Brendan Rodgers

[SK]

“Preparation is second to none. We go into every game with a game plan. Training is very good and any problems as a player you can see on the pitch, he has seen them as well rather than him not knowing what the problem is.

“I’ve talked with him after a game and whatever I’ve thought he has already said ahead of me so I think he is well on top.”

i don't even know where to begin with this gem

[Maxiedge]

I think the owners will stick with him until the next poor run of form.

Unless we get 4th and do well in the cups, would anyone trust him to spend money in the next two transfer windows?

People are getting very excited about the display shown against Aston Villa, but I wouldn't trust him to spend a single penny again. I'd prefer a strong DOF in place doing that, but Rodgers seems dead against the idea.

History has shown us that it's just round the corner but I would love it if we could turn it round and go on a run. In this league too, currently, you can really shoot up that table.

I think his saviour, if he has one, will be Sturridge. For every goal we give away, he can get two down the other end.

I've been super critical of him (justifiable imo) but would eat a whole ****ing box of humble pie if we could turn this around and stay consistent.

[Fredo]

Milner is one of his main men. So I am not surprised that he wants to stick his neck out for the boss. Looks like defence mechanism from Rodgers from now on. He should just concentrate on improving from that performance instead of doing this.

[SK]

Milner is one of his main men. So I am not surprised that he wants to stick his neck out for the boss. Looks like defence mechanism from Rodgers from now on. He should just concentrate on improving from that performance instead of doing this.

i know he is, and i know he'll come out in his support, but that statement contradicts what we see on the pitch every week.

[calvoboy]

I think the owners will stick with him until the next poor run of form.

Unless we get 4th and do well in the cups, would anyone trust him to spend money in the next two transfer windows?

People are getting very excited about the display shown against Aston Villa, but I wouldn't trust him to spend a single penny again. I'd prefer a strong DOF in place doing that, but Rodgers seems dead against the idea.

I think that was always the case this season though wasn't it - one last go at 4th place and a trophy otherwise he's gone? And rightly so.

I'm sure from the owners' point of view nothing has changed. He needs to show that he's capable of getting us into the Champions League or they'll get rid of him. They're not going to sack him on the back of a few bad games in September, but by the same token they're not going to stick with him if we're well out of contention by December.

[marcus50bucks]

Actually, Brendan probably is a better manager, in some unquantifiable holistic sense. People tend to improve with time and experience, so he's had to have gotten better in at least some respects. The problem is that managers aren't judged in that unquantifiable holistic sense, in which space exist "good managers" and "bad managers." There are a few genuinely good managers and a few genuinely bad ones, but a whole lot in between who have only a fleeting impact on their club's success and are dependent on how they fit the club's situation (and getting some good fortune). Brendan exists in that group of not-bad, not-great managers - he had a good run in a good situation, and has since found out that the particular plan he used in that season just doesn't always apply.

I've made this point before (as has Lecter, though more critically of BR), that the title challenge year couldn't be used as a blueprint because it was dependent on an unusual number of circumstances that weren't sustainable. Just off the top of my head, it required:

- having two world-class strikers;
- having those two world-class strikers outperform even their very high standards;
- scoring an unusually high number of set piece goals, many of them coming early to break open games;
- outperforming things like [statto alert] TSR, SoTR, and xG, which usually come back to earth with time;
- hell, even getting an historic number of blocks (which, like set piece goals, regress to the mean season-on-season).

I'd argue that all five of those things were unsustainable. Statistically, we know the final four are. You can beat them for awhile, but you always regress to the mean given enough time. But I also think that having two world-class strikers is likewise unsustainable, and people gloss over this. How many clubs can consistently have two world-class strikers? Real, Barca, PSG, Bayern...maybe United? Unless you're one of those really moneyed clubs, any plan that relies upon having two strikers of Suarez-Sturridge levels is pretty much bankrupt. If we held onto Suarez, or if we replaced him better, we could've delayed the downfall for awhile. But it would've come eventually. Except for that really elite few, it's an exceptionally difficult thing to maintain.

A lot of people say the downfall from that season started when we tried to find another plan, instead of just getting goals on the pitch and seeing what happens. I disagree - the first aspect of that plan would've been hard to maintain and the other four were just straight-up statistical quirks that would've (and did) come back to earth. It was unsustainable to do all of that year on year. We were right to look for another plan; the problem was that BR couldn't make another plan work.

That doesn't mean he doesn't deserve credit for that year, or that he can't find another method that might work in the future. I'm hopeful about 3 at the back, actually. But you (and he) can't just take what he did in 13-14 and say "See, he can do it, and he's even better now." No, he can do it if he has two world-class strikers and things break right. Which is not the same thing as being able to do it in the current situation. He's better, but not as lucky. He's better, but in a worse situation. And right now it's looking like he doesn't have the answers for it.

Anyway, he's not a bad manager, certainly better than the last month or so, and I wouldn't be surprised if he goes on to be successful elsewhere once he gets some time away from the game to reassess things. I'd be happy enough if he could figure it out here. But I don't think he will, and based on his history of making grandiose statements before important games I'm not optimistic about getting the results he's hoping for.

Great post

[tanner]

As much as I think that there are better options out there, I actually still believe that now is not the time to move Rodgers on. We should see how we get on now until the halfway point and if we're still either in 4th or near to it then give him until the end of the season.

If I was going to bin Rodgers, contrary to what he actually seems to believe, it wouldn't be on his results this season alone, it would be more on his wastage of the transfer kitty. This really is one huge cluster****. Just looking at the money spent on players currently out on loan makes my eyes water. We've not got bottomless pockets like some, though we are still in a very privileged position, we cannot afford such wastage. The amount of players who've come here for good money and hardly kicked a ball for the first team is sacrilege.

Of course, the spanner in the works is that there are 2 top class managers currently available, for nothing. If the long term view is that Rodgers isn't up to taking us into the top four regularly, then it would make sense to do it now I suppose.

[el matador]

As much as I think that there are better options out there, I actually still believe that now is not the time to move Rodgers on. We should see how we get on now until the halfway point and if we're still either in 4th or near to it then give him until the end of the season.

If I was going to bin Rodgers, contrary to what he actually seems to believe, it wouldn't be on his results this season alone, it would be more on his wastage of the transfer kitty. This really is one huge cluster****. Just looking at the money spent on players currently out on loan makes my eyes water. We've not got bottomless pockets like some, though we are still in a very privileged position, we cannot afford such wastage. The amount of players who've come here for good money and hardly kicked a ball for the first team is sacrilege.

:handsh

If we don't give Rodgers the time to work with his players - the ones he bought in the summer, and sack him, there will always be a debate or thought that maybe it was all done too prematurely.

He deserves the chance to settle the argument once and for all. Is he the real deal or is he marketing himself to be something he isn't.

[Lecter]

Actually, Brendan probably is a better manager, in some unquantifiable holistic sense. People tend to improve with time and experience, so he's had to have gotten better in at least some respects. The problem is that managers aren't judged in that unquantifiable holistic sense, in which space exist "good managers" and "bad managers." There are a few genuinely good managers and a few genuinely bad ones, but a whole lot in between who have only a fleeting impact on their club's success and are dependent on how they fit the club's situation (and getting some good fortune). Brendan exists in that group of not-bad, not-great managers - he had a good run in a good situation, and has since found out that the particular plan he used in that season just doesn't always apply.

I've made this point before (as has Lecter, though more critically of BR), that the title challenge year couldn't be used as a blueprint because it was dependent on an unusual number of circumstances that weren't sustainable. Just off the top of my head, it required:

- having two world-class strikers;
- having those two world-class strikers outperform even their very high standards;
- scoring an unusually high number of set piece goals, many of them coming early to break open games;
- outperforming things like [statto alert] TSR, SoTR, and xG, which usually come back to earth with time;
- hell, even getting an historic number of blocks (which, like set piece goals, regress to the mean season-on-season).

I'd argue that all five of those things were unsustainable. Statistically, we know the final four are. You can beat them for awhile, but you always regress to the mean given enough time. But I also think that having two world-class strikers is likewise unsustainable, and people gloss over this. How many clubs can consistently have two world-class strikers? Real, Barca, PSG, Bayern...maybe United? Unless you're one of those really moneyed clubs, any plan that relies upon having two strikers of Suarez-Sturridge levels is pretty much bankrupt. If we held onto Suarez, or if we replaced him better, we could've delayed the downfall for awhile. But it would've come eventually. Except for that really elite few, it's an exceptionally difficult thing to maintain.

A lot of people say the downfall from that season started when we tried to find another plan, instead of just getting goals on the pitch and seeing what happens. I disagree - the first aspect of that plan would've been hard to maintain and the other four were just straight-up statistical quirks that would've (and did) come back to earth. It was unsustainable to do all of that year on year. We were right to look for another plan; the problem was that BR couldn't make another plan work.

That doesn't mean he doesn't deserve credit for that year, or that he can't find another method that might work in the future. I'm hopeful about 3 at the back, actually. But you (and he) can't just take what he did in 13-14 and say "See, he can do it, and he's even better now." No, he can do it if he has two world-class strikers and things break right. Which is not the same thing as being able to do it in the current situation. He's better, but not as lucky. He's better, but in a worse situation. And right now it's looking like he doesn't have the answers for it.

Anyway, he's not a bad manager, certainly better than the last month or so, and I wouldn't be surprised if he goes on to be successful elsewhere once he gets some time away from the game to reassess things. I'd be happy enough if he could figure it out here. But I don't think he will, and based on his history of making grandiose statements before important games I'm not optimistic about getting the results he's hoping for.

Great post and agree with a lot of this and have said the same on here over the last 6 months or so

The biggest surprise to me since the 13-14 season hasnt been losing Suarez & Sturridge, it hasnt even been scoring less from set pieces

The biggest thing that has surprised is me is the total abandonment of our pressing game

[vlahka]

:handsh

If we don't give Rodgers the time to work with his players - the ones he bought in the summer, and sack him, there will always be a debate or thought that maybe it was all done too prematurely.

He deserves the chance to settle the argument once and for all. Is he the real deal or is he marketing himself to be something he isn't.

I dont know. He's been using Lovren for over a year now.

[Vermilion]

The argument will only arise imo if he go's elsewhere and wins things.

[The_weatherman]

The argument will only arise imo if he go's elsewhere and wins things.

I think so too, he's had three full seasons and is starting his fourth, and in every season we start from scratch. If a top manager can be brought in, i.e. Klopp, we should do it now and save time and money.

[Phoenix07]

Rory SmithVerified account  @RorySmithTimes · 4 hrs4 hours ago
Rory Smith retweeted paul joyce

Brilliant stat in here: the five teams #LFC have beaten in the league since March 17 are 16th-19th in the PL.

Note: March 17th is the date because we lost back to back games against Man Utd and Arsenal after beating Swansea on March 16th. Essentially, our good run came to an end.

Liverpool 2-0 Newcastle
Liverpool 2-1 QPR (relegated)
Stoke 0-1 Liverpool
Liverpool 1-0 Bournemouth
Liverpool 3-2 Aston Villa

[Lecter]

Hmm sounds like one or two of the journos are starting to turn up the heat on Brendan

[Chris]

Yeah thats why I'd prefer him to shut up at the mo. At least win the Derby then he's free to say whatever he likes as I'll be too busy gloating for 2 weeks!! But we have to win some of these tough ones now or we wont get anywhere.