Romance of Kop kids? Think again

FAR from diluting and disrespecting the magic of the FA Cup, it seems as though Jurgen Klopp has added to it with his ‘kids’ storyline.

What could be more romantic than a bunch of plucky youngsters getting one over on seasoned pros in front of a full Anfield house? What a heartwarming story. And, sure, to watch local lad Curtis Jones captain his club against Shrewsbury was brilliant. But let’s not get too carried away. This was no Cinderella story. Liverpool’s academy and under-age system is, just like most Premier League clubs, stocked with talent acquired from smaller operations powerless to stop their top youngsters leaving.

Harvey Elliott (right) is one of Liverpool’s outstanding young players. He was one of Fulham’s, the club who invested years of time, money and effort into his development.

Taken by Liverpool at 16, Fulham had to ask for compensation.

Ki-jana Hoever joined at 16 from Ajax, who only received minimal compensation as no professional forms were signed at that point.

FC Zwolle at least got just over £1million when Liverpool came for Sepp van den Berg as a 17-year-old.

The bottom line is that Premier League clubs can sweep up and stockpile the best young players from here and from Europe... and there’s nothing romantic about that.

IF you want a chuckle, follow the unintentionally amusing Twitter feed of IFAB (the International Football Association Board) who decide and govern the rules of the game.

They dished out practical advice for assistant refs or ARS: “When an offence occurs which requires a signal from the AR, the AR must… » raise the flag with the same hand that will also be used for the remainder of the signal » make eye contact with the referee » give the flag a slight wave back and forth

Glad to see official burning issues getting the proper treatment.