Brendan Rodgers

[BigChief]

Excellent preparation again by Brendo. When I saw the team sheet I thought we were naive going in with two strikers against a team that likes to press high (Pochettino).

But while watching the game the players were under different instructions. Spurs (Poch) were expecting us to press them high so they could catch us on the counter. But we sat back, two banks of four, until we got our chances.

Completely caught Pochettino by surprise who was probably licking his lips against us. The exasperation on his face in the last 15 minutes told all you needed to know about the identity of the father. Big Bad Brendaddy!

[Chazza]

Brendan Rodgers is no David Brent and the likes of Raheem Sterling will have good days at the office under Liverpool boss

Brendan Rodgers was once compared to David Brent
Rodgers' passion is developing young players at Liverpool
He also wants players to be able to play anywhere
The Premier League needs more bosses with Rodgers' vision
The likes of Raheem Sterling and Jordan Henderson are maturing
That is good news for Liverpool and England

At White Hart Lane on Sunday, Brendan Rodgers gave a fascinating insight into his motivation to lead Liverpool to the top.

He had just been asked about his quip - ‘the run was Ricky Villa and the finish was Ricky Gervais’ - after Raheem Sterling scuffed a chance to make it 4-0 at Tottenham.

‘A few of you thought I was David Brent when I got the job and I haven’t forgotten that either,’ he remarked.





In his temporary office at White Hart Lane, there was suddenly a bit of a chill.

His mood changed instantly, though, when he was asked about the flexibility and tactical awareness of this Liverpool team.

His enthusiasm for the development of young players in his side is infectious.
That is his passion, committing himself to improving the players he has on the training ground each day at Liverpool. If only there were more like this in the game.

These are the skills Rodgers acquired when he was a young coach, first at Reading and then at Chelsea.

Although he accepts that there is pressure to compete for a place in the top four again, particularly after last season’s title challenge, he also wants to improve and nurture his players.

There was genuine care in his voice, almost pastoral, when he was asked about Sterling’s performance and his preferred position on the field on Sunday.

This is what Rodgers said: ‘I think he's flexible. We've tried to develop him not only to be a wide player but to have the freedom and the awareness to play on the inside.

‘It was perfect for him today: he can turn, press, work, and in a 4-3-3 he can work on the side and penetrate. It's important he has the intelligence to play these different positions.’

This has echoes of the Dutch school of thought, with its origins in the philosophy of the great coach Rinus Michels.

Everybody has to be comfortable on the ball, to be flexible on the field and learn to play in different positions.

Ruud Gullit, one of the game’s most distinguished and decorated players, played up front, in the centre of midfield and as a sweeper during his career. He looked at home in all three.

Dennis Bergkamp, whose instructive autobiography Stillness and Speed is a motivational tool for young players, played out on the wing for Ajax before he became one of the world’s most accomplished No 10s.

For English football and its players to flourish again, the Barclays Premier League will need more coaches with Rodgers’ feeling for the game.





Liverpool’s manager has no obligation to England, but he started with four internationals - captain Steven Gerrard, Jordan Henderson, Daniel Sturridge and Sterling, at White Hart Lane.

Not a huge number, but more than his rivals. Arsenal, who played at Leicester on Sunday, fielded none again in their starting XI.

With the exception of Gerrard, who retired from international football after the World Cup, the other three are in the England team for Wednesday evening’s friendly with Norway.

To many, the tactical expressions are a turn-off in a game that can be over-complicated at times by managers theorising about systems and formations.





But Rodgers tests his players, pushing their minds that little bit more and asking them to stretch the limits. Sterling is the latest example.



‘He needs to be better on his left foot,’ was Rodgers’ considered analysis after he missed the chance to score a second goal against Spurs. He meant it.

‘His tactical awareness is improving and for a kid of 19... he's going to be great. Him, Daniel Sturridge and Jordan Henderson are going to do well for Roy Hodgson in the years to come. They've shown they can play in different positions.’

Sterling himself admitted, after the impressive win over Tottenham, that he has been asked to play and learn a number of positions across Liverpool’s forward line.

How many managers, under almost intolerable pressure to win every match and not make mistakes, are prepared to risk that? Not many.
It wasn’t that long ago, when Rodgers was mocked for his part in Being: Liverpool, that Sterling was getting it in the neck from the Liverpool manager.

At the time, Rodgers told the Liverpool forward that he would be on the first plane back to England from their US tour in 2012 after he made a disrespectful comment to his manager.

Others in this Liverpool team are maturing, too. When Henderson spoke on Monday at England’s training base, he was passionate about the future of the national team.

He spoke about the Rodgers Effect, the doctrines and principles the Liverpool manager has impressed upon this group of players.

Henderson is captaincy material for club and country, a fine example of a young player increasing in influence on and off the field.
In time, it will all be there for him.

Henderson’s personality has been teased out of him, partially down to his improved performances on the pitch alongside his captain.
Back in the training ground office at Melwood, Rodgers has played his part in that.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2740917/Brendan-Rodgers-no-David-Brent-s-making-likes-Raheem-Sterling-stars.html

[PTP]

some good reading

rodgers is doing a great job - i like his positive vibes and honest approach. You can clearly tell the team has a great atmosphere and togetherness....i remember reading about gerrard saying last seeing that he couldn't wait to get to training every day and he hadn't felt like that in like 10 years.

yeah rodgers makes mistakes, gets things wrong etc every manager does....whats important though is he seems to learn from it and learn from every game and adapt/improve and that seems to transmit down to his players.

i'm quietly confident that we will win the league under rodgers if we continue on this upwards curve. I'm not sure when, but if we stick with him and he continues like this and the club continue to back him, then it will happen

[dom9]

This is what I'm talking about in the United thread. Van Gaal clearly has his eye on the bigger picture, as does Rodgers. Both are willing to sacrifice an element of the short term, to achieve in the long term. It isn't short sighted thinking.

Whether you agree with the way they are each doing that is another debate.

[red g]

some good reading

rodgers is doing a great job - i like his positive vibes and honest approach. You can clearly tell the team has a great atmosphere and togetherness....i remember reading about gerrard saying last seeing that he couldn't wait to get to training every day and he hadn't felt like that in like 10 years.

yeah rodgers makes mistakes, gets things wrong etc every manager does....whats important though is he seems to learn from it and learn from every game and adapt/improve and that seems to transmit down to his players.

i'm quietly confident that we will win the league under rodgers if we continue on this upwards curve. I'm not sure when, but if we stick with him and he continues like this and the club continue to back him, then it will happen

i am quite astonished at the sheer different formations, he uses and the flexibility of all our players under his stewardship.

remember when he came and it was all about possession? well as shown on Sunday we can have 40% of it and still look the better team, bet not many teams can do that!!

[red g]

This is what I'm talking about in the United thread. Van Gaal clearly has his eye on the bigger picture, as does Rodgers. Both are willing to sacrifice an element of the short term, to achieve in the long term. It isn't short sighted thinking.

Whether you agree with the way they are each doing that is another debate.

But Rodgers has shown an ability to adapt and change though.......lets hope Buttface doesn't!!

[Chris]

Godgers.

[PTP]

on sunday - and it could have been my eyes going and i mean this in a total non racist way but i struggled to tell the difference between sturridge/sterling/balotelli

let me explain before i get banned

what i mean is that, they all interchanged, worked hard, moved/turned quickly, get possesion or took people on when needed, passed/controlled well etc.

it was fluid/natural and it must be impossible to defend against. A front three that can hurt you in so many ways and all three looked just as comfortable either pulling wide, dropping off or darting through the middle

[dom9]

But Rodgers has shown an ability to adapt and change though.......lets hope Buttface doesn't!!

He's only four games in.

Four games into Rodgers tenure / reign / stewardship / incumbency /regime / command, we weren't looking particularly cohesive either.

[Pablo]

on sunday - and it could have been my eyes going and i mean this in a total non racist way but i struggled to tell the difference between sturridge/sterling/balotelli

let me explain before i get banned

what i mean is that, they all interchanged, worked hard, moved/turned quickly, get possesion or took people on when needed, passed/controlled well etc.

it was fluid/natural and it must be impossible to defend against. A front three that can hurt you in so many ways and all three looked just as comfortable either pulling wide, dropping off or darting through the middle

Hmmmm. I'm still up for banning him.

[dww]

Who's at fault? Carra and Neville pointed out that Johnson and Skrtel dropped back while Lovren and Moreno stepped up. This left us with a horrible line which was exposed. The goals came from the left but was it because the two boys stepped up or because the other two dropped back and played them onside.

I think trying to blame one person is a flawed approach here - we need our defence to act as a unit. That is something that only happens over time. We've barely played the same back 4 in the time Rodgers has been here and a significant issue in that regard has been fitness (rather than fickle selection). We need to have a few games with the same players working together before we start making any judgments IMO.

[red g]

He's only four games in.

Four games into Rodgers tenure / reign / stewardship / incumbency /regime / command, we weren't looking particularly cohesive either.

fair point but then didnt we have to play City and United in those first few games? Although we did get stuffed by WBA

Anyway lets just enjoy the moments they are utterly horrific as sadly cant see it lasting to much longer!!

[Pablo]

fair point but then didnt we have to play City and United in those first few games? Although we did get stuffed by WBA

Anyway lets just enjoy the moments they are utterly horrific as sadly cant see it lasting to much longer!!

Not to mention we also finished 7th that season as we were so far back before we hit form. That's what I think will happen to Man United this season.

[chadrtc]

Not to mention we also finished 7th that season as we were so far back before we hit form. That's what I think will happen to Man United this season.

And we REALLY hit form after Xmas. United will do very well to be in the top 3 performers in the new year as we were.

[G]

UEFA Elite coaches forum on today. No Rodgers, I wonder why he doesn't bother.