Interview with Alex Inglethorpe

[King Binny]

A month old interview (sorry if it has been posted)

http://www.thebibtheorists.com/hugo-finally-meets-inglethorpe/

“Which players would you like to see make the step up to the first team in the next 12 months?”

“All of them. They have all worked very hard and have sacrificed a lot be in the position that they are in. They have trained every day, neglected social lives and hassled parents. They all deserve it.”

“How has life been at Liverpool since your move from London?”

“The city is fantastic and I have been fortunate enough to get to stay right in the city centre itself. The people are unbelievable, just so friendly and approachable. The south of England always felt like home, but Liverpool has welcomed me with open arms!

However, I have made sacrifices. I left my family at the other end of the country! But they do join me in April, so I’m looking forward to seeing the wife and kids more frequently, then. It’ll really feel like home once that’s sorted.”

“I know you are the U21’s manager, but how often do you interact with the other squads and especially the first team?”

“My job is in the reserves but I am interested in all levels.


I watch or interact with the first team squad or Brendan at least once a week, and I’m actually heading off to a U16 game after this!

My previous clubs didn’t invest that much money in the academy teams; this is different at Liverpool and therefore I like to stay involved. At the end of the day, it’s my hobby, my love – I’m just lucky it’s also my job.”

“I have noticed a switch to a 4-3-3 formation in recent weeks, is that something that’s being installed at all levels now?”

“I have to be honest, my preference is a 4-3-3. If you play in the champion’s league 4-3-3 is a must at lower levels, as defenders have to learn their trade in the best way possible to come against the world’s best centre forwards.

It’s an attacking formation so I like it. But it also helps the development of the defenders, as they have to mark large spaces around the circumference of their position. This is aided with a pivoting midfield helping the two centre backs as the full backs fly on so at times it should be a ‘3-0-7’ formation and that’s what really helps the defenders progress positionally.

However, development takes time and this is especially true with defenders. Therefore, sometimes you have to sacrifice results at this level for style and the overall development of the youngsters. At the end of the day, youth results are absolutely pointless – it’s the development that’s important!”

“How important is the pivot role in the 4-3-3 and is it something the classic number 10’s in your squad have had to learn?”

“It’s not necessarily a deeper role – really it’s two number 10’s. Joao [Teixeira] is obviously used to the 4-3-3 as he was taught it at Sporting Lisbon, where they specialise in fluid formations. He knows that midfield more than some of the other lads but again, it’s all a learning curve.”

“What are the benefits and circumstances in which you may feel sending a player out on loan to another club benefits them more than staying at the academy and vice versa?”

“There is absolutely no blueprint to developing a player. My job is not to find the overall blueprint, but to find the right way to do things for each individual. It really depends what’s in the best interests for the player.

For instance, Raheem [Sterling] didn’t need a loan as he had the best possible experience in the first team at such a young age. A loan wouldn’t have helped him as he developed quickly. This was obviously helped, however, by the shortage in attack that Brendan had at the start of the season.

But the best example to counter that is that of Steven Caulker. I managed him at Tottenham and sent him out on loan to Yeovil Town and then again to Bristol City. After those 80 or so games, he had learned his trade in a professional environment and therefore earned himself a loan deal to Brendan’s Premier League Swansea.

“Was this your first communication with Brendan Rodgers?”

“No no, I have known Brendan for some time now. It was great of him to trust me on Steven’s career judgment, as obviously it was my job to develop the youth at Tottenham.

I think Steven will look back and realise his growth when he went out on these loans but again, some players, like Raheem, don’t need this time.”

“Is the NextGen Series a nuisance or an aid?”

“It’s an enormous help, like you wouldn’t believe!

The Premier League is made up of 70% foreign players. Therefore, to be representative you need to play abroad.

If you play academy football in England you are only ever really going to be playing against players who will play in the football league, not the Champions League. Liverpool aspires to the Champions League so we have to play, and educate, the players in the European style of football.

I’d go as far as saying we need to replicate the first team, like for like. From things as simple as jet lag to things a bit more taboo as ‘gamesmanship’, young players need to understand and live with it.

Travel broadens the mind – I’m a firm believer of that. Whilst it also broadens the mind, it broadens the appreciation for football. The challenge of coaching isn’t to teach the system, but the style.

If you want to be the best then you have to beat the best in Europe, not just England.”

“How hard is it keeping young players focused and nurtured with pressure piled on them?”

“Very, very difficult. In fact it’s hard to develop talent because of it. Players are earning a lot of money at such a young age, I’d probably say too much.

But as much as that cliché is said, the best players don’t play for the house, the car or even the woman; but for the legacy. Look at Steven Gerrard, Luis Suarez. They want to win silverware – not a plush mansion in a nice area. To them, that comes with victory.”

“Is the next Steven Gerrard in the academy at the moment?”

“I can’t say that. Steven is a special player. What I can say, however, is that the lifeblood of any club is that of local lads.

Iconic figures are usually players that have come through the youth academy. Look at Gerrard / Carragher at Liverpool, Terry at Chelsea and Ryan Giggs at United.

I’m here to find the next icon”

“What is the best thing about being at Liverpool Football Club?”

“That’s a good question… I’d say the people. Everyone from the players, the staff – even the chef! Everyone is just fantastic. They live for the club and that’s a joy to be part of.”

We said our goodbyes and left it. I had finally talked with Alex; the man my family knew all too well.

It was fortunate he had joined Liverpool. He knew it inside out. Every question was rebounded with an answer that reflected a stern vision. He and Brendan are on the same wavelength – they are alike in a lot of ways. Both carved coaching careers through youth football and came to a top club at a youngish age.

However, in no way did he have to conduct himself in such a professional and approachable manner to someone who was a mere relative of some people he knew 15-20 years ago. For that, I thank Alex and I hope we meet up at some stage.

 

[Frogfish]

Great read and excellent interview - thanks for posting Binny.

 

[hamstrung_pigeon]

Inglethorpe gives solid interviews; I really like what he has to say. Thanks again Binny.

 

[gkmacca]

Do Spurs really invest much less than LFC at this level? If so he did an even better job there than I thought.

 

[peterhague]

He's an impressive chap. Not just intelligent but unusually eloquent for a football man.

 

[gkmacca]

Yes, he gives the impression of someone who has a calm authority and already commands the respect of the players. He seems particularly good at working on each individual's development whilst keeping the team as a whole performing cohesively.

 

[King Binny]

As manager of Exeter City, Alex Inglethorpe became only the second manager to take a non-league outfit to Manchester United for an FA Cup tie and avoid defeat.

Must admit I forgot all about that (partly due to his 'disappearance' from 1st team managerial scene to youth football).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/e/exeter_city/4166313.stm

Exeter City manager Alex Inglethorpe was the toast of the nation when he steered his side to an amazing draw against holders Manchester United in a dramatic FA Cup tie at Old Trafford last week.

He will be in the spotlight again on Wednesday when United travel to St James Park for a much-anticipated replay.

Before last week, few had heard of Inglethorpe, 33, who only took charge of the Grecians in October and is in his first senior managerial post.

But to two of his former colleagues at Leyton Orient, Tommy Taylor and Martin Ling, Inglethorpe's success was no surprise.

Ling, the current O's manager, was Inglethorpe's team-mate for the duration of his five-year spell at Brisbane Road - and also gave him his first coaching post at a professional club when he made him Orient's youth team coach a year ago.

"When I played with him he was always mad keen for knowledge," Ling recalled.

"I'd played at a higher level than him in the Premiership and old Division One with Swindon, and he was hungry for ideas that I'd picked up to use as a player and a coach.

"When I gave him a job at Orient, it was because I knew him from our playing days and also I did my Uefa B Licence coaching badge with him.

"I thought he would be ideal to come in and teach our boys how to play correctly.

"I was learning the trade myself and I wanted someone in who was younger than me to work under me. Someone with a zest for learning - and Alex fitted the bill."

Inglethorpe spent nine months working with the O's youth team, and one of Exeter's heroes at Old Trafford - teenage goalkeeper Paul Jones - is on loan from Orient and worked under him there.

His youngsters topped the Youth Alliance South-East Conference during his tenure but in October last year Exeter came calling to hand him his first senior post.

"I didn't want him to go and I told him that, but he's a good friend and he asked for my advice," Ling added.

"I told him opportunities like that don't come along too often and that even though he was young it was a good move which could be a real springboard to learn off.

"I thought it would take him a little bit longer to settle in but he has got them up to fourth in the Conference which is a great achievement, and of course their FA Cup story is out of this world.

"I left a message on his phone after the United game saying 'you are the real Sir Alex now'.

"But when I spoke to him on Sunday, I told him 'beware'.

"Management is a real rollercoaster ride and he hasn't hit the downward slope yet. You learn a lot when you do.

"But he's a very level-headed lad and he won't let it go to his head. He told me he's expecting those bad times and he will be ready for them when they come."

Taylor, Inglethorpe's manager for four years at Orient from 1996-2000, remembers an intelligent player who was clearly planning his future in the dug-out from an early stage.

He told this website: "Alex was being played as an out-and-out centre-forward when I arrived but that wasn't his position.

"He was always better coming from deep - he was more comfortable there.

"He could read the areas to run into really well - he was a clever player, that was his strength.

"The thing about Alex was he always wanted to coach rather than play. He got his coaching badges early, and he stopped playing early in order to coach.

"He always wanted to do it which is the biggest thing. If you want to do well at something for a long time then you stand a better chance of succeeding at it."

Before his side's Old Trafford heroics, the biggest game of Inglethorpe's life was the 1999 Division Three play-off final at Wembley, when he came on as a half-time substitute against Scunthorpe, a game Orient lost 1-0.

Exeter's draw with United eclipsed that moment - and the replay at St James Park will be another day to remember for Inglethorpe, whatever the result.