By
NEIL ASHTON
PUBLISHED: 00:04, 3 September 2014 | UPDATED: 05:26, 3 September 2014
At White Hart Lane on Sunday, Brendan Rodgers gave a fascinating insight into his motivation to lead Liverpool to the top.
He had just been asked about his quip - ‘the run was Ricky Villa and the finish was Ricky Gervais’ - after Raheem Sterling scuffed a chance to make it 4-0 at Tottenham.
‘A few of you thought I was David Brent when I got the job and I haven’t forgotten that either,’ he remarked.
In his temporary office at White Hart Lane, there was suddenly a bit of a chill.
His mood changed instantly, though, when he was asked about the flexibility and tactical awareness of this Liverpool team.
His enthusiasm for the development of young players in his side is infectious.
That is his passion, committing himself to improving the players he has on the training ground each day at Liverpool. If only there were more like this in the game.
These are the skills Rodgers acquired when he was a young coach, first at Reading and then at Chelsea.
Although he accepts that there is pressure to compete for a place in the top four again, particularly after last season’s title challenge, he also wants to improve and nurture his players.
There was genuine care in his voice, almost pastoral, when he was asked about Sterling’s performance and his preferred position on the field on Sunday.
This is what Rodgers said:
‘I think he's flexible. We've tried to develop him not only to be a wide player but to have the freedom and the awareness to play on the inside.
‘It was perfect for him today: he can turn, press, work, and in a 4-3-3 he can work on the side and penetrate. It's important he has the intelligence to play these different positions.’
This has echoes of the Dutch school of thought, with its origins in the philosophy of the great coach Rinus Michels.
Everybody has to be comfortable on the ball, to be flexible on the field and learn to play in different positions.
Ruud Gullit, one of the game’s most distinguished and decorated players, played up front, in the centre of midfield and as a sweeper during his career. He looked at home in all three.
Dennis Bergkamp, whose instructive autobiography Stillness and Speed is a motivational tool for young players, played out on the wing for Ajax before he became one of the world’s most accomplished No 10s.
For English football and its players to flourish again, the Barclays Premier League will need more coaches with Rodgers’ feeling for the game.
Liverpool’s manager has no obligation to England, but he started with four internationals - captain Steven Gerrard, Jordan Henderson, Daniel Sturridge and Sterling, at White Hart Lane.
Not a huge number, but more than his rivals. Arsenal, who played at Leicester on Sunday, fielded none again in their starting XI.
With the exception of Gerrard, who retired from international football after the World Cup, the other three are in the England team for Wednesday evening’s friendly with Norway.
To many, the tactical expressions are a turn-off in a game that can be over-complicated at times by managers theorising about systems and formations.
But Rodgers tests his players, pushing their minds that little bit more and asking them to stretch the limits. Sterling is the latest example.
‘He needs to be better on his left foot,’ was Rodgers’ considered analysis after he missed the chance to score a second goal against Spurs. He meant it.
‘His tactical awareness is improving and for a kid of 19... he's going to be great. Him, Daniel Sturridge and Jordan Henderson are going to do well for Roy Hodgson in the years to come. They've shown they can play in different positions.’
Sterling himself admitted, after the impressive win over Tottenham, that he has been asked to play and learn a number of positions across Liverpool’s forward line.
How many managers, under almost intolerable pressure to win every match and not make mistakes, are prepared to risk that? Not many.
It wasn’t that long ago, when Rodgers was mocked for his part in Being: Liverpool, that Sterling was getting it in the neck from the Liverpool manager.
At the time, Rodgers told the Liverpool forward that he would be on the first plane back to England from their US tour in 2012 after he made a disrespectful comment to his manager.
Others in this Liverpool team are maturing, too. When Henderson spoke on Monday at England’s training base, he was passionate about the future of the national team.
He spoke about the Rodgers Effect, the doctrines and principles the Liverpool manager has impressed upon this group of players.
Henderson is captaincy material for club and country, a fine example of a young player increasing in influence on and off the field.
In time, it will all be there for him.
Henderson’s personality has been teased out of him, partially down to his improved performances on the pitch alongside his captain.
Back in the training ground office at Melwood, Rodgers has played his part in that.
Read more:
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