Chris Goreham: is it time to bring back reserve team football?

Going out in the fourth round doesn’t really constitute an FA Cup run but at least there was an Anfield adventure and a couple of memorable goals for 4,000 travelling City fans to enjoy.

While losing to Liverpool didn’t come as surprise it constitutes a blow for some of David Wagner’s fringe players. No more cup football means opportunities to rotate the likes of goalkeeper George Long into the starting XI will be few and far between until August.

It could be a long few months for the squad members who are not regular starters in the Championship but are either too old to play in the Under 21s or too important as cover to go out on loan.

Competitive minutes on the pitch can be hard to come by for those who fall in that section of the yellow and green Ven diagram when they find the road to Wembley is once again closed.

Perhaps a bridge needs to be rebuilt to fill the gap between the first team and academy.

Some of my fondest formative football memories happened at reserve team games. The atmosphere around them was more relaxed than a frenzied first team fixture and they provided a perfect opportunity to swell a collection of autographs.

Some of the signatures my mates and I gathered on those evenings at Carrow Road probably did go onto bigger and better things. It was the era that City’s second string had youngsters like Jamie Cureton and Ade Akinbiyi playing up front together.

There was always a hope that Arsenal, Chelsea or Spurs might have a star name in the side as they tried to shake-off an injury.

Many never made the first team but at the time we didn’t know and that was all part of the fun.

Those matches used to draw decent Carrow Road crowds, certainly in the thousands. Norwich City’s Reserves competed in a league called The Neville Ovenden Combination.

Growing up I assumed that Neville Ovenden must have been a footballer from years gone by with legendary status but it strikes me now that it’s a name that hasn’t come up since.

I’ve been wondering recently whether the return of reserve team football might be good news for players as well as the selfie seeking Junior Canaries of the day.

Take Liam Gibbs for example. Last season he was Norwich City’s Young Player of the Season. The midfielder looked a talent when he emerged under Dean Smith having been signed following a handful of first team appearances for Ipswich Town.

He turned 20 during last season and featured in 34 of Norwich’s 46 league games, starting 18 of them. In this campaign so far, he’s got just four league starts to his name with a further seven fleeting appearances off the bench.

Players like Gibbs and right back Kellen Fisher have graduated beyond the under 21s.

The next stage of their development requires regular football against seasoned professionals. Neither are currently first choice selections for David Wagner.

He can’t just give them a game in the Championship, especially with the form of Jack Stacey, Kenny McLean, Gabriel Sara and Marcelino Nunez. Few would argue that either Gibbs or Fisher should jump above those players in the pecking order.

However, if an injury or suspension occurs Fisher or Gibbs would be needed. For that reason, they cannot be sent out on loan in order to expand their footballing education elsewhere.

Yet there is a chance they could go several months without playing a lot of meaningful football. It’s difficult for head coaches to develop talent and also field a side strong enough to win Championship points.

It’s important to remember that scrapping reserve teams and placing more emphasis on youth academies was a move designed to help develop better technical players for our national team. Gareth Southgate’s record with England at major tournaments suggests it’s been a successful approach.

It has worked well for the elite English players but there are scores more who require a bit more schooling to be first team ready.

It would be a shame if some Canary careers that have already showed great promise now stalled because of a lack of game time.

The Klopp effect

Jurgen Klopp marched into his post-match press conference at Anfield on Sunday looking very comfortable.

It’s no wonder having recently flexed his footballing muscles. Being 3-1 up against Norwich City and bringing on Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold was quite a show of strength for the soon-to-be former Liverpool head coach.

The outpouring of Anfield love that punctuated the afternoon in the wake of his recent announcement was impossible to ignore.

Klopp’s influence has been so great that he’s even had quite an impact on the recent history of Norwich City.

It was Klopp who appointed his great friend David Wagner as Borussia Dortmund’s second team manager. So intoxicating was the brand of ‘heavy metal football’ that everyone wanted a piece of it. A month after Klopp got the Liverpool job Wagner was appointed head coach of Huddersfield Town.

That move allowed a certain Daniel Farke to step into Wagner’s shoes at Dortmund. When Stuart Webber left Huddersfield to become Norwich City sporting director he would once again look to the Dortmund dynasty to revive the Canaries’ flagging fortunes.

Now it’s Wagner attempting to recapture some of the old magic in Norfolk.

Klopp finished his press conference on Sunday, put his black rucksack over the shoulders of his baggy grey tracksuit and headed off into the distance. Much has happened since he broke his glasses at Carrow Road celebrating a remarkable 5-4 win just a few months into life as Liverpool manager.