Liverpool Academy in Good Health Despite Departures of McParland and Borrell

The news that Liverpool have reportedly parted company with academy management duo Rodolfo Borrell and Frank McParland has certainly been a shock development at Merseyside.

The departure of Borrell in particular, the highly-rated Spaniard previously of Barcelona's famed La Masia, will be met with disappointment.

Indeed, Borrell was only promoted to the role of academy technical director earlier this year after previously taking charge of the Reds' Under 21s.

Since Borrell and McParland joined the club in 2009, as part of a huge overhaul by then-manager Rafa Benitez, the academy has gone from strength to strength—signing a host of talented youngsters from around the country.

McParland was, according to The Guardian, influential in the recruitment of Raheem Sterling from QPR in 2010. 

Sterling is one in a long list of academy players to have made their first-team debuts in the past four years, including Jon Flanagan, Jack Robinson, Andre Wisdom, Conor Coady, Adam Morgan, Suso, Jordon Ibe, Lloyd Jones and Jerome Sincliar.

It was reported earlier this week in The Daily Mail, among others, that Morgan—the 19 year-old forward—has been told he is free to leave the club. Meanwhile, Robinson, Wisdom, Coady and Suso are currently out on-loan.


Talent Pool

The wealth of talent goes much deeper at the academy with highly-rated midfielders Cameron Brannagan and Marc Pelosi having signed new contracts in the last week.

The Reds also have Portugese playmaker Joao Carlos-Teixeira, Ryan McLaughlin—already called up for national duty with Northern Ireland—and German forward Samed Yesil in their Under 21s.

Plus there's Under 18s starlet Harry Wilson, who recently became the youngest Wales national team debutant and recently acquired Spanish duo Pedro Chirivella and Sergi Canos.

"

Segura, Borrell & McParland took our Academy from the dark ages—it's now as good as any in England. Thank you to all of them.

— Michael Sweeting (@M_Sweeting) November 21, 2013"

Replacement

Therefore, there is no need to panic. Despite the departures of Borrell and McParland, Liverpool's academy is in good health and will remain so.

Paul Joyce hypothesises in The Express, that "the timing of the decision suggests that Liverpool may already have replacements lined up".

It is unlikely that Liverpool would have made the decision to sack two such high-profile figures without having a plan in place. And that plan likely revolves around the recent recruitment of Neil Critchley from Crewe Alexander.

Critchley was appointed Under 18s coach earlier this month after leaving his position as academy director at the famed Crewe production line of players, where they recently achieved the incredible feat of naming an entire starting eleven made up of home-grown players.

In all honesty, McParland and Borrell's roles at the club seemed to cross-over; one being "academy director" and the other, "academy technical director/head of coaching." A streamlined hierarchy with Critchley as academy director seems logical.

Whether Critchley does step up to the role or Liverpool appoint somebody new, owners Fenway Sports Group have acted proactively again and thus supporters should not panic.