Brendan Rodgers

[Yozza]

I think there's a lot of revisionism concerning our good run

Late last year Rodgers was ****, the team was ****, he had to go

Then we switched to 3-4-3 and everybody was enjoying watching us play again. We were attacking, we were creative, our passing and movement was great and we were unlucky to not blow teams away

I'm not 100% convinced that Rodgers should be our manager, and certainly not if someone like Ancelotti would come, but it's not accurate to completely ignore all the good under him

I disagree mate - even at the time it was painfully obvious the team wasn't playing well & scraping results but the points gained were papering over the cracks

[Chris]

I think there's a lot of revisionism concerning our good run

Late last year Rodgers was ****, the team was ****, he had to go

Then we switched to 3-4-3 and everybody was enjoying watching us play again. We were attacking, we were creative, our passing and movement was great and we were unlucky to not blow teams away

I'm not 100% convinced that Rodgers should be our manager, and certainly not if someone like Ancelotti would come, but it's not accurate to completely ignore all the good under him

Agreed, getting ridiculous, last season was now all down to Suarez (Suarez must just have been a **** footballer in Kenny's time and Brendan's first season) and now the good run this season was all a load of **** too as some other teams had chances against us in games, as if its easy enough to just rock up at places like St Mary's and Swansea and dominate them for 90 minutes!

[The Birdman]

I think there's a lot of revisionism concerning our good run

Late last year Rodgers was ****, the team was ****, he had to go

Then we switched to 3-4-3 and everybody was enjoying watching us play again. We were attacking, we were creative, our passing and movement was great and we were unlucky to not blow teams away

I'm not 100% convinced that Rodgers should be our manager, and certainly not if someone like Ancelotti would come, but it's not accurate to completely ignore all the good under him

Agreed, getting ridiculous, last season was now all down to Suarez (Suarez must just have been a **** footballer in Kenny's time and Brendan's first season) and now the good run this season was all a load of **** too as some other teams had chances against us in games, as if its easy enough to just rock up at places like St Mary's and Swansea and dominate them for 90 minutes!

Exactly right.
How many times have Utd been 'lucky' this season?
They are in the top 4 because they deserve it, Chelsea won the league because they deserve it.
We finished 2nd last year because we deserved it.

It's complete bollocks to say we deserved to lose when we were **** but didn't deserve to win the games we won.
Agenda driven bias.

[SK]

Agreed, getting ridiculous, last season was now all down to Suarez (Suarez must just have been a **** footballer in Kenny's time and Brendan's first season) and now the good run this season was all a load of **** too as some other teams had chances against us in games, as if its easy enough to just rock up at places like St Mary's and Swansea and dominate them for 90 minutes!

If you had to pick, those two games were probably the worst we played during the good spell

[captainfog]

I got pelters for saying it didn't feel like we had turned the corner (for the reasons I stated above) during our run. Then just about at the point I said, 'OK maybe we have' it all came crashing down.

[DannyMan2006]

During that run I remember us creating a host of chances and us missing them. Of course the opposition had chances, but we were generally creating far more ourselves. Case in point was the Arsenal game at home. We battered them, but due to the late goal we got I guess others could say we were lucky to get a point.

The problem has been that other than that run, we have been dreadful this season. One short positive note and then it all crumbled as we all thought he'd managed to get it right. Instead, it was another plan that was built on shaky foundations and as soon as we had players starting to get injured / banned it all fell apart again.

I always try and stay positive during a season because I think it's best to assess at the end of a season. We are pretty much there now and a performance v Stoke wont change my mind. We have been dreadful.

[The Birdman]

During that run I remember us creating a host of chances and us missing them. Of course the opposition had chances, but we were generally creating far more ourselves. Case in point was the Arsenal game at home. We battered them, but due to the late goal we got I guess others could say we were lucky to get a point.

The problem has been that other than that run, we have been dreadful this season. One short positive note and then it all crumbled as we all thought he'd managed to get it right. Instead, it was another plan that was built on shaky foundations and as soon as we had players starting to get injured / banned it all fell apart again.

I always try and stay positive during a season because I think it's best to assess at the end of a season. We are pretty much there now and a performance v Stoke wont change my mind. We have been dreadful.

There's a load of games like that, Utd away the first showing of the 3421, Arsenal away when we got beat 4-1 we should have been clear are the immediate 2 high profile ones that spring to mind.

Any decent striker who can stay fit transforms this team.

[Buzzo]

I got pelters for saying it didn't feel like we had turned the corner (for the reasons I stated above) during our run. Then just about at the point I said, 'OK maybe we have' it all came crashing down.

With great power comes great responsibility.

[DannyMan2006]

There's a load of games like that, Utd away the first showing of the 3421, Arsenal away when we got beat 4-1 we should have been clear are the immediate 2 high profile ones that spring to mind.

Any decent striker who can stay fit transforms this team.

You say that, but you put a striker in place of Raheem for that Arsenal game and he's still not getting passed too by Markovic. Raheem is missed a good few chances, but it's also been others missing them too. And Raheem has shown everything but the finish up top, great movement, dribbling and link up play.

Not all strikers we could sign will match the movement of Raheem. So they could in fact get less chances. They may be in the box more, but that takes them from the build up play, and again, less chances created.

Look at when we have played Borini. We used to say he's got good movement, but how often did he get any clear chances? He got maybe one a game. Same for Lambert & Balotelli. They've scored goals at teams in the past, they're not useless. But they haven't had the chances Raheem had.

All I see is a team that continues to struggle if the same personnel persisted albeit with a different striker.

[vlahka]

If 3-4-3 was the magic number that rodgers needed to make us play amazingly, then it would work the entire season like it did last. It didnt because we have no strikers. No strikers means we arent scoring. We've had 50 less goals than last season. Our goal difference went from 51 to 9. Not scoring goals affects the team. Conceding goals too often because of our magic defence also affects the team. The person who is primarily at fault for not doing better in bringing in strikers, balotelli and lambert being his best attempt, should take the blame. Buying Lovren as our marquee defender was something plenty people didnt really want, but he went ahead and grabbed him too. Defence became worse. Lallana and Markovic, we didnt need both. It was a waste of funds that could of gone elsewhere. Neither have impressed much.

I recall for the first half of the season plenty of posters were saying the same thing about not playing certain players and putting these other players back where they should be in positions they could play in. During the 'good run' is around the time that happened, which from memory was something forced on rodgers because of injuries to some of his favourites. Didn't last long because teams already know that the best way to beat us is to defend deep and counter attack. Almost any time we go up against a team set to play like this we struggle to win. I dont think theres any agenda bias when saying rodgers is mostly at fault for how our season has gone.

Saying Rodgers was the entire reason last season happened is extremely unfair to Suarez. Last season was when the entire team finally clicked together. Suarez didnt just bring skill, he also brought a type of togetherness that liverpool hasnt shown in a long time. Every body seemed to lift their game when he was about. There was actual joy. The minute he was gone the entire atmosphere on the ground changed. Players would even argue with each other on the field more than usual. Certain players can bring a kind of magic with them and Suarez did that.

On the topic of UTD, they're where they are because of their goalkeeper.

[peekay]

With great power comes great responsibility.

[tanner]

Even the best of us are fallible.

Usually I think I can be quite realistic about our chances, but I was miles off here. Lovren is ****

I thought Mario was going to be just what we needed when he signed.

[Needles]

I thought Mario was going to be just what we needed when he signed.

He was always a busted flush. The world's most expensive penalty taker

[marcus50bucks]

Liverpool FC Comment: Rodgers deserves to keep Anfield job but another season like this won't be tolerated

19:48, 18 MAY 2015 BY JAMES PEARCE

Natives are restless having seen the club regress over the past 12 months

In many respects Brendan Rodgers finds himself back where it all began for him at Anfield three years ago.

There’s a divided fanbase worried about the direction the club is going in with many questioning his credentials to spearhead a bright future. There’s also an under-achieving squad in urgent need of reinforcements.

Barring a dramatic change of heart in Boston over the coming weeks, the Liverpool manager will keep his job this summer. The Northern Irishman won’t pay the price for a season of mediocrity.

The bitter disappointment of Fenway Sports Group (FSG) at the Reds’ failure to secure Champions League qualification is tempered by the mitigating circumstances which go some way to explaining why targets for the 2014/15 campaign haven’t been met.

The owners know that Liverpool made mistakes in the transfer market last summer that Rodgers can’t be held solely responsible for. They scattered that £116million on too many players, they got quantity when they needed quality.

They didn’t replace the world class talents of Luis Suarez and that glaring error was compounded by Daniel Sturridge’s injury nightmare.

Of course Rodgers himself isn’t blameless. When a team implodes like Liverpool have done during the run-in the manager will always be held to account.

All that bullish talk about getting stronger the longer the season went on proved misplaced. Since Manchester United ended that spirited 13-game unbeaten league run at Anfield on March 22, the wheels have come off.

Rodgers deserves the chance to lift the malaise at Anfield

The Reds have taken just eight points out of a possible 24. That miserable run included a display of scarcely believable ineptitude at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final against Aston Villa.

Last Saturday’s home defeat to Crystal Palace sent the alarm bells ringing once again as Liverpool went down with a whimper on Steven Gerrard’s big day. For weary Kopites, the final whistle at Stoke on Sunday afternoon can’t come soon enough.

However, Rodgers deserves the opportunity to make amends. He deserves the chance to prove he can lift Liverpool from their current malaise.

Some of his critics have short memories. It’s just 12 months since Rodgers was crowned Manager of the Year by his peers and handed a four-year contract after overseeing a thrilling title challenge.

Kop legends were queuing up to tell him that Liverpool were playing the most exciting brand of attacking football Anfield had witnessed for a quarter of a century.

The argument that Rodgers was simply made to look good by Suarez just doesn’t ring true. Liverpool were a slick, cohesive unit – the whole was greater than the sum of its parts.

He was rightly praised for both his tactical acumen and man-management skills as he got the best out of what he had. You don’t become a dud overnight.

You can't always be building for tomorrow

Dismissing Rodgers and appointing either Jurgen Klopp or Frank De Boer would only bring more upheaval, more instability. Anyway, Liverpool’s issues run deeper than the identity of the man in the dugout.

FSG must take a look at themselves and a transfer policy which places too great an emphasis on investing in and developing young talent. It’s a false economy. You can’t always be building for tomorrow,

Since Rodgers’ appointment, Liverpool have lost Dirk Kuyt, Jamie Carragher, Pepe Reina, Daniel Agger, Luis Suarez and now Gerrard will join that list.

That wealth of experience simply hasn’t been replaced. Recent defeats to United, Arsenal, Villa, Hull and Palace have laid bare that this is a squad short of both character and leadership. There is a lack of both physical presence and mental strength. Too many boys and not enough men.

On the day Rodgers took over at Anfield in June 2012 he spoke about there being “three types of supporters” at every club.

“Number one is those who, no matter who the manager is, they love their club and will love their manager whoever it is,” he said.

“The second group is those supporters who will accept you but to earn their real respect you will have to be successful – and that’s fine by me.

“The third group are the critics, and you never change them. Ever. If you win 4-0 it should have been five, if you win the league you should have won three.”

Rodgers knew from the moment he left Swansea City that he had a fight on his hands. Many didn’t agree with the decision to sack Kop icon Kenny Dalglish and others wanted Rafa Benitez to return to Anfield.

With just one season as a Premier League boss under his belt, Rodgers couldn’t point to a trophy-laden CV to calm people’s fears.

This miserable campaign has been manna from heaven for those in that third group who have always been convinced that he doesn’t belong at Anfield. The noisy minority are desperate to be proved right.

But it’s that second group who will ultimately decide Rodgers’ fate.

The response in the stands on Saturday evening when Gerrard was asked on the pitch whether he was optimistic about the club flourishing in his absence was uncomfortable for the manager. The natives are restless.

Fans who this week are expected to shell out up to £869 to renew their season tickets don’t know where Liverpool are heading.

With the club’s only remaining world class player and the side’s Scouse heartbeat heading for Los Angeles, there is anxiety and frustration rather than belief and hope.

Fail to win at Stoke on the final day and Liverpool, who have already suffered 11 league defeats this season, could end up seventh. Their current tally of 62 points is just one more than they gathered in Rodgers’ first year in charge.

When the squad convene at the Echo Arena for Tuesday night’s Player of the Year awards, there will be precious little to celebrate, This is a team who have lost their identity and regressed over the past 12 months.

There is much work to be done and not all of it can be solved with a cheque book. Some flops will be shown the door but others Rodgers will have to work with and improve.

Another season like this won’t be tolerated. Rodgers won over his army of doubters once and now he must prove he can do it all over again.

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/liverpool-fc-comment-rodgers-deserves-9282639

[Slinky Skills]

With great power comes great responsibility.