New manager thread

[G]

I didn't say everyone on Est were pricks but there are some who just ridicule anyone with an opinion!

Craig is gone now.

Or is he

[dom9]

Surprised LFC haven't yet arranged/announced a press conference for tommorrow.

There's no press officer.

[Barnie7]

There's no press officer.

[Muddled]

5 Things the Reds Will Change Tactically Under Brendan Rodgers

Liverpool's search for a new manager is almost over after Brendan Rodgers of Swansea City reportedly agreed to take over for the Reds, who sacked previous manager Kenny Dalglish at the end of last season.

Despite winning the League Cup final and reaching the FA Cup final as well (where they were beaten 2-1 by Chelsea) Liverpool failed to progress sufficiently in the Premier League, as they finished a lowly eighth place, well outside the race for the Champions League spots.

FSG, the owners of Liverpool, moved swiftly to remove Dalglish from his position as a result, though the managerial search has taken rather longer than some fans had anticipated.

While the Reds played some good football under Dalglish, they ultimately dropped too many points, especially at home, where they recorded just six league victories during the whole of the 2011-12 campaign.

Rodgers will be expected to implement a more effective style of play on the Reds squad and lead the team back up the league standings.

Here are five ways that Liverpool's tactics will change under Brendan Rodgers.

#1 - Press Higher up the Pitch

Swansea won acclaim for their on-the-ball approach last season. But every bit as important and core to Brendan Rodgers' values is their off-the-ball work rate and pressure on the opposition.

The entire front line of Liverpool will be expected to work extremely hard to aid winning back the ball in the opposition's half of the pitch whenever possible.

The Reds did do this at times last season, but there were far too many occasions when either only one player pressed and the rest did not, or they let the opposition play their way into Liverpool's half of the pitch.

This will be far less seen under Rodgers, especially at home.

#2 - Pass and Move (It's the Liverpool Grove)

Two thousand one hundred and eleven, and 2,177.

That is the number of passes made over the Premier League season by Swansea City's two first-choice central midfielders, Leon Britton and Joe Allen respectively.

Both players completed over 90 percent of their passes successfully (Britton 93 percent, Allen 91 percent)—an astonishing rate to maintain over an entire campaign.

Liverpool's two midfielders who started the campaign in the centre, Lucas Leiva and Charlie Adam, both missed considerable portions of the season through injury, as did Steven Gerrard, who played most of the time that he was fit in that role, but none of the three managed a better than 86 percent rate.

Brendan Rodgers asks his team to pass, and pass again and pass again.

Control the ball, control the game is his philosophy, and Liverpool will look to dominate matches next season by maintaining long spells of possession as they seek to wear teams down and create goal-scoring chances.

#3 - Pace on the Flanks

From Jimmy Kebe and Joby McAnuff at Reading to Scott Sinclair, Nathan Dyer and Wayne Routledge at Swansea City, Brendan Rodgers certainly likes a pacey winger or two to operate on the flanks.

Liverpool have struggled to find true pace on the wings in recent seasons, with the likes of Maxi Rodriguez and Dirk Kuyt, Albert Riera and Joe Cole relying more on clever movement and positioning themselves high up the field to be effective rather than being able to burst into space after a turnover of possession.

With Rodgers set to be able to bring in a few transfer targets over the summer, expect the flanks to be one area of dramatic improvement on this score.

Liverpool have had pace on the wings, of course; Jermaine Pennant and Mark Gonzalez were two of the quicker wingers in their day.

The key now will be to find players with both pace and match-winning ability.

#4 - Less Reliance on Counter-Attacks with Emphasis on Building from the Back

Liverpool were by no means a counter-attacking side last season. On the other hand, they were at times a little lost as to how to proceed to break teams down.

While the counter-attack should not be disregarded entirely as a method of surprising teams after a turnover, it is clear that the Reds will not be looking to utilise it as the primary method of attack next season.

Swansea totaled just four shots off the end of a counter attack over the entire campaign.

In itself that doesn't mean that Swansea rarely used it, of course, merely that they didn't often get to shoot at the end of them.

However, it is highly indicative, when placed in context alongside other statistics such as a 71 percent pass completion rate in the final third of the pitch, that they did not look to utilise the counter-attack at the expense of a methodical, planned and comfortable build-up.

#5 - More Players Will Be Encouraged—or Signed—to Run with Ball in the Final Third

It is no secret that last season, pretty much the only Liverpool player capable of causing danger on a regular basis by running with the ball at his feet was Luis Suarez.

The talented Uruguayan is never shy in dribbling toward goal and was far and away Liverpool's most prolific dribbler, with 189 successful ones.

Despite around 2,500 minutes of Premier League time apiece—of which all for Stewart Downing and most for Jordan Henderson were spent in the wide areas of the pitch—neither managed to find the confidence, room or ability to muster up any more than around a quarter of that number.

After Suarez, the only players who regularly were able to attempt dribbles for the Reds were the full-backs, Jose Enrique (79) and Glen Johnson (71).

Swansea looked far more often to their wide players to commit defenders and probe the attacking areas of the pitch by dribbling, with Scott Sinclair (139) and Nathan Dyer (121) both actually managing a better successful dribble percentage than Suarez.

Neither of the Swansea fullbacks ventured forward in the same manner as their Liverpool counterparts.

Linkage: Bleacher Report

[Shanks]

Profiles on the additional guys from Swansea..

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liver...0252-31087561/



ALONG with agreeing compensation with Swansea for manager Brendan Rodgers today, Liverpool FC have also secured three key members of his former backroom staff as part of a deal totalling around £7m.


Colin Pascoe

Former Swansea assistant manager Colin Pascoe will link up again in the dugout with Brendan Rodgers.

The Welshman was capped 10 times for his country during a playing career which spanned 15 years and featured two spells with the Swans.

He made his full Swansea debut on his 18th birthday against Liverpool at Anfield - a game the Reds won 3-0 with goals from Ian Rush, Sammy Lee and David Fairclough.

Pascoe became a part-time coach at the Liberty Stadium under Kenny Jackett and worked with Roberto Martinez and Paulo Sousa before being promoted when Rodgers was at the helm.



Glen Driscoll

Glen Driscoll made his mark at Chelsea as part of the fitness and conditioning team, first with the youth and reserves and later with the senior side.

Working under various managers between 2003-11, he performed a number of roles at the club including performance physio and first-team fitness coach.

He joined the Swansea City set-up under former Reading and Chelsea colleague Brendan Rodgers in October 2011.

On recruiting Glen last year, Rodgers said:

"He was head of medical at Chelsea, but what is unique about Glen is that he also has a strong background in football conditioning.

"Initially he worked with the youth department at Chelsea, then he progressed up to overseeing the first-team medical department.

"When Avram Grant took over he moved Glen into the conditioning role and he was first-team conditioning coach under Guus Hiddink and Carlo Ancelotti.

"So we are getting someone who has experience in both fields and his role will be to look at performance outside the field."



Chris Davies

Chris Davies was Swansea City's Head of Performance and Opposition Analysis under Brendan Rodgers.

He described his role as critical analysis of "opposing team' tactics/organisation" which was then relayed "to the manager and players through a series of reports and presentations."

Davies was on Reading's books from 2001-04 and was youth captain at the club while Rodgers was in charge.

He represented Wales at u17, u18 and u19 level before completing a degree in Sports and Exercise Science at Loughborough University.

On linking up again with Rodgers at Swansea in 2010, Davies said:

"As soon as Brendan got the Swansea job I was straight on the phone to him.

"He taught me my trade, not just as a player but also as a person. He taught all the young players life lessons as well.

"By that I mean how to conduct yourself in a professional and responsible manner off the pitch."

[souliv]

Does it look like Rogers will be announced tomorrow , along with the Warrior launch ?

[Muddled]

Does it look like Rogers will be announced tomorrow , along with the Warrior launch ?

It's certainly looking that way mate: 1 June 2012, new manager, new kit, new structure and a new direction.

Buckle up.

[Fredo]

I like the look of his backroom team actually.

[Muddled]

I like the look of his backroom team actually.

Indeed, it reads well. Well, Glen Driscoll and Chris Davies do, Colin Pascoe ... not so much!

But then it's all words - as long as they are working as a unit and moving in the same direction, their actions will speak louder.

[souliv]

Ben Smith @BenSmithBBC
Press conference at #LFC scheduled for 10am tomorrow
Expand

[Macedonian_Red]

I would rather spend 20m on compensation than Stewart Downing.

You do realize that we have bought Torres for £20.5 million?

[Daniel 7]

You do realize that we have bought Torres for £20.5 million?

Have we?

Is that announced tomorrow too?

[Phoenix07]

Ben Smith @BenSmithBBC
Press conference at #LFC scheduled for 10am tomorrow
Expand

I wonder whether we'll see Henry or Werner alongside Rodgers or will Ayre be doing the honours?

[Muddled]

Have we?

Is that announced tomorrow too?

Guffaw!

[Robbie-9-Fowler]

You do realize that we have bought Torres for £20.5 million?

You do realise market value changes with time?

And Torres became the great player we had after joining? He was potential and was a risk signing at that point for that money.

Downing can't be defended mind I'm just saying you can't compare prices from what 5 years ago was it?