It’s the comparison that no Liverpool fan wanted to hear.
The one thing you must not do on a first date, or in the early stages of a relationship, is talk about your ex.
It’s a major buzz kill and especially if things did not end well.
So Steven Gerrard really should know better than to drag Brendan Rodgers’ name into a conversation about the clean sweep that Jurgen Klopp is trying to perform at Anfield.
The German is seen as a new voice, a new hope and very different to his character-obsessed predecessor.
But the ex-Liverpool captain, who is now back training at Anfield, told the Evening Standard that he feels that Klopp and the Antrim man share more than few similarities, especially in their early days at the club.
“What Jurgen has done is what Brendan did when he first came in which was to try and release that pressure and expectation away from the players and let them play. He is trying to crack the shell to let them come out and express themselves.”
Gerrard must have a short memory as Rodgers’ first season in charge of Liverpool saw them depend almost entirely on Luis Suarez until Christmas and the purchase of Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho to bolster the squad.
It wasn’t exactly a joy to watch and it was the beginning of Rodgers addiction to the word ‘character’ too.
The former club captain also admits that the pressure in the final days under Rodgers last season was almost too much to take for the players.
“Towards the end of the time with Brendan, you could see there was a lot of frustration in the crowd and I think that was transmitting to the pitch. The players were very tense and nervous and I certainly felt that towards the end of last season. That is normal when results are not going well.”
