It has finally been confirmed by the club that Adam Phillips, the ex-Liverpool midfielder, has been signed by Norwich.
Image – Canaries.co.uk
Phillips, who joined Liverpool when he was just 9 years old, was released by the club in May after a decade rising through their youth team.
It must be incredibly difficult to make the move to a new club after spending so much time with one club – but this is the nature of football these days. Kids are picked up at a ridiculously young age and move way from home, live & breathe football and then get mercilessly dumped in their late teens leaving their dreams in tatters – and quite possibly with their long-term career opportunities limited.
Good clubs are now placing education at the forefront of their academy incentives with Langley School, in Loddon, providing Norwich City with space for their Academy youngsters to ensure that it is NOT just football that young players focus on through their teenage years.
It is interesting to flag this up here – as we’ve had the whole discussion about how much is a player worth? Why do they earn millions? Well, think of the millions of kids that don’t make the grade. I’m not asking you to have sympathy for anyone here – just a gentle reminder that not everyone in football is earning mega-bucks.
Anyway – back to Phillips.
The 19 year old will be a development squad player for the foreseeable future – but again, he is highly rated, just not quite good enough for the Reds to take a punt on. With a glut of midfield options he found his opportunity scare on Meryseyside – with Norwich’s glut of midfield options he is going to have to go some to improve his chances here. But hopefully he will find a new home and a new start in Norfolk.
Welcome to our fine City Adam.