AS a bona fide Liverpool legend and former England captain as well as a fixture on the cult Sky Sports programme Soccer Saturday for many years, Phil Thompson will have no shortage of entertaining tales to relay when he visits Scotland next week.
He is sure to be quizzed about his trophy-laden playing days and lengthy media career when The Pundits tour, which is compered by Jeff Stelling and also features Paul Merson, Charlie Nicholas and Matt Le Tissier, arrives at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on Wednesday.
Thompson, though, is fully expecting the members of the audience to be just as keen to hear his views on the outrageously gifted teenage winger Ben Doak.
He can understand the interest which there is in the former Celtic kid, who became the youngest Scottish footballer to feature in the Premier League when he came on for Darwin Nunez against Aston Villa at Villa Park back in December, up in his homeland.
The Anfield great is every bit as excited about the youngster as any of his countrymen having watched him in action at close quarters at both youth and senior level on numerous occasions since he moved down south in a £600,000 switch last year.
“What do I think of Ben Doak?” he said. “Oh my goodness! What a player! I have done quite a few of the youth games for LFC TV and every time I have seen him he has been outstanding.
“One of the great things about Ben is that he just loves football. He has got a wonderful attitude. But he is aggressive and for a forward that is a great attribute to have. He has also got unbelievable pace, he can provide assists and he has got goals in him.
“You just look at him and think: ‘Wow!’ He has had such a rapid rise to fame this season. He has played in the first team this season, which is quite astonishing. I just hope he has got a nice feel for it because he is a tremendous talent.”
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Calvin Ramsay has also featured for Jurgen Klopp’s side on a few occasions, including in a Champions League group game against Napoli back in November, since completing a £4.2m transfer from Aberdeen last summer.
The Scotland right back was ruled out for the remainder of the 2022/23 season when he underwent surgery on an unspecified issue in February. But Thompson, who spent no fewer than 13 years at the heart of the Liverpool defence, feels that he, too, has a bright future.
“It has been difficult for Calvin because he has had lots of injuries,” he said. “We are waiting to see a bit more of Calvin. He is probably just growing. But I can remember a young Steven Gerrard having the same sort of problems and he did alright.”
Doak and Ramsay have their work cut out forcing their way into the Liverpool side in future; Mo Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold are currently the first choice picks respectively in their favoured right wing and right back berths.
But Thompson broke into an Anfield team that comprised, among others, Emlyn Hughes, Kevin Keegan, Ian St John and John Toshack and was managed by the legendary Billy Shankly when he was just a teenager in the early 1970s and never looked back.
He has seen Klopp take a chance on kids many times before and firmly believes the promising Scottish duo can, despite the presence of numerous multi-million pound superstars and foreign internationalists on Merseyside, establish themselves as regulars in future.
“You have seen Klopp bring through a lot of young lads over the years,” he said. “I think he loves it. You have got Curtis Jones who is back in the side at the moment, Trent Alexander-Arnold is another young lad who has come through the academy system. We have had great joy with the young players.
“Ben probably can’t believe the chances he has had so far. Calvin is probably looking at James Milner and Joe Gomez playing at right back and thinking he could be an understudy once he is fully fit. They have got to have that ambition – and I think Ben and Calvin have both got that. Yes, it will be tough for them to make the breakthrough, but it is tough everywhere.”
The three-time European Cup winner and seven-time English champion reckons the Reds’ pre-season tour – and early indications are they are set to return to the Far East for a series of money-spinning friendlies once again - will be a crucial time for the young Scottish duo.
“Every summer these lads get taken on a pre-season tour with the first team squad to see how they react, to see how they shape up playing with bigger and better players,” said Thompson.
“The coaches and manager want to learn how they deal with it. I have been there as a coach and an assistant manager myself. You are looking to see how they handle themselves on the football pitch and also how they behave off it. Are they looking to learn and take things in? It will be an important period for them.”
Thompson, who had a six month spell as caretaker manager of Liverpool after Gerard Houllier had heart surgery in 2001, knows the summer months will be vital for Scotland captain Andy Robertson for different reasons.
The left back has, like Klopp’s team as a whole, been inconsistent this term. On occasion, he has performed at his brilliant best. At other times, though, he has struggled to produce his peak form and make a significant impact.
But the former Liverpool centre half suspects that last season, when the Anfield club won the Carabao Cup, FA Cup and reached the Champions League final, has taken a toll on him. He expects him to be a different player after a well-earned break.
“This has maybe not been Andy and Trent’s finest season,” he said. “The form of both of our full-backs this season has been up and down.
“It is amazing really because they are both full-backs, but they are judged on their forward play and their assists. It is part of the modern game. They are such a vital cog in our wheel. When we are on form it is because those two are hitting the heights of the seasons gone by.
“But Andy is a firm favourite with the fans here. They love him. I heard somebody suggest that he is too old to play Klopp’s system. But I think he has still got his best years ahead of him. He is as fit as a fiddle and can still get up and down that touchline.
“That is maybe one of the problems. We have maybe suffered because last season we played every game that could be played. And everything was dependent on Trent and Andy getting up and down the pitch.
“The close season was then too short and the pre-season came too soon and was shortened because of the World Cup. They didn’t get enough rest. That has to be taken into account. Jurgen’s teams always play at a high intensity. If you play every game like that last season you need your required rest more than ever. It is one of a few reasons for our fall from form.”
The Pundits will be at Glasgow Concert Halls for one night only on Wednesday, May 3. Tickets are available to purchase from the venue’s website or the box office on 0141 353 8000.
