Brendan Rodgers – this man has taken Liverpool from a team of average players – and Stevie and Luis – to being a team of stars with Stevie and Luis forming the backbone of this workhorse-like machine. Let’s take you back to when he first started, immediately lost Dirk Kuyt (which wasn’t his fault) but the player himself wanted to move on. He got rid of Andy Carrol who infuriated many fans with his on/off performances and looked like he was on the way up before BR let him go.
Rodgers was certainly on the back foot at the start of his Liverpool FC career, but has he done enough to deserve praise?
His football philosophy is one of passing and ball retention thus starving the opposition of any kind of meaningful possession. The biggest problem with this is that the Liverpool’s back four, at times, do not look comfortable when they are pressed when in possession, certainly the likes of Toure, Agger and Johnson have looked shaky at times. This tactic sometimes lets Liverpool become their own worst enemy as the end result very often is a hasty clearance which gives the ball back, or conceding possession deep into our own half and suddenly putting us under pressure .
The biggest problem this creates is giving our opponents some confidence going forward and belief that they can get something from the game. Defensively we have been average, maybe even below average with Mignolet not the type of keeper to command the are, we often come undone at set-pieces. Mignolet certainly can use that big frame a bit better and if he shows confidence and, in doing so, surely that confidence will flow through the entire back line?
Brendan Rodgers has covered the defensive line well with the acquisitions of Toure, Illori, Sakho and Aly Cissokho (although Aly hasn’t really improved our team much, if at all). The manager has shown some confidence in Flanagan and also, and with good reason. Flanno is born and bred on the streets of Liverpool and has the heart of to become a legendary Red.
Brendan has certainly allowed the young man to develop into a more than capable right back. During the United game there was a good moment where Brendan gave some coaching on forcing the attacker wide and not getting into a position where he had to foul – this, in my opinion, was some fantastic man-management by Brendan. It obviously helped because after that little bit of coaching United never got beyond Flanagan again!
Many fans are saying that because he gets to play the top two strikers in world football at the moment and that’s why Liverpool have done so well this season. But this is not an accurate measure of Brendan’s tactical abilities. A prime example is David Moyes; he has inherited a Championship winning side, instilled in them his philosophies, and voila – they are almost a dead certainty to finish outside of European places. As with Rodgers: new manager, same team, different results.
Another example is Barcelona who, as a Championship winning team currently fighting for the Spanish title, are struggling. Last year they were out of sight in the title race. But then: new manager, same team (even slightly better with the addition of Neymar), different results.
So let’s look at what Brendan has done: he’s taken us from struggling to win at Stoke, slipping up at Everton, losing to Arsenal and dominating teams but losing to an 85th min goal from a corner. Now we are a team hammering any team who hasn’t come prepared, big or small, it doesn’t matter.
We have become bullies of all sides, there’s just no let up. Even if we concede 2, we will almost certainly score 4, or 5 or 6. So, on the attacking side we are the most feared in the league and rightfully so. Still though, some fans are saying that Brendan simply has to select Suarez and Sturridge and wait until they score but this is backward thinking. Yes, Luis is great and Sturridge is good, and – usually – getting the ball to them often results in positive moves on the pitch but there are 8 other outfield players that make that happen.
For instance, Raheem Sterling was briefly introduced into the team by King Kenny but the faith shown in him by Rodgers has transformed this young man into a real threat. Also, the faith he has shown in many youngsters, giving them chance to make a name for themselves shows further demonstration of good management.
A recent example of this was young Texiera coming on at Fulham, when we went in search of a winner very late in the game. Texiera had a few good touches, a good effort on goal and when Stevie scored the late winner Texiera was part of that win. What a wonderful moment for the youngster and surely this will build the confidence of the boy.
Furthermore, Rodgers hasn’t really changed the squad much, as it’s still largely the same team he inherited from Kenny, and although he has brought in a few players he still hasn’t really brought in players and changed the teams look drastically. Instead, he has taken our team and got the very best out of them, changed their roles in the team, instilled in them a new way of thinking. He has given the team belief, hope and in turn they perform for him. Day in day out they perform, and perform well. Rodgers has done what only Rafa and Houllier has managed in the Premier League era and that is to take our team to within touching distance of top spot. Were it not for that horror show from Toure a few weeks ago we would very well be in top spot right now but it was a lesson learned and we move forward.
The manager is fast becoming our managerial cult hero and if we can just pull off the “bank job” of the millennium and steal the title then I think we may have re-ignited that fire for winning titles. But he hasn’t wont anything yet, hasn’t had any cup success or league honours so the question is, what has he done for LFC and why should we give him more praise and credit?
Quite simply, the man has taken us to the Champions Leagues places and I cannot see us throwing it away. We are back on top of Everton, have blown away United (twice), are sitting pretty in 2nd spot and, finally, the man on the street can walk down the road and look at someone and say , “we should’ve scored at least 3 more” and be smug and arrogant (if you wish). We can look at Chelsea fans and say, “You’ve still got to come to Anfield”, and be confident in getting a result. And lastly, we can say “If we don’t win it , we will have a big say in who does”.
To finish up, a quote in response to David Moyes, prior to the Old Trafford game:
“Anfield is Anfield. We expect to win and we have a mentality that has been developing over 18 months which we expect to win home and away”.
And if you still think he doesn’t deserve praise then think of it this way: we could’ve ended up with a David Moyes.
Yet? Are you for real? He’s deserved it from along time ago. Simple as that.