New Month. New Manager. New Era.

THE predictions were correct: Liverpool Football Club officially confirmed and revealed its new manager on Friday 1st June at just after 10.00am during a packed press conference.

The new man in the hotseat was no surprise to anyone by the time of the unveiling, during what has been a very public two weeks since the departure of King Kenny. To be fair to the club itself, the owners FSG had kept the process of seeking a successor private; regardless of the mass intrusion, conjecture and speculation – not to mention certain walking sound bite of a Chairman also based in the North West – in attempts to get names into the spotlight. Some even ruled themselves into the equation. But the club remained calm and acted with integrity, whilst studying their own shortlist:

“The process is a private process [but] it’s fair to say we considered many people because that’s what you should do. You try to understand how any individual fits with the profile,” said Managing Director Ian Ayre.

“Some people decided to say they were in the process but they weren’t. It was all about understanding individuals and matching their skill-sets with the profile. Brendan was at the forefront of that and at the outcome of it and that was exactly what we wanted. He was the only person we made an offer to. We got the person we wanted.”

Club Chairman, Tom Werner added: “In Brendan we have acquired a very exciting and talented and young manager. He’s a forward-thinking coach at the forefront of a generation of young managers and will bring to Liverpool attacking, relentless football.”

On to the man himself. Whilst his appointment has been met with initial scepticism from many fans and ‘experts’ due to a lack of big club experience, Rodgers no doubt went some way to winning some doubters over with a very impressive first press conference:

“I’m blessed to be given this opportunity. I want to thank John Henry, Tom Werner and FSG for the opportunity to manage such a great club. I’m really excited and I can’t wait to get started on this incredible project going forward.

“I promise to dedicate my life to fight for this club and defend the great principles of Liverpool Football Club on and off the field.”

It was widely reported that Rodgers turned down Liverpool’s initial approach, but once it became clear how serious FSG were in wanting the Northern Irishman, his reservations faded:

“Once I had found out I was the number one target from the important people at Liverpool it was quite an easy decision. I genuinely think Liverpool Football Club is the heartland of football folklore. Liverpool are one of the dynasties of the game. They have won five European Cups and their status is up there with AC Milan, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.”

Speaking of his plans going forward, Rodgers told the media:

“This is a long-term project. It’s a project over a number of years. First and foremost I want to defend the principles of this great club which is about offensive, creative football, with tactical discipline. The history of the club was the attraction. Also, the frustrations – it’s been nearly 20 years since they’ve won the league title. And the realism is that we might not be ready for the title now but the process begins today and it’s a new cycle. That’s something we’ll work towards in the years to come.
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“I’m really looking forward to moving here to the city with my family and understanding more about life up north and in Liverpool, which is a really vibrant city – and, of course, I’m looking forward to managing the football club. All I’ll ever do is all I’ve ever done in any job, and that’s promise to fight for my life for the supporters and the people of the city. I’m a realist and I’ll always give my life to the football club and trying to represent the city as best as I possibly can. Hopefully over time I’ll earn that respect.”

A major concern for many fans has been his lack of experience, in terms of both managing a big club with big players, and in terms of age, being a relatively young manager. However Rodgers moved to allay those fears:

“I look at Kenny Dalglish, he was the manager at 34 and resigned at 39. I arrive here at 39. My pathways as a young coach and manager have been different to most. Even though I’m young in age, I’ve actually been coaching and working in football for nearly 20 years.”

This included studying the game all over continental Europe where he spent time with clubs such as Ajax, Valencia and Barcelona. He was even a familiar face round the Spanish national team training set-up – so much so that he learnt the language. Back to the topic of big name players Rodgers continued:

“I think what really helped me was the fact that I had four-and-a-half fantastic years at Chelsea, where I had the experience of working with big players.

“Footballers are footballers, they want to learn, they want to be educated and want to improve. That’s something that I’ve done with all types of player, young and senior, throughout my career. It’s about people, for me it doesn’t matter where people are in terms of status. I always take them as human beings. I never judge anyone; I never look at their status. For me, whether you’re a League Two player or a top Premier League player, it’s about respect.

“I was never the big player; I had to go down a different route which was about being on the coaching field and earning my respect that way. But also as a human being and treating people with the values and the morals that I would expect to be treated with.”

The proud new Liverpool Football Club manager ended by saying:

“I’m very proud to be Liverpool manager. I’m only the second Northern Irish manager (after John McKenna) in the history of the club. It’s a club with wonderful tradition and I feel very blessed with the opportunity to come and manage here. It’s a worldwide football club with an incredible tradition.

“I just can’t wait to get started and to get to work.”

And we can’t wait either. Welcome to the Liverpool Football Club family Mr. Rodgers.

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