Brendan Rodgers

[Buzzo]

It's just a forum FFS, nothing said on here really matters.

Some of those quotes are funny, and I suspect Brendan has more to worry about than being compared to David Brent.

[Roboklopp]

Aye he does speak a load of ****e at times but not keen on the brenton bollocks.

[baitman]

i would have felt much happier had we appointed a DoF to help with off the field matters, allowing rodgers concentrate on the coaching side of things.

its all fine rodgers saying he doesnt want to work under a DoF, but what about working with a DoF...

maybe now he has had a little time to settle in and he can see how the owners are so detached from the running of the club, he has little or no support around him. surely the extra distractions can only serve to compromise his time and concentration on team matters...

this is back to fsg, and their lack of knowledge in footballing matters, not having a sustainable management structure in place, and all the **** falls at brendans feet, just like during the happened with kenny/suarez

from 4/9/12

[tanner]

And how is that similar to:

“If you can keep your head when all around you have lost theirs, then you probably haven't understood the seriousness of the situation.”

“Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue.”

“A problem shared is a problem halved, so is your problem really yours or just half of someone else’s?”

It's just a lazy link.

You're not going to have word for word similarities, but they're all similarly cringeworthy, only some are purposely so, whilst the others are said as snippets of wisdom from someone who thinks he's the messiah.

[marcus50bucks]

Brendan Rodgers is hamstrung by Liverpool acting like mid-table club
Manager needs a comeback worthy of 2005 in Istanbul, but Anfield 'model' of buying young players rather than world-class ones does him no favours

By Chris Bascombe
8:39PM BST 25 May 2015

It is as if time itself is enjoying a joke at Liverpool’s expense. As the debris was being cleared on the club’s worst defeat in 52 years, the tenth anniversary of the club’s Champions League ‘miracle’ in Istanbul was celebrated.

Brendan Rodgers may be inclined to nick an image from that night as he assesses his own situation. At full-time on Sunday, he must have felt like he was 3-0 down at half time to a side including Pirlo, Kaka, Maldini and Shevchenko.

Just like that momentous evening in the Ataturk, Rodgers must also believe a comeback is possible.

• Liverpool insist Stoke debacle will not cost Rodgers his job
• Who could be the next Liverpool manager?

It was another day of introspection at Anfield – they seem to average one a week in modern times – but Liverpool remain adamant the upcoming internal review into the events of this season will not focus on Rodgers’ position.

“Not on the agenda,” is the official line on it.

Something may be about to change at the club – it really has to – but according to the club, not the manager, not the recruitment staff and not with the introduction of a director of football. One wonders what exactly the review will entail. The seating arrangements and ticket prices for next year’s club end-of-season awards, perhaps?

There will be a degree of incredulity at the suggestion the status quo remains intact from those who witnessed the first-half humiliation in the Britannia Stadium. The cynical view is this is pure story management – an attempt to steer the focus away from any pre-determined desire to dismiss Rodgers.

He may be safe going into his assessment of the season, but will the sirens go off during the course of the conversation and the ground shift as he leaves the room?

• Where are Liverpool's 2005 Champions League winners now?

That said, given Rodgers has already had a preliminary chat and his working relationship with Fenway Sports Group President Michael Gordon is strong, his “150 per cent” sureness can be understood.

If his conviction proves justified, attention will turn swiftly to Fenway Sports Group and Gordon himself. Without the hint of any inaugural address, he slipped into the FSG presidency at the start of the season. We must stop seeing John W Henry as the all-consuming influence on Anfield affairs. So long as Rodgers has the trust of Gordon, he is safe.

There is one caveat, however. Rodgers must still be aligned to the club’s ‘model’.

Herein lies the crux of the issue. It is all about ‘the model’ at Anfield, with the employees signing up to it. It is referred to so often one often wonders if Anfield has been ambushed by an offspring of the church of scientology, or if staff gather to worship before it like the black monolith in “2001: A Space Odyssey”.

There are numerous elements to ‘the model’, but the main one is about "being smart". "Smartness" defines everything, particularly in recruitment. Upon buying Liverpool five years ago it was suggested to John Henry that rather than spending £40 million on well-established, proven world-class international footballers, it might be wiser to find these players before they become world-class. That is when they are cheaper.

It is not known whether anyone shouted "Eureka!" when this idea was proposed. Certainly no one seems to have piped up that everyone else had been trying to do the same thing, with varying degrees of success, since the first transfer fee was dispatched by carrier pigeon. Nor has anyone pointed out that, in all probability, all the best young players are already owned by Chelsea and have been turfed out on loan across Europe.

More worryingly, it does not seem to have occurred to anyone that if you have £115 million to spend and opt to target younger, cheaper players instead of expensive world-class ones, you are electing to operate in the same transfer zone as mid-table rather than elite clubs. The risk of becoming a mid-table team is just as likely as that of plucking the bargain gems that escaped the attention of the established Champions League clubs. Liverpool’s performance at Stoke suggested that this team is heading only one way unless they sign five top-class players.

• How Liverpool players rated in 2014-15
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It rather feels like Liverpool have become a multi-million pound laboratory experiment, big on theory but light on success. Liverpool fans want ready-made winners. FSG want to create them.

That is why those casually dropping the names of Jürgen Klopp and Carlo Ancelotti into chatroom and social-media conversations are demanding FSG abandon everything they have been doing for the last five years.

The last three Liverpool managerial appointments came from Fulham (before FSG took over), the legends’ lounge and Swansea City.

If Rodgers does not mount the greatest Liverpool comeback since Turkey in 2005, the repercussions for his career will be grave. But regardless of what happens to him, it is Liverpool and their owners who must prove their way will revive the status of the club, or ensure that only the reminders of former glories are left for supporters to cling on to.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/11629050/Brendan-Rodgers-is-hamstrung-by-Liverpool-acting-like-mid-table-club.html

I really hope the bit about not changing the recruitment structure is not true because if it is I despair, I really do. It's friggin negligent not to make changes to the transfer committee.

I did find this bit interesting "There will be a degree of incredulity at the suggestion the status quo remains intact from those who witnessed the first-half humiliation in the Britannia Stadium. The cynical view is this is pure story management – an attempt to steer the focus away from any pre-determined desire to dismiss Rodgers." Bascombe is hinting what many people suggested was happening.

[G]

I posted that on the last page Marcus it's spot on though. Way bigger problems than Rodgers.

The club has finished in the top 4 once since 2009 and yet apparently everything is grand and dandy cos they don't see the need to change the manager, the strategy or those charged with finding and recruiting players.

I hate what we've become and it's making me turn into Sarb so I hate them for that too, the ****s. I'll have to turn it in for a year if this keeps up.

[G]

LIVERPOOL: THERE ARE BIGGER PROBLEMS THAN RODGERS
by Sean Rogers

AFTER a game like that, you want to see a reaction. A change. Something. It’s not acceptable for Liverpool to lose 6-1 at Stoke.

But before Liverpool do anything it is vital the people running the club have a conversation with Brendan Rodgers and ask him two things — what he intends to do to correct this season and what is needed structurally to make that happen.

That’s not to say FSG should blindly follow what he says but more that they establish a starting point to the big decisions that need to be made. Quickly.
Rodgers looks exhausted. Broken, even. It’s understandable. The calm and confidence of last year eroded to leave a manager making endless tactical changes game to game in search of the difference maker.

In the last few months that changed again with the manager tweaking and tinkering during games up to two or three occasions per match.

I think Rodgers recognised very early in the season that this squad was not fit for purpose for the challenges it faced. And month by month he has felt more and more responsible to win the three points himself.

Ultimately, he will be held responsible for the recruitment of players but only those involved truly know what went on last summer, how our recruitment is administered and what the overarching policy and strategy is.
Whatever the details, I think we can all agree it was a disastrous summer and every manager is defined by their signings (or the signings made on their watch).

As the season wore on, the manager’s trust in individuals and the group as a whole eroded before our eyes and that problem peaked after the Manchester United defeat.

A glance at the results since that game says Liverpool never recovered from that body blow and it was downhill from there on in.

After ending the season in disgrace at Stoke, and with Rodgers missing all the targets for the season — top four, silverware, progression in the Champions League — it would be worrying for a club of Liverpool’s standing not to consider the manager’s position. The club can’t afford to stand still.
Last summer’s record transfer spend, the start to the season, the European embarrassment, the end-of-season form and the eventual league position means the odds are stacked against Rodgers now. There is a good chance he loses his job. Many will say deservedly so.

But in many ways Liverpool is a very strange club right now and I’m not convinced changing the manager is the cure all many perceive it to be. Anyone who thinks changing the manager alone will result in trophies and title challenges is living in a fantasy world.

One trophy in nine years, one top four place in six seasons, one season that ended in more than 63 points since 2009, one decent summer transfer window since 2006 — these facts are not solely attributable to Brendan Rodgers.

The failure to purchase players who are ruthless in either penalty area has made the manager’s job a near on impossible one.

So it could be that, despite all the suggestions to the contrary, Rodgers can still save himself and win himself another crack at getting it right. All the indications tonight are that his future still hinges on a review with FSG president Mike Gordon. So what can Brendan do to secure a place in the dug out come August?

He needs to outline a clear and enthused plan to the club. That would likely mean fresh faces in the coaching team and a clear strategy in respect of the squad, team and various methods of play. I’m all for being game specific with your tactical plans but the last few months have been alarming.

Rodgers, I think, felt he had to do something extreme to pull this season off and it led to far too much tinkering and rash moves before and during games.

Regardless, I think there are bigger problems and bigger questions.
What do the owners actually want from Liverpool? How seriously does everyone at the club want success? What is the recruitment policy? Who does the recruiting? Why do Liverpool have a reputation for missing their top targets, moving slowly and being tight on wages? What is the strategy for the Academy recruitment and why does it get overhauled every three or four years?

It’s well documented that Liverpool’s wage bill and net spend leave them realistically fighting for fourth or fifth in the Premier League if they simply copy the rest. Liverpool have to do things differently to beat the system. This season I believe Liverpool copied the rest and tried to build a squad to compete on all fronts. That was always destined to fail.

Liverpool have a big enough budget to have three players on the books earning £200,000 plus a week. This season they have struggled for goals and I don’t think that’s something you can coach. Instead, you buy talent to provide you with numbers in terms of assists and goals and build your team around them in a balanced manner. Liverpool are building a team and squad that is great in the middle third of the pitch and useless in both penalty areas.

They can have an incredible first 13-14 players but the budget limitations mean you need to cut your cloth accordingly. That means having a smaller squad and sacrificing the domestic cup competitions. It does not mean spending less than the rest on your main group.

Even Chelsea and City can only start 11 players. Liverpool need to have 13-14 European elite players and pad the squad out with cheaper established Premier League players, youngsters and academy graduates.

Focus on the league and the league only. Liverpool need to risk coming ninth to come first and the strategy needs to be discussed publicly from the very top — from the boardroom.

FSG are smart businessman. Liverpool finished second with a small group, lots of goals and complete focus on the league. Surely FSG will recognise that and use that as a template. What’s the alternative in the current closed shop at the top of the Premier League?

From the Academy to the boardroom to recruitment to the strategy of the club there needs to be a complete root and branch review and a commitment to collective responsibility rather than the blame being allowed to fall to the feet of one man.

Once that is sorted then by all means discuss the manager’s position. But until those things are resolved the manager of Liverpool FC next season, whoever that may be, has no chance of title challenges and trophies.

http://www.theanfieldwrap.com/2015/05/liverpool-there-are-bigger-problems-than-rodgers/

[Leyton388]

I posted that on the last page Marcus it's spot on though. Way bigger problems than Rodgers.

The club has finished in the top 4 once since 2009 and yet apparently everything is grand and dandy cos they don't see the need to change the manager, the strategy or those charged with finding and recruiting players.

I hate what we've become and it's making me turn into Sarb so I hate them for that too, the ****s. I'll have to turn it in for a year if this keeps up.

I think you've just summed it up pretty well there mate. Its horrific what we have become and it hurts too but what sticks in the throat is they still expect us fans to pay top dollar for the privilege.

Yes Rodgers needs to go but there are bigger problems at the club. If nothing changes in the summer then FSG would have exposed themselves for what they truly are. I hope I'm wrong and they do what is needed for this great club.

[G]

It's ****e alright. I'm just an armchair supporter these days, was priced out years ago so nothing will change on that front. I'll be a fan all my life, if this ****e carries on I'll have to be less invested in it all for my sanity.

[Fierce]

I posted that on the last page Marcus it's spot on though. Way bigger problems than Rodgers.

The club has finished in the top 4 once since 2009 and yet apparently everything is grand and dandy cos they don't see the need to change the manager, the strategy or those charged with finding and recruiting players.

I hate what we've become and it's making me turn into Sarb so I hate them for that too, the ****s. I'll have to turn it in for a year if this keeps up.

LIVERPOOL: THERE ARE BIGGER PROBLEMS THAN RODGERS

http://www.theanfieldwrap.com/2015/05/liverpool-there-are-bigger-problems-than-rodgers/

by Sean Rogers

[G]

[Kenneth]

Interesting articles. Sterling is an interesting case, and probably one that cuts right to the heart of the approach or 'model'. We splash out on an young player before he becomes a £30m player, the perfect execution of the model, but unless you're bringing them into a successful team then you're are just the incubator for players for the elite clubs. You are to Barca what Southampton have been to us over the last 18 months. FSG seem to think that contracts still mean something in football. These players stick around for a couple of years after breaking through then go and the money is reinvested in more prospects. Unless you get lucky and have an incredible crop of players come through together and quickly win something, you're going to be chopping and changing every summer and acting as a talent farm instead of a club that genuinely wants to challenge for honours.

[Roboklopp]

Yup. It's total turd.

[Chazza]

It's ****e alright. I'm just an armchair supporter these days, was priced out years ago so nothing will change on that front. I'll be a fan all my life, if this ****e carries on I'll have to be less invested in it all for my sanity.

Don't let it wind you up mate.

Far more important things in life than football.

[Buzzo]

Interesting articles. Sterling is an interesting case, and probably one that cuts right to the heart of the approach or 'model'. We splash out on an young player before he becomes a £30m player, the perfect execution of the model, but unless you're bringing them into a successful team then you're are just the incubator for players for the elite clubs. You are to Barca what Southampton have been to us over the last 18 months. FSG seem to think that contracts still mean something in football. These players stick around for a couple of years after breaking through then go and the money is reinvested in more prospects. Unless you get lucky and have an incredible crop of players come through together and quickly win something, you're going to be chopping and changing every summer and acting as a talent farm instead of a club that genuinely wants to challenge for honours.

Good post, and exactly right.
Surely for success a mix, young players breaking through and buying in quality and experience is required. The chances of succeeding long term when you only look to buy potential, and all these players hitting peak performance during the same season is remote.