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WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Liverpool's 2007 FA Youth Cup winners

Recently we delved back into the annuls to give an oversight into what has happened to the England players who won the 2010 U17 European Championship.

The stars of that particular show have had mixed fortunes since their triumph three years ago, which is the case for those who took part in the 2007 FA Youth Cup final.

Liverpool's youth beat arch rivals Manchester United's youngsters 4-3 on penalties after the two legs ended 2-2 due to the Reds' 1-0 victory at Old Trafford in the second leg (the first leg was a 2-1 win to United at Anfield).

Robbie Threlfall scored the only goal of the return encounter before Liverpool went onto edge United in a penalty shootout, giving them back-to-back FA Youth Cup titles, but he now finds himself in League Two with Morecambe.

As Liverpool prepare for the 2012/13 FA Youth Cup semi-final with Chelsea, find out where the other Reds youngsters from 2007 have ended up.

Liverpool

Goalkeeper

David Roberts

Was released by Liverpool in the summer of 2007 and subsequently made his way to Wales where he played with Weymouth FC and Aberystwyth Town and onto Newtown FC where he has remained for the past few years.

Defenders

Stephen Darby

Now 24, Darby is playing for Bradford City after signing permanently from Anfield in July 2012. He was a key contributor during the Bantams' Capital One Cup campaign which ended in a 5-0 Wembley defeat to Swansea City. Prior to that, he had loan spells with Swindon Town, Notts County and Rochdale.

Michael Burns

Burns played in both the 2006 and 2007 FA Youth Cup triumphs but was released in the summer of 2007. He then moved onto Bolton's academy but has since struggled with stints at Carlisle United, Stafford Rangers, Newport County and Guiseley. He is currently playing with Conference North club Vauxhall Motors.

Jay Spearing

Spearing, who was deployed in central defence when captaining the Reds youth, is currently on loan with Championship club Bolton. Since 2007, the midfielder has made 55 appearances in all competitions for Liverpool but was sent to the Reebok Stadium in the summer for a season-long spell with the Trotters where he has been a vital player this campaign.

Robbie Threlfall

Threlfall is now with Morecambe after a very promising youth career in which he won an England U19 cap in 2007. The left-back officially departed Anfield in 2010 but not before loans with the likes of Hereford United, Stockport County, Northampton Town and Bradford City. He signed with Bradford permanently in 2010 before moving to the Globe Arena in May 2012.

Midfielders

Charlie Barnett

The midfielder moved onto Tranmere Rovers in the summer of 2008 after failing to get a first team game at Anfield. He made just under 40 appearances at Prenton Park before joining Accrington Stanley in 2010 for whom he has since played over 100 times.

Jimmy Ryan

Also departing in 2008, Ryan permanently signed with Shrewsbury Town after a loan spell at New Meadow the year before. He didn't last long there, however, and moved onto Accrington in August of '08, playing over 100 times and making the League Two PFA Team of the Year for 2010-11. Ryan joined Scunthorpe United in June 2011 and has emerged as a vital player for the League One relegation battlers.

Astrit Ajdarevic

The Yugoslav-born Swedish midfielder also failed to make a first team appearance for Liverpool. He signed with Leicester City in June 2009 following a loan spell there but did not make an impact for the Foxes and was briefly loaned to Huddersfield Town. Enough was enough for Ajdarevic who then decided to move back to Sweden with Orebro before moving onto IFK Norrkoping in 2011. He now finds himself in Belgium with Standard Liege for whom he has made 20 first team appearances this campaign.

Ryan Flynn

Another to depart Anfield shortly after the FA Cup triumph, Flynn found himself on loan with Wrexham before joining his former youth club Falkirk permanently in 2009. He spent two years with the Bairns, including Europa League action during the 2009-10 season. Flynn is now at Sheffield United where has made 32 appearances this season (73 in total) for the promotion-chasing League One club.

Ray Putterill

A long list of injuries forced Putterill to drop down to Halewood Town in the Liverpool County Premier League in 2009. Since then he has played with Accrington Stanley, Southport, Vauxhall Motors and Rochdale. He currently plays with Conference National club Hyde FC.

Forward

Craig Lindfield

The attacker had loan spells with Notts County, Chester City, Bournemouth and Accrington before departing Liverpool for good in August 2009. Lindfield then joined Macclesfield Town for a short stint ahead of his return to Accrington where he remains. He was loaned to Kidderminster during 2010.

Substitutes

Josh Mimms (gk)

The son of former Blackburn Rovers keeper Bobby Mimms (who won the 1995 Premier League title) currently plays with Retford United in the Northern Counties East League. Prior to that, Mimms spent time with York City.

Sean Highdale (m)

Highdale was involved in a serious car accident in April 2008 which killed two of his friends. He took about two years to get back to full fitness, first playing for Oldham Athletic on loan, before moving temporarily to Newtown FC. Highdale is unattached to a club at this point.

Ben Parsonage (m)

After leaving Anfield in 2008, the New Zealander played for Welsh side Caernarfon Town before moving onto Liverpool County Football outfit Prescot Cables. Parsonage has since returned to NZ.

Lee Woodward (f)

No information has been found on Woodward since he was released by the Reds in 2008.

Steven Irwin (d)

The 22-year old midfielder stayed with the Reds until 2011 when he joined Dutch club Telstar. He made less than a handful of appearances there before joining Finnish club FF Jaro in September 2012. He is now listed as a free agent after he was released by Jaro.

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Andrew Slevison
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Andrew Slevison

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