and Masch are always welcome to supplement the quality homegrown players but too many foreigners with no real love of the club isn't good. Look at Arsenal, they say they're building a young team but as is shown with Flamini, none of their players love the club so can leave at any time and their plans are fucked.

Football is more interesting when, for example, you see an English team with spirit and passion against a Spanish team wit skill and flair. The contrast in cultures and styles is what makes the game so interesting.

The greatest clubs like Real Madrid and AC Milan keep a strong homegrown quantity of players
in their squads. I fear at Liverpool even the young players now coming through are from abroad - Insua, Nemeth, Plessis - and the club is losing part of its Scouse indentity. For what? Are these guys really much better than young local lads of the same age? Was Stephen Warnock, Danny Murphy, Steven Wright, David Thompson, Neil Mellor, Danny Guthrie, Darren Potter etc.. so much worse than some of the players we've seen in recent years playing for Liverpool?

I don't think so when you consider the passion they had for the shirt if they were shown more confidence by their foreign managers - Houller and Benitez.

you make a valid point. i remember years ago, i got a trail for QPR and i would,t go because i only wanted to play for l,pool. so i lost the chance. your right about passion the locals all have it, l,pool means the world to most of us the trouble is we all can,t make it and i would love more locals to come though. but forgein managers like the tec/abilty which a lot of the locals donot have, speed yes, i have not got a problem with outsiders but we need only the best ones.but i am all for more scousers in the team. its just the european thing were you cannot stop europeans working were they want too. and english players cost twice as much as are lads from a broad.

1RED1POOL YOU HAVE A POINT , THERE ARE LOADS OF SUBSTANDERED FORIEGN PLAYERS PLAYING IN THE ENGLISH GAME, SURELY THERE HAS TO BE BETTER BRITISH PLAYERS THAN SOME OF THE RUBBISH IN THE PREMIERSHIP ALONE.
YOU MAKE A VERY VALID POINT ABOUT HOME GROWN PLAYERS HAVING MORE DESIRE, I'D LOVE TO SEE SOME LOCAL LADS COMING THROUGH, SURELY THEY ARE OUT THERE ?

Local lads could make IDEAL squad players with their passion for the club and it saves money buying shit squad players like Veronin.

Benitez, like Houllier before him, has been given too much power at Liverpool. He shouldn't be allowed to bring in so many foreigners to the youths. A few excepional young players is fine, but too many takes away the confidence of the local lads that they can make it into the 1st team. Which Scouser will take over from Gerrard and Carra?

Do you think any foreign manager going to Real Madrid or AC Milan gets to dictate to those clubs their youth policies? No chance because those clubs know what they want long term after that manager is long gone so he gets to work with the 1st team and the rest is the club's concern. The club might have to sack the manager at any time if results are bad so how can you let him dictate long term youth strategy?!

Roy Evans or someone else who has Liverpool FC in the blood should be head of youth development. How can some foreign coach instil Liverpool traditions and pride in young players? Half of the coaches and people now working for Liverpool didn't even support the club 10 years ago! That's the complete opposite of the bootroom tradition Shankly wanted. The club should represent Merseyside and its people first and foremost and after that its fans around the world. A Liverpool team without a Scouser will be a reality in 4-5 years.

Arsenal are a club with a lot of mercenary players waiting for the big transfer to Spain or Italy while Wenger dumped off many local lads like Bentley, Upson, Pennant etc.. Yes, they aren't world beaters but if Arsenal had those local lads in the dressing room the team would have shown more bottle like they did with Tony Adams instead of losing the nerve because of Gallas and co..

The greatest problem in English football is the coaching. You see Ferguson and O'Neill and Moyes keep a strong base of domestic players. But because there is such a lack of quality local managers foreign coaches come in and don't respect the local traditions so they do it their own way.

But that doesn't mean it's the right way - as we seen with Houllier's bunch of young French flops. And if Benitez gets the sack you'll see most of his youth players diappear too so the club has wasted time and money on foreigners it didn't need. Instead of concentrating first and foremost on coaching and improving local players who grow up dreaming of playing for the club.

I agree 1red1pool , it really makes you wonder about our youth set up and policy. We won the youth cup Two years in a row and yet none of those lads have made the first eleven. We have just won the Reserve league yet only two of the guys have been given a chance Insua and Plessis.

A lot of these foreign players are not what there cracked up to be, Surely there has to be some good youngsters in and around the Liverpool Area ? I wonder what our policy for local talent acually is.
Are our scouts doing there job correctly ? makes you wonder.

We havnt had a decent player come through our ranks for a very long time and that cannot be right.