I don't want to be negative on Rodwell, because I genuinely think the boy is going to be class. The key word there is "going", however.
He played well on Wednesday, spraying simple passes quickly like people say. However, the holding position is a very difficult position to play most weeks, but actually it wasn't a very difficult position to play against Liverpool.
There are obviously two sides to this position. One is keeping the ball moving, playing simple passes to your more skillful teammates, but doing it quickly so the attack doesn't get bogged down. Makele/Flamini were just brilliant at this - they hardly ever put a first time pass astray. As good as he was, this was Carsley's weakness.
But the other side is defensive. And it isn't just making the occasion tackle, it's all about decisions. Do you close down the opposition high up the pitch? Get that wrong and the ball is flicked round you, leaving the defence exposed. Don't do it and you just invited the opposition on. Do you close down on the edge of the area? If you do, you risk being beaten or conceeding needless free kicks. If you just stand off; well, Rodwell now knows that if you let David Dunn shoot from there he can score. And if there are two opponents around you, which one do you pick up?
In my view, this is why you don't get teenage holding midfielders. You get teenage strikers, teenage wingers, teenage playmakers, teenage goalies, teenage full backs and sometimes (though less so) teenage centre backs. But name the best teenage holding midfielder in the world?
In other positions, athletic or technical ability are enough to justify a first team spot. You can make bad decisions and make up for them with natural talent. You can't do that in the holding role - you are not being asked to do anything special, but you are being asked to make the right decision again and again and again.
And on Wednesday, in the absence of Gerrard and with 10 men, Liverpool didn't make Rodwell make choices. They didn't attack. Gerrard didn't suddenly arrive from deep, making Rodwell decide who to mark. Torres didn't drop into midfield. As a team, they didn't break quickly, making Rodwell decide whether to try to steal the ball early or play safe.
But, generally, teams will makes Rodwell make those choices in the Premier League. And, like every other 17 year old in the world, he's going to make mistakes. Remeber he's only been playing this position for 18 months.
IMO, he's going to be great. But don't demand he starts games, because he just isn't ready - we've seen that this season, and one half of football against a team sitting back doesn't change that. As I said, teenagers just don't play this position - they make their names at around 21, but even then they aren't the finished article. Rodwell is remarkably ahead of the curve, but he isn't going to be a first team regular for a couple of years at least. No need to put undue pressure on the lad. If he doesn't break into the first team until 2013, he still wouldn't count as a slow developer.
