Adam Morgan And Fan Perception

It's never fun when hopes and dreams are brought down to earth, and that's pretty much exactly what's happened to young striker Adam Morgan. The 19-year old from Liverpool has been told that he'll be allowed to leave the club on a free as soon as he finds a new club.

This will be hard news for many. Morgan has become something of a fan favorite among the youth players after his inclusion in the squad that went to the United States to tour in 2012. While he never saw a match with the first team in the league, he did see some minutes in Liverpool's Europa campaign, starting two matches and appearing as a sub in a third. He never scored a goal with the first team, though he did bag 16 in 37 reserve matches.

While it's unfortunate that Morgan won't get to live out his dream of "making it" at his hometown club, the equally unfortunate reality is that it was just never likely to happen. While Robbie Fowler once praised Morgan's finishing, he's just not a good enough player to ever play much of a role for a club like Liverpool. He's not very fast, he's not very strong, and his technical skills are largely below-average. He has, however, been an interesting case study in how fans of a club tend to view their own youth players.

There's a fascinating trend among soccer fans to take some of their club's youth players and turn them in to something big, someone who will help lead the club to future glories. However, that's so rarely the case that it often hurts to see it happening. Morgan has frequently been the target of that adulation among the Liverpool fanbase for the last year and a half or so, so this news will surely be ill-received to many. The reality is, however, that a player like Morgan is much better-suited to a lower league, like the Championship or possibly even League One.

No matter our hopes, not everyone will make it. The odds of any player finding success long-term are obscenely low, and trying to do it at a top club like Liverpool is even worse. While it'd be nice to have Morgan stay around for the good feelings of the local kid and all that, it's better for him and the club to move him on now that the decision has been made that he's not needed long-term. Liverpool can now give other players time in the reserves to aid their development, and Morgan can go find a club that fits him better as a player and get actual first team minutes to help his own development.

The sad fact is that this was a necessary move to be made. Morgan will be better for it in the end, although I'm sure it sucks for him in the short term. And despite the ever-growing evidence that youth team crushes will only lead to heartache, it won't be long before the fanbase latches on to another player. The cycle continues ever further, taking many casualties with it along the way.