Brendan Rodgers

[gratziani]

[QUOTE=Marvel;3105912]the sum of all parts...

is it that rodgers just lacks experience or he's just not a very good manager. we have messed up all the big games this season that we needed to get something out of. United home, arsenal away, ludo, basle etc... we were given the easiest champions league group out of all the english teams and we ended up looking like a third division team.

basle and ludo outplayed us in the champions league, and generally our performance was terrible throughout - when the facts are that we have put out a much better team on paper than our opponents, basle, ludo, etc... a much more expensively assembled team.

I see where you are coming regarding this season and have that same itch about the Manager in the very biggest games he needs to learn how to not lose.

Just drawing with the Mancs and we still would have had a proper shout of top 4.

[frank the tank]

Again I think it is difficult to solely blame the manager here. In reality, was it that he was a tactical guru last year when we wiped the floor with Man United in Old Trafford. And hockied Arsenal at home??? The truth is that when we wipe the floor against a top side the manager isn't the only factor - just as when the team does badly against a team we should be beating it is not the managers fault either.

I think if you zoom out of specific games and look at the season as a whole, then it is more benificial. With a team like ours, when the majority of the key players are all very young, then when confidence is high and pressure is off the team fly. They play without fear. However, when there is pressure cranked up, then it is going to be something new for the group. Look at the majority of successful teams in modern football history and they will all have the ability to win ugly. To grind out a result when they are not at their best or their fittest. Or when you are up against a very physical team and get zero protection from the referee.

Manchester United did that under Ferguson for years. However, it is very hard to bring that quality to such a young group. That mentality will only come with age and experience and to think that just having more skilful players to overcome this is naive. Look at Cristiano Ronaldo. He was always talented but there was a time when Jamie Carragher could just kick him hard in the first 10 minutes of a game and he would be on the ropes...... that followed up with a Mascherano crunching tackle and he was nullified from the game. As he got older, he got wiser, smarter and stronger and now you can't simply kick him out of a game. About 3 years ago, the whole arsenal team were in the exact position that Liverpool are in now. They could be kicked out of a game and although they were silky in the late summer at the start of a season, by Feb they were half the men they were. Now, with experience and development, they have kicked on and added a physical and mental strenght that shows they can mix things up and compete on different levels. If a stoke, hull or WBA want to drag them down to their level, then they are quite prepared to win a wrestling match before a football match....

In my opinion, the players like Henderson, Sterling, Ibe, Coutinho, Markovic, Flanagan, Moreno, Mignolet, Sakho, Origi will all peak in terms of being winners over the next 3 to 5 years.

The general consensus from the fans - and from the manager too - seems to be that if we add goals to our game with the acquisition of a top striker or two - that we will come on leaps and bounds but for me, you want a few players in key areas of the pitch that can act as on-pitch coaches in situations like when we play Hull City, Stoke or Palace away from home. Like when Gary McAllister played for Liverpool - he wasn't going to single handedly win games for us, but he would help get maybe 5% out of players around him in those tricky games and in-match situations. That is why I actually think James Milner* would be a good signing for LFC this summer. Although he isn't Iniesta (although i think he is a better footballer than people give him credit for) he is a winner, can hold his own against a skilful opponent but also against a muck-savage more interested in kicking us out of the game. He would be a good partner for Henderson and Allen / Lucas in a midfield 3, he has leadership qualities that our team as a whole will be missing and is a winner. For me it is a no-brainer.

Maybe Lovren could also become a player that brings a degree of leadership to the defense. Personally I can't see it but that was certainly the intention of the signing of him.




* I actually have a feeling that Milner will join Man United. I think if he was going to LFC or Arsenal - as has been suggested in the media - then it would be common knowledge by now. The fact that it is under wraps suggests that he is staying in the premier league but also going to a rival of City.

[captainfog]

Rodgers takes equal responsibility with the rest of the committee for the transfers, but he takes sole responsibility for the muddled mess we are seeing on the pitch. For example, the rest of the transfer committee didn't make him have 3 strikers and 2 right backs on the bench, but none in the first XI.

[Marvel]

not that rodgers is the only issue with transfers but nobody decent wants to play for brendan. No top quality player is going to skip playing champions league football and higher wages to play for Brendan Rodgers. Rodgers main line is about improving players, other top managers lines are about winning ****.

this mess we are in when it comes to transfers is down to fsg's policy on wages / value, the transfer committee constant **** ups and rodgers own lack of reputation as a top manager.

We are a massive club with a small time mentality and that has to change.

[gratziani]

How did we sign Suarez , Sturridge and Countinho then.

Three players who came to the club and it's vision.

Hindsight is wonderful but only real issue I had was the non signing of a striker that could play in our system, going after Sanchez was a good idea but once he was a non starter we needed better than Mario and Lambert but think most fans agree on that.

[peekay]

How did we sign Suarez , Sturridge and Countinho then.

Three players who came to the club and it's vision.

Hindsight is wonderful but only real issue I had was the non signing of a striker that could play in our system, going after Sanchez was a good idea but once he was a non starter we needed better than Mario and Lambert but think most fans agree on that.

There was hardly any competition for Coutinho from clubs of our stature. I remember Pochetino at Southampton was the only other manager after Coutinho. It really was a brilliant pick by our scouts. Same with Sturridge.

Suarez, I think the world cup handball and the biting incident ban really helped us. Without that, I am sure he would have gone to Barca directly.

[gratziani]

Again I think it is difficult to solely blame the manager here. In reality, was it that he was a tactical guru last year when we wiped the floor with Man United in Old Trafford. And hockied Arsenal at home??? The truth is that when we wipe the floor against a top side the manager isn't the only factor - just as when the team does badly against a team we should be beating it is not the managers fault either.

I think if you zoom out of specific games and look at the season as a whole, then it is more benificial. With a team like ours, when the majority of the key players are all very young, then when confidence is high and pressure is off the team fly. They play without fear. However, when there is pressure cranked up, then it is going to be something new for the group. Look at the majority of successful teams in modern football history and they will all have the ability to win ugly. To grind out a result when they are not at their best or their fittest. Or when you are up against a very physical team and get zero protection from the referee.

Manchester United did that under Ferguson for years. However, it is very hard to bring that quality to such a young group. That mentality will only come with age and experience and to think that just having more skilful players to overcome this is naive. Look at Cristiano Ronaldo. He was always talented but there was a time when Jamie Carragher could just kick him hard in the first 10 minutes of a game and he would be on the ropes...... that followed up with a Mascherano crunching tackle and he was nullified from the game. As he got older, he got wiser, smarter and stronger and now you can't simply kick him out of a game. About 3 years ago, the whole arsenal team were in the exact position that Liverpool are in now. They could be kicked out of a game and although they were silky in the late summer at the start of a season, by Feb they were half the men they were. Now, with experience and development, they have kicked on and added a physical and mental strenght that shows they can mix things up and compete on different levels. If a stoke, hull or WBA want to drag them down to their level, then they are quite prepared to win a wrestling match before a football match....

In my opinion, the players like Henderson, Sterling, Ibe, Coutinho, Markovic, Flanagan, Moreno, Mignolet, Sakho, Origi will all peak in terms of being winners over the next 3 to 5 years.

The general consensus from the fans - and from the manager too - seems to be that if we add goals to our game with the acquisition of a top striker or two - that we will come on leaps and bounds but for me, you want a few players in key areas of the pitch that can act as on-pitch coaches in situations like when we play Hull City, Stoke or Palace away from home. Like when Gary McAllister played for Liverpool - he wasn't going to single handedly win games for us, but he would help get maybe 5% out of players around him in those tricky games and in-match situations. That is why I actually think James Milner* would be a good signing for LFC this summer. Although he isn't Iniesta (although i think he is a better footballer than people give him credit for) he is a winner, can hold his own against a skilful opponent but also against a muck-savage more interested in kicking us out of the game. He would be a good partner for Henderson and Allen / Lucas in a midfield 3, he has leadership qualities that our team as a whole will be missing and is a winner. For me it is a no-brainer.

Maybe Lovren could also become a player that brings a degree of leadership to the defense. Personally I can't see it but that was certainly the intention of the signing of him.




* I actually have a feeling that Milner will join Man United. I think if he was going to LFC or Arsenal - as has been suggested in the media - then it would be common knowledge by now. The fact that it is under wraps suggests that he is staying in the premier league but also going to a rival of City.

WE have built the foundations now then lets add the finishing touches.

[Doc_Piptorious]

There was hardly any competition for Coutinho from clubs of our stature. I remember Pochetino at Southampton was the only other manager after Coutinho. It really was a brilliant pick by our scouts. Same with Sturridge.

Suarez, I think the world cup handball and the biting incident ban really helped us. Without that, I am sure he would have gone to Barca directly.

That was no surprise as Coutinho had played under him in Spain. As it happened he was only at Southampton a week or two when we signed Coutinho. Makes you wonder if Pochetino had been at Southampton from the start of that season would he have gone for Coutinho earlier.

Glad we never got to find out.

[Marvel]

How did we sign Suarez , Sturridge and Countinho then.

Three players who came to the club and it's vision.

Hindsight is wonderful but only real issue I had was the non signing of a striker that could play in our system, going after Sanchez was a good idea but once he was a non starter we needed better than Mario and Lambert but think most fans agree on that.

suarez was signed by comolli under a different set of parameters - coutinho and sturridge werent stellar names when we bought them and their fees show that.

they became better but we're in the position where we cant keep waiting for players to mature, because frankly liverpool will never be able to compete with the top teams with this endless buying of young talent and the subsequent wait for their balls to drop.

[Leyton388]

The Last 2 years weve got the 4th net spend and would be 5th if the chabd hadn't have sold sideshow Bob for £50m and we pay the 5th highest wages. So we are where we should be but the club took last years perfect storm as validation their model works.

[Alex]

The Last 2 years weve got the 4th net spend and would be 5th if the chabd hadn't have sold sideshow Bob for £50m and we pay the 5th highest wages. So we are where we should be but the club took last years perfect storm as validation their model works.

Why shouldn't they treat last year as the proof the model worked? Who's to say that this year is the anomaly?

[tanner]

The Last 2 years weve got the 4th net spend and would be 5th if the chabd hadn't have sold sideshow Bob for £50m and we pay the 5th highest wages. So we are where we should be but the club took last years perfect storm as validation their model works.

It'll be interesting to see where we sit with Gerrard and Johnson gone.

[G]

Why shouldn't they treat last year as the proof the model worked? Who's to say that this year is the anomaly?

The year before last year has more in common with this year so 2 out of 3 outside the top 4 is more of an indicator it doesn't work. Could still change in the last 3 games.

[Leyton388]

Suarez was the anomaly last year who was bought by Kenny & Comolli. Not a transfer committee.

[Leyton388]

It'll be interesting to see where we sit with Gerrard and Johnson gone.

We won't be 5th that's for sure. I'll predict 8th