4 Apr 2013

Aldo: Jordan Rossiter is the brightest prospect at LFC. Next Gerrard...?

Liverpool legend John Aldridge is excited about all the talent being developed at the Reds academy, but he believes one particular youngster is the most impressive of all.

When asked who he thinks is the 'brightest prospect at LFC's Academy', Aldo told the official LFC site:

"I like [Jordan] Rossiter. When he was 15 he was playing for the U18s, which is a tremendous accolade for the lad. He’s a great talent"

Aldo is not the only ex-Red who rates Rossiter. Liverpool icon Robbie Fowler believes the youngster has the potential to develop into the club's new talisman. He recently tweeted:

"A young lad is just about to come on for a few mins for Liverpool in [the] Nextgen - Jordan Rossiter. Big shout, but potentially a young Stevie G. He's a very good player"

Talk about raising expectations (!)

The 15-year old is LFC's U16 captain, and he also wears the captain's armband for the England U16 side, which is pretty impressive. Rossiter does not even have a bio page on the official LFC website at this stage, but I'm sure that will change very soon.

On the subject of Gerrard's retirement - In a recent interview with LFC Magazine, Gerrard hinted at a possible retirement date. He said:

"To have played at Liverpool for what will hopefully be 14 or 15 years by the time I finish and not win it [the league title] would be an awful shame"

Gerrard made his debut for Liverpool in November 1998, which - by his reckoning - would make his final season either 2012-13, or 2013-14 (injuries permitting).

That would give Gerrard a retirement age of 33 or 34, which seems quite young, but perhaps it's a subconscious admission that he doesn't have confidence in his fitness holding out any longer than that?

The arrival of Brendan Rodgers may chase Gerrard's outlook though. His fitness seems to be exponentially better this season, the Rodgers believes the captain can play on for many years yet:

"Can Gerrard play on into his late 30s? Absolutely, no question. Guys who do that like (Ryan) Giggs, (Paul) Scholes, (Gary) McAllister, it is not what they are doing now, it is what they have done earlier in their careers, when they were 17, 18, 19, 20"

It looks like Rossiter will be waiting a few years yet before he picks up the mantle.



Jaimie Kanwar


6 comments:

  1. Wow...with six the next Stevie G's at the club, how could we do anything but win the Premier League for the next two decades?? They best hand us the trophy now and save everyone the bother of showing up and paying their player's wages :-)

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  2. I reckon from what i have seen the kid is an immense talent but how many of these kids really make it?
    Hope for Liverpool he is the next Gerrard but i wouldnt be putting my money on it.

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  3. leave the kid alone stop putting undue pressure on him

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  4. Your Gerrard analysis regarding longevity in the game and comparing him to Giggs had me thinking about Owen and his take on fitness.

    Giggs' Career is older than the premier League and he is still playing on even though he became a regular like Owen before he was 20. Giggs had his fair share of injuries like Owen and you could also add Scholes into this since he is also still an active player but also started early and had his fair share of injuries.

    So it is a bit disrespectful of Owen to then claim his career would have been longer had he started at United when they also have a record of starting out young injury prone players.

    Owen may have played longer had he remained a one man club as Gerrard, Giggs and Scholes have shown by turning around their early injury troubles into long careers because they were consistently looked after by people who knew their medical history unlike Owen who is retiring at his 5th club.

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  5. Hi Vermhat..he is indeed a Liverpudlian...would be fantastic if he was the next local player to break through & be a big success..fingers crossed

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