6 Comments

1. 

   Mark Harrington on 5 October 2015 at 6:10 pm

   Nice one going with the subscription show on such a day. Hopefully a nice boost with the news.

   Reply
2. 

   Andrew Jones on 6 October 2015 at 6:03 am

   At 7.49 it sounds like your recording in the back office of a hotel and someone has rung the bell to check in!!.

   Good pod again.

   Reply
3. 

   Brownie on 6 October 2015 at 8:02 am

   Nice one.

   Still disagree with Simon that Brendan was given enough time (3 and bit years, having to sell your best places, not being backed to get the players you want in, a net spend of around 25mill each year after inheriting a shite squad if not a shite team, got us as close as anyone has in 25 years to fulfilling a job description which would appear to run along the lines of: “beat four of the seven riches clubs in the world to win the EPL our you’re out”) but this is fast becoming an old debate. It’s done. I strongly suspect that whoever we get in this time around we’ll be sat here in 3 years time discussing the exit of LFC’s lastest manager for failing to work a football miracle, but until then it’s time to get behind the team and the new guy.

   I’d also say that whilst I broadly agree with the guys’ ideal profile for a LFC manager – charismatic, engaging, slightly out of leftfield and rebellious, etc. – it should be noted that our most successful manager since we last won the title – Rafa – was none of those things. The reality is that all the Shankly-esque qualities in the world won’t save the new guy if – when? – the results fail to match the la-la-land targets set by ‘the-greatest-fans-in-the-world’ (sic).

   If they have to, they will clip Klopp.

   Try the veal.

   Reply
4. 

   Andrew Jones on 6 October 2015 at 9:03 am

   Brownie: Just as an aside, he only sold 2 of our best players didnt he? And even then he didnt have to sell, both players agitated for moves. It’s not as if we had brilliant players leaving in droves.
   I wish BR the best but it was time for him to go. 3 and a half years, 18 months since 6 hectically great months, its stagnating. He had to go.
   And so he has and I’m hugely excited just by the calibre of the linked compared to what we had to look at in 2012.
   I think the fanbase will be well behind the next man.

   Reply
   • 

     Brownie on 6 October 2015 at 9:32 am

     I think when the task is to overhaul 4 of the 7 richest clubs in the world, you have a difficult enough job without seeing your two best players walk out the door in consecutive seasons.

     On Suarez, I would bet the decision was out of Rodgers’ hands the moment Luis sank his teeth into Chiellini. Suarez was toxic from that point and no amount of pleading from Rodgers would convince FSG to try to keep him (even assuming Luis wanted to stay, which we know he didn’t). Likewise with Sterling it’s pretty clear Rodgers was drawing a line in the sand with his public pronouncements, but once we had 50mill on the table for a guy who was threatening to strike if we kept him, Sterling’s position as a LFC player was untenable. I don’t see how Rodgers could have done a damn thing to keep either in the circumstances.

     We got 125mill for Suarez and Sterling. If Rodgers had been allowed to reinvest all that money (and why shouldn’t he have been given the dynasty FSG claim they want to build at Anfield?) that would have given Rodgers around 40mill net to spend per year during his tenure. That’s without a penny of investment in transfers from FSG. What he got was nearer 25mill. He could scarcely have had a tougher gig if he were an alchemist…and yet he still came closer to delivering the dream than any manager has in a quarter of a century.

     But like I say, what’s done is done. The fact I think he got royally fucked over and that – primarily – a large proportion of our self-entitled fan-base are responsible is fast becoming ancient history. I look forward to Klopp’s arrival because like most I think he ‘gets’ Liverpool and most of Liverpool will ‘get’ him, but unless something fundamental changes in the way the club is run and/or financed, I fully expect him to be on his way before the next rugby world cup comes around with screams of derision ringing in his ears from ‘the-greatest-fans-in-the-world’.

     Reply
5. 

   Jack on 6 October 2015 at 2:24 pm

   Beg to differ. BR did his best and all honest effort deserves commendation. The supporters were just quicker to cotton on to Rodgers limitations than FSG that’s all. Their agitation is simply an expression of the fact that they recognised he was not the man for the job, and it seemed FSG were oblivious to that.
   2013/14 was fantastic but the true test of competence is consistent delivery and BR didn’t pass that. Also, a good enough manager need not have a Suarez in his team to do something worthwhile. Sturridge injuries were not a surprise so there is culpability for not planning for them. The insistence on the likes of Lovren Lallana Allen Dempsey Borini and other poor value purchases from the premiership showed him up as deficient in the ability to spot a player. His profile was a mismatch for the size of the job coming in and thats why he didnt have the stature to attract big players. When Rafa wanted Torres he just got on the phone. Mascherano? Visited him at home. See the difference. Those players moved for Rafa. The ones who moved for Rodgers? Milner, Ings and the like. One of the underlying reasons beneath the delirium at the prospect of Klopp is that Rodgers’ belated departure is also the correction of a mistake made in June to keep him on when it was clear the job was beyond his abilities. There is a sense of release, and hope at the same time. Let’s see.

   Reply