ANFIELD INQUEST: Brendan Rodgers faces crunch talks over Liverpool future
IT was always going to be a huge summer for Brendan Rodgers and Liverpool, though just how momentous is now becoming clear.
By PAUL JOYCE
PUBLISHED: 22:30, Tue, May 19, 2015 | UPDATED: 22:32, Tue, May 19, 2015
A pivotal period approaches for the Anfield manager whose concerns no longer simply centre upon replacing a departing captain, recruiting a top class striker and dealing with a young star in Raheem Sterling who is openly agitating to quit and move to a money-flushed rival.
Rodgers is himself in the spotlight, charged with finding common ground with American owners at a time when they will be unnerved by the prospect of football’s landscape shifting under their feet with the potential relaxing of Financial Fair Play rules.
If Liverpool’s stance that Sterling is not for sale remains unflinching, despite the stand-off over his contract taking a more sinister twist, there has been a subtle of shift of thinking over Rodgers.
The unequivocal backing he received after the squalid FA Cup semi-final defeat to Aston Villa has been tested by Liverpool’s subsequent failure to shake off their Wembley hangover and the annual, end of season review he will take part in boasts the potential for far-reaching repercussions.
Fenway Sports Group (FSG) is not thinking about changing the manager at this point, but the very notion they will want Rodgers, himself, to change raises the prospect for problems to present themselves.
It is not an irretrievable situation given the manager’s yearning for self-improvement and the fact he has already publicly expressed an insistence that this season’s difficulties will make him a better coach.
Rodgers will offer mitigation for a season that has fallen short of expectation, a year after defying them, and it will be accepted to an extent.
The absence of Daniel Sturridge following on from the sale of Luis Suarez should not be used to cover up the wretched defeats to Hull City and Crystal Palace.
Central to the looming, face-to-face talks with FSG president Mike Gordon will be somehow marrying differing views on how the club’s transfer strategy should operate.
Rodgers is aware next season will be crucial for him, his managerial reputation will go on the line, and as such recognises the need for experience and proven talent to be injected into a team whose immaturity has been one of their many failings this term.
In the past he has sought to recruit the likes of Swansea’s Ashley Williams and Chelsea’s Ryan Bertrand only for FSG to pursue deals for players who boast potential (Mamadou Sakho and Alberto Moreno) instead.
The workings of Liverpool’s transfer committee, of which the manager is a part, has long since made accountability for a downturn in results an issue. Rodgers will believe shortcomings lie elsewhere, while FSG would disregard the idea that he is a peripheral figure to the whole process.
A shared responsibility as to why standards have slipped from last season is now crucial but also a shared vision of how to put things right.
The likely signing of James Milner on a free transfer from Manchester City will satisfy Rodgers, but bringing in a striker capable of scoring 20-goals-a-season is critical given Burnley’s Danny Ings is likely to arrive and Divock Origi will come to Anfield having spent this season on loan at Lille.
Rodgers has been central to persuading all three players to look to Liverpool, but a tipping point could be reached if there are not further reinforcements that fall in line with what he feels are needed.
An uneasy truce is not practical because it will lead to an unravelling at the first sign of a setback.
As Liverpool held their annual awards last night, it is worth remembering that at the same event last year Rodgers was about to sign a lucrative new four contract having taking the club from nowhere to the brink of the title.
When the paperwork was signed, principal owner John Henry and chairman Tom Werner jointly issued a gushing press release.
“We are very fortunate to have a hugely talented individual leading our football performance and in whom we place our trust to deliver the vision we share for Liverpool Football Club,” they said.
“Brendan is at the heart of what we, as an ownership group, are trying to achieve on the pitch.”
That sentiment is no longer as strong.
The meeting between Sterling’s agent, Aidy Ward, and Rodgers and chief executive Ian Ayre later this week will help shape Liverpool’s future in one sense.
But bigger issues are also on the horizon.
IT was always going to be a huge summer for Brendan Rodgers and Liverpool, though just how momentous is now becoming clear.
By PAUL JOYCE
PUBLISHED: 22:30, Tue, May 19, 2015 | UPDATED: 22:32, Tue, May 19, 2015
A pivotal period approaches for the Anfield manager whose concerns no longer simply centre upon replacing a departing captain, recruiting a top class striker and dealing with a young star in Raheem Sterling who is openly agitating to quit and move to a money-flushed rival.
Rodgers is himself in the spotlight, charged with finding common ground with American owners at a time when they will be unnerved by the prospect of football’s landscape shifting under their feet with the potential relaxing of Financial Fair Play rules.
If Liverpool’s stance that Sterling is not for sale remains unflinching, despite the stand-off over his contract taking a more sinister twist, there has been a subtle of shift of thinking over Rodgers.
The unequivocal backing he received after the squalid FA Cup semi-final defeat to Aston Villa has been tested by Liverpool’s subsequent failure to shake off their Wembley hangover and the annual, end of season review he will take part in boasts the potential for far-reaching repercussions.
Fenway Sports Group (FSG) is not thinking about changing the manager at this point, but the very notion they will want Rodgers, himself, to change raises the prospect for problems to present themselves.
It is not an irretrievable situation given the manager’s yearning for self-improvement and the fact he has already publicly expressed an insistence that this season’s difficulties will make him a better coach.
Rodgers will offer mitigation for a season that has fallen short of expectation, a year after defying them, and it will be accepted to an extent.
The absence of Daniel Sturridge following on from the sale of Luis Suarez should not be used to cover up the wretched defeats to Hull City and Crystal Palace.
Central to the looming, face-to-face talks with FSG president Mike Gordon will be somehow marrying differing views on how the club’s transfer strategy should operate.
Rodgers is aware next season will be crucial for him, his managerial reputation will go on the line, and as such recognises the need for experience and proven talent to be injected into a team whose immaturity has been one of their many failings this term.
In the past he has sought to recruit the likes of Swansea’s Ashley Williams and Chelsea’s Ryan Bertrand only for FSG to pursue deals for players who boast potential (Mamadou Sakho and Alberto Moreno) instead.
The workings of Liverpool’s transfer committee, of which the manager is a part, has long since made accountability for a downturn in results an issue. Rodgers will believe shortcomings lie elsewhere, while FSG would disregard the idea that he is a peripheral figure to the whole process.
A shared responsibility as to why standards have slipped from last season is now crucial but also a shared vision of how to put things right.
The likely signing of James Milner on a free transfer from Manchester City will satisfy Rodgers, but bringing in a striker capable of scoring 20-goals-a-season is critical given Burnley’s Danny Ings is likely to arrive and Divock Origi will come to Anfield having spent this season on loan at Lille.
Rodgers has been central to persuading all three players to look to Liverpool, but a tipping point could be reached if there are not further reinforcements that fall in line with what he feels are needed.
An uneasy truce is not practical because it will lead to an unravelling at the first sign of a setback.
As Liverpool held their annual awards last night, it is worth remembering that at the same event last year Rodgers was about to sign a lucrative new four contract having taking the club from nowhere to the brink of the title.
When the paperwork was signed, principal owner John Henry and chairman Tom Werner jointly issued a gushing press release.
“We are very fortunate to have a hugely talented individual leading our football performance and in whom we place our trust to deliver the vision we share for Liverpool Football Club,” they said.
“Brendan is at the heart of what we, as an ownership group, are trying to achieve on the pitch.”
That sentiment is no longer as strong.
The meeting between Sterling’s agent, Aidy Ward, and Rodgers and chief executive Ian Ayre later this week will help shape Liverpool’s future in one sense.
But bigger issues are also on the horizon.
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