I got thinking about this the other day when reading one of the Sterling threads and wondered whether you could find one player that would define a manager's stay at a particular club.
At Liverpool it's been all too easy recently - Gerrard was such a force of nature that he would have to be a defining player even if the manager didn't want him to be. Take Rafa, for example, if you were to pick a player that defined his philosophy and how he wanted the game to be played, it'd be Xabi Alonso, but still Gerrard dominated his tenure - the big moments, the finals, the where should he play discussions and so forth.
Gerrard has largely faded into the background (relatively speaking) over the last few seasons and so for Rodgers it is definitely someone else. It's tempting to pick Suarez for all the obvious reasons but I feel like he was his own man more than Rodgers and left prematurely. I'm more inclined to go for Sterling for a number of reasons:
1) He bridges the gap between the game Rodgers came to Liverpool supposedly wanting to play (possession based) and the game he's had the most success with (attacking with pace.
2) Rodgers has demonstrated through his team selections that he will not do without him and has placed his trust in him to play in multiple teams.
3) Perhaps most importantly, I think for the past couple seasons (even with Suarez and Sturridge firing on all cylinders) he's papered over the failings in the transfer market massively.
4) His potential departure will say more about us I think than Suarez's.
What do you guys think? Who would it be for other managers?
At Liverpool it's been all too easy recently - Gerrard was such a force of nature that he would have to be a defining player even if the manager didn't want him to be. Take Rafa, for example, if you were to pick a player that defined his philosophy and how he wanted the game to be played, it'd be Xabi Alonso, but still Gerrard dominated his tenure - the big moments, the finals, the where should he play discussions and so forth.
Gerrard has largely faded into the background (relatively speaking) over the last few seasons and so for Rodgers it is definitely someone else. It's tempting to pick Suarez for all the obvious reasons but I feel like he was his own man more than Rodgers and left prematurely. I'm more inclined to go for Sterling for a number of reasons:
1) He bridges the gap between the game Rodgers came to Liverpool supposedly wanting to play (possession based) and the game he's had the most success with (attacking with pace.
2) Rodgers has demonstrated through his team selections that he will not do without him and has placed his trust in him to play in multiple teams.
3) Perhaps most importantly, I think for the past couple seasons (even with Suarez and Sturridge firing on all cylinders) he's papered over the failings in the transfer market massively.
4) His potential departure will say more about us I think than Suarez's.
What do you guys think? Who would it be for other managers?
