Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Jordan Rossiter of Waterford (file pic).Ryan Byrne/INPHO The ex-Liverpool player aiming to rejuvenate his career in Ireland Jordan Rossiter reflects on his time in football and why Waterford has become the player’s latest destination. 9.01pm, 24 Aug 2025 Share options Paul Fennessy FOR ALMOST as long as he can remember, playing football has been all Jordan Rossiter has ever known. The midfielder, who came from an Everton-supporting family, spent over a decade at Anfield, joining when he was five years old and leaving at 19. It’s fair to say that had his career gone exactly as planned, he would not be lining out for Waterford in the League of Ireland at 28. But professional football is rarely straightforward, and Rossiter, to his credit, remains grateful for having the opportunity to do what he loves. The Liverpool native had an “unbelievable grounding” at his local club, working with “top coaches” at underage level, including Alex Inglethorpe and Steve Cooper. The sense of hype and expectation surrounding the youngster was considerable. Club legend Robbie Fowler in 2013 described Rossiter as “potentially a young Stevie G”. He also captained England at underage level and won Liverpool’s Academy Player of the Year award. Rossiter insists, however, that he never got carried away amid all this hoopla. “I like to think I’m a grounded type of person, and I never got too big with it all,” he tells The 42. “I don’t think my family or anyone around me at the time, including mates, would ever let me get ahead of myself.” At 17, Rossiter made the first of five appearances for Liverpool’s first team on 23 September 2014. It was a dream start, as the youngster scored with a superb finish from 30 yards out only 10 minutes into his debut in an EFL Cup tie against Middlesbrough, which Liverpool won on penalties after drawing 2-2. “It was a shock,” he says. “I’ve only got four or five goals in my career, and that was one of them.” The following season, Rossiter made three Europa League appearances in addition to his Premier League debut — coming off the bench in a 0-0 draw with Arsenal in their third game of the campaign at the Emirates. Steven Gerrard had left the Reds the previous summer, and Rossiter had dreams of succeeding him as Liverpool’s midfield star. He cites Jordan Henderson and James Milner as two others whose “intensity” and habits on and off the field he studied and tried to learn from at Liverpool — experience he now hopes to pass on to some of the younger players at Waterford. But significant injuries have intermittently hampered Rossiter’s career. Brendan Rodgers had high hopes for the youngster, but just days after Jurgen Klopp replaced the Antrim native as Liverpool manager, Rossiter suffered a hamstring injury on international duty that caused him issues for the remainder of that season. “Injuries happen in football, but unfortunately, it just felt like mine happened at the wrong time,” he says. “I was always professional and things like that, and that’s probably the most frustrating thing. “I was playing and involved most of my time at Liverpool under Brendan Rodgers, and he obviously left, and Jurgen Klopp came in, and then it was [like] starting again.” Brendan Rodgers gave Rossiter his Liverpool debut.Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo And amid the recurring setbacks, did Rossiter ever alter how he approached matches or training in an attempt to alleviate these problems? Advertisement “No,” he responds. “When you’re a younger lad, and you’re growing up, you’re playing a lot — I can’t ever remember missing a game from the age of six right the way through to 18 years of age, and maybe [it was a case of] a little bit of that catching up with me. “And obviously, your body’s changing, and you’re putting muscle on and things like that. And then the main injury I struggled with at Liverpool was [the result of] a bad tackle on my ankle, and I had to get ankle surgery.” Having previously thought he was “always” going to play for Liverpool, Rossiter’s time at the club “petered out”. It was clear he would have to seek first-team opportunities elsewhere, and after his contract expired, the teenager agreed a four-year deal at Rangers in May 2016. But injuries again hurt Rossiter’s hopes of establishing himself in the first team. He made 16 appearances over the course of two and a half years at Ibrox, but various calf, back, and hamstring injuries meant he never really got a sustained run of game time with the Scottish side. Rossiter was briefly reunited with Gerrard, who became the club’s manager during his stint there, before going on loan to Bury in League Two (helping them achieve promotion) and Fleetwood Town in League One, ultimately signing for the latter on a permanent deal. It was in these spells that Rossiter finally got a chance to play consistent first-team football. “[You come to understand] what the lower leagues are about — you’re playing for your bonuses,” he explains. “The older players who need to win every week and want to win for their mortgages and things like that.” Joey Barton, who had briefly played with Rossiter at Rangers, was manager of Fleetwood and is someone the young midfielder “learned loads off”. These days, Barton is best known for his controversial social media persona, and while Rossiter says he was similarly outspoken in the changing room, “80-90% of the lads who worked under him loved working under him”. Fleetwood was consequently the “best spell” of Rossiter’s career so far. He made 60 League One appearances and was appointed club captain during three campaigns there. The 2019-20 season was particularly galling. Fleetwood were in sixth position and two points off second after 35 games played when the season ended prematurely due to the pandemic. They still got into the play-offs by a points-per-game method before losing to Wycombe Wanderers 6-3 on aggregate in the semi-finals. But there was a prevailing feeling at Highbury, shared by Rossiter, that the club would have sealed promotion were it not for Covid stalling their momentum. “A small club like Fleetwood, getting into the Championship would have been unbelievable, one of the best EFL stories ever,” he adds. Jordan Rossiter celebrates scoring for Liverpool against Middlesbrough.Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Fleetwood never really recovered from that near miss and were relegated to League Two the season before last. Rossiter, meanwhile, ended up reunited with Barton, signing for Bristol Rovers in the summer of 2022. But this spell was less successful, with injury problems restricting him to 21 League One appearances over two seasons. In December of his first season, he underwent surgery on a knee issue that he expected to keep him out of action for four to six weeks. “Unfortunately, after the surgery, there was an infection — I got sepsis,” he recalls. “So then I was ill for quite a long time, and it ruined my time at Bristol Rovers.” Rossiter missed 16 months of football as a result, before returning towards the end of the 2023-24 season. “You’re in and out of the hospital, trying to flush out an infection that was going through my body,” he says. “It was a tough time; I was off my feet for two months, learning to walk again. “They were speaking about maybe my career being over and things like that.” Rossiter credits his inherent positivity as being key to recovering from this nightmare period. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m fighting a knee injury and an operation, and in the grand scheme of things, it’s tiny compared to what other people are going through in the world. “I was still getting paid to be a footballer. I was still contracted. So my job every day was just trying my best, making small steps to get back fit. “I just took in the fact that there are people a lot worse off than me in the world.” Despite being offered a new contract by Bristol Rovers, Rossiter instead joined League One rivals Shrewsbury Town on a one-year deal following a successful trial. After 15 league appearances, the midfielder spent the second half of the season on loan at Oldham Athletic, lining out 21 times for the National League side, including an appearance off the bench at Wembley, as the club were promoted via the playoffs. Jordan Rossiter hands the trophy to Manny Monthe after the Vanarama National League Playoff final.Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo After his contract with Shrewsbury expired, Rossiter signed for Waterford last month. First-team coach Danny Ventre, who had previously worked with the player at Bristol Rovers and seen what he’d been through, was instrumental to this latest move. John Coleman’s side are seventh in the Premier Division table but not out of relegation trouble yet as they sit five points clear of second-from-bottom Sligo Rovers, who beat them 2-1 on Friday night. Rossiter admits results so far have been “mixed” but is still targeting a “top five” finish with eight games remaining — a substantial challenge that was part of his reason for signing. The midfielder has made six appearances since joining, with two wins, one draw and three defeats during that period, including a disappointing FAI Cup exit at the hands of Munster rivals Cork City. Having spent the first couple of weeks in a hotel, Rossiter has just moved into an apartment that the club facilitated, with his family able to take a short flight over from Liverpool to visit him. “I was surprised by how good everybody is technically,” he says on his early impressions of the Premier Division. “A lot of the ball is played on the floor, and each team has a way of playing. “Most of my career has been played in League One, League Two and the National League recently. And sometimes it can go back to front a lot quicker than it does here.” Rossiter remains unsure whether he will be at Waterford long-term, but knows nothing in football can be taken for granted and is determined to make the most of this opportunity. “Every day, you just have to turn up with the right attitude and want to improve, because we’re lucky enough to be in this job,” he concludes. “We’re getting paid to kick a bag of air around over the weekend. And Monday to Friday, we get to come in and get paid to keep fit. A lot of people would love to be in that position. Millions of kids out there would [take] it in a heartbeat. So [I want to] enjoy every moment.” Paul Fennessy Viewcomments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “The ex-Liverpool player aiming to rejuvenate his career in Ireland”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “The ex-Liverpool player aiming to rejuvenate his career in Ireland”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy before taking part. Leave a Comment Submit a report Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines. Damaging the good reputation of someone, slander, or libel. Racism or Hate speech An attack on an individual or group based on religion, race, gender, or beliefs. Trolling or Off-topic An attempt to derail the discussion. Inappropriate language Profanity, obscenity, vulgarity, or slurs. Advertising, phishing, scamming, bots, or repetitive posts. Please provide additional information Thank you for the feedback Your feedback has been sent to our team for review. Leave a commentcancel Access to the comments facility has been disabled for this user View our policy ⚠️ Duplicate comment Post Comment have your say Or create a free account to join the discussion jordan rossiter League of Ireland Waterford United Freebeen a new york minute Four years after fairytale US Open title, Emma Raducanu finally wins again at Flushing Meadows 51 mins ago FreeDominant New Zealand start World Cup defence by downing battling Spain FreeRising Star Shortt rounds out stunning week in pool with another world junior gold medal Long road back Missed chances against Fulham expose endemic errors and Amorim's shocking United record Freeas it stands Vingegaard wins on Vuelta mountain to take overall lead Man United left frustrated by Fulham Bukayo Saka’s hamstring injury not expected to sideline him for a long time As it happened Ireland v Japan, Women's Rugby World Cup 'Absolutely total garbage' - Pat Ryan on Cork's rumoured half-time bust-up in All-Ireland final Ferguson tastes victory in impressive Serie A debut with Roma one for the books Argentina earn historic first home win over All Blacks with inspired performance more from us Investigates Daft.ie Property Magazine Allianz Home Magazine The 42 Sports Magazine TG4 Entertainment Magazine Money Diaries The Journal TV Journal Media Advertise With Us About FactCheck Our Network FactCheck Knowledge Bank Terms & Legal Notices Terms of Use Cookies & Privacy Advertising Competition more from us TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Journal Media Advertise With Us Our Network The Journal FactCheck Knowledge Bank Terms & Legal Notices Terms of Use Cookies & Privacy Advertising Competition © 2025 Journal Media Ltd Terms of Use Cookies & Privacy Advertising Competition Switch to Desktop Switch to Mobile The 42 supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and the Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at https://www.presscouncil.ie, PH: (01) 6489130, Lo-Call 1800 208 080 or email: mailto:info@presscouncil.ie Report an error, omission or problem: Your Email (optional) Create Email Alert Create an email alert based on the current article Email Address One email every morning As soon as new articles come online Sign in or create a free account To continue reading create a free account Or sign into an existing account