He Deserves More Credit Than He’s Being Given
LEAGUE football; it’s a lot more than a reason to get out of the house or neglect your books, it’s probably the most important thing on any football lover’s weekly schedule. That being said, the performance of your team during the week could very well transform it from good to better, good to bad, bad to good or bad to worse. I’m very doubtful though that there are any Kopites whose weeks have gone sour after our recent displays (save the inexplicable Villa game that is).
Our performances have been masterful and the results have finally started to tell the tale of the games .The Fulham match (a performance he all but prophesized in a pre-match interview), for me, was just a culminate manifestation of what has been a steady rise in form, confidence and tactical discipline. The team has picked itself up from dependency on individuals to dependency on the unit, and though there are still some loopholes we might not get away with against tougher opposition, we do look quite solid against teams from mid-table downwards.
Some may attribute this, and rightly so only if not in entirety, to the improvement in form, play and in-game awareness of the likes of Jose Enrique, Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing in the past few weeks, the latter of the three putting up a master-class performance in our emphatic victory over Fulham, but, I believe it would be highly unfair to leave out the one man all our discountenance would have been directed at if those 4 wins in 5 (all competitions I mean) had been losses or even draws: Brendan Rodgers.
He has been criticised without remorse for poor line-ups and tactics after the games we failed to win but I am yet to see an encouraging comment about him even though he has orchestrated a win in Udine to secure a Europa League knockout place and an aggressive league comeback after a poor display against Aston Villa.
He has been brave and unbiased for the most part in the selection of his starting XI. His “If you don’t perform, you don’t play” notion, to me, has been the key to the improvement in players like Hendo and Downing. Players who were sure starters under Dalglish have been made to fight for their positions in the starting XI and we can all attest to the fact that they are becoming better players for it.
He hasn’t had very much by way of squad options (some may say out of his own doing), but by reposing his confidence and faith in youngsters like Sterling, Wisdom, Shelvey and Suso he has managed to create some form of competition within the squad between youngsters who are trying to prove that they’re good enough for regular first team action and veterans who have now been pushed to justify their first team inclusion.
I have taken plenty of hits for my belief in and defence of Rodgers and his tiki-taka philosophy and remain adamant that he has a role to play in turning our fortunes around. Comparing what he has managed with a lean roster to what Mark Hughes managed with such a wealth of talent at QPR, it would be a sheer lack of appreciation not to acknowledge his contribution to this run of good form.
I said in a much earlier article this season that if Rodgers managed to make it to Christmas with the team within touching distance of the top four and earn a spot in the Europa League knockout stages (both of which he has) then we would have a lot to look forward to in the second half of the season. We may already be halfway through the league fixtures but contrary to popular belief, I think there is every reason to be optimistic (if he actually USES the transfer window this time around).
He may not be an Alex Ferguson, pulling rabbits out of hats almost every week, but he has definitely had a visible impact since arriving on Merseyside and for that I think we must give unto Rodgers what belongs to Rodgers.
Live4Liverpool is recruiting columnists. For further info contact the site editor at live4liverpool@snack-media.com
Follow us on Twitter here: @live4Liverpool and ‘Like’ us on Facebook
Newcastle News 24/7
December 29th, 2012
Even the dumb ass Rodgers fans cant defend this bullsh*t
December 29th, 2012
Everybody has already said it – Disgracefully stupid article
At last Liverpool fans are showing their not going to conned into believing this dross
December 29th, 2012
wow.. this pile of garbage that passes for an “article” could be the worst piece of drivel ever written. Brenda might go down as a worse manager than dalglish part II…. this assclown needs to be fired and his little b&tchboy allen given the boot with him. FSG are clueless idiots that need to sell and get the f’k out! Until then we are going to continue to be mid table crap… FIRE BRENDA!!
December 29th, 2012
Please Mr Braimah if you could refrain from writing articles , in fact i dont think you share your thoughts on football ever again .You would be doing mankind a service
December 30th, 2012
Unless we suddenly find new owners who have money, Brendan is all we have. Not even Rafa can win anything with the poor quality players that we have, and Brendan tries and tries to squeeze talent from Deadwood at Anfield. Gerrard is past his prime, it isn’t just age,its everything, including his passion for playing for the club, who could blame him considering we are fallen giants; and we ain’t getting up soon. The upshot is that BR is the best we can do under the circumstances. Our only hope is that FSG once they’ve packaged us as a good investment deal for a wealthy entity; then they could sell us and move on. Financial fair play is a pipedream,and will never happen. So we do need owners with cash, not those who count pennies and nickels; therefore give BR a break, sometimes I feel if I train hard enough even I could make that Liverpool squad, said in jest.
December 31st, 2012
Pure Nonsense
December 31st, 2012
Rodgers the best we can do ? What drugs u on ?
Rodgers IS THE WORST we can do