Brendan Rodgers

[alonso14]

Brendans biggest mistake was refusing to work with a DoF and ending up with a committee that absolutely useless at picking players. Best thing FSG can do is get rid of the committee and put an experienced DoF in place, someone who shares the same philosophy as Brendan and if Brendan doesn't like it, **** him off and let the DoF pick a coach.

In this model Fenway want to use the manager cant be the one to set the style which means that with every managerial change we dont get a new style. Rather the DOF picks the style and then picks the manager who best represents that style and then translates that onto the pitch.

This allows the academy to be run to the style that the dof picks and it isn't completely disrupted / overhauled every time a new manager comes in.
effectively, the club stays true to the same philosophy all the time and each different managerial change is seamless with minimum disruption. Again, this allows the transfer committee to be run 'independently' of the manager as they already know the exact profile of players were looking for in each role / position.

Problem is finding a director of football with that sort of know how.

[Slinky Skills]

Wonder if Rodgers name was in those envelopes?

[marcus50bucks]

Brendan Rodgers built the dream at Liverpool... but now he has to rescue it

• Brendan Rodgers is under scrutiny after Liverpool crashed out of the Champions League following a 1-1 draw with Basle
• Former Reds manager Roy Evans has criticised team selection and tactics
• The atmosphere at Anfield needs to improve to restore players' confidence
• Injured defender Jon Flanagan would return some missing aggression
• Steve Nicol says the manager will pay the price if results don't improve

By DOMINIC KING FOR THE DAILY MAIL
PUBLISHED: 22:38, 10 December 2014 | UPDATED: 22:38, 10 December 2014

Brendan Rodgers is under serious pressure for the first time in his reign as Liverpool manager.

There is no suggestion that the worst Champions League campaign in the club’s history will cost Rodgers his job, as he retains Fenway Sports Group’s full support. But, after Tuesday’s insipid 1-1 draw with Basle, Rodgers accepted that the scrutiny on him is building with each bad result.

Somehow he must reverse the negative spiral Liverpool are in, particularly as the next three games — clashes with Manchester United and Arsenal in the Barclays Premier League sandwich a Capital One Cup quarter-final at Bournemouth — are pivotal. Sportsmail examines the key issues.

WHAT IS HIS BEST TEAM?

After spending in excess of £100million last summer, you would think there would be some stability to the sides Rodgers is sending out. The reality, however, is different. Liverpool have played 23 games in all competitions this season and Rodgers has named 23 different selections.

Not since Liverpool were beaten 2-0 by Chelsea on April 27 — the game that ultimately cost them the Barclays Premier League title — has Rodgers named the same team, and the leaky defence has been subject to constant change.

The concern at the moment is that no matter what personnel or system Rodgers deploys, performances are not improving. Is there an argument for him to put his faith in a certain 11 and formation and persist until results change?

‘If you need to win, why not put them under pressure from the word go?’ said former Liverpool boss Roy Evans. ‘We waited until we were down to 10 men with 20 minutes to go, then threw everything at them. Why not do it from the start? The way we approached the game was a bit negative.’

CHANGE THE ATMOSPHERE

When results are good, harmony reigns. Once they begin to tail off, though, the ambience dips and the manner in which Liverpool’s fortunes have plummeted this season has had an impact on the morale of the squad.

So assured when they were on top of their game last year, the team’s faltering confidence has now eroded performance levels. That was never more apparent than after 42 seconds against Basle when Simon Mignolet, Martin Skrtel and Dejan Lovren passed the ball as if it was a hot potato.

The dressing room was, once again, very subdued after their exit from the Champions League and Rodgers will be aware of how crucial it is to Liverpool’s fortunes not to let the atmosphere fester. He sets the tone at Melwood and he must remain on the front foot.

ADD SOME AGGRESSION

The mood around Anfield changed for the better in the 62nd minute against Basle when Steven Gerrard thundered into a challenge and emerged with the ball. Liverpool supporters like good footballers but they also like players with a mean streak.

Are Liverpool too soft? It could be that they are too nice. When they played Real Madrid at Anfield, they barely laid a glove on the champions and never threatened to make things uncomfortable. That criticism has been recurring.

One player who has been missed and would give Liverpool an ‘edge’ is injured defender Jon Flanagan. They could do with someone else to give them steel. Liverpool don’t have huge sums to spend in January but, perhaps, whatever cash there is should go on an enforcer.

RIDE OUT THE STORM

Rodgers has made a point of saying that some defeats ‘can be the making’ of you but there is no doubt the criticism of his team, results and himself will be stinging him. Take this from Steve Nicol, whose medals in a 13-year Anfield career include a European Cup.

‘If things don’t change then ultimately Brendan will pay the price,’ said Nicol. ‘If this team keeps performing the way they are, I don’t think they’ll have another option. We are not even halfway through and most people don’t expect Liverpool to get into the top four.

‘You wonder where this team are going. He has tried to add to the squad to make it better. Somehow it has turned the other way. The team are completely rudderless. They don’t look to have any imagination going forward and defensively they look at odds. This is a desperate time for Liverpool.’

The reaction on social media and radio phone-ins saw some supporters ask for him to be removed, less than seven months after being named LMA Manager of the Year, but there is no chance owners FSG will dispense with him soon after giving him a new contract.

What they do expect, is to be back in the top four come May. If Rodgers is to achieve that, he needs to get results. Fast.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2869048/Brendan-Rodgers-built-dream-Liverpool-rescue-it.html

[marcus50bucks]

Brendan Rodgers must take the blame for Liverpool's Champions League elimination, claims former Reds boss Roy Evans

• Liverpool out of the Champions League after home draw with Basle
• Brendan Rodgers must take the blame for the failure to progress, according to former Liverpool manager Roy Evans
• Evans believes the Liverpool boss got his tactics wrong against the Swiss
• READ: Brendan Rodgers under the microscope at Liverpool
• Seven dates that unravelled the Reds to see their fortunes plummet

By ELLIOTT BRETLAND FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 13:18, 10 December 2014 | UPDATED: 17:54, 10 December 2014

Brendan Rodgers must take the blame for Liverpool's elimination from the Champions League, according to former Reds boss Roy Evans.

The Merseysiders failed to qualify from Group B after being held 1-1 at home by Basle on Tuesday night when a win was needed to progress.

Rodgers admitted his side didn't deserve to win and Evans believes the Liverpool boss got his tactics against the Swiss side.

Evans, speaking to the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast show on talkSPORT, said: 'The way we approached the game was a bit negative for me. We started the game - a game we needed to win – with a really low tempo. We didn't put them under pressure and I'm thinking, "Go for them"

'If you need to win, why not put them under pressure from the word go? We waited until we were down to 10 men with 20 minutes to go and then we throw everything at them. We nearly got there but why not do it from the start? That's the only gripe I've got.

'You can be too tactical, you can over think the whole thing. Sometimes you need to think, "OK, we need to win this one game, go out and go for it".'

Former Liverpool defender Steve Nicol believes the defeat and early elimination from the Champions League may have cost Rodgers his job and said: 'If things don't change then ultimately Brendan will pay the price. If this team keeps performing the way it is, I don't think they will have any other option [but to sack Rodgers].

'We are not even halfway through the season yet and I'm guessing most people don't expect Liverpool to get into the top four.

'The biggest surprise is how bad the performances are. The result against Basle was a complete disaster on so many levels. The performance level, the fact they are out of the Champions League and the fact they now go into the Europa League, which is going to do nothing but harm them in the Premier League.

'You really wonder where this team is going. He has tried to add to the squad to make it better and somehow it has turned the other way. It is a team that is completely rudderless. If you watched the game against Basle and the game against Sunderland, they don't look to have any imagination going forward, and defensively they look at odds. This is just a desperate time for Liverpool.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2868484/Brendan-Rodgers-blame-Liverpool-s-Champions-League-elimination-claims-former-Reds-boss-Roy-Evans.html

[Doc_Piptorious]

Roy Evans criticising someone else with regards to tactics?

[baitman]

can you imagine the odious joy on red cafe

[TheElephantMan]

Rodgers gave us more hope than we could have expected last season. We nearly won the league. This season our expectations are higher and our performances are dire. I think we need to view the two seasons and balance things out. There are obvious problems this season, but sacking a manager and then employing another is risky and costly. We could bring someone else in and then the cycle begins again, existing players out/new players in. This season has been really ****, but does anyone really think that Rodgers isn't learning a lot from it? He isn't stupid, he knows that we're massively underachieving. Rodgers will be a better manager next season due to his experience during this one. I took some convincing when he took over, but I think we need to be patient and reel in our expectations a little. He still has time to change things this season and unlike some people here I still think that the new signings will develop into worthwhile first team players.

[vlahka]

I dont know. Playing the same players who under perform regularly over players who do perform is a sure sign of stupid to me.

[Bender]

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers says the entire club is to blame for the Reds' Champions League exit. (The Times - subscription required)
**** off You spent the money you signed the players,it's your fault Rodgers

[Fan65]

Roy Evans criticising someone else with regards to tactics?

Bit harsh on Roy.

According to the article he said

‘If you need to win, why not put them under pressure from the word go?’

‘We waited until we were down to 10 men with 20 minutes to go, then threw everything at them.

Why not do it from the start? The way we approached the game was a bit negative.’

Sounds like a pretty fair & accurate assessment to me.

[Norbs]

But we are punished on the counter attack all too easily and Basle would've known this. Wouldn't have been much of a game plan had we gone behind to an early goal

[Shaggy]

http://www.lfc.pl/files/pdf/2014_12_11_times.pdf

Tony Barrett
Published 1 minute ago

Like all managers who preside over progression followed by regression, the only solace Brendan Rodgers can find is in perspective. “We have to realise where we have come from,” he said after Liverpool’s brief Champions League campaign was put out of its misery by Basle.

The problem with using “the journey” as a shield is that it highlights not only how far you have come but it also exposes the dangers of returning whence you came.

A year ago this weekend, Liverpool clicked with a remarkable 5-0 win away to Tottenham Hotspur demonstrating their transformation from also-rans to the irresistible force of nature that came so close to winning the Barclays Premier League title. Twelve months on, they go into the north-west derby against Manchester United on Sunday in the knowledge that defeat would leave them with one point fewer than they had at the same stage of the 2010-11 season. Roy Hodgson lost his job less than a month later.

If Liverpool’s resurgence under Rodgers was astonishing, so too is the speed of their deterioration. Unlike Hodgson, Rodgers’s position as manager is not yet in question — Liverpool’s owner, Fenway Sports Group, is frustrated with recent form but believes the Northern Irishman has enough credit in the bank to retain its support — and the sense of perspective that Rodgers is seeking is to be found throughout the club and also the fan base.

Equally, though, there is a growing feeling of an opportunity being squandered and a fear that forthcoming fixtures could see pressure grow if poor results continue. After United, Liverpool travel to Bournemouth for the quarter-final of the Capital One Cup, followed by a home league game against Arsenal. Lose all three, which is not out of the question for a team that have won only three of their past 12 matches, and Rodgers’s reign will be in jeopardy.

How Liverpool got themselves into this position is a case study in arrogance and negligence.

After qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in five years and being drawn in a group with Real Madrid, Ian Ayre, the club’s chief executive, described the tournament as “our competition”. Such pride was duly followed by a fall as Liverpool won only one of six group games, courtesy of an undeserved last-minute winner against Ludogorets.

Rodgers allowed himself to fall into a similar trap, warning Louis van Gaal that he would be “surprised” by the competitiveness of the Premier League. As things stand, Liverpool trail United by seven points and six places.

Their Champions League exit at the hands of Basle encapsulated everything that has gone wrong with a flawed summer transfer strategy that continues to undermine them at almost every turn. After £215 million of investment since he became manager, Rodgers picked as many players bought by Rafael Benítez as ones he had signed for a must-win tie. Liverpool played the second half without a recognised forward and ended the game with Martin Skrtel, a centre back, up front in the latest departure from the fundamentals of Rodgers’s philosophy,which, he has always maintained, were non-negotiable.

Simon Mignolet, whose continued presence in goal is the greatest act of negligence of all, has been ordered to kick the ball long given that he is a liability playing out from the back; full backs have been asked to tuck in rather than rampage forward; midfielders must now stop opponents’ attacks rather than launching their own; fluid forwards have been replaced with static ones. The end result is that Liverpool are unrecognisable from the team who began swatting rivals aside with contemptuous ease this time last year.

That Rodgers is resorting to such methods is, in one respect, an indication of his growing pragmatism but it also highlights his desperation. This is not how he wants to play.

It is Liverpool supporters who are suffering, with their eight visits to Anfield for league games so far this season yielding seven home goals, only three more than they witnessed in 20 minutes against Arsenal last season.

It is there that perspective is also to be found. Liverpool have enjoyed a rise and now they are enduring a fall, with each being as dramatic as the other. Whether Rodgers can reverse this decline is open to question and the possibility remains that too much damage was done during the summer for the manager to revitalise Liverpool’s worsening fortunes.

It is no longer where they have come from that is occupying minds, it is the direction that they are heading in.

[rodo]

you could almost predict the fashion in which basle would of scored the other night

[Phoenix07]

I think if he was in Hodgson's position, where Dalglish and Benitez were available and both living locally, things would be different.

[Sarb]

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers says the entire club is to blame for the Reds' Champions League exit. (The Times - subscription required)
**** off You spent the money you signed the players,it's your fault Rodgers

He is the one who picked the wrong team and tactics v Basel and he is the one who practically threw the game in The Bernabeu.