Brendan Rodgers

[peekay]

Every club makes bad signings. We're just extra sensitive to LFC howlers cos its our club. We've also made some ****ing great signings - Alonso, Reina, Mascherano, Torres, Agger, Skrtel, Arbeloa, Garcia, Lucas, Suarez, Sturridge, Coutinho, Henderson, Sakho etc.

Unless the club, as some believe, have fooled us with a series of elaborate hoaxes, we seem to be identifying top players. Actually signing them is another thing of course but the likes of Costa, Mkhitaryan, Konoplyanka etc surely gives us hope. If we get in the CL I'll be very excited to see who we sign.

Also the "cost" of poor signings have been higher for us due to our reduced budget. One poor summer ( not so good investment of 20 million) has cost us our CL place in the past.

[Mark79]

Exactly 12 months ago, we had 39 points from 27 games, had scored 49 goals and sat 8th in the league.

Compared to 56 points now, 70 goals and 4th place.

Amazing improvement. Also he's done it without any of the summer signings really having a major impact. Could argue Mignolet and Sakho are positives but Mignolet hasn't set the world alight and Sakho has hardly played.

Yeah the lack of impact from our new signings has been offset by the continued improvement from a key group of players we already had.

As good as they were last season, Suarez and Sturridge have been in the form of their lives. Henderson has continued a on steep upward curve this season too. And even taking into account his early form last season, Sterling has been a revelation this year.

Also despite his change of role, Gerrard is having his best season in terms of goals and assists for a few years.

[shanks69]

It's hard to get ya head around just how many we score now. Wasn't that long ago we couldnt hit a barn door and now we've got one of the best attacks in the world. Amazing and not like he's had the luxury of say Pellegrini either where he's got £20m signing after £20m signing with a £20m signing or two on the bench for back up.

and we still keep hitting the bloody woodwork

[peekay]

It always ends up as Rodgers v Rafa. We are lucky to have had both. Strange comparison as they are polar opposites to me. Rafa was a far more pragmatic coach than Rodgers. Other than the back end of 2008/09 we weren't that great to watch on the domestic stage. Rafas tactics were very much aimed at being "The crushing machine". For all his success, he never quite possessed the ability to churn out a team good enough to win the league.

In Europe it was another matter. Champions of Europe, finalists a couple of years after to prove it was no fluke. And being ranked the number 1 team in Europe for a while was some feat. Throw in a league cup final in his first year and an fa cup win in his second season. It was a great time. It was real success.

Rodgers I see as an adaptable manager. He will move with the times. He initially tried to copy the Barca style. His team wasn't good enough. He sees Bayern & Dortmund smash teams with a fast tempo counter attacking approach and he changes to that. For me he's a chameleon that adds his own twist to it. And he is definitely an attacking manager.

But what of success? None yet, but 4th place this year would be a season ahead of schedule. He got a three year deal for that very reason as that's the time he had. He's also done it whilst having to sell off the high earners who were not performing to the expected level. These players were either first teamers or squad players and in losing them the squad depth took a hit. Luckily he has a talent for improving players and that has kept this teams head above water.

Look how far he has taken this team. In his first games he lined up with Sterling, Suso & Suarez. Two of them will lead the line today, but the change is immeasurable. He identifies talented players and takes them to the next level. I think that for Brendan, if we make the top 4 and sign the right players, the sky is the limit.

I have been guilty initially of comparing him to Rafa but realized there is no point doing that. Different managers, different style, different set of circumstances in which they managed us - no point in comparing the two.

And as you pointed out, his influence on certain attacking players have been stunning. Mark of a great coach that.

[G]

He's been brilliant so far. And fans no longer pine for Rafa which means no more arguments about the manager so we can all get on with the job of slagging Kolo/Skrtel or whichever player you don't fancy much

[Shaggy]

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/liverpool-4-swansea-city-3-we-will-never-play-the-chelsea-way-claims-reds-manager-brendan-rodgers-9147901.html

Liverpool 4 Swansea City 3: 'We will never play the Chelsea way,' claims Reds' manager Brendan Rodgers

'I’m not satisfied just grinding out results,' Liverpool manager says after 4-3 thriller

The Liverpool manager, Brendan Rodgers tonight declared that grinding out a Premier League title like Chelsea is a strategy the club will never employ under his leadership, after their attacking outlook led them to another high-scoring win which exposed severe defensive frailties.

Rodgers admitted after the 4-3 win over Swansea City that the defenders he has inherited were “uncoachable” in some of their weaknesses but insisted that he would never sacrifice the free-scoring culture which has now seen his players overtake Manchester City’s 69-goal tally and move within four points of Jose Mourinho’s side.

“I think it’s not our style,” said Rodgers, whose side have kept only four Premier League clean sheets since the 1-0 victory over Manchester United on 1 September. “I worry always to play good football. I’m not one who is totally satisfied to always just grind out results. It is about winning and that’s what professional sport is about at this level. But for us I will always concentrate on performance because I think that the consequence of performing well consistently is getting results and this season we’ve shown that. We’ve shown that when we play well we get the win.”

While they are the Premier League’s top scorers, of the top 11 clubs only Newcastle United have conceded more goals than Liverpool.

Rodgers admitted that had he replaced Daniel Agger with Kolo Touré, just past the hour, simply because the Dane had been unable to match the physical threat of Wilfried Bony, who had not scored a Premier League goal on English soil until his penalty took the score to 3-3. Asked if the error-prone Touré had made a difference, Rodgers replied: “We won 4-3… so…”

Skrtel was lucky to receive only a yellow card when the referee Mike Jones awarded the questionable penalty and Rodgers said of his players’ failure to defend “anywhere near well enough” that “you can’t coach” them out of such misdemeanours.

“The problem is that it’s not coaching,” he said. “Some of the things we conceded goals in you can’t coach that. There’s a feel when you’re in the game of how to defend and you have to use that experience to be able to defend properly.”

Nevertheless bookmakers had Rodgers’ side at 1-8 for a Champions League return, as they eased six points ahead of fifth-placed Tottenham and 11 ahead of Manchester United in sixth – and Rodgers acclaimed his team’s attacking display. It included the excellent midfield contributions of Jordan Henderson and Raheem Sterling, and goals which took Daniel Sturridge to 18 Premier League goals in as many starts. He has now scored in eight successive Premier League games for the club.

Rodgers admitted that the nervousness in his defenders permeated to other departments. High-scoring wins – 3-2 at Fulham and 5-3 at Stoke City to cite two others from the past six weeks – are “not planned,” he insisted. “We concede poor goals, which is not so [much] structural as mistakes or decision making, which costs us. We will continue to work on that side of it. The balance in our training is very much equal in relation to our pressing, defensive mentality and also our offensive side.”

Rodgers said his former Swansea captain Garry Monk had transformed the side from the one passed on to by him by the recently dismissed Michael Laudrup. Swansea’s performance – including a superb display by Leon Britton, who did not always feature for Laudrup – is one they would have been incapable of three weeks ago, Rodgers said.

[G]

If we can't coach them,which I agree with,then its basically an admission that none of them are good enough so wholesale defensive changes are on the cards,on top of the other areas that need strengthening,keeper being one I reckon.Not sure his weaknesses can be coached out of him either.

[Roanmore]

Talk about making up a headline.

[kingfunk]

I think what he means is' you can't polish a turd.

[DannyMan2006]

The headline is severe, but you can read those quotes and see where they got it from. He needs to watch what he's saying. Certain members of the press will be happy to create divides in our team.

[~LFCHistory~]

If we can't coach them,which I agree with,then its basically an admission that none of them are good enough so wholesale defensive changes are on the cards,on top of the other areas that need strengthening,keeper being one I reckon.Not sure his weaknesses can be coached out of him either.

I think what Brendan said there was coded language, in other words Skrtel, Agger, Toure and Glen Johnson are all overpaid, overrated liabilities who've been holding us back for a long time now, that's probably a bit harsh but it could well be what he's thinking after today's shambles at the back.
However selling that lot in the Summer will leave us with Sakho as our only definite starter in the back 4 with Flanagan, Enrique, Ilori and probably Wisdom as backup which means we'll need to buy a top class CB, RB and LB to start games as well as another CB as 3rd choice.

[dww]

I think that is not only harsh but inaccurate both as representation about what Rodgers said and the players involved. I think it is much more likely that it is intended as a motivation much like the way he treated Skrtel last season and, say, Warren Gatland motivated the Welsh rugby team recently.

My feeling is that the blend of the defence is wrong and needs sorting. That included the keeper and the most defensive midfielder. I think not keeping a settled back four and the injuries and fitness issues we have had are significant contributing factors. I personally think there is a lack of trust between the defenders at the minute and that is not helped by Rodgers chopping and changing. We had the option to ease in Agger and Johnson but have consistently altered personnel rapidly.

[McDermotX]

https://twitter.com/ImagesofBrendan

Probably been posted before, but FFS

[EwarWoo]

I know its a piss take but actually really liked this one:

https://twitter.com/ImagesofBrendan/status/437619604933070848/photo/1

[Vermilion]

Images of Brendan @ImagesofBrendan 22h

"True love is about finding perfection in someone who is not perfect." #LFCFamily #YNWA pic.twitter.com/et1xKFwg3B