Year Zero

IT is funny how some situations can set your mind into thinking about something else completely unrelated, and in my case normally something LFC related.

Is this a sign of dedication? Sadness? Obsession? All of the above? I don’t know, but it annoys my wife so cheers me up! I bring this up now not in a list of how to annoy my wife (although any suggestions you have will be duly noted), as such an instance happened today. What all started as an innocent family visit to a medical museum (rock and roll baby) left me mulling over Liverpool Football Club.

Let me give you a brief background before sharing those thoughts. There was a section that showed life as it was in British city slums in the 18th and 19th centuries and the conditions that we could not comprehend. Basics we don’t even think about like running water, sanitation, not having your entire family and pets living in a damp infested room were seen as far away dreams and unsurprisingly disease was one of the biggest problems faced. At this time the belief was that the illnesses and ailments suffered was as a direct result of the foul odours that seemingly accompanied the sickness. It was not until scientists spent time working in the slums that it was discovered that the cause of the disease was actually the source of the smell rather than the smell itself. As crude as it may sound the simple idea by dealing with the immediate concerns, in their case the smell, rather than identifying and dealing with the underlying issues prolonged their troubles rather than correcting them. With this in mind my thinking once again was coloured red as thoughts drifted to Anfield and how this simple analogy seemed quite apt to the problems on and off pitch in recent years, and how now seemingly the club have identified the underlying problems and are beginning to take action.

Am I proclaiming that Rodgers is the second coming of Shanks? Nope. Am I claiming that the club is making correct decisions all the time and are infallible? Nope. What I am suggesting is that the club has been through the ringer and we are starting to see the green shoots of recovery this summer. To support this claim we have to look no further than two verified transfer targets: Sigurdsson and Borini. These are young players that Rodgers has history with, working with each at two different clubs and Borini since he was 16. What is quite apparent is that Rodgers has identified these as players he wants and the club have backed him.

If we compare this to when Kenny was in charge it was quite clear that although he made the final decision on transfers, this came from a list supplied by our Director of Football Damien Comolli. What this says to me is that the club is focused on stability and have selected their man after careful thought and are providing him with the support he needs. The lack of a Director of Football role in the Comolli sense supports this theory as Rodgers is entrusted with a fuller managerial role. The mention of Sigurdsson also highlights another aspect of Liverpool’s ‘Year Zero’ approach and for me a welcome change in the modern games money orientated approach.

I am not going to stand (sit) here and proclaim that Sigurdsson is a greedy so and so as it is quite natural to expect a higher wage from Liverpool than he was offered at Swansea due to the size of the club and the greater demands there would be, but for Liverpool to stand their ground and not match the bid from Spurs and pay what they believe is over the odds is a significant step forward. Liverpool in past seasons have taken a different course which has left the club with a wage bill too high compared to the contributions made by the players in question such as Jovanovic, Cole, Aquilani, which brings me to my next point which dates back to the days of Rafa.

Through no fault of his own Rafa was more often than not left to scramble for players that could fill a number of positions and effectively become square pegs in round holes – Gareth Barry springing to mind straight away. Rafa went, Hodgson came in and Purslow was still around and we saw signings of Cole, Jovanovic, Konchesky and Poulsen, with the first two certainly coming in on ridiculous wages. Whereas Konchesky and Poulsen were Hodgson signings to fill a role, Jovanovic was a result of Rafa trying to get a versatile player for not much to plug the increasing number of holes in the squad and Cole was a glamour signing from Purslow, in what smacks of an attempt to distract the fans.
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Now I have a belief that Cole can come good in a red shirt, but he has failed to work out to date as he wasn’t signed with managerial forethought and consequently was ‘accommodated’ rather ‘selected’ if that makes any sense. The same theory that has seen England fail miserably with Stevie and Lampard in the same team. Stevie a left winger? Do me a favour.

Dalglish, I believe, was brought in to appease the fans, stabilise the club and quite frankly no other manager would have stood a chance once he declared an interest. Like Rafa before him, I do not believe Kenny should have been sacked, but leaving my emotions at the front door, I can see why FSG took their action and consequent decisions support this. As I intimated earlier, Rodgers is their man and the change in structure of the club and the increase in power handed to the Northern Irishman points to a long term plan. The fact that the future of Andy Carroll is completely up in their air at the moment and it looks increasingly like he may be sold (at time of writing Newcastle just made a loan enquiry) shows, rightly or wrongly, that FSG are taking bold steps in this new direction. Personally I don’t want Andy to leave, if you have read any of my previous pieces you will know I have championed him all along and towards the end of the season he was coming good and perhaps a greater deployment of him at the Euro’s may have seen England progress further.

So the fact that Rodgers doesn’t see him fitting the system he wants to play and the fact that FSG are willing to make a loss on the player to generate the funds to support Rodgers in the acquisition of the players who fit his ideology, shows the complete support and backing they give the new guy. The support and backing the King needed really. Now as much as I don’t think Kenny should have gone, and that wound will take a time to heal, looking to the now and ahead to the future under Rodgers I admit I am impressed. I am impressed with his relationship with the media and how he handles himself.

The reports of what training comprises of also fills me with hope. Undoubtedly we have the players to fit this style with Suarez, Gerrard, Cole, Aquilani, Henderson, Pacheco, Sterling, Lucas, Suso and more. Although I suspect they may have their heads on or at least near the chopping block, I think Adam and Downing can adapt to this style of play if required and prosper. It is sad to wave farewell to Kuyt and Maxi as both have contributed hugely to Liverpool, and as much as I think Maxi fit the Rodgers model, both generated large salaries that in the FSG model would restrict options on incoming players. Without knowing figures I would expect that the combined wages of Kuyt and Maxi would be equal to 3 or 4 younger players of the stature of Borini coming in.

The ‘year zero’ approach will not be popular in the short term with the treatment of the King still cutting deep and the potential departure of Carroll not likely to be a popular decision either, and despite it being a gamble on the long term success of these measures FSG have been undoubtedly bold and confident in their own decisions and are willing to support their man. The club has been crying out for direction from the highest level for years and we finally have that.

Agree or disagree with what they have done (I tick both those boxes so far!) it is good to know we have a direction and clear goals. The support placed in Rodgers is also a refreshing change from the struggles with the board Rafa constantly struggled, the disillusionment from the fans (rightly so for me) Hodgson suffered and the lack of belief from the board Dalglish contended with, and we are now seeing the manager identify who he wants to fill specific roles in a system I believe will bring back the pass and move style football we love. This approach will undoubtedly have highs and lows but I for one am starting to believe again, and the excitement in football and the new season is being rekindled.

As always, like or dislike, agree or disagree with what I have written please chat about it and come find me on twitter @timdibs
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