Brendan Rodgers

[kingfunk]

cringe....

BIIIIIIIG Cringe!

[Roboklopp]

Aye.

[Fosterbloke]

Did you know all those swords are based on famous fantasy swords such as Glamdring from LotR?

[Roboklopp]

No.

[Mike]

The air is thick with it. Hope. Optimism. Dreams. The echoes of crowds chanting the melody of winning the league ringing in our ears. The faces of our Liverpool heroes plastered to our walls seem to tease with the possibility that maybe, somehow… this could happen.
It’s not like Liverpool is a stranger to beating odds, of course. We recall. 5 times. The fifth its own portrait of a masterpiece, starting as a near-Greek tragedy but destined to be etched in glory. We saw class score against Juventus, a ghosting past the Blues and the ultimate quixotic final.
At the centre of the dream, the ambition remains to restore the club to its past glories. Not just reclaim the perch. But again invent it. Become untouchable. Conquer the world. Live the Shankly sentiments.
The current team has ignited these sparks, these fires burning deep in Liverpool hearts for a team to charm them, inspire them, draw the cheers of delight and awe in response to avalanches of goals and class. The 2013-14 class features many a magician to this stage. From the goals of Sturridge, to the wonder saves of Mignolet, to the reformed football virtuoso Suarez.
Yet – the true hero, the true agent of change, still doubted by some, uncredited by others – is clearly the manager, Brendan Rodgers.

Being Brendan Rodgers
Spend some time discussing Rodgers and before long, you’ll find two broad camps; those who wrote Rodgers off (and possibly still do), and another whose feelings on him scale between cautious optimism and excitement.
12-18 months later, the sentiments have changed. The astute few saw signs at the start of his reign in the “naïve” attempts at tiki-taka, the romantic use of youngsters, and the bold dismissal of deadwood personnel. Now most of the sentiments hinge on trying to understand how good he could be, as opposed to whether he’s good enough.
Even if we judge on the hard currency of fact and results, there’s little doubt that Rodgers has progressed on an improvement curve as steep as the alluring football his team produces on most weeks.
There are so many dynamics to his improvements. He was already lauded as a tactically astute manager before his appointment. He’s proved with various results this season that his side has adaptability in spades. His basic tactical principles still exist. He still wants the team to be combative, and press high, close to the opponent’s goal. But what has emerged is a systemic flexibility, highlighted by using several different formations already this season. And most of them have worked.
His tactical blueprint is becoming a unique system. It’s never appeared clearer that Rodgers’ learnings from Spain and Dutch footballing masters are being fused in a lethal attacking cocktail that takes nearly any kind of opponent and leverages changes in tempo, energy, directness, flexibility and space to win games relentlessly.
Rinus Michels spoke of “total football” being sensitive to quality – and Rodgers’ tactical applications have clearly unleashed every drop of quality in the fearsome frontline and the individual layers of brilliance in the team.
The individuals look happier for it too. For all the valid defensive concerns, Liverpool are an extremely difficult team to put away and beat. They’ve developed into a side that only looks capable of losing by its own error than opponent superiority. The team projects it. Oozes it. No more fear. Just a quiet arrogance, a genuine current flowing through the team of superiority. Belief in abundance.
Rodgers’ man management has been lauded in the past, but now it seems to be a weapon he yields, rivalling that of mentor Mourinho, and well ahead of mild-mannered Pellegrini and a tired Wenger. It’s man management that has turned the summer flirtations of Suarez into a committed player who looks seriously happy to play for Liverpool.
His man management comes across abundantly on the pitch. Granted – heart, passion, guts… not many Liverpool teams have lacked that down the years. But Rodgers has achieved something larger. The fighting spirit, energy, and determination have morphed into a feeling of entitlement to dominate opponents and win. The team’s defensive issues pale in comparison to the team’s “testicular” fortitude in moving past those issues by taking teams on and beating them.
Then add how many players have improved technically, developed tactical flexibility, adapted seamlessly to adventures in formation. Gerrard in a regista role. Flanagan playing both fullback positions (and a beast, at that – ask Roberto Soldado or Cafu). Henderson as super-charged engine of the Anfield vehicle. Sterling becoming not just the talent we wanted him to be… but possibly even better.
If that doesn’t convince you – there’s always the league table. The one showing Liverpool at the TOP of the pile. IN APRIL. In the thick of a title race. With 6 more wins, 4 less defeats, 17 more goals, 10 more points and 0.61 more points per game than the WHOLE of last season. With 6 still to play. With a record number of goals. 159 in 70 league games alone under Rodgers. Punching clinically against an Arsenal with Ozil, a Chelsea with Mourinho, a Pellegrini with tons more.
Where will history place Rodgers?
So if we’re happily convinced that Suarez’s performances can earn his “promotion” amongst the finest footballing boots of this generation, what of Rodgers? Are comparisons to young managerial talents like Klopp, De Boer, Garcia or Simeone unfair? If he wins the league…delight dances down my spine just saying it…what then? Does that finally engrave his place in the embrace of all Liverpool fans alongside Shanks, Paisley, Fagan, Kenny and Rafa in the memoirs of Liverpool glory? Does his new contract get 1 extra year with every breath the cauldron of Anfield draws as they cheer closer alongside their heroes in the pursuit of the perch?
I for one, find myself trusting him, curiously impatient to see what other fantastic idea he’ll try next. I think a manager who sets out to “make coming to Anfield the longest 90 minutes of an opponent’s life” and achieves it by heaping equivalents of footballing torture on Everton, Arsenal and Spurs deserves all the plaudits he’s worked for.
Maybe the league will be won this season – maybe it won’t. Champions League nights certainly beckon seductively, even though next season may well be substantially more difficult. A bruised Arsenal, a manager change at Spurs, the inevitable sacking of the Chosen One at Old Trafford, to join the already formidable blue halves of London and Manchester. Yet somehow, I’m galvanized. I believe in the team. I believe in the manager. I sense that the players do too.
Maybe soon, it won’t just be Suarez and Sturridge they’re all scared of. Maybe the apprehension will come from knowing they’re facing a man able to get superlative performances out of all his players, no matter their quality. If this is what he can do with a squad that mostly finished 7th (!) last season, imagine what else he could do.
Maybe instead of referring to Suarez and Sturridge, Steven Gerrard will say this to opponents planning on facing Brendan Rodgers…
All the best.
YNWA

[Vermilion]

He will have to get past a clad in red John Terry first.

#fullkit******

[ashey]

[Gazzla]

Lets put this in perspective, last year we were 7th with 61 points. Despite the number of players we signed in the summer (8?) how many are regulars and have improved our starting 11? Mignolet aside, maybe Sakho who can't get in front of Agger at present yet with essentially the same team we are league leaders.

I know we signed Coutinho and Sturridge last January but who at the end of the season genuinely looked at our team or after the transfer window had shut and thought that was a team that could win or even compete for the league title?

Rodgers deserves all the credit in the world, has there ever been such a turnaround in a team with essentially the same players? Rodgers isn't a 1 trick pony, look at the formations we have played this year. Would Mourinho who the media regard as the best manager around have got this team where it is at the moment? Would he ****, we have Brendan Rodgers and I wouldn't change him for any manger in football at this moment in time.

[Yozza]

Rodgers: I can change and they understand

Almost two years of fine-tuning and guiding the Liverpool squad has now brought Brendan Rodgers to the stage where his subtle changes are instantly understood and carried out by the players.

The Northern Irishman has overseen an eight-match winning streak since Arsenal were summarily picked apart on February 8 - a run which has catapulted the Reds top of the Barclays Premier League.

Rodgers' starting XI and team shape has altered regularly this season, with a hitherto unseen diamond formation introduced when Southampton were downed at the beginning of March.

Most recently, the boss reverted to 4-3-3 on Sunday to record a handsome 4-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur, his side's third fixture in eight busy days after wins against Cardiff City and Sunderland.

He commented on Friday: "The structure of the team is good, we're flexible tactically so when I change they understand their job exactly.

"The style remains the same whatever system we play - it's to play with dominance and they have certainly shown that. I've talked before about the nature of our game.

"The nature of our game is to deal with the ball. It's easy to coach a team to sit back, all in one half of the field, and to not play with the ball.

"The hard thing and the thing that we found difficult at the beginning of my time here was to keep encouraging players, when they make a mistake, to let it go; just to keep playing and get on the ball.

"We play as a team. You see the confidence in the players - they have belief in how they're working, which is important, and belief that they can win big games.

"That gives them that extra bit of confidence going into football matches and they have got their rewards for it. But it has not been just this season, it was the second half of last season.

"We've had momentum for a little bit of time now and that will hopefully continue."

Rodgers and his players entered the Anfield clash with Spurs knowing that a draw or better would be enough for the Reds to rise to the Premier League summit with six games remaining.

With West Ham United next on the agenda this Sunday, reporters at the manager's pre-match press conference referenced the apparent calmness under pressure being shown by his squad.

He continued: "It's something that I'm witnessing - I'm not surprised by that. The idea for us to play how we play is in order to take the pressure off the players.

"They need to focus on the football, they need to focus on their technique and they need to focus on performance. That removes the pressures of having to win, because we know that when we play like we've played, we will win games.

"The tenacity of the team to press - and work, first and foremost - is there. They are all very competitive at the moment as well."

[Yozza]

Boss: I'd already been told all about Anfield

Long before Brendan Rodgers took up the managerial reins at Liverpool, the Northern Irishman had been warned what to expect when the Kop is in 'full bloom'.

The 41-year-old, who began his career at Chelsea, before taking charge of Watford, Reading and Swansea City, heard from various players about the atmosphere that can await a side in L4.

On Sunday, during the 4-0 drubbing of Tottenham Hotspur, he witnessed first-hand the sheer noise levels that cascaded from the stands and the stunning display of flags and banners which adorned the Kop.

The manager believes such an intense, carnival atmosphere will only intensify as the season goes on, with crunch clashes against Manchester City, Chelsea and Newcastle United on the horizon.

However, he was also keen to pay tribute to the vociferous support the Reds have received on the road this season, ahead of what will be a testing trip to the capital to take on West Ham United on Sunday.

"The fans are vital," Rodgers told reporters gathered at the club's Melwood training base. "I think we saw that in some of the images last weekend at Anfield - it was amazing.

"I think the Kop was in full bloom last week. It was a real sight to behold. We have an iconic group of supporters around the world and [on Sunday we saw] the flags and the support - and just the noise levels.

"The noise was cranked up last week. That will intensify as we go on. We've got three important games away from home and we've got very important games at home. The support home and away has been brilliant, so the fans are a big, big part of that.

"I've been at other clubs and I've heard really top players talk about it - the atmosphere inside the ground for an opponent. It's a difficult place to come into. We've had a number of games here where I've genuinely felt that the supporters have got us over the line. It's a real intimidating place to come to.

"We have an army of supporters around the world and at Anfield they all come in to really give that support to the team. It's a real cauldron. We're enjoying it."

[RedRum]

Rodgers is just class -

"I think it is fantastic the supporters now have hope - I quite enjoy that really. This is why I became a manager."

He really cares about us

[EwarWoo]

Liverpool MD Ian Ayre on BBC Radio 5 live's Sportsweek: "When we changed our manager to Brendan Rodgers we looked at starting again and a different style.

"The football we play I think is not only appreciated by our fans by neutrals. It is exciting and dynamic football and everyone is pleased with the results.

"He is great to deal with and we have a fantastic relationship. I think his biggest asset is his ability to work individually with players.

"He is a very personable manager. I know he spends a lot of time with them individually and then importantly brings them together as a team.

"Brendan, very importantly, understands the ethos of this football club, what it stands for and the history.

"He has made a fantastic start to what hopefully is a long career. We would all love Brendan to be there for a long time."

Source: http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/26910297

[Fosterbloke]

Godgers

[Fredo]

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers: "There were bad decisions both for and against us. We were clearly the better team. The pitch was very dry, it wasn't watered which affects the speed of our game. That's the home team's choice.

"The first one was a clear penalty. In all fairness the referee after the game will see he got it wrong for their goal. That was their only shot on target. We then went to a diamond which gave us control and we created a lot of chances in the second half. You are under a lot of physical pressure here.

"Andy Carroll is the best in the air in Europe. I thought Martin Skrtel was brilliant to deal with that today. It was a foul by him for the West Ham goal though, the linesman gave a foul so it was disappointing to get a goal given.

"The second penalty was a penalty. Jon Flanagan touches it past the keeper, the keeper gets a slight touch on it but he then brings down Jon."

[Fredo]

Palace away is gonna be worse than against West Ham. Pulis' tactics are worse than Fat Sam and I've noticed that the grass at Selhurst Park is quite long, which suits their style of hoof ball.