Brendan Rodgers

[alonso14]

Rodgers should ask Sammi Hyypia and Jamie Carragher to be our defensive coaches,cos ain't nobody else ****ing teaching this at the club

You could bring in baresi, maldini, Kohler, and the rest. It wouldn't make any difference.

The problem isn't the personnel its the way we approach defending.

[alonso14]

I think the problem between Gerrard and Rafa is massively over exaggerated

It just wasn't a personal relationship more like a functional relationship between a boss and employee. Gerrard craves praise and a personable touch from his managers and he never got that with Rafa.

However if you think that means Gerrard doesn't respect or even hates Rafa I think you are well wide of the mark

He would have to be ****ing daft to hate the man who managed him to a Champions League win and another final. Who also bought Alonso and Masherano and Torres and played him in the position that best expressed his attacking talents

When players are very young lads in the academy a coach should be close to them and the relationship between a coach and a 14 year old is almost like father and son. There should be strong bonds to nurture and develop players and in return they place their trust and faith in you.

But as you get older a coach who consistently tells you how good you are and doesn't make you address your weaknesses isn't doing you any favours.

Benitez took gerrards game apart and rebuilt a much better version. That's what great coaches do. You dont have to like your coach infact plenty hate theirs, but you have to respect them. That's the dynamic between Steven Gerrard and rafa benitez.

[Chazza]

Rodgers: Defending is the key

Boss Brendan Rodgers says Liverpool must shape up defensively or forget about qualifying for the Champions League.

The Reds have kept only five clean sheets in their last 37 matches and while their manager believes the seven-point gap to Champions League places is by no means insurmountable, they will have to do considerably better at the back.

"There is always a period of pressure you will come under," said Rodgers ahead of Saturday’s trip to Sunderland.

"You can have the ball a lot of the game and you will still have to defend at some points in that game.

"You have to remain calm; the single biggest thing has been mistakes. It is not so much structurally but we have a tendency at times to make mistakes and that has cost us.

"That is something we work hard to get the players to eradicate from their game.

"From the Crystal Palace game (when they lost 3-1 in late November) we needed to change, get back the model of our work, and from that we have slowly got back to a decent level again.

"There is still a lot of work to do but part of that is to ensure we don't give away silly goals."

West Ham, Arsenal and Tottenham stand between Liverpool and Southampton in fourth but Rodgers remains confident, with the imminent return of striker Daniel Sturridge from a long-term thigh injury, it can be achieved.

"It's going to be tough but I am looking forward to the challenge," he added.

"We have a great spirit at the moment and footballing ideas are returning to our game and will push very hard in the second half of the season to bring success here.

"The players are improving and we can see how seven points may seem a lot but it certainly can be whittled away.

"You just have to consistently win games and perform well and that is our idea."

Rodgers has already said he does not expect to make many, if any, additions in the January transfer window despite continually being linked with numerous players.

Rodgers was non-committal on the latest speculation surrounding Manchester City's James Milner.

"James is a wonderful player, an outstanding footballer, but players get linked consistently here through agents trying to, by virtue of association, get a better deal," he added.

"I will never speak about any player until they were signed in the door. You can fire a list of names at me and you will get the same response."

Rodgers also does not expect many departures, apart from possibly on loan.

"If everyone stays there might be a few who need to go out on loan because they are not playing so much," he said.

"At this moment I wouldn't envisage too many departures."

http://www.football365.com/liverpool/9638086/Premier-League-Rodgers-defence-key-to-Champions-League-qualification?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

[Rich]

I really don't think he understands defending to be honest.

[Pablo]

I really don't think he understands defending to be honest.

It's definitely over-simplifying to say all our goals are caused by individual errors.

If you can't admit you've got a problem then how can you go about fixing it?

It's a bit worrying reading quotes like that.

[Chris]

"It is not so much structurally but we have a tendency at times to make mistakes and that has cost us.

Well stop picking the players who make the most mistakes then!! Took him ages to drop Lovren, Skrtel has been **** the whole time he's been here but starts every game (the one time he did drop him whatdoyaknow our defensive record improved dramatically, shock horror), Glen is back in every time he's available too.

[baitman]

It's definitely over-simplifying to say all our goals are caused by individual errors.

If you can't admit you've got a problem then how can you go about fixing it?

It's a bit worrying reading quotes like that.

when was the last time our defence managed to catch someone offside.

they drop so far back they are virtually spooning the mig

[Bender]

Brendan Rodgers....Manager of Swansea
Goals For>44 ..Goals against>51

Goals For>69 ..Goals against>42



Brendan Rodgers....Manager of Liverpool
Season 2012-2013
Goals For>71 ..Goals against>43

Season 2013-2014
Goals For>101 ..Goals against>50

Season 2014-2015
Goals For>28 ..Goals against>27

[marcus50bucks]

"There is always a period of pressure you will come under," said Rodgers ahead of Saturday’s trip to Sunderland.

"You can have the ball a lot of the game and you will still have to defend at some points in that game.

"You have to remain calm; the single biggest thing has been mistakes. It is not so much structurally but we have a tendency at times to make mistakes and that has cost us

That right there is why I am not convinced he is going to last here. He still cannot see that it is a structural problem. He is never going to find the right balance because he clueless at organizing a defence.

[BigChief]

I just read in the Raheem thread about Gerrard saying he had an uncomfortable conversation with Brendan about 'managing' the number of games Stevie played. For himself and also for the club. Which led to the decision for Gerrard to leave.

Explains a bit about who was more responsible for the constant number of games Gerrard kept playing.

Some balls shown at last. And some faith restored in Brendan. He might just salvage our season after all despite defensive deficiencies.

[Liverpool]

I'm just guessing but I reckon the talk Gerrard refers to must have been before the Madrid away game. Must have been a shock to the system to sit that one out

[tanner]

Here is the start of the excuses

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/foo...n-Rodgers.html

Unfortunately for Brendan, one of the reasons we're unable to attract some of the best players is Rodgers himself. This was one of the fears I highlighted when he took over, a complete unknown in World football, no top player was ever going to sign for us for a chance to work with Brendan Rodgers.

Couple this with our lack of consistent Champions League football and trophies of late, location and then our transfer policy, and we've little to no chance of getting any top players here. Now, once Stevie goes next season, there's not one player at the club who top targets are going to be saying, "I'd love to play alongside....". We're losing on all fronts in that respect.

All the ingredients are here for a very poor period indeed. If we don't invest heavily in some established talent, any of the current crop of young players who start showing promise will soon to be off to the types of clubs that can offer some of the above.

I really do think we're in for a very long period of mediocrity, unless FSG rip up their rule book and make some drastic changes. This of course unless they're happy to have us plodding along somewhere in the top 7, which may well be the case.

[Kenneth]

You're the voice of doom, but I think you're probably right unfortunately.We might occasionally challenge for the fourth spot, but if we are successful in CL qualification again sometime soon against the odds, the same questions will be asked of the owners as last summer. I suspect their answers will the same. Maximise the value from our main assets, be cautious with wages and buy quantity over quality.

[dww]

I really don't think he understands defending to be honest.

It's definitely over-simplifying to say all our goals are caused by individual errors.

If you can't admit you've got a problem then how can you go about fixing it?

It's a bit worrying reading quotes like that.

I don't know - Alex Fergusson used to say similar things. He usually ended up changing his coaching staff though. The real test is what Brendan does to learn and evolve his approach not how he deflects criticism in the press.

My feeling is that excess individual errors costing goals is usually a systemic problem and most managers/coaches know that. It's not something you want to admit in public though, especially if you don't have a way of fixing it (yet).

[danperkins]

Unfortunately for Brendan, one of the reasons we're unable to attract some of the best players is Rodgers himself. This was one of the fears I highlighted when he took over, a complete unknown in World football, no top player was ever going to sign for us for a chance to work with Brendan Rodgers.

Couple this with our lack of consistent Champions League football and trophies of late, location and then our transfer policy, and we've little to no chance of getting any top players here. Now, once Stevie goes next season, there's not one player at the club who top targets are going to be saying, "I'd love to play alongside....". We're losing on all fronts in that respect.

All the ingredients are here for a very poor period indeed. If we don't invest heavily in some established talent, any of the current crop of young players who start showing promise will soon to be off to the types of clubs that can offer some of the above.

I really do think we're in for a very long period of mediocrity, unless FSG rip up their rule book and make some drastic changes. This of course unless they're happy to have us plodding along somewhere in the top 7, which may well be the case.

yup