The Anfield Wrap gets top billing--and at current have the only link or quotes available--but there was an interview opportunity set up for various Liverpool "fan sites and blogs" at Melwood with Brendan Rodgers. We weren't involved, unfortunately, but I'm choosing to believe that our invitation was lost or mismarked rather than that we're just not really that big of a deal. I mean, we got 120 comments on a post about sea creatures, folks. So yeah, we carry some weight and stuff.
Anyhow, the podcast really is an interesting listen, with Rodgers touching on a number of familiar topics and elaborating on others. He spends a good portion of the early going discussion the younger players in the side, with many of the same anecdotes and phrases shared about the growth of Raheem Sterling and the need to develop players with a mentality and commitment similar to those who've been around for years. He's clearly passionate about molding Liverpool's younger players, and as much as we're concerned about depth and throwing them in the deep end, Rodgers comes across as acutely aware of the challenges in bringing players through.
What's most interesting for me is the portion when he dissects what broke down against Arsenal, both individually and collectively, and what his vision is for how things should be working in his ideal setup and, more importantly, why they're not. There's probably more than a few who are tired of hearing seemingly endless talk about systems and setups, but Rodgers is engaging and intelligent on the topic, and it's encouraging to hear him speak to both big and small picture.
Of course, seeing the product on the pitch is what's most important, and that'll always be the case. But there could be worse ways to spend an hour on day with minimal football to pay attention to (although via Nate, Samed Yesil's already notched one for Germany and both Sterling and Adam Morgan are in action on the opposite side).