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Brendan Rodgers and the Philosophical Myth

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Brendan Rodgers has been delighted by the leadership qualities of his Liverpool playersBrendan Rodgers has had his trumpet blown quite a lot the last few weeks and months, and rightly so considering what he has done to Liverpool FC the last twenty or so months. I think it’s nice. He deserves it. He’s one of the good ones.

However, there is one thing that keeps irking me a tiny bit. It’s not a huge deal, but apparently big enough to start writing about it.

‘Rodgers has changed his philosophy.’

That is something I keep seeing and hearing quite often, as an explanation for Liverpool’s progress the last eighteen months – and particularly this season. And I don’t agree with it. I don’t think he has changed anything; to me it is more of a continuation. Systematic work at Melwood’s training pitches. Cause and effect. Consequence. That is what I think this is, this thing of beauty we see unfolding.

‘We go again’ has become the mantra for the fans following Steven Gerrard’s famous post-match huddle after the game against Manchester City at Anfield. More than anything I would say those words encapsulate the attitude of the manager; it’s the same message he has repeated all season. Whether in blocks of five or the old one game at a time: We go again. We do the thing. We learn, we practice what we learn, we dare to treat the game as an extension of our training and the consequence is results.

We do the thing.

But in terms of principles and playing style, I don’t think anything has changed from the day he arrived. I see development and extensions, but I don’t see a change of ways. We still play it out from the back, we still aim to go direct when we can and keep the ball when we can’t. We still press the ball and try to win it back as early as possible. And we still aim to control the game by dominating possession.

So what exactly is it that is supposed to be different? The obvious answer is the hunger and the ability to go direct at every opportunity. Compare what you see now to what we saw eighteen months ago and it’s two different worlds. But why?

For me it comes down to two key elements. The first is the addition of Philippe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge. As Rodgers has said himself: When you don’t have the players in the final third to make the difference, you naturally keep the ball more. That is what happens when you don’t have sufficient cutting edge in the final third, because the alternative is – more or less – to surrender possession. When those two entered the fray, LFC suddenly had more strings. A dimension was added.

The second key is development, individually as well as collectively. The evolution of a team. Raheem Sterling and Jordan Henderson are now as crucial to the transitional phase as Coutinho and Sturridge; and coupled with the continued excellence of Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez, the development of those two have helped the team evolve into this fearless, high-octane steamroller of an organism that looks like running away with the biggest price.

That is the change. How did it change? What made it possible?

Time. The overriding element.

However, this added dimension shouldn’t be confused with the manager sacrificing his principles and abandoning his philosophy. The foundation for how he sees the game remains the same.

Trust me, I’ve got this. Hand me a slice of your patience and I will do the thing.

Did they abandon the possession game? No, they didn’t. They just learned a new trick. 

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3 comments

  • godwin says:

    I think playing stevie in a deeper role made d team strong,we haven’t lost any game in d epl since stevie took that role…i’d like aspas 2 have a look in if possible

  • stevie says:

    Aspas? You’re not serious?

  • TaintlessRed says:

    Nice article Christer. I agree that Brendan’s fundamental philosophy has stayed the same. Aggressive, attacking, attractive football. Pressing of the ball with mobile players. However he has changed some things from what he preached when he first came in. He’s realised that being direct early in the transition suits his players better and causes more dangerous situations in the final third. Martino at Barcelona has been trying to implement a more direct style but his players aren’t as suited to it and has had resistance from players who aren’t as adept at it. Guardiola, despite great success at Bayern, has had criticism from pundits including the great Beckenbauer, that he has taken away some of the directness from the team in favour of possession. In this case it’s about recycling the ball until very accurate high percentage through balls can be made e.g. virtually no crossing (except accurate cutbacks, balls across the 6 yard box etc.). In our case the manager is much more accepting of losing the ball in the final third if trying something to create a chance. Suarez for example loses the ball a lot trying high risk maneouvers , while Messi never does as he’ll choose to pass instead.

    I have quite a few more thoughts on what’s an interesting topic you bring up, but I guess a small comments section unfortunately isn’t big enough.

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