Talking Reds columnist Simon Steers analyses the crop of Liverpool players ready to fulfil their vast potential at Anfield this season. please log in to view this image This current crop of Liverpool players is perhaps one of the most exciting groups of youngsters we have seen at the club in one period. Under Roy Evans in the 1990s we had a team full of youth and dynamism, and played an exciting brand of attacking football, but this current side has the potential to become as good as they want to be. There are a number of players at Liverpool that can go on to an elite level if they realise potential. Players reach elite status at different points in time; some will excel from a very young age and you can make a very early judgement about the level they will reach; others might develop at a later point and start to hit new heights once they reach peak, which is often between 26-30 years old. Lionel Messi was world-class at 21, but a player like Xabi Alonso has grown into a world-class performer as his career has progressed. All of the top clubs want top performers, and once a player reaches that level they will have multiple options about how to progress a career. Unless you have infinite finances it is very difficult to build a winning team by looking exclusively to proven world-class talent - the competition for signatures is intense, and there are so many factors that are outside your sphere of control. But that doesn't mean you can't build a winning team. The trick is finding the players that will go on to be great at a young age - and will grow together to become brilliant individually and collectively. The German side that won the World Cup is full of top players - they have grown together so that the level of individual performance is so high, there is no room for one player that stands out from the crowd. please log in to view this image The method Reaching the top isn't a given no matter how talented the player. The development journey of each individual is critical to how good they can become. Sometimes a manager or coach's role in a player's development is understated - if your goal is to develop young players then you need a coach that can guide players to that elite level. Good managers can win trophies with infinite budgets, but developing and coaching a side to success is where the very best managers will thrive. In Brendan Rodgers, Liverpool have a manager that is an outstanding coach, and his development of young players is the single biggest contributory factor to why the club's methodology of recruiting players in the development phase has every chance of reaping long-term, sustained success. One of Rodgers' biggest strengths is that he doesn't stifle the growth of young players. Football today can be very tactical and you can see how some young players have natural instincts and flair coached out of them - the opposite happens under Rodgers. Rodgers seems to give his young players a freedom to express themselves, he creates a culture of no fear where players aren't afraid to try something different, or make mistakes. There are a lot of clubs that share Liverpool's ambition to grow and develop young players; it's a philosophy and model that has become a holy grail in football. But for it to work, you need more than just the talent, you need the coaching structure and culture that will push players towards potential. Not every club has that - Liverpool do. please log in to view this image Our future is now There is a fine line between potential and greatness, the transition can happen very quickly, and sometimes even slip under the radar for a period of time. Liverpool have an exciting crop of young players, some of whom might affirm world-class credentials in the coming years. Some are slightly ahead in the development journey, but there is a very real prospect that Liverpool have players that can make that transition this season. Daniel Sturridge is a player that is now reaching a point in his career where he can make the transition to being one of Europe's elite. Last season Rodgers observed: "Daniel has a wonderful opportunity over the next few years to become world-class." Sturridge continues to grow in all aspects of his game, and can thrive on the responsibility of being the leading striker at the club. Raheem Sterling is a player that has absolutely everything. He is probably the most exciting teenager in Europe, and he is only going to get better. I strongly suspect that like Messi, Sterling is developing into a top performer at an early age - and I expect this season he will be an integral part of any success we achieve. Philippe Coutinho is another player who has all of the tools to reach the top of the game. He continues to grow in stature and maturity, and he is beginning to relish the No.10 role, taking on the responsibility of being the playmaker. Emre Can and Lazar Markovic have been recruited and both have the attributes to go on and become great players. Both have had excellent grounding in competitive leagues, and in Rodgers they have a coach that will push them on and they will be given the opportunity to show how good they are. The list isn't exclusive. We have a great deal of individual talent coming through, but it will always be the team that's the key for Rodgers. please log in to view this image It's all about the team One of the important points for Rodgers is that brilliant individuals fit into a team structure. It doesn't matter how good you are, the team will always be greater than the sum of its parts. The team shouldn't be reliant on any one player to function. Our squad has a depth and quality of player that can all make a contribution to the functioning of the team, and the likes of Sterling, Coutinho, Markovic and Sturridge have that quality to interchange and add a flair and unpredictability to our game. The transfer window can sometimes be a distraction to what is right under your nose. There is a natural fixation on the biggest deals, and the movement of the top players, but the fact is that there are many clubs that have a player waiting to prove himself as world-class - one that you don't always see coming. At Liverpool, we have several. The other contributory factor to the growth of Liverpool's players this season will be the return to the Champions League. Competing against the best players and teams in Europe is a key part of any player's journey to becoming one of the best. We are building for the future but we are also ready for the now. This season we may see some of our players make the transition to world-class - I can't wait to watch this Liverpool team grow into something special as it realises its potential. http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/latest-news/168771-blog-br-philosophy-ready-to-reap-reward
Think this pretty much sums us up this season. Last year we were a team, but with 1 standout player. Unless Sturridge takes his game to the next level, we won't have that so it becomes vitally important we play as one team and not 11 individuals. That's why people like Allen are important, although maybe not the best individually, they compliment other members of the team well.
I agree but you can add Coutinho to that highlighted bit, plus I reckon that Raheem is in for a great season this year so him too.
Allen compliments no one cone on now. Gerrard compliments the team with his vision and passing. Henderson compliments Gerrard with his stamina and able to help Gerrard. Coutinho compliments Henderson with attacking ability, leaving Henderson to work his socks off in the midfield. Allen keeps the game simple but compliments no one to our side.
A few too many Liverpool fans are rapidly evolving into the pretentious Arsenal fans of the early 00's. There's nothing revolutionary happening!
I've made my thoughts on Allen perfectly clear and not going to turn this into another Allen debate, but his style of play compliments the rest of our midfield and how we like to play. Quick pressing and passing. Him & Henderson compliment each other perfectly. They almost dovetail off each other in that aspect.
True. I guess as they're are both still young I think they need to do it consistently over the season yet. Sturridge was impressive all year when he was fit. Sterling was good from Jan onwards (very good in fact) and Coutinho was good but very inconsistent. I think if those 2 can have a similar season to Sturridge this year (in terms of impact and consistency) and Sturridge can step up to the next level (maybe not Suarez level, but say a RVP/Aguero level) then could make all the difference.
Sterling started the season very well too, he just had a quiet patch around Christmas. PS...I think Allen is world class at pressurising the opposition.
Fair enough but I'll never be jealous of anyone who talks about false 9's and similar nonsense! Similar to corporate management speak like blue sky and out of the box thinking that was fashionable for a spell before being confirmed as bollocks!
So I guess finishing second by playing outstanding attacking football at times, with a huge individual improvement in too many members of the squad on the previous seasons performance to be convenient, is just a coincidence and can't mean that Rodgers is actually a good manager Just because what he says might be waffle doesn't mean he's bad. I guess this season will show what he's about, but even in his first year our performances were a step up from what we played before. "Good managers can win trophies with infinite budgets, but developing and coaching a side to success is where the very best managers will thrive." That quote from the original article sums up a lot of my opinions of managers these days. I refuse to rate the likes of Mourinho or Pellegrini as highly as others, simply because they can roll a dice to pick their starting XI and still have a top drawer team. Managers like Klopp, Bielsa, Simeone and (hopefully) Rodgers however are showing/have shown more talent by nurturing and developing a team without buying ready made world class players and competing.
Not even gonna bother reading that as it's PR ****e. It'll all get proven on the pitch no amount of bollox fluff journalism will affect that
Didn't say Rodgers wasn't a good manager. It's the fluff and bollocks about being an innovator that is very Arsenal. The acid test for Rodgers will be how Liverpool get on now that they can't give the ball to Suarez. Wenger failed said test when his team couldn't give the ball to Henry, which rapidly discredited the theory that he'd invented a new style of football.
Lol, another fan of the film! Brendan can call a number nine a five or the 4-3-3 the funky chicken. If he can motivate and improve this group of players again both as individuals and a team, with the end result of points in the bag? Then he's done his job and the "he talks mad dog" comments become increasingly hollow sounding.....call it a philosophy or call it bullshit what you can't say is he's failing at his job.......so far.......
It's only non-Liverpool fans who seem to listen to what Rodgers says...we all know he makes up words and waffles on like he gets paid by the word, except we don't really care because what he does seemingly works on the pitch. Anyway, like I said and you also, we'll see how he does this year. Suarez prior to Rodgers' arrival wasn't close to the top drawer players in the world though, he improved Luis. He improved Hendo, Sterling, Sturridge, Coutinho, Flanagan...etc. Suarez wasn't a magical ready-made world class player who, on his arrival, Rodgers said to give the ball to! So I'm not too concerned and I have faith that we'll do fine this year without Suarez (assuming we get a backup striker).
Rodgers showed what he truly is in that cringeworthy documentary last year. His embarrassing diatribes in the year since he got lucky post Me La's insistence that he binned his ****ty tiki taka, has been laughable in its delusion levels. The mans a ****ing fraud and I maintain that'll be exposed very shortly
...for all the bollox Brendan speaks he at least watches our games. You clearly didn't last year with that comment. The acid test is the same as last year, win games with players you pick. It's amazing this myth that has quickly birthed and desperately believed by others...Suarez didn't score 100 goals....Suarez didn't concede 50 goals.
