Former Liverpool starlet Conor Masterson saw a lot.
During his time at the club, he played under Brendan Rodgers and Jurgen Klopp and sat on the bench for the home tie of the Manchester City Champions League clash.
I interviewed the QPR man about his time at Anfield, the differences between both his former managers and the feeling he got when fans made him like ‘like a God’.
This is the second part of a three part series. Read part one here.
You bridged the period from Rodgers to Klopp. I know you were in the Academy, but can you provide any insight into what life was like in the Academy during that time?
Academy players did get a chance under both managers and we played different football under Rodgers, but I really liked the way he ran the club. Plus, he brought me up when I was 16 and 17 so I was really, really enjoying it.
He had a lot of top players at the time, he was a really good manager and I think he got unlucky because Liverpool didn’t win the league that year and he lost Luis Suarez, Steven Gerrard was coming near the end and that killed Rodgers a little bit, if I’m honest.
I wouldn’t say there was much difference, but the way Klopp has the team so together is remarkable. They’re like, as he said, mentality monsters, and definitely when I went to train you could feel how much it meant to each player and that’s why they’re doing so well. Each player helps each other, they’re all in it together and there’s one goal.
It’s remarkable when you see Klopp and the way he handles the players and his man management is really good.
“Everyone was buzzing when they saw him coming in.”
You liked Rodgers, he brought you into the fold, and then he leaves and you were probably a bit concerned in case the next manager didn’t fancy you. What did you think when you saw Klopp was announced?
Everyone was buzzing when they saw him coming in, we all thought we could get a chance and he gave me a chance – I was just a bit unlucky. But, I think he’s the best manager in the world and rightly so because of what he’s doing with Liverpool.
You never went on loan while at Liverpool and had made a few first team squads. At what point do you start to think you’ve got a chance of being a squad player?
To be honest I did want to go on loan, but the club didn’t want me to because they felt I was close to the first team and I would get my chance.
I was just unlucky to get a bad injury at a bad time. That was the biggest thing, I got a bad injury at a bad time – because I was breaking into the squad and playing preseason, so everyone would have been seeing me but I got a bad injury and that’s life sometimes and you just have to deal with it.
You made the squad for a Champions League game. Can you describe that experience and what it taught you?
Ah listen, at the time it was massive and City were doing really well. It was such a big game, and to be involved in that! I just remember walking around an hour before the game and the stadium was nearly full already. It just felt… even on the bus coming in, Allez Allez Allez was being chanted.
I’ve never witnessed it… I felt like a God on the bus, you know what I mean? It was just unbelievable. I’ve never felt anything like that before. Just to be involved, even on the bench, just to be involved it was an unbelievable night. On the biggest stage as well, it was crazy. It was just crazy.