After a seemingly never-ending barren spell where Liverpool’s young stars have failed to make any sort of an impact on the first team the Reds finally have a crop of young players who appear destined to challenge for a place in the first team in the not-so distant future. In this five part series I examine the youngsters who are on the fringes of the starting eleven and consider their possible futures at the club.
In part two I examine summer signing Jonjo Shelvey.
Forget Istanbul, the 2006 FA Cup Final and Fernando Torres if you believed some of the hype surrounding the signing of London lad Jonjo Shelvey then Rafael Benitez’s capture of the “next Steven Gerrard” could be the defining moment of the Spaniard’s Anfield reign.
Liverpool’s new number 33, who has also captained and netted for England’s under-19’s, has made an immediate impact on the Reds first team since his arrival from Charlton Athletic for an initial fee of £1.7 million this summer and has provided a glimpse of hope for the future in what has been a miserable season.
The 18-year old midfielder attracted the interest of previous manager Rafael Benitez and several other big clubs after impressing for the Addicks when he made his breakthrough into the first team at the tender age of 16.
Shelvey was given his first team debut by Alan Pardrew in April 2008 and claimed his first goal for the London side in an FA Cup clash against Norwich at the start of the following year. In the process he became both Charlton’s youngest ever player and their youngest ever goal-scorer.
Moreover, Shelvey collated a decent goalscoring record during his time at Charlton, scoring a total of eight goals in 49 appearances before he made the big step-up from League One to Premier League football when he joined Liverpool in May of this year.
Although his attack minded style and eye-catching displays for the Addicks proved his potential and promise, the big question remained; could Shelvey make it at a club the size of Liverpool?
From what we have seen of the clean-shaven Englishman so far many supporters are convinced that the answer to the above question is “Yes”, he could be another youngster to force his way into current manager Roy Hodgson’s plans.
Jonjo made his debut as a substitute in the ill-fated Carling Cup clash at home to Northampton Town. His arrival spurred the Reds on as Shelvey brightened up our display and tested the visitor’s resolve with some searching set pieces. It was one of his dangerous corner kicks that David Ngog turned home to take the game to penalty kicks.
Unfortunately Liverpool crashed out of the competition as their League Two opponents claimed the biggest victory in their history, however Shelvey could be pleased with his personal performance because not only did he play an important role in grabbing a late equaliser, he also displayed composure and confidence to slot home his spot kick in front of the nervous Kop.
Only a month later Shelvey made his full debut for the Merseysiders when under-pressure Reds boss Roy Hodgson selected a side composed of squad players and youngsters to tackle the intimidating atmosphere of Napoli’s Stadio San Paolo.
Undaunted Shelvey put in a hard-working performance to help the Reds claim a 0-0 draw in Italy. Also, he displayed his great passing range and fulfilled a crucial role in our attack, as he was central to the link-up play between the midfield and lone striker David Ngog.
This system was successful as Shelvey received the ball from Poulsen and Spearing before holding the ball up until support arrived from Jovanovic and Babel on the wings, as well as from Ngog up front.
That promising performance in Naples did not go unrecognised by either the supporters or the manager as Hodgson awarded Shelvey cameo roles as a late substitute in successive Premier League victories over Blackburn and Bolton, before he was picked to make his first start in front of the Anfield crowd against Napoli.
Although it was the breakdown of his superb run that eventually led to Gerrard’s equaliser, for large periods Shelvey disappointingly failed to make the same impact on the Italians as he had in the previous contest, partly because he was deployed in an unusual role on the right hand side of midfield.
Despite this, Shelvey was conscientious and committed as Liverpool laboured and struggled in what proved to a be a fruitless attempt to break the visitors down, until Steven Gerrard stole both the points and the headlines with a break-taking hattrick in the last 15 minutes.
Since then Shelvey completed 45 minutes at Wigan’s DW Stadium and combined well down the right wing with Kelly at times, however he was still restricted by the fact that he had been shafted out onto the right of midfield.
It seems a common problem with Hodgson because not only is he unsure as to where to play Jonjo Shelvey, he is also undecided regarding Raul Meireles’ place in our midfield four.
If Shelvey is to develop into the top quality player he promised to be when he shone in the red of Charlton Athletic then he must continue to play in his preferred role, which is as an attacking central midfielder. Confusingly, Hodgson has played the 18-year old on the right hand side of midfield as well as in his ideal role behind the main striker.
Moreover, Shelvey has plenty of competition for the ‘trequartista’ role in the Liverpool side with Gerrard, Cole, Meireles and Kuyt all international players who revel in the freedom granted to them in that crucial position playing ‘in between the lines’ of our attack.
Nonetheless, the early signs look good for Shelvey. Comparisons to Steven Gerrard are unwelcome and unwarranted at such an early stage of his development, however he certainly shares a few of the skipper’s characteristics.
He is committed, strong and has a very good passing range. He can also tackle when required and is never afraid of hard work. These are all attributes that are needed for him to make the step up to becoming a regular in the starting eleven. Jonjo still has to work on his heading and shooting skills, as well as enhancing and perfecting his current abilities, however the teenage footballer still has time on his side.
Shelvey has already secured a place on the bench for most matches and, although I would stop short at giving him grandiose title’s such as “the next Steven Gerrard”, with NESV’s focus on producing young, talented players, there is no reason why Jonjo Shelvey couldn’t continue to improve and become a permanent fixture in the Liverpool first team in the future.
YNWA
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