WHAT a funny old game football is. A sport that in 2012 has become such an unwieldy behemoth and so seemingly complex, still relies upon such simple and fragile factors that have been ever-present.
Factors such as the mindset of a player, confidence and form have played their part in the sport since the first kick by Sheffield FC. Regardless of the astonishing weekly wages we see in this day and age, you can’t buy confidence.
In order for confidence to grow and thrive one of the most important factors is patience; and here we have the key word. As Take That lovingly warbled, ‘have a little patience’ (and Gary Barlow is a Liverpool fan, don’t you know!) Patience is the subject of my piece today as I believe it is one of the most relevant words relating to the club right now.
It is not a blanket word that carries an instruction book laying out time frames and requirements for all situations, yet I do believe that circumstances can help dictate its extent.
So, when is patience more prevalent? I would suggest that a greater level of patience is required managerially when the new incumbent comes into a club that is struggling, and in terms of a player, when you are discussing young up and coming talent. In contrast, levels of patience should be cut dramatically when talking about a manager taking over a successful side, or an established player arriving at a club. That’s the basic theory anyway…
Set the DeLorean (or hot tub time machine, it really is your choice) to 1959 and head on over to Liverpool. You will find a club languishing in the equivalent of what is now the Championship, having been relegated some 5 seasons prior and been knocked out of the cup by the all conquering Worcester City (feel free to now day dream about what a side The Loyals were back then). It is fair to say that the club was struggling is it not?
In the doldrums as it were, what happens next? A young Scotsman by the name Shankly (heard of him?) stepped up and began the long process that would ultimately lead this side to being one of the greatest clubs ever. Yet this was not a smooth transition and despite his arrival in 1959 the club wasn’t promoted until 1962 before going on to win the league in 1964.
Shankly was allowed the time to raise a seemingly sinking ship and mould it in his own image and we reaped the rewards. Similarly down the road at Old Trafford a young Alex Ferguson was brought into a proverbial sleeping giant finishing his first 3 seasons in 11th, 2nd and 11th. Despite being brought in in1986, it wasn’t until 1993 that United won the league; again an excellent example of how patience saw a club move away from mediocrity and towards stardom.
Even our recent history has seen Rafa take over from Houllier when the club was on a slippery slope and turn it around to make us into actual league challengers. The Champions League success was an incredible bonus, but domestically it took a number of seasons for Rafa to truly stamp his signature on the team and I firmly believe if he had been backed properly we would have league titles in the bag.
I would argue here that the position Rodgers found himself in on his first day in charge was not too dissimilar; a club grossly underperforming, struggling with confidence and still recovering from horrendous senior mismanagement. Like him or loathe him Rodgers has been chosen by the club and surely must now be shown patience?
Nobody is suggesting he is the next Shankly or the messiah (although some think he is a very naughty boy) and nobody accepts the league position we are in, but in terms of a bigger picture with a club craving stability and a long term plan is firing Rodgers the way forward?
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On the flip side of this you can look at someone like Bob Paisley when he took control of the club and suggest that his job came with a lower requirement for patience. Why do I say this? I say it because when Shankly left, he left a successful team that was flying high. The genius of Paisley was to recognise this and build upon it rather than dismantle. Subtle changes allowed the team to flourish in its greatest ever period.
This style continued under Fagan and Dalglish, with Liverpool falling from grace under Souness who went for wholesale changes. Whether Souness would have worked out (I don’t think he would), levels of patience were not there because of the drastic fall from grace. Whereas, Roy Evans was allotted more time because of the Souness mistake.
In terms of playing staff and the patience they require I will present exhibit ‘A’ as Lucas Leiva and exhibit ‘B’ as Stewart Downing. Taking the Brazilian first, he is the prime example of a young lad coming in, with added pressures of such a massive culture change, who needed time to settle. Quite a number showed little patience in him, but fortunately for us he has grown to prove them wrong. Are we now making similar mistakes with Allen, Henderson and Borini?
As for Downing (and feel free to substitute for Cole, Morientes or Poulsen..ahem), he was bought as an established player with the trust placed in him to hit the ground running, which results in patience levels being much lower. For whatever reason this hasn’t worked out and unlike the youngsters Downing does not have age on his side. QUIZ TIME – A quick question to further emphasise my point: which Reds striker took over 9 months to arrive and score his first league goal over 10 months? A clue would be to suggest that it was a good thing that patience was shown in this young man!
Thank you for making it this far if you have, and I’m sure some people will have itching fingers waiting to pour abuse my way and dismiss my levels of support for the club. But before you do I would just like to make this point; the current league standing is not acceptable for Liverpool Football Club, of course it is not, but we need to be realistic here, as a direct result of H&G the club has fallen from grace somewhat. I am not suggesting that FSG are the perfect owners or that Brendan Rodgers is the perfect manager, only time can answer those questions, but what I am suggesting is that the club needs to come together and support what we have.
I cannot think of a single person on the planet that could come in and guarantee instant success, even with the money of messrs Mansour and Abramovich success was a number of seasons away. We are currently on a journey with a manager who I am sure wished for a brighter start but with the resources at his disposal, has it been horrific? (If you think it has, more than ‘WE ARE 11TH’, please tell me why).
I have been accused of being a spokesperson for FSG, thinking the sun shines out of Rodgers bum, identity fraud, being a Nazi and talking BOLLOX (which I think is a combination of bollocks and botox which smoothes out a historically wrinkly area), whereas in reality, in my mind the jury remains out on both Rodgers and FSG, but I strongly agree that the club needs stability.
Come find me on twitter @timdibs
YNWA
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Nonsense idiotic opinions . You can keep banging the drum but less and less people are listening . For the sake of our football club GET RODGERS OUT !!!
Well you have argued your opinions well there! Really showed me…
Disgraceful article . Idiot fans like you are one of the reasons our once great clubs in decline . How dare u even put that fool Rodgers in the same sentence as the great man . Shankley would be disgusted at ‘fans’ like you and your pathetic writings , shame on u .
Did you read the article Gary or merely read the title, look at the picture, drop you cheesy poofs and shoot straight to comments?
Despite zero comparison of Shankly to Rodgers, and an article that makes no attempt to detract from, criticise or praise Rodgers, please tell me why Shankly would be disgusted? (I mean at least I spelt his name correctly). Also why is the article disgraceful? Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but at least back yours up!
‘Idiot fans’ like me are the reason the club is in decline?? Not even sure how to respond to that, but it did make me chuckle! There was silly old me thinking a couple of American cowboys carried a boat load of responsibility when it was clearly me!! Balls, does that mean that they can now sue me??? Yikes
If it wasnt for fans like you , we would be demanding Rodgers sacking , the club would have to listen and act , THEN we could move forward
Haha and I am stopping you protesting how?? I forgot it was a well known fact that clubs listen to their fans!!
You repeat the same stuff every week so will i –
another stupid dull piece , how can you keep defending this loser ?
won 3 ( v Reading , Wigan and Norwich LOL )
drew 7
lost 3
pathetic ,bottom half , as good as out of both cups
This fool is a total loser . Shame on anyone who defends him ,its just holding the club back
Simon Simon Simon, have you read the article? It isn’t a defence of Rodgers in the slightest. Please read again.
Haha normally if you start ‘dear …..’ It signifies you are writing a letter, which means you should sign off with your name! Strange that your parents called you kpax! Kevin Spacey fans?
You have no need to feel anything for me, although I am flattered that mere words can generate such feelings. I appreciate the sentiment I really do.
Presumably you disagree with my stance, and seen as you must have read the article first and foremost before replying, you don’t think a manager should be given time. I would love to hear what your reasonings are! So please share them, this is an open forum…
i actually have read it . its total nonsense . u cant compare football in 1959 to football now , thats stupid . u say we MUST have patience with rodgers ( now if thats not biased nothing is ) u spend the rest of it making more excuses for his inept management . all u ever write in nonsense . ive never seen u have anything intelligent to say . its just irritating at this stage and you look more ridiculous every article . if you want the club to ‘come together’ then rodgers must go cause most fans are not having him
Sacking Rodgers is not the answer to our problems and wouldn’t be good for the club. Our problem is we need a another striker who puts away all the chances we create nearly every game .we have lost the same amount of games as manure , spurs and I think arsenal !? We are drawing too often hence lacking in the goal scoring department . Suarez is top scorer in the league so far but he’s the only one scoring goals for us ! Maybe after the summer transfare blunder fsg may try and redeem themselves with a marque signing , one that will excite us patient fans 🙂
do you think it is a striker we need or a more free scoring midfielder? seems that rodgers prefers 1 up top which will be Suarez. Personally I have always always preferred 2 up top, gives more options offensively and within the squad.
who would you like to see come in in january then?
Dream on . Rodgers has said there will be NO big money signings in jan . Get Rodgers out then those cowboys FSG after
really?? Why dont we wait till february to judge what happens in the transfer window.
What do you actually want Rodgers to say ‘we got loadsa moneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey and going to spend it all in January’? Even if we had £500m to spend on players on Jan do you think he would say anything different?
and is spending loads of money anyway a guarentee of success? it is all about signing the right player for the club which is not always the most expensive player. FSG’s responsibility is to back their manager and provide the necessary funds to secure the players he wants, not to go around going ‘oh this guy is good lets get him. ooo him too, oo and him’
Iagree simon , we need results and a new manager . patience is for clubs like Villa and Everton
Patience is in short supply. Results are not exactly backing Rogers at all. Worse start to the pl ever
Question to you, realistically where should we be with the thin squad we have?
top 4 u fool
+ if the squad is thin its rodgers fault , 30 million wasted on pure crap
Really?? Fully fit and firing our starting XI is top 4 quality no doubt, but our squad?? Forgetting the new signings we have promoted 3 youth players! Our squad is thin, and FSG have to hold their hands up there. As for judging his signings in November?? Come on dude really? Did you do the same with Lucas I wonder?
Totally agrree , lower than top 4 is failure and Rodgers has already failed . I wiuldnt let this guy manage my kids u8 tdam
Realistically, I would expect the team to get 3 points at home against any team. As for the team being paper thin. I argued, that it would be interesting to see who will replace 20 goals a season provided by, Kuyt, Bellamy, maxi. I was expecting some fix to the problem before the sh!t hits the fan. The answer was Borrini and Allen (the new alonso). Both contribute very little. Goals were the problem last season. Well, not only the problems were not addressed, we added to it .
So would I. Fortress anfield, but since when was it that? Since when did we regularly get 3 points at home? Not a problem unique to Rodgers.
Allen has nothing to do with replacing the 3 you mentioned, I would suggest to date they been replaced by sterling, suso and borini. Difference is the new guys need time to settle and establish. That’s why gradual change is needed, this hasn’t happened for a number of reasons. Those 3 all had to move on and it so happened under Rodgers reign, so he gets the blame. Bigger picture surely
And goals have been the problem for a long while, again not a Rodgers specific problem.
It sounds like I’m constantly defend the man, but what I’m trying to do is highlight the bigger picture
Shove ur patience up ur ass . We r sick of it . Give us good manager and pool fans woud be patient , instead of this doorstop
SHM I will ask you the same questions I ask others but they never answer:
1. If Rodgers sacked tomorrow, who replaces?
2. How much ‘patience’ do you show them?
i agree SHM – patience with proven manager , so far rodgers has fked up at everything
Devils advocate, how had he fked up at everything?
What proven manager would you bring in?
And surely if they were proven you would expect immediate impact, what if that didn’t happen?
I’ll be having patience until the end of Jan anyway. We’ll know a lot more then and can only judge the true intentions and ability of FSG and Rodgers then. I think that top quality striker would make a big difference, if he comes. The unbeaten run would be nicer if it had more wins. Today should have been a win but we were too sluggish.
That is the bare minimum. FSG have a huge month coming ahead and have to put their money where their mouths are. In terms of Rodgers, he needs the support of the owners to bring in the players he believes he needs to progress.
Tim, we were linked with Clint Dempsey. Well, dodged a bullet there. Sigurson , another bullet dodged…. Every player he asked for, played for Rogers at Swansea or worked with him at Chelsea , sturridge. His knowledge of the transfer market doesn’t inspire confidence. And realistically, as you asked earlier. With Rogers , survive the season is the expectation. Then fire him. Although he will insist he has done fantastically well!!!
You are only saying dodged a bullet because they haven’t performed at spurs!! Both were excellent last year. Sometimes players and clubs don’t hit it off! Forman and united, shevchenko and Chelsea, Torres and Chelsea, Owen and anywhere. Personally I think sigurdsson would have done very well here.
Who would you have instead?
ALL true erin . NONE of those are good enough and NONE of the ones he signed are good enough .
Rodgers is a disaster for our club
should i bite? really…….well ok why not…
all true? really? based on what?
Rodgers OUT . im patient no more Rodgers is a clown
Why do you think he is a clown?
Some observations for today match (Swansea vs LFC)
The best LFC team under BR so far:
Suarez
Gerrard
Enrique***Henderson***Allen***Sterling
Downing***Aggar***Skrtel***Johnson
Except Downing, all players have the required stamina for playing 90 minutes.
That aging Gerrard can’t shot anymore. Allen still backpass the ball like a fool.
Enrique, Sterling and Johnson were very good at pressing forward. I think BR should use the same squad again for more matches.
@Tim Williams, what’s your opinion on this:
Rodgers: Liverpool won’t spend much money in January (http://www.talksport.co.uk/sports-news/football/premier-league/transfer-rumours/121125/rodgers-liverpool-won%E2%80%99t-spend-much-money-january-186126)
Do you still support FSG?
Hi Red,
Thanks for the reply, you have raised some interesting points for discussion.
Interesting team you have laid out, who would your keeper be?
Lets not forget we have Lucas to return! I think Robinson could grow into a top left back for us given the opportunity and run without injury.
I like the idea of pushing Jose Enrique on, and hope we can see a bale-sequence reaction to it. Sterling is a class act and kit is crucial we get him signed up.
Liverpool need to figure out how to get the best out of Steve, he isn’t 25 anymore, and playing midfield he suffers from a lack of Lucas! I wrote a piece not so long ago highlighting either a step forward into the ‘false 9’, or a step back to centre back/sweeper as options. Personally I think the reintroduction o Lucas will help.
I don’t want to get into another Allen debate again as this piece isn’t about him. Enough to say I rate him.
As for the article link you post, I think it could be read a number of different ways:
1. What do we expect him to say in public even if we had £500m to spend?.
2. It could suggest that work is being done on per contracts, lot of decent players available this summer
3. Jan is renowned for being a poor window, and this could be to forewarn
4. To me it’s not about how much spent but that the right money is spent! It doesn’t matter whether £50m or £50k is spent as long as they are the players the manager wants and they can make an impact.
Do I still support FSG? As much as I ever did, which is not as much as some would have you believe!! Do I trust them? Not yet. Do I think they are right for LFC? Jury is still out. They have mad mistakes, they are new owners, the trick is to learn from them. I am thankful for what they did in ridding us of H&G but they need to start making correct decisions. They are certainly not H&G but he worry is hey may be Lerner. Time will tell…the countdown o February has begun
having read this stupid rubbish and others by same author i have one conclusion
tim willams is a moron
Can I still expect a Christmas card from you?
After reading this comment and others by the same poster I have one conclusion, Mesmeric doesn’t back up his own statements
Mesmeric a man with few words but a lot of sense
I think that Brendon will come good… there are so many plastic fans that demand success over night. With another top striker, we could be up for champions league places. So called fans demanding our manager to leave so early should eff off and support chelsea or city!
another foolish muppet , u go support someone else u manc moron
Intelligent response! How exactly does Biggs reply and opinion make him a ‘Manx’ or a ‘moron’?
He said manc not Manx(from the isle of mann). cretin
Who rattled your cage?? Although I do hope you are Kevin spacey
I will confess to falling victim if auto correct on that one, which obviously makes me a cretin apparently
Fair point Biggs, the side is able to control 85% of a game jus needs that little extra.
Goals kill teams off. You score early and oppositions game plans fall out the window and can lead to disarray. We add a goal scorer or 2 to support Suarez we will turn dominance into goals and kill teams off
Well my patience is wearing a bit thin at the moment, i don’t think we’re any better than last year, squad is too thin for starters, you have to blame FSG for that i think, just saving the wage bill at a cost of lots of points. I’ve tried to be on Rodgers side from the start, but he’s making mistakes, take the euro game, 2-1 up 10 mins left, did’nt shut up the shop and close out the game, just stuck on strikers. Now he’s playing our full back on the wing and our winger at full back! Downing would’nt be able to pass the oranges to his team mates at half time, let alone a ball! Just have to put up with it and see what happens in January. Can’t see us go in for any top players that’s for sure.
I agree with you, FSG at fault for the squad, although in fairness we have no idea about club finances or the state hey are in!
As per the euro game, we need to remember that was a young inexperienced squad playing who need to learn how to play in Europe. Look at city!
We are struggling at lb and I understand the notion of playing downing there, but he just isn’t taking he chance. Playing Jose Enrique further forward has been a revelation no? How many wrote him off this year and last? Bale was awful at left back…
even if rodgers does turn out to be the wrong man, only an idiot would want us to get rid of him before we are sure what he can become. it took shanks 3 years to get us out of the second division. after 3 months of football no one is in a position to make a judgement, none of us can see the future.
todays performance shows one thing at least and that is that liverpool are proving a lot more difficult to beat than they were at the start of the season. the full time whistle left me with a sense of disappointment at not getting the 3 points. 2 months ago we would have lost that game. that is some sort of progress.
we still have a lot of room for improvement and hopefully that will come through a combination of the young players that rodgers is giving a chance to improving and some signings in the next 3/4 transfer windows.
remember the form we showed in the second half of last season is not just wiped away instantly. its slow building process that a new boss needs time to turn round. there are still glaring deficiencies in our team (not least downing at left back)but anyone who denies that there are reasons to be optimistic is expecting us to run before we can walk.
lets see what jan brings and how the team performs from now to the end of the season.
if you want rodgers out now then quite frankly you are bonkers.
Completely agree with you there! The point about the progression from post carling cup (post Lucas injury really) to now has even positive. We looked weak and fragile, loftys road anyone?? If you remember the rafa days, the first thing he did was shore the team up! A great team is built on a solid foundation meaning priorities are defence. If you dot concede you don’t lose, simple. Rafa had it so that whenever we scored a goal 3 points were in the bag. Once you have that solidity you can further build, but the run before you can walk comment is spot on
IF you want to keep a manager that has us floundering in mid table and wasting outr money on trash like Allen and Borini , either you are bonkers or your not a reds fan
complete rubbish peter , i think only idiots want a manager who has failed in every department
Tell us why you think he has failed…
another biased idiotic article , yawn ! . dont you get tired writing the same nonsense every time tim ?
with each week that passes you are being proven to be more foolish with your ridiculous belief in this tool . a month or so ago i would say you were foolishly optimistic , now belligerently stupid !
anyway this week rodgers has shown his incompetence in spades . disgraceful selection v young boys coupled with a stupid sub , which resulted in a out of position henderson at fault for equalising goal . now we are going out – totally rodgers fault . he couldn’t even beat a midtable swiss team at home . disgraceful
today , we have much better players than swansea with the exception of allen and henderson , yet rodgers stupid tactics ruined another day . 4 players played out of position stupidly ,downing , enrique ( who was fine) , gerrard (wasted again ) and henderson . everyone knows henderson is rubbish near opponents box but good defensively , and once again allen was appalling .. shocking decisions
rodgers keeps being inept , you keep defending and making excuses for him ,making you look stupid
ill be honest , i barely read it today just glanced over it , its the same ” oooh lets have patience ” crap it always is . i know you will come back with MORE excuses but i wont debate with you .
debating football with you , is like debating a scenic landscape painting with a blind man ….
hahaha Bob Bob Bob, I was about to ask whether you had actually read the article but you admit that yourself!
If you had actually bothered to read the article it was in no way a defence of Rodgers in the slightest. It was a view based on a bigger picture, on how I think the club needs to behave and what is right for the future. I in fact go as far to say that in my mind the jury is still out on Rodgers, not sure how this can be seen as defending or having a ridiculous belief in this ‘tool’. trying to have a rational convesation with anyone about something they havent even been bothered to read is like discussing a symphony with a deaf man 😉
before i leave it at that without picking apart another comment of yours, stupid sub? so you would have left on an injured wisdom? hmmm
dont be dim tim . of course i wouldn’t have left wisdom on . any 2 bit amateur with half a brain cell would have replaced a right back with …. ? a defender perhaps ? enrique/coates ? moved carra over perhaps ?
but the fool put a midfielder there , who is not used to playing there , his error led to 1st equaliser which gave them added confidence etc . end result – we are going out . thank you mr rodgers , another idiotic costly decision
i thought even you might have kopped that one , now really im not replying again
Have you wondered why he perhaps put a midfielder there? Im not defending the decision at all, but perhaps the belief was that the best way to defend the flanks was by having an attacking presence there to pin back their wingers? did this happen? to some extent?
Was Henderson caught out for their first, yes but these are the risks that you take in a game, no formation or player is flawless. The goal was scored by the centre forward with a world class finish. you could micro-analyse many decisions from many managers to suit your conclusion, but the bigger picture is always needed if you are to make a large decision as sacking a manager no?
nice to see you can hold a conversation without put-downs….oh wait….
Hey Tim, i agree that patience is needed badly at this stage of the season. But do you truly believe that with the amount of money other clubs are investing in their players and the amount FSG are investing that we stand a chance of competing in the top 4?
The root of this impatience among the fans nowadays i feel is because we see clubs like Man City or Chelsea investing heavily and deep inside we long for the same to happen to LFC. But our owners are not Sheikh or a money pissing Russian Tycoons. That is why sometimes the frustration level tends to skyrocket.
Hi Harvey,
Thanks for replying. Unfortunately you have to remove City and Chelsea from any equation as we can just not compete with their spending power. none of us know the extent of the damage H&G did so we do not know where the club is at at present, the danger is the owners throw caution to the wind in order to close the gap and do a Leeds. Nobody wants that.
The Sheikhs and Tycoons have placed unreal expectations on the other clubs, but to compare we look at other teams we class as around us such as Spurs, Arsenal and even United and if you look at recent spending the levels are similar, the problem is we havent been spending wisely. What needs to happen is to have a manager in place to plan for the long term and make the right signings accordingly. As we have seen with Rodgers/Dalglish, we spend a lot of money on some players one manager likes, as soon as he goes and the new manager doesnt fancy them they are gone, money lost.
Rodgers is making our team worse , ALL his buys are championship players at best . He is useless SACK HIM NOW , we are 11th FFS
And author – stop with the dumb ass excuses , we are Liverpool second is nowhere , excuses are for idiots
Fotheringham, please back up your points! the whole ideal of a discussion is for each party to support their argument. For a start this piece isnt a defence or Rodgers (how many people have i had to say this to now?).
Secondly, your opinion obviously differs from mine, convince me that I am wrong and you are right
Interesting article, Tim. Clever arguements but very much defending BR and FSG. Don’t say you didn’t cause you did.
You asked for reasons for Ulsterman’s sacking, here you go:
1 Worst start in the league
2 Out of the League Cup – the likeliest trophy to win
3 A mess of a Europa League – had to ensure qualification from an easy group long time ago
4 Awful Anfield form – some people used to criticise King Kenny for poor home record but it took him 18 months to lose at home four times, BR accomplished that in two months
5 Bad transfer market work – quality players out, replaced with unproven players which may yet come good but it’s uncertain and by the looks of things unlikely
6 No results – Roy’s record in first 24 was better than BR’s
7 Constant moaning – the club is too big for that, and after making squad young and thin manager has to take responsibility and not make an excuse of it
I can actually go on for a long time.
I’d replace BR with Carra but I don’t think that’s possible. But I’m more than sure that once there’s a chance to work with a great club like Liverpool there’ll be a number of managers wanting the job.
And by the way, “patience” is a stupid word such as “philosophy”. It has no place in football as it rarely leads to something. Take sir Alex and Shankly out of the context – I don’t think you’ll find many examples of justifying it.
Rodgers has to be sacked in my opinion. His results are poor at best, his football is hard to watch, his ambitions are too low for a big club and because of him LFC is losing its fanbase all over the world. Soon it can lose the home support and revenue as even at Young Boys home game the Swiss were much noisier.
Excellent accurate and truthful analysis . All the things i wanted to say .
Nicky,
Thank you very much for this response. I write articles entirely because I want to converse with people like you, where you agree with my opinion or not and vice versa. the most important thing is to explain your opinion and support it.
In response to you:
1. This fact is undeniable, but as a previous respondent stated, the form towards the end of last season can not be discounted(or even the form since we finished second). Looking at the league table is not good reading for sure, but stepping back and seeing the whole picture there has to be some admitance of progress no? Our form and results since Cardiff (or even since the Lucas crock) were relegation form, no? confidence was shot, form out of the window and very fragile. newcastle away and QPR away are prime examples of us looking on top, conceding and then falling to bits! The unbeaten run in the league can not be ignored as this has included clean sheets and coming from behind, signs that we are becoming more solid defensively and stronger in mind. Rafa installed a solid defence before progessing improvement up the pitch, and that took a number of years.
2. Why is the league cup any easier to win than the FA Cup? Disappointing to be out especially in the manner we went but with a thin squad is this entirely unexpected? lets not forget what teams have knocked us out of tournaments in the past. Not a strong enough reason this.
3. fair point. Tough group for a largely inexperienced european squad, with the Udinese defeat the most disappointing.
4. Anfield form is exclusive to Rodgers. this dates back to the latter days of Rafa. We have become a wounded beast whilst at Anfield and opposition sniff sblood so come and attack. This doesnt happen at Old Trafford or the Emirates as they retain the auroa we lost along time ago.
5. I dont buy the players out argument. Kuyt and Maxi had to go because of wages, simple. Beller left for family reasons. The Carroll saga was a joke and the lack of replacements also a joke, but this lies with FSG. Personally I really rate Allen, Sahin needs to find his feet, Borini and Assaidi need to settle, writing them off is ridiculous.
6. Direct comparisons are sticky, different times, different squads and so on. Yes on paper Roy had a better start but he also lost to Northampton at home!
7. I have never been a fan of moaning, but which LFC manager in recent times hasnt??
Carra is a decent shout, but to put him in at such a time would be daft. Liverpool is a very large ship that needs to be turned around. This is an unavoidable process and to throw Carra into this now would be silly. Get him on the coaching staff, learn the ropes and rebuild that boot room mentality.
I take your ‘philosophy’ point, but patience is an absolute must, no? Taking Shankly and Fergie out of the context s crazy as they are 2 of the most successful managers ever, taking on clubs at very low ebbs, they should surely provide the template rather than dismissed as an anomoly?
I disagree with you in terms of sacking. Not because I believe Rodgers is the be all and end all (jury still out) but sacking a manager in november is nonsense, the club needs stability and the owners need to support the man in place. The bigger picture is Liverpool as a club is in a mess and needs to be sorted, someone has to do this. this is far from a easy time to be an LFC fan, we have fallen a long way over a number of years. The situation we are in mirors YNWA perfectly! we walk on with hope in our heart.
well spoken nicky – the ONLY writer on this site that doesn’t have his head permanently up his own ass
Haha that because he agrees with you Bob?
See what Nicky did? He a) read the article and b) qualified his opinions.
Just because someone’s opinions differ from yours doesn’t make them any less of a fan or adorn their head with their own posterior!
yes it does
How so vickers, enlighten us all……
Totally agrree with Nicky
Vickers……have you read the article????? It does not defend anyone, it discusses the need for patience. Although I doubt you will, I would love for you to give me your reasons behind why you think this is brain dead, and what you would do to improve Liverpool…..
Here is an open question, why does a differing opinion make you any less of a fan? Absolutely baffled by this stance, seems quite childish to me.
I agree with the others , patience is silly , time is of the essence , we go further behind ‘big’ clubs with every passing week .
Lets wash our hands of Rodgers and move on , the whole Rodgers thing has divided our fans in a bad way , more and more are disgruntled and some plan to boo him at the next home game . Getting a top manager will unite the fans , Rodgers is clearly not capable and should be dismissed immediately
Ok Rob,
Expand on your point, who would you place Rodgers with? What if after 16 games their record is akin to Rodgers?
Why do you think the patience afforded to Shankly and Ferguson in the past isn’t the template a club should follow?
Yes,we need to be patient. We are not too poor nor too good in our previous matches. Rome does not built in a day, let’s wait patient n find out where we are at the end of the season but I ave the faith things would turn around better for LFC
For swansea draw, to hell with you rodgers! To hell with u