BRENDAN RODGERS: “That was part of my reflection when I left Reading, that I did veer from my philosophy under pressure for results, I wasn’t being true to myself. I can adapt and be pragmatic of course, but I had success all my life as a coach working with players and developing them in my way — which is not just the right or wrong way, but how I operate, what I’ve devoted my life to, what I’ve rehearsed a million times on the training field.”
———
The first question critics of Brendan Rodgers usually fire off is ‘what exactly is his philosophy?.’ It is the one that saw him, as Swansea manager, applauded off at Anfield in November 2011 before being appreciated again in the reverse fixture on the final day of that season.
It is explained in the 180-page dossier he submitted as he switched dugouts less than a month after that encounter. It was present when Liverpool, against all logic and expectation, were within touching distance of the 2013-14 Premier League title. The vision is one that “excited” Luis Suarez, “enhanced” Jordan Henderson and helped transform Raheem Sterling from a tricky winger, to a tactically astute £49million player. It’s the very philosophy which underpins the impressive work of Garry Monk and Eddie Howe. That is admired by Manchester City. And has the 42-year-old constantly mentioned as a future La Liga manager.
But it is certainly not what was witnessed against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Rodgers preaches intensity — suffocating opponents with and without the ball, attacking aggression, quick transitions and fearlessness. All those facets were AWOL on Saturday, and confusingly, it seems as though that was upon instruction. Liverpool were happy to let United play, and happy to contain them. Liverpool were happy to be Chelsea 2013-14, instead of Liverpool 2013-14.
When the season kicked off, it made sense for the club to prioritise results in the four games before the international break. New players and a different coaching set-up needed to settle, but not at the expense of points. The plan worked for a trio of those fixtures, but West Ham’s ballsy attitude undid that approach within three minutes at Anfield, and there was no answer. Only two more questions from the visitors. Plan B became Plan A, and Plan A is seemingly sunbathing on a tropical island.
It was meant to be all change after the two-week interval, with no better fixture to bring the house down than United away. Arms aloft at Old Trafford has never been easy. Liverpool have only won 16 league games at the ground in 119 years over 82 trips. But result aside, it was about putting in a performance that made everyone sit up and pay attention again — for the right reasons.
Instead, what we got was softer than melted brie. The Reds were painfully timid. Painfully inept. Painfully invisible. For much of the match, the enemy may as well have had a walking kickabout by themselves. A poor display from a poor United team still resulted in a no-sweat-required 3-1 triumph. How do you accept that? You don’t. You never do.
The club are stuck in a scenario where conceding one goal leads to letting in more, while everyone is as Lost as the TV series to where the response is going to come from. Philippe Coutinho can only supply so many worldies before he gets picked off. And the worse Liverpool are, the sooner that happens.
Annoyingly, the mistakes are a repetition of the start of last season. Slow, safe approach? Check. Waiting on Daniel Sturridge to dust off his cape and come to the rescue? Check. Enshrouding strengths and exposing weaknesses? Check. The tools to fix that depreciation were only unpacked in mid-December.
“I knew I needed to be radical because we were so far off from where we wanted to be,” admitted Rodgers.
“When things weren’t going so well, there was that period of thinking while trying to stem the flow, which was going a negative way.
“The way I work is about being innovative and creative. I can’t then go and watch my team go and slug out a result. We can do that. We’ve shown that but it doesn’t give me joy.
“I love the beauty of football. It’s why from a young age I’ve enjoyed seeing skilful players beat people. But also understand you have to work to defend well and be competitive.
“My natural environment is out on the training field and it was about putting in place something the players can fully believe in. You can see their belief in it and how it’s working.”
Listen to yourself, gaffer. Please.
It is now mid-September, and Rodgers desperately needs to revert to what he knows, what he is brilliant at, and what got him the Liverpool job. Not just before Christmas, now. Before it all turns into The Crisis. Before good players start believing they’re as shite as social media tells them. Before bad mistakes become certified habits.
The Northern Irishman reinvigorated the coaching staff during pre-season with Sean O’Driscoll and Pepijn Lijnders, two fellow exponents of brave, aggressive football in and out of possession.
“Playing safe maybe the easy option as it stops the onus being on players if they make a mistake, but how many ‘safe’ teams have won trophies over the years?” is a line from the former. And from Lijnders: “The first team wants players who are able to open up games and speed up the attack. We are working on a daily basis, individually and collectively, on those offensive, productive, creative and attractive qualities. With guts, courage, faith and a great heart, we look for fast individual and collective actions to get behind the defensive line.”
You’ve got three intelligent, innovative minds who oppose fearful football, and yet, that is exactly what Liverpool are serving up. That’s even before chucking in the influence of the respected Gary McAllister.
Finding new ways to win is not a negative, unless if in doing so, you are constantly shunning the route which has revealed success. The club spent £32.5m on a powerhouse with aerial prowess, yet have delivered less crosses into the box than any other team (15). There is too much that makes you scratch your head, and too less for your hands to applaud instead.
Supporters are losing faith, and for the majority, this statement is already in the past tense. Liverpool need to bring back the belief, and quick.
Rodgers’ “unswerving belief” in his way deserted him at Reading. It took a walk at the start of last season. Now, under more pressure than ever, it seems to have sidestepped him again.
“I want to see great attacking football with creativity and imagination, with relentless pressing of the ball.”
We want to see that again too, Brendan. Grab the wheel and make it happen.
[rpfc_recent_posts_from_category meta=”true”]
Pics: David Rawcliffe-Propaganda-Photo
A future La Liga manager at Getafe or Eibar. Little clubs with little expectation.
I’ve never seen a manager hyped up as much as Brendan Rodgers despite him winning nothing. He is a glorified Kevin Keegan with a lot more media training for endless self promotion.
Such a pity he doesn’t have Keegan’s dignity. Whenever he felt he’d done all he could or was falling short, Keegan resigned. We could be 14th by Xmas and Rodgers wouldn’t resign.
As for the article – better late than never. Welcome to the darkside Melissa. There are some things I disagree with. Like West Ham having a ballsy attitude at Anfield when all they did is sit deep and hit us on the break. Thats not ballsy. Its the least original, most pragmatic thing almost every club coming to Anfield for 25 years has dobe.
Like not realising Rodgers doesn’t have a philosophy – he came preaching 4-3-3 and death by football having adopted Martinez’s tactics at Swansea. It was crap, so we brought in Sturridge and Phil and he went sitting deep plus counter attacking. Then he changed it in 13/14 to be solid but after defeat at Hull he decided to go to a flat 4-4-2. We get murdered t Anfield by Villa and he switches to a high press and 4-4-2 diamond. That went well so naturally at the start of 14/15 he went for a slow paced, control the ball 4-2-3-1 which constantly left our striker isolated. It was crap and he changed to a no press 3-5-2. It was hit and miss so he changed it up and played 16 formations vs Villa in an FA Cup semi final. That didn’t work so he went to a false 9 with a high press a few times, which culminated in a 6-1 hammering at Stoke. Then at the start of this season he’s gone back to 4-2-3-1 but done it playing long ball football and again little pressing.
People are so gullible to think he has a philosophy because he talks about having one. Look at what Ive just written. That’s not the tactics of someone with a philsophy. That’s someone who is a charlatan and a chameleon.
A question though – why didn’t you complain about him abandoning his philosophy after the Stoke and Bournemouth games, when it was so noticeable Mignolet had been told to slow everything down, make sure the defence pushed up and kick a long ball to Benteke, when we’ve seen him play quick short passes to the full backs for years now? Instead you writing articles getting digs in at fans who still weren’t convinced by Rodgers. “The goals against column is looking pretty good lads” Yes it was, but the goals for column and chances created column were disastrous. Hows the goals against column looking now by the way?
The bottom line is that he’s a goner. He was a goner last season when the players found him out. They knew he was changing things so often as he didnt have the answers. Throwing shit at a wall hoping something would stick. Thats why the lads downed tools on him. Thats why this start to this season was so predictable.
He should have been sacked this summer and a Klopp or De Boer or Ancelotti or a Cocu brought in. We still have a chance of top 4 this season if FSG act now. Our squad is higely talented, the 7th most expensive in the world. We’ve seen how average Utd are, just like last season. But it’s likely FSG will wait until this season is a totally calamitous clusterfuck before pulling the trigger.
And they will pull the trigger. Its only a matter of when, not if. And even the die hard Rodgers loyalists now know this.
Hi Michael
Lots of good points there – the only thing I’d like to raise is your “even the die hard Rodgers loyalists now know this” at the end.
We seem to have got stuck on whether someone is a “Rodgers loyalist” or a “Rodgers hater”. Surely we’re all just Liverpool fans with different shades of view on whether a manager/player/owner is good for our club or not?
Swear down you’ve somehow defended him there. He sold his mate under the bus and brought in O’Drisscoll and we’re still ****. That in its self is a reason to get rid.
Brilliant Melissa. He is sadly lost.
Still the squad is imbalanced. Still he doesn’t seem to know his best team nor where and how to get the best from his signings.
I’d say his best team probably includes Henderson, coutinho and sturridge. His problem is coping without them
This charlatan has destroyed are credibility in Europe,and now he is turning his attentions towards the Premier League…GET RODGERS OUT NOW !!!
Things will soon be well, we just have to believe. Brendan Rodgers is still the right man for the job. Too many new faces, once the boys jel we are going to be unstoppable.
You’re getting desperate now Melissa. Gone is the certainty that Rodgers will get it right, gone is the cry that he needs time, remember your “take a breath” plea? Now it’s resorting to myth, e.g. ” the very philosophy which underpins the impressive work of Garry Monk and Eddie Howe”. Yes they praise his coaching skills but not his managerial skills as those have never won anything, apart from a play off final and got him the sack.
“Rodgers desperately needs to revert to what he knows, what he is brilliant at, and what got him the Liverpool job”. I assume you mean his two years at Swansea (it can’t be anything else). He inherited that Swansea side, one that played in a way devised by Martinez and reinforced by Sousa. Rodgers simply continued it, he brought nothing revolutionary to Swansea.
What saves Rodgers is the period from December 2013 to May 2014. However this was not his so called ‘death by football’, his possession manta. It was bursts of high intensity football, instinctive not coached and orchestrated by one truly world class player, one former world class player, one gifted striker and two young men destined for the top, ably supported by a hard working cast making up for a lousy defence able to concede goals at will.
What we have now is the unraveling of a simplistic philosophy, held by an inexperienced manager who was relatively untested in high level combat, and it shows.
FSG bought into a belief that Rodgers was a hugely talented manager, so talented that experience was not really important. That he was so talented that an equally inexperienced coaching staff was not a problem. He didn’t even need a Director of Football he was that good. Well as we have seen, once the components of his brief time in the limelight either left or spent copious time on the treatment table he has little to offer, indeed his attempts to replace the elements that brought him so much approbation have been a factor in his demise – the worst transfers in and out I have seen in 50 years.
His time is up Melissa, let him go and look forward to a new regime, one which has a winner at its head and heart, not a philosopher whose dossier, however long, lacked too many important chapters. Over to you FSG.
There might be some good ideas in there, but reading your comments was like wading through treacle. What’s more, you lost me at the old “we had a title run purely on the back Suarez” chestnut. Firstly Suarez was a gifted, but highly inefficient, striker until BR got hold of him. You can have a go at Rodgers for a lot of things, but if you don’t see that he built the perfect system to exploit the talents of a man dubbed “talented but incredibly wasteful” by every pundit in the UK until 2013-2014, you’re not worth trying to convince. Secondly, one of the best individual seasons I’ve seen in recent years was Bale the year before going to Real. He had 6 game winning goals in the final ten minutes of matches. Funny though, Tottenham didn’t make a title run that year. I’m with you when you say we should be considering a change, and that the time is right to look at Klopp and Ancelotti, but I still find the baying for blood of a section of diluted
fans to be nauseating.
“I still find the baying for blood of a section of diluted fans to be nauseating.”
Spot on.
Snap. One surefire way to help things crash and burn is to join the trigger-happy crew seemingly delighted that each loss brings closer a change in manager. The fact is that if Rodgers fails at the job, he will be sacked. And the other fact is that despite the collective frothing at the mouth, it is still too early to say *definitively* that we have reached that stage – not after the backing in the summer and the expenditure on new players. Maybe the point of no return will come in October, maybe in February, maybe sometime in 2022, but we are not there yet. The idea that anyone putting forward some objectivity on this is a pro-Rodgers diehard is bollocks. It’s about trying to get a sense of perspective and keeping the faith. I don’t like the results at the moment, nor the style of play, and many of the decisions baffle me. But that doesn’t mean chopping and changing five games in. If his reign ends, it ends, and we then hope that the new guy is the Messiah. Some of the comments on this site lately belong on teenage messageboards.
Are you suggesting that Rodgers taught Suarez how to finish? Those 81 goals at Ajax. Should we chalk them up to Rodgers’ tutoring as well. Suarez had a cold streak adjusting to a new league on a mediocre team. Then he found the form he’s always had in his career. “BR got a hold of him.” It would be insulting if not for the comic absurdity.
Did you actually see some of those goals Suarez scored? The only one who could teach him out do that would be Merlin.
@Oneyindzebra: I agree that it’s incredibly unfair not to give BR any credit or as little as the Suarez theory is giving him for 13/14, but wow! Is your assessment of pre-BR Suarez worthy of a Brendan Apologist t-shirt or what? (And yes. I have read the last bit of your comment as well. You still deserve that t-shirt. Or ten.)
Liverpool was a club you use to look forward to watching, they high tempo game the amount of chances they created in a game they will to fight to the end but now it’s changed. They boring u Wana put the TV off after about 10 minutes into the game to b honest I rather watch crystal palace. Fsg is to blame they don’t Wana buy top players, all they want are kids. The previous owners loved the club they brought in top talent they won trophies, fsg feels that they can’t match the big boys so we can bring in kids build a squad to compete similar to what arsenal did 5 years ago and that is y Arenal never win the league in 15 years
Lol, FSG dont scout any players. Rogers and the so called committee do. Dont blame FSG for others spunking the cash they get given. Plus, we have had way less talented squads and played better. There are teams, right now in the Premier League with way less talent in their squad that are playing better. Do not, for one second shift the blame onto FSG purely because Rogers is making a mockery of Liverpool. I blame him solely, Hes had 4 years to build his squad, even after the dogshit of a season he served up last season he is being given another year, with more backing from FSG than any other manager.
15 points from the last 14 games. In a poor style (except vs Arsenal). Good players. A poor league except for City . Loads of money spent . Finished 4 points above Stoke City. ANY REASONABLE MANAGER- RESPECTED OR LIKEABLE- WOULD DO AS WELL AS BR WITH BR’s PLAYERS !
If Rogers is not capable of doing better for us, and getting us into top 4 then he must do the sensible thing and resign…step over for someone who thinks they are capable
Oh! I was going to write something here but words are beginning to fail me!
The only word that keeps coming to mind is “outstanding”! How many times have we heard that after a dismally abject performance? You just can’t defend the indefensible and certainly not by using words like “outstanding”.
It wasn’t a foul? Inexperience led to the penalty? Whose inexperience?
I see comments on here which demonstrate that contributors have more than just a vague idea about how football works.I’m not talking about Smart Alec’s who say we should have bought this player or that player.Just about people who are puzzled about trying to implement a style of play which appears to be totally unsuitable to the players we have.
We see it.We watch it and study it.We make allowances for individuals.But we remain puzzled about midfielders,defenders and strikers playing out of position.
I for one just simply don’t understand anything at all about “reverse wingers” “false number 9’s”, “inverted diamonds”.What’s that all about?
But in some ways I’m just as smart as some of the Managers in the Prem.For example I know that Mignolet is a good shot-stopper but woeful with distributing with his feet or his hands.I’ve worked out that our defenders don’t know how to play a pass forward quickly.I’ve discovered that most players ahead of the half-way line receive the ball when they are isolated and not supported.
Hold on a minute! I’m giving too much away here.How much does that job pay? £5 Million a year.Get me an Application Form.I’ll do it for £4 Million a year!
Here’s my C.V.: I’ve got an outstanding record in analysing players.I’ve got outstanding experience in creating voodoo full-backs and I was the one who sent all my players out wearing a number 4 shirt to confuse the opposition.Well O.K. it worked till one of the number 4’s got a red a red card and the whole team was sent-off but the concept was “outstanding”!
Can you tell I’m bored with all this?
Outstanding comment..excellent.
Brendan Rodgers:Falling asleep at the wheel?
He hasn’t even got the keys to the car.
That’s probably a good job as he must be permanently drunk (or high) given his bananas decision making over the last 12 months
Rodgers is now Friedrich Paulus in a Stalingrad of his own making. I can only see more pain and ignominy for the fans before the bitter end.
The Brendan that walked in in 2012 and cast Carroll aside immediately wouldn’t recognise how his team tried to play at Old Trafford. 10 players that deep and passive then launching it to Benteke to get on the end of his own flick ons?
Gary Neville alluded to it on commentary, but the way we pass it round the back with those two centre backs and that keeper is mad. He’s had 3 years to buy players in who can cope with those demands and we’ve still got fellas who are as shaky on the deck as you’ll ever see at that level (Mignolet’s roll out was back to self-parody again).
Not a soccer fn here but my gf from Liverpool is. We live in the USA and I can’t tell u where ur problems start and end. FSG. They are not soccer fans much like as all Americans. Johns passion is baseball the guy is even known to sit in on the hiring trading process of players coaches etc that hiw much he loves baseball and he knows the game like the back of his hand do he takes a lot of decisions himself. Now to lfc and soccer. The man knows diddly he just wants your club as a purely financial assets. I’m sorry but facts prove it. Your manager would not be in a job on either side of the pond at any “big” sporting franchise. Yet he stays safely at lfc. Why? Fsg are looking at your club financially and the books are prob decent right now so fsg don’t care either way. You think social media pleas will sway fsg? John is a ruthless fella he doesn’t care about puny lfc fans. Red sox fans he identifies with them so he listens. You want to be heard reds fans? Stop going to games. Less revenue is all John cares about regarding your club. Either that or find yourselves new ownership, preferably soccer fans who want to win at your sport. Good luck!
Why are you trolling a Liverpool fan site? Is this how pathetic your life is?
Hi Andy
Thanks for your input. I’m not sure if you’re right or wrong but the things you have highlighted have been on my mind for a while now. It would be interesting to shine the spotlight onto the ownership and some stage and try to take a balanced view of how they are running the club.
Cheers Andy,
A few years ago the majority of lads who go to most of our away games and all home matches were marching through the Liverpool streets because our club looked like it was going into administration. The club ended up on the court steps in London after a massive online cmapaign and fan groups putting pressure on our previous owners (long story made short).
We now have a much more balanced spreadsheet and a new stand actually being built..!
Of course the people who want the gaffer sacked after half a dozen matches and are desperate for another change of ownership who want to win the Prem NOW (we’ve never won it btw) forget all this.
How I would have loved fan ownership to be an option, unfortunately people were too busy slagging off our old manager (Mr Benitez) to get together and form a viable option for fan ownership.. (See AFC Liverpool for more details) apart from SOS who attempted to gain interest.
So here we are. Sack the manager, get new owners.
Moder day soccer eh.
Excuse me Oscar i must correct you on a point. WE HAVE WON THE EPL/PREM title. 18 TIMES to be exact. Or do you think a name change, changes everything? Then i guess Real madrid have, what, won the newly minted Champions league only like 3-4 times and not the record 9 times? After all the rest of their titles were under the old EUROPEAN CUP name.So, again we have FACTUALLY won the EPL title 18 times. However, we havent won the title for 25 plus years, no arguments there. As shakespeare said “A rose by any other name, is still a rose”. Our 18 titles are still 18 titles, they are still worth their value in gold, and no amount of name-changing will ever change that:_)
The name change DID change everything Will. Its when the rot started at Liverpool, its when we got our business all wrong and instead of capitalising on all our league titles and european success we let those fuckers from down the east lancs rd overtake us.
Our 18 titles are from a different era and the longer we go the less and less theyre worth – especially to the kids of today.
The way I see it we have two options 1) We get owners similar to Chelsea or City and spend big without giving a toss about the balance sheet or 2) Think outside the box and try to get a a manager to unite the club and take us forward.
Rafa nearly did it and if it wasn’t for those two twats he could have taken us further. BR was the gamble, one that’s looking like it may be lost – unfortunately.
Our supporters are going to be caught in a catch 22 for a long time unless they learn to support the manager and give him time – becuase if Klopp comes in now and doesn’t do anything in 18 months… guess what…
I have never understood why Rodgers has been allowed to serve his managerial apprenticeship at one of the top 5 clubs in world football. FSG got the club on the cheap and are running the club in a similar way . The buying policy is a annual gamble and letting your best players go every season will dilute an already weakened force in world football.
Check the table. We are 3 points off 3rd place. Coutinho coming back. Sturridge coming back. Henderson coming back. Hopefully, Sakho coming back.
I am in the same boat as Melissa (I think). Rodgers has a win ratio of 61.19% with Sturridge in the side (41-14-12). For me, that represents the presence of a first class striker. For those who think Suarez did it all himself, Sturridge scored 11 goals during the 10 game ban. Now we will have two first rate strikers in the side – and Firmino scoring 1 in 3 over the last 3 seasons.
Like Melissa (I think), I feel everything is in place in potential for Rodgers to have a successful season. But doubts are beginning to creep in as to whether or not he will actually employ those resources. The persistence with Lovren over Sakho makes me nervous in the extreme.
I don’t want him to fail so he’ll leave. I want him to continue upon the 36-12-9 record from January 2013 to May 2014. Just pick right up from where Sturridge got injured this time last year. The players he’s picked up this summer seem ideal for his aggressive philosophy, particularly in the diamond formation.
The time to hesitate is through. No time to wallow in the mire.
Try now we can only lose, and our love become a funeral pyre.
Come on Rodgers, light my fire.
If Sturridge is so important why do the club constantly undermine him with leaks about his attitude? And who is the source of those leaks?
Is this some sort of “stay the course” torture-chamber?
A manager who’s only successful when all his best players are healthy and in form at the same time is not much of a manager.
Anyway, my own ‘par’ for the first 5 matches was 8. We have 7. Not the end of the world. And, at 1-0 (the defending organization/setup for that free-kick was PECULIAR, btw) we had four glorious chances to equalize. If one of them goes in, we’re in like Flynn.
And who can only succeed without the distraction of Europe as he needs a whole week with his players…..doesn’t really work for big clubs Brendan..
Time to chuck the sun will shine tomorrow,Pollyanna logic.The game’s up
OK so what happens with Sturridge comes back? Does he get shunted out wide? Does Benteke get benched? Do we see the diamond and then Gomez and Clyne leave the sides of the terrible CBs and then best case is we’re back to trying to win 5-3?
I just have no faith in this manager, and I don’t think I’m alone. He’s not once carried a plan through the season. He always has to make some drastic adjustment because he got it so far wrong the first time. And it’s always different than the year before, so even your returning players don’t have a clue what’s going on for the first 10 games.
If he’s going to be fired, I hope it’s soon before he puts the season in the dumpster.
“Check the table. We’re only x amount of points off 4th.”
“We have Sturridge coming back soon – everything will be fine when he returns.”
It hasn’t crossed your mind those exact same comments were made this time last year and for months on end?
Don’t hold your breath over either hendo or studge. Hendo off to USA for remedials and studge? well how long will his comeback last this time?
We should check whether Fredrieck Paulis has any kin living in or around In Formby.If so, perhaps start a book club or such and invite Brendan. Quietly inform him of old Freddie’s fuck ups, that should do the trick.
God help him he’s just not that bright.
He fancies himself an innovative pragmatist but what’s he’s shown to be is a man without a plan. He reacts and eventually he figures something out, but by then it’s far too late. He’s not proactive, he isn’t able to execute on a pre-made plan for the season. And then he really does sound like David Brent with the shite he says. Doesn’t give you joy? Do one.
From tiki-taka to diamond super-counter to 3 at the back to 4-5-1 (no way you can say LFC has played with 3 actual wide forwards at any point).
Won’t play his best center back, doesn’t have a single left footed player on the left side, favors Rossiter over Teixeira for Europa, is the last person on earth thta hasn’t figured out Lovren stinks.
The first two goals against Man U were classic Rodgers. Shoddy set piece work has been a hallmark of his tenure, and the 2nd was down to overloading an 18 year old out of position fullback, and a left side center back that was nowhere to be found.
Sakho and Moreno could cover so much more ground and be more effective getting forward. Moreno may not be that reliable in defense, but after giving up 6 goals in 2 games, can you really say what you have now is working?
Getting to where I’m not sure if winning and losing is good or bad, because Rodgers is never winning anything and it’s highly unlikely he ever gets the fans back. And if he hasn’t already lost the locker room, that will go next.
Let’s make one thing clear, I was as disappointed as anyone wth the performance at Old Trafford. The lack of passion and drive was unbelieveable. I was the most depressed as I have been for many a year watching my beloved Reds.
Now, a few days on, I was thinking about things in a broader scale.
Confidence is a precious thing, especially in football and it is clear we have lost ours. A few good results and it can be back. Confidence means the differernce between having some great players intermingled with some average players and still getting good result or lots of average players intermingled with some great players and getting poor results.
Perceptions change quickly.
Take the Man U team. Replace Firmino (sorry – not shown much at all) with Coutinho, Ings with Sturridge and Lucas or Can with Henderson (albeit in a more attacking role) and you have a very different Liverpool.
I am not defending Rodgers, in fact my patience is as thin as it has ever been with the Manager, but I am willing to let our best players return and if results improve, as I believe they will, then we will have our confidence back which will make all the difference.
And if that happens, we will be back to having great players with some average players. The difference will be those average players will simply play better as their confidence grows with the teams.
Im sure the players were very confident after the first 3 games. Im sorry, but thats just an excuse. Rogers chose to employ this defensive set up and it was doomed from the start. The way we played at Stoke? The way we played against Bournemouth? That performance at Old trafford was no different to the other two. We just got pumped this time….Not because the players werent confident
What he says doesn’t represent what he actually does or what is actually happening
Says we should’ve worked the ball to the side against West Ham – had two no.10s out wide and a right footer at left back
Says he made a mistake compromising his philosophy at Reading when the pressure was on – does exactly the same right now
Says he laments the lack of creativity in the team – Plays a striker out wide and sits back
He has lost the plot, if the next few weeks doesn’t improve then we should pull the trigger to save our season
A few people saying “we are only 3 points off 4th”. Point is we are 3 points off already after only 5 games, how many points are we going to be off 4th after 10 games? 20 games? FSG made a massive balls up in not getting rid of Brendan in the summer, they won’t sack him though because of the unequivocal backing they gave him; they won’t want to make themselves look foolish. The only way BR goes is if he resigns, and that won’t happen because the man’s ego is just far too big!
Had it not been for a wonder strike from wee Phil Coutinho, and a goal that should have been chopped off, we would be sitting without a win so far this season.
Coupled with the results at the end of last season, including the Stoke debacle, the signs are not good.
Had it not been for the wonderful season when we went so close to winning the league, he would have been sacked by now. He got a lot of credit for that, and rightly so. But we are a long, long way away from those performances just now.
The performances don’t live up to the attacking persona, and some of the selections and decisions are mind boggling.
Why doesn’t Sakho get a game?
Why was Markovic sent out on loan?
Why not give Moreno more than 5 minutes on the wing at the end of each game?
The October international break is on the horizon. If things don’t improve by then, we need to make a change.
I agree he’s fallen asleep at the wheel. If we are to believe the “tactical genius” rhetoric, how can it be that we have only one winger (Ibe), loan out Markovic and then try and play 4-3-3 requiring two wide men ?
It could be so different. the players are not all bad but need playing in the right positions. We should not hang our hopes on one player but play to the strengths of the ones we have.
What is so wrong with playing 4-4-2 with a diamond midfield ? When the players available suit it, why can’t the manager recognise it, play that system and benefit from so of the good talent he has at his disposal ?
Mignolet
Clyne, Gomez, Sakho, Moreno
Can
Milner, Henderson
Firmino (Coutinho)
Benteke, Ings (Sturridge)
With that line-up in his mind, the question is how to cope with Henderson’s injury. All the players are suited to their positions. They all know what to do.
Instead we get Ings and Firmino as wide men…..
Brendan has run out of buses and people to throw underneath it. BR constantly plays the wrong players in the “wrong Position”, wrong tactics and he instils no passion.
Sahako should be playing, simple as. Brendan has done nothing to show me he has learnt from last season. I want him to succeed but I cant see it. After Arsenal we should have pushed on with a passion, but again, flat no idea game at West Ham.
I was born in 1986 so I don’t remember Alex Ferguson’s beginnings at Man U. I have read a little about him recently because I was interested to see how it began for him. He was 7 years older than Rodgers when he took over at Man U. He brought the team from 21st to 11th in his first season 86/87. He then finished 2nd the season after 87/88. Where did it go from there? He finished 11th again in 88/89 and was just outside the relegation zone in 89/90. According to the ever reliable Wikipedia a banner was displayed during the 89/90 season declaring: “Three years of excuses and it’s still crap… ta-ra Fergie.” As a reminder, his first league title was in 92/93.
Do you think that with technological advances giving us the ability to have everything right now we have grown less accustomed to waiting for something to grow into something beautiful? Ferguson had what at the time just looked like a blip when he finished 2nd in between two years of finishing 11th. They were almost relegated the year after that. Look what they grew into. Granted, I haven’t used enough numbers to tell the entire story, and that’s mostly ‘cos I don’t have them. Still, the numbers I do have are interesting.
Understandably times have changed. The longer we wait the richer the top 4 clubs become and the harder it is to break into the top four. If we sack the manager now though who can predict the next time we have as much fun as 13/14? How sure are we that another manager can deliver that? Rodgers did it once. Why can’t he do it again?
Ferguson had outrageous trophy laden success at Aberdeen over a 6 year period on his CV. Rodgers has winning a playoff final and a 12th place finish in the premier league over a 2 year period on his. This renders your comparison (I’ll be kind here) a nonsense.
“How sure are we that another manager can deliver that? Rodgers did it once. Why can’t he do it again?”
He can’t do it again because Luis Suarez plays for Barcelona.
Rodgers may or may not leave. That is not up to me and therefore my opinion in influencing this is minimal at best. Considering FSG backed him this summer despite the vast majority of fans wanting him gone, I’d say that I’m at least somewhat right about that. I do concede that if an entire fan base (or even half) turns against a manager, he usually gets sacked but results usually dictate that with fans and owners responding as such.
HOWEVER
I disagree with those that consider him a fraud/charlatan etc. he has proven in the time that he has been a manager that he at least has some nous about him. Former players (including Gerard who has had no qualms in criticizing managers he has previously worked with) have praised his methods and results. there are a few number of managers from a select few clubs who have even won anything in the past few seasons so I would argue that that is not a fair criticism of him. It may be enough to call him a ‘mid-table manager’ but fake? To say the performances in 13/14 was only down to our ‘world class players’ is to say that Pep is only good because he has/had Messi, Iniesta, Pique, Muller, Robben as his players. Surely you need at least a good manager to get the best of your players or at least to set them up right.
Criticize Rodgers all you want. He deserves it. Results have been poor and I’m as furious as any of you. But a charlatan and a fake? Stop it.
Sometimes managers don’t work out at clubs anymore for various reasons. I for one would not be surprised that if he was sacked, he will eventually win something with a different team. And there are a few desperate teams with aging managers looking for replacements in the next few years. You know who they are.
As a Liverpool fan I’d be over the moon with Rodgers as manager of Arsenal or Utd. They immediately become weakened for the 18 months he’d be there before getting sacked and we’d be almost guaranteed champions league football. Alas this won’t happen as no top club will touch him when FSG pull the trigger. He’ll be at Sunderland or West Ham or do a Moysie and go to a mid tier club abroad.
I am as furious as most on here, more so for the total absence of any passion or belief than the result. However, I am not going to vent (much).
I just want to ask one question of those who believe in/trust Brendan. What is going on at left back?? We dont suddenly have an injury crisis, We have a player who (not good enough) is being shunted out the door Jose and a player that Brendan clearly doesnt rate Alberto. This was known at the end of last season so effectively we have started this without a left back, no wonder we are so unbalanced. Why was this ignored? This incompetence alone is a sackable offence.
NB. Unless the plan is to play Flanno (who may never come back/be any good – remember he too was swept along with the euphoria 13/14). I keep on feeling a cold shudder when I remember Brendan saying we were without some of our top players ‘Sturridge, Flanno…’ when we were struggling last year!!