Topic: Brendan Rodgers - Liverpool Manager (ours to keep - or at least till 2018)

[Spraynard Kruger]

Wow he really does eat, sleep and shit football...seriously though manager of the year so far to even have us mentioned for the title

I don't think so, he's just sitting on it.

[Kansti]

Thank you boss

[careful on these streets, I've heard stories]

I just love this photo.

Sturridge looks like a ninja taking orders from his master.

[MiserableP15]

Yep. It's probably a case that neither party wants to enter negotiations until we know where we've finished. CL = Brendan gets a bigger contract.

I think it's also simply a case of FSG only looking at stuff like this in the close season. I may be wrong but I don't think they've done any different since they've been here.

[LiamG]

I love how he has changed our style of play, we are a much more dynamic unit now, rather than more possession based ideas he came with! but look at the players he has available love it

[l12ngo]

I think Brendan's biggest problem is going to be finding players to improve this team as it'll get progressively harder. He's getting a lot out of the current players and, over time, even those who maybe weren't fancied so much at the start of the season seem to be finding their footing and confidence (such an important factor). To continually improve the side and eke out an extra 1% will become exponentially harder but he's doing well so far. Once we get our defence back from injury, it'll be interesting to see how he goes about making us a more solid side whilst keeping that attack razor sharp.

So far, he's also shown he can use the academy well which is a real plus for us. The ethos seems to be pretty good there, with the kids coming through seemingly being equipped with the necessary professionalism in their attitudes to give them a chance of securing a future at this level if they also have the ability.

The board and management staff seem to be working well together. Yes, some questions have been asked about our transfers and we seem to be getting gazumped a little too often but it strikes me more that the team aren't prepared to panic and be forced into making short sighted decisions. It can still naturally be a little frustrating but there's a belief in what they're doing there and they seem confident in their approach.

I think we've seen steady improvement in the team over the last 18 months or so and I think Brendan will be the first to admit that he's learning too. It's easy to forget he's still a young manager and he's shown the ability to learn and adapt from mistakes which is compulsory at this level if you want to be at the top.

Last but not least, he's got a good rapport with the fans. He feels like a Liverpool manager and the respect between the supporters and the manager is self evident. In TV interviews he generally comes across as a knowledgeable guy with a sense of humour but is ultimately the definition of a professional.

[IanZG]

Good article by Tony Barrett...

How Brendan Rodgers has turned Liverpool’s league fortunes around
Tony Barrett
February 10 2014 11:02AM

Depending on your point of view, Liverpool may or may not be title contenders. What isn’t in doubt though is that they are one of the Barclays Premier League’s most improved teams as evidenced by them being 14 points better off this season than they were at the same stage of the previous one. Another eye-catching statistic is that they have scored more goals at this stage of the season than they have in any other in their illustrious history.

Here, Tony Barrett examines the methods that have allowed Brendan Rodgers to turn Liverpool into a team that could yet challenge for the Barclays Premier League title even if the manager himself continues to play down their chances.

Relaxing his commitment to ‘death by football’

That may seem strange after Liverpool’s recent demolition jobs on Arsenal and Everton, but when Rodgers talked of inflicting “death by football” his vision was for it to be caused by “relentless possession.” Everton and Arsenal were both on the receiving end of heavy defeats but they also had more of the ball. They were not passed into submission, they were brutally ripped apart by counter attacking football built on the pace, movement and ruthlessness of Luis Suarez, Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge, an attacking trident that Rodgers believes is at least the equal of any other in the Premier League.

Three of the nine goals Liverpool have scored in their last two home fixtures have come from the ball being won and released early. Defence is being turned into attack in the blink of an eye; there is no passing for the sake of it. Rodgers has recognised the strengths of the players and has developed a strategy to make them as effective as they possibly can be. His development as a manager is mirrored by the progress that has been made by his team. Liverpool can play possession football but they are better suited to allowing opponents to have the ball, pressing them remorselessly and then blitzing them.

The change in emphasis from “death by football” to conquest by counter was reflected in the aftermath of the Merseyside derby when Rodgers evoked memories of a vintage piece of John Motson commentary about Liverpool being “at their most dangerous when they don’t have the ball.”

Rodgers said: “I remember watching Bayern Munich against Barcelona last year and it was 9-0 on aggregate over the two legs. Barcelona dominated possession as you’d expect but everyone could see over the course of the two games the team with the most dangerous possession was Bayern.

“When you look at the stats of the modern game I’m big on controlling domination of the ball, but against Everton we were able to dominate without the ball. Tactically, where we are compared to when I arrived 18months ago, it is very, very pleasing.”

Acknowledging and learning from his own mistakes

Increasingly, one of Rodgers’ greatest strengths is the ability to hold his hands up and admit that he has got it wrong. “I was too aggressive in my tactics,” he admitted after an over-ambitious approach against Aston Villa led to one of Liverpool’s poorest performances of the season and a home draw that cost them two points. Taking responsibility has improved his already solid standing within the dressing room with Liverpool’s players appreciative of their managers’ willingness to take the pressure off them and his refusal to try and shift the blame.

It isn’t just about dressing room mechanics, though. Even more significant is Rodgers’ growing knack of finding solutions to problems he has caused. The formation that let him down against Villa allowed Liverpool to be over-run in midfield with Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson out-numbered and out-manoeuvred. There were no shortage of critics who warned that their partnership would not work, that there was no balance or blend and that there was too much emphasis on attack and not enough on defence.

So what did Rodgers do? He added another attacker to the mix in the form of Philippe Coutinho. It was defiant and it was also a risk. Had the lightweight Brazilian got lost in the midfield maelstrom, as many had expected, and the team’s form suffered as a result the Liverpool manager would have been lambasted. The opposite has happened, though, with Coutinho’s transformation from brilliant but inconsistent wide attacker to becoming the creative heartbeat of Liverpool’s midfield is one of the great tactical innovations of this season.

The wondrous through balls that created goals for Sturridge against Arsenal and Everton have been the most eye-catching evidence of Coutinho’s metamorphosis but equally crucial to the way Rodgers sets his team up has been the 21-year-old’s ceaseless pressing of opponents. The ball player is now also a ball winner, often high up the pitch, and that alone has allowed Rodgers to restore equilibrium to his midfield but it wouldn’t have been possible without his own willingness to admit mistakes and determination to correct them.

Turning into Tony Pulis

This is in no way a criticism. It is anything but. For decades, Liverpool have ranged from being at worst useless and at best functional when it comes to making the most of set pieces. In their 1980s heyday they made so little use of them that it became a standing joke that even led to a fanzine being named Another Wasted Corner. Under Rodgers, those days have become a thing of the past and Liverpool are now the most ruthless set piece team in the Premier League.

So far this season, they have scored 23 goals from corners and free kicks (although it should be stressed that Luis Suarez’s shooting ability from dead ball situations has contributed to this remarkable figure). Prior to the Merseyside derby, Roberto Martinez had warned his players that there is no better team in the country at taking advantage of set pieces but to be forewarned was not to be forearmed in this case as Liverpool’s opening goal came when Gerrard headed home Suarez’s near post corner.

Similar happened at the weekend when Arsenal were twice struck by the same lightning bolt in the opening eight minutes of the game with Martin Skrtel taking maximum advantage of Gerrard’s expert set-piece delivery. Liverpool’s opponents are becoming increasingly aware that if they don’t beat them on the ground, they could very well beat them in the air. It’s a volatile mix and one that has given Liverpool an added attacking dimension. It isn’t rocket science either; it just comes down to work on the training ground and an increased urgency to attack the ball.

Helping Sterling reach his peak

On December 2, Raheem Sterling made his second league start of the season – it could not have gone much worse. Bereft of confidence, lacking in match practice and burdened by expectation, the then 18-year-old was hauled off after 66 minutes following a listless display as Liverpool slumped to a 4-1 defeat away to Hull City. Sterling’s performance prompted his career to be prematurely and unfairly written off in some quarters and there was even a suggestion (albeit a wholly inaccurate one) that the winger would be sent out on loan because Rodgers believed he was not ready to make a positive impact on his team.

Only two months on from that chastening experience at the KC Stadium, Sterling’s form is such that public opinion has now swung in favour of the teenager being included in England’s World Cup squad. The potential that always existed – which was recognised initially by Rafael Benitez and then developed by Kenny Dalglish – is now being unlocked by Rodgers and Sterling is suddenly seen as an indispensible part of Liverpool’s attack. Tactically flexible, surprisingly strong, direct, skilful and always willing, the Jamaican-born teenager is terrorising opposition defences on an increasingly regular basis as Arsenal discovered to their cost on Saturday.

The talent was always there. Sterling was and is a special player, one who is capable of becoming a genuine star for club and country, but there was a spell when he appeared to be losing his way. Fault for that lay at his own feet but also at his clubs’. Sterling was responsible for his own loss of focus but working under four managers at Liverpool in only three years was hardly conducive to the development of a precociously talented young player who needed direction and consistent coaching. Rodgers has given Sterling the stability that he needed and he also given him the tough love that could be the making of him.

“We are very focused on nurturing the young player,” Rodgers said in November. “Someone like Raheem had a great first six months, a mixed six months after that, which was natural, and now is coming back to showing a level. It was going to be very difficult to maintain the level that he set himself. For him now, football has to be very much at the forefront of his mind and if it is he is a talent. He showed over the first six months of last season that he has a future in the Premier League and at Liverpool.

“I always say to players and in particular to young players that at Liverpool we work on what we call the ‘core’. We get the ‘commitment’. Once we have do that we will ‘organise’ a plan for them to get into the first team. When that happens it is their ‘responsibility’ and hopefully after that we can deliver ‘excellence’ in their performance level that keeps them there. If they don’t they will fall by the wayside.”

Having been on the receiving end of that warning, Sterling has responded to it to such an extent that on Saturday Rodgers described him as “the best English winger in the league.” On current form, such praise is not misplaced.

An absence of stubbornness

Liverpool’s starting line-up against Arsenal was part accident, part design. There were players that Rodgers wants, ones that he could have done without and others that he had almost written off previously. At an earlier stage in his tenure, the Liverpool manager would have not have been averse to allowing Jordan Henderson, Martin Skrtel and Jonathan Flanagan to move on. When the idea of signing Daniel Sturridge was first raised he was unconvinced. Guilherme Siqueira of Granada was Rodgers’ favoured left back option when Liverpool signed Aly Cissokho on loan from Valencia last summer.

In the case of each individual, though, Rodgers has been prepared to back down in the face of either their own form, the advice of others at the club or just his own instinct. The effect has been the creation of a meritocracy in which players at Liverpool know that if they train and play well the chances are that they will be in the side. The manager has demonstrated that he will not cut off his nose to spite his face and also that he is willing to change his mind.

The recent emergence of Flanagan is the most obvious example with the full back now holding down a regular starting place having previously been deemed surplus to requirements earlier in the season. At that stage, Rodgers had been ready to allow Flanagan to go out on loan but a move failed to materialise. The Academy graduate buckled down in training, to such an extent that before the Goodison derby he stopped a session and told his players to give Flanagan an ovation, and he is now seen as one of the major success stories of Liverpool’s season. Credit for that goes to the player himself but it must also be shared with his manager who has created an environment in which improvement is possible as a result of his own lack of stubbornness.

http://blogs.thetimes.co.uk/section/the-game/107700/how-brendan-rodgers-has-turned-liverpools-premier-league-fortunes-around/?shareToken=0c450969745c27efc8102dee3c2b5e54

[gorgepir]

OptaJoe ‏@OptaJoe  1m
532 - Manchester United have played the most open play crosses in the PL this season, Liverpool the fewest (274). Systems.

[hollger]

Good article by Tony Barrett...

A good read yeah, but some inaccuracies in there from Mr Barrett (or whoever checks his stuff!).

We lost 3-1 to Hull on 1st Dec, and it was 7-0 on aggregate to Bayern (although admittedly, Rodgers could have said 9-0). Tsk!

[Paul JH]

Said it before and I'll say it again. After every knee jerk reaction, after every knee jerk fan last season bemoaning getting him in and wanting someone with a 'bigger name' etc. Now Brendan has settled in to the job of being at this club, (and he would say himself he was probably overawed at the size of us and felt he had to be talking like a 'Liverpool manager'), he's not a genuine 'Liverpool manager' who really has something about him, both tactically and as a man. There was a great article about him and Moyes, basically saying what a great man manager Rodgers is, and he has what a lot of top managers need, genuine charisma to inspire players.

Stick with him (fans AND club) and he'll do us proud. Genuinely think we could look at him in the next few seasons as one of the best managers we've had. He's certainly doing wonders with the budget he's had, which is less than a few previous managers.

[RedSince86]

This weekend just highlighted how many lights years ahead rodgers  is of david moyes.Brendan's modern approach of  possession pressing quick passing and counter attacking to david moyes hit crosses to the back post and rinse and repeat.

[thekitkatshuffler]

Damn. Surly has to be tied down soon to stop the money clubs coming in for him.

After the struggle we had to convince him to come from Swansea, I'd like to think he'd turn down the big money offers.  But we still need to get his contract renewed ASAP.

[helmboy_nige]

OptaJoe ‏@OptaJoe  1m
532 - Manchester United have played the most open play crosses in the PL this season, Liverpool the fewest (274). Systems.

That sums so much up for me.  Lumping the ball into the box continuously does nothing but cede possession.  I love how Rodgers will scream (or give evils) to players when they cede possession easily or when there is another option out there.  It's infectious and we now see the likes of Henderson and Gerrard berating players if they are too rushed.

It isn't kneejerk to sing Rodgers after that performance because I've been watching the guy since he arrived and he clearly lives and breathes not only football but Liverpool FC.  A few of us talked about what we expect in a manager and it isn't just about winning things. That's the reason why some would not really want the likes of Mourinho here. A mercenary who essentially does everything for his own success and name rather than the club he's at.

Rodgers clearly "gets us".  And that's not something that has just clicked. He's been talking like a Liverpool manager since day one (and interesting was accused of just 'saying what we want to hear').

[JovaJova]

After the struggle we had to convince him to come from Swansea, I'd like to think he'd turn down the big money offers.  But we still need to get his contract renewed ASAP.

He won't leave this, he is becoming too ingrained by everything the club has to offer to be swayed by an extra pound or two.

Can you imagine how much fun it must be going in to work everyday with this current crop of players. Young, gifted, hard working lads mixed with a few top class senior players. He is close to achieving the perfect balance with this squad and in another 12 months he may well have done that. We are scoring for fun and making life seem very very easy from Brendan at present. What more could a manager want ?

He isn't going anywhere.


P.S add to this that he is being very well supported by some great owners (despite what some of our fans may think about the transfer market failings)

[Bird Bird Bird The Bird Is The Word]

In much the same way we don't buy world class players, we make them. We've discovered a world class manager in Rodgers, he makes me hopeful for the future.

[lionel_messias]

Quite a few people

http://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=297925.msg10885746#msg10885746

Good, well done them. I just like that we signed a young manager with ambition, knowledge and the humility to change his idea on tactics if they don't pan out.

Some people seem to think the Great managers in the game come fully formed and we had no right getting behing an "unproven" man.

[PhaseOfPlay]

This weekend just highlighted how many lights years ahead rodgers  is of david moyes.Brendan's modern approach of  possession pressing quick passing and counter attacking to david moyes hit crosses to the back post and rinse and repeat.

It's not even the tactical approach though. It's how he understands how all four elements of the game interact, and how they should be prioritised in training. The training is the key. Without even having to be there, I would guess with 100% certainty that United players ba maybe one or two absolutely dread going into training with Moyes. Running a lot, then working purely on shape. That's not joyous. But the thing is, it's not even like he has the tactical know-how to use each week's session to prepare for the next opponent, like Rafa did, or the willingness to work on passing patterns on the ground that at least keep players interested in the whole session. It's just lots of running, then defensive shape. The other high profile manager who does that, is Hodgson.

On the other hand, Rodgers - much like Shanks decades before him - prefers small group training, with the ball, working on small combination play that requires creativity and intelligence. This excites players, and makes them want to come into training - a different plan every day, and something new to look forward to. Add to that, he clearly puts an emphasis on fundamental technical development, and creative expression on the ball, and you can see where the difference is in the two approaches.

Just like in the heyday years, Rodgers will become one of those managers who other coaches will travel to observe in training - only to come away with the idea that "all they did was play little games with the ball".

[elpistolero7]

It's not even the tactical approach though. It's how he understands how all four elements of the game interact, and how they should be prioritised in training. The training is the key. Without even having to be there, I would guess with 100% certainty that United players ba maybe one or two absolutely dread going into training with Moyes. Running a lot, then working purely on shape. That's not joyous. But the thing is, it's not even like he has the tactical know-how to use each week's session to prepare for the next opponent, like Rafa did, or the willingness to work on passing patterns on the ground that at least keep players interested in the whole session. It's just lots of running, then defensive shape. The other high profile manager who does that, is Hodgson.

On the other hand, Rodgers - much like Shanks decades before him - prefers small group training, with the ball, working on small combination play that requires creativity and intelligence. This excites players, and makes them want to come into training - a different plan every day, and something new to look forward to. Add to that, he clearly puts an emphasis on fundamental technical development, and creative expression on the ball, and you can see where the difference is in the two approaches.

Just like in the heyday years, Rodgers will become one of those managers who other coaches will travel to observe in training - only to come away with the idea that "all they did was play little games with the ball".

You write football porn. Carry on    .

[Cracking Left Foot]

Fuck it, you know what? I'm just going to say it.

We're going to win the league under Brendan Rodgers. It may not be this season, it may not even be next. But we're going to do it.

[PhaseOfPlay]

Fuck it, you know what? I'm just going to say it.

We're going to win the league under Brendan Rodgers. It may not be this season, it may not even be next. But we're going to do it.

I felt that from the day he signed. And said it out loud as well. He'll develop as much of a cult following as Rafa and Houllier (for a time) did, as a pure manager of Liverpool (as opposed to Kenny, who was already a legend so management just added to it).

It can be a dangerous thing, but again, as I said last year - Liverpool fans will be supporting a manager who will win some trophies, but more importantly, will be held as one of the few who leads the way in showing the world how football SHOULD be played.

[Trendisnotdestiny]

I felt that from the day he signed. And said it out loud as well. He'll develop as much of a cult following as Rafa and Houllier (for a time did) as a pure manager of Liverpool (as opposed to Kenny, who was already a legend so management just added to it).

It can be a dangerous thing, but again, as I said last year - Liverpool fans will be supporting a manager who will win some trophies, but more importantly, will be held as one of the few who leads the way in showing the world how football SHOULD be played.

Is there any talk of a new contract for our gaffer?   Also, I loved his explanation of being "educated" in the game, in terms of pressing.  Rodgers mentioned how many games at Anfield were over by half-time and how the pressure changes as the situation changes.  Maybe our experiences at the Etihad and Stamford Bridge were important "educating" moments for a team up 1 on the road in a big game.  If the Everton and Arsenal matches are any indication, we sure have examined this.   

[alonsoisared]

POP, just wondering how it is that you know what training methods these managers are using? It all makes sense how you put it, but how do you know what Moyes or Hodgson are doing with their training sessions?

[PhaseOfPlay]

POP, just wondering how it is that you know what training methods these managers are using? It all makes sense how you put it, but how do you know what Moyes or Hodgson are doing with their training sessions?

Many different sources. Youtube is great for some sessions from some managers. Interviews and articles for others. Having a lot of friends in different parts of the world who go and observe the sessions and share notes too. Doing my own travelling/observing and taking my own notes. Also, when you've been in coaching a long time, you start to see common approaches, and you can make some fair extrapolations from small pieces of information that invariably turn out to be correct.

[tommy LFC]

Remember Brendan said that he wanted a trip to Anfield to be the longest 90 minutes of an opponents life?

It's working.

[lionel_messias]

Many different sources. Youtube is great for some sessions from some managers. Interviews and articles for others. Having a lot of friends in different parts of the world who go and observe the sessions and share notes too. Doing my own travelling/observing and taking my own notes. Also, when you've been in coaching a long time, you start to see common approaches, and you can make some fair extrapolations from small pieces of information that invariably turn out to be correct.

So you are actually Roy Evans. Cool. Why did you sign off those cream suits for that Cup Final,  been bugging me for years!

[PhaseOfPlay]

So you are actually Roy Evans. Cool. Why did you sign off those cream suits for that Cup Final,  been bugging me for years!

[farawayred]

I felt that from the day he signed. And said it out loud as well. He'll develop as much of a cult following as Rafa and Houllier (for a time did) as a pure manager of Liverpool (as opposed to Kenny, who was already a legend so management just added to it).

It can be a dangerous thing, but again, as I said last year - Liverpool fans will be supporting a manager who will win some trophies, but more importantly, will be held as one of the few who leads the way in showing the world how football SHOULD be played.

That you did, and very early on. Made me pay close attention what you said ever since. Keep it coming! 

[alonsoisared]

Many different sources. Youtube is great for some sessions from some managers. Interviews and articles for others. Having a lot of friends in different parts of the world who go and observe the sessions and share notes too. Doing my own travelling/observing and taking my own notes. Also, when you've been in coaching a long time, you start to see common approaches, and you can make some fair extrapolations from small pieces of information that invariably turn out to be correct.

Fair play, not doubting what you're saying of course, just interested as I do enjoy the thought of our manager setting new standards while United's is making his players wish they could play for someone else!

[PhaseOfPlay]

Fair play, not doubting what you're saying of course, just interested as I do enjoy the thought of our manager setting new standards while United's is making his players wish they could play for someone else!

He's not really setting new standards (and nor did Shanks, either, to be fair - he just saw the sense in how he trained at Preston and took it to it's logical conclusion way before anyone else copped on to it). But he IS doing the right things, in the right way, and in a way that makes players WANT to train and play for him. That reputation will spread, and players will want to play for Liverpool under him, in much the same way that players want to play for Mourinho "just to see what he's like"

[misscowred]

Hi all! This is my first post, as I've been a looong time lurker. I just wanna say after going through the recent H&G fiasco, I feel so blessed and lucky to have Brendan as a manager. I feel so proud to be a red (as always), and can't wait for the years ahead. Can see him being among the classics! Upwards and onwards!

Also, does he have a song? I just keep hearing the One Brendan chant...

[Keita Success]

Give this man a cookie. Or a contract. Whichever.

He's an excellent manager in my opinion. Excellent. Last season, when we went in for Rodgers, I was genuinely excited. Excited by the prospect of 'death by football'. Seeing Swansea suffocate teams they really shouldn't have, but that's not what we have. At Liverpool we have a team that aren't going for possession for possession's sake. We're more and more like Dortmund (on the pitch and off, with what we spend) with the counter-attacking and less like teams like Barcelona. For me, that's perfect. Counter-attacking football is far more appealing, seeing your team rip aside others, teams like Arsenal despite us only having 40% possession.

[elpistolero7]

Remember Brendan said that he wanted a trip to Anfield to be the longest 90 minutes of an opponents life?

It's working.

Not really, we played for about 18 minutes against Arsenal  .

[JovaJova]

Give this man a cookie. Or a contract. Whichever.

He's an excellent manager in my opinion. Excellent. Last season, when we went in for Rodgers, I was genuinely excited. Excited by the prospect of 'death by football'. Seeing Swansea suffocate teams they really shouldn't have, but that's not what we have. At Liverpool we have a team that aren't going for possession for possession's sake. We're more and more like Dortmund (on the pitch and off, with what we spend) with the counter-attacking and less like teams like Barcelona. For me, that's perfect. Counter-attacking football is far more appealing, seeing your team rip aside others, teams like Arsenal despite us only having 40% possession.

He is working the tools at his disposal to the best of his ability. With Gerrard and Henderson you are never going to be a possession dominating side, instead you use their work rate and vision to become a compact counter attacking team.

I suspect we'll become more dominant in possession when he is able to stamp his mark over our midfield in the next few transfer windows.

[mercurial]

After the Rafa era this is the first time I have felt this excited about our team. This team that Brendan is building will be matching the team of 08 over the next 2 seasons if we can keep hold of our players. We never gave enough time to anyone after Rafa to build a team (Hodgson was an anomaly of a Liverpool manager anyway). 

The good thing is we are playing the most exciting football in the league. I do think there were very few people who expected a season like this on here. Even now, after one upset/draw you can see the negativity. We needed Brendan to instill belief in the supporters and the players and he has done that with aplomb. If we can now just put in the extra effort the last few matches who knows what may happen. Fans can and do influence games, sometimes more that what we think we do. We have a great manager in the making here and something special brewing at Anfield. Lets celebrate and give it all that we can.

[Trendisnotdestiny]

Not really, we played for about 18 minutes against Arsenal  .

This speaks to the issue brought up in the presser by Rodgers.  There is "educated" pressure and performance in the game as it evolves.  Winning the game in the first 18 minutes means we can work differently (pattern play, pockets of pressure, and target/expose opponents even more precisely, become more unpredictable and develop a mentality of the performance) not just on the outcome --- as it will clearly take care of itself.

I do share the joy in your statement too 

[MDougal]

A question for POP

I too really thought Rodgers would turn out to be a good manager for us, without having the extensive knowledge as to why like yourself.

My question is what do you make of the recent shift of not looking to dominate the ball against the bigger teams but rather play in what I would say a current german model much like Dortmund and Bayern as Tony Barrett pointed out Rodgers had spoken of Bayerns win against Barcelona.

I just wondered whether you think he has looked at say Bayern and thought that is the way to approach games against the bigger sides and maybe hopefully in the European cup, and look to do as we do against the lesser sides.

It just interests me how Rodgers would have shifted the training to accommodate this slight change of style and whether you thought he would continue this path

(By the way I think the counter style of football is the best to watch)

[the pheonix]

The guy's the real deal and I've known it for a good while now.  I think the starting 11 on Saturday would have cost the club about 75M and we smashed up the league leaders with precision I've rarely seen in the premier league.
Utd have splurged 60M in just the last few months and the weekend performances couldn't have been different.  Brendan is squeezing every last drop out of the talent available and I for one couldn't wait to see what we'd look like if he was given another 75M over the next couple of windows.
If we can sort out the away form (and I think we will) we'll be a terrifying prospect for any opponent.

[elpistolero7]

He's not really setting new standards (and nor did Shanks, either, to be fair - he just saw the sense in how he trained at Preston and took it to it's logical conclusion way before anyone else copped on to it). But he IS doing the right things, in the right way, and in a way that makes players WANT to train and play for him. That reputation will spread, and players will want to play for Liverpool under him, in much the same way that players want to play for Mourinho "just to see what he's like"

That's crucial. Since we'll never have the financial clout of City/Chelsea, its imperative that once we are hopefully back in the CL, we can get the right sort of players to come in because they're not only attracted to the club and the prospect of CL and winning trophies, but that little extra bit which can be money, the manager, the playing style etc...we definitely have things going for us in the manager and playing style department.

[Homo rubrum]

He's not really setting new standards (and nor did Shanks, either, to be fair - he just saw the sense in how he trained at Preston and took it to it's logical conclusion way before anyone else copped on to it). But he IS doing the right things, in the right way, and in a way that makes players WANT to train and play for him. That reputation will spread, and players will want to play for Liverpool under him, in much the same way that players want to play for Mourinho "just to see what he's like"

Then why the hell is he an exception, rather than the rule? 

Is the football world really so nostalgically-driven that forward-thinking coaches and managers don't get jobs?  I can understand that systemic change is slow in a system which promotes its own graduates (ex players => managers); surely, though, in something so competitive as football, people recognize what has worked and what hasn't.  Everybody promotes an ex-player until an innovative manager comes along, then everyone sees this advantage and a new baseline is set, right? 

Further, to my personal tastes, the Rodgers training method (and, certainly, the product thereof) is superior to the antediluvian Hodgson school of thought.  And I'd guess that'd be the case for most anybody who ever competed in sport.  So if the right way actually corresponds closely with the fun way, and ex-players make up much of the management pool, why are there not more coaches concentrating on small-sided games, variety, and time spent with the ball? 

Or are there actually plenty of examples of rigid, fitness-based coaching regimes winning trophies, and nobody mentions those?   

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Then why the hell is he an exception, rather than the rule?

Because he's in English football, which is largely nepotistic, cronyistic, and willfully backwards. Who is the manager of the national team? That gives you an indication of the kind of thinking that goes on.

Is the football world really so nostalgically-driven that forward-thinking coaches and managers don't get jobs?  I can understand that systemic change is slow in a system which promotes its own graduates (ex players => managers); surely, though, in something so competitive as football, people recognize what has worked and what hasn't.  Everybody promotes an ex-player until an innovative manager comes along, then everyone sees this advantage and a new baseline is set, right? 

Again - England. It doesn't matter how innovative you are - it matters how many caps you got. Rodgers is an exception, rather than the rule.

Further, to my personal tastes, the Rodgers training method (and, certainly, the product thereof) is superior to the antediluvian Hodgson school of thought.  And I'd guess that'd be the case for most anybody who ever competed in sport.  So if the right way actually corresponds closely with the fun way, and ex-players make up much of the management pool, why are there not more coaches concentrating on small-sided games, variety, and time spent with the ball? 

There are - but they are all "foreign".

Or are there actually plenty of examples of rigid, fitness-based coaching regimes winning trophies, and nobody mentions those?

There are coaches like this who are successful. But they pay a heavy price for it (injuries, burnout).