WITH our new manager settling into life in the Anfield hot seat, Live4Liverpool takes a look at the initial impressions left by Brendan Rodgers and the background of his predecessors.
For the second and concluding part of our Brendan Rodgers feature, we summarise our first impressions of the Northern Irishman and explain how the shortcomings of his predecessors should serve to temper expectations.
First impressions are very important in all walks of life. After just four months as Liverpool manager, that is exactly how we should contextualise our views on Rodgers thus far. As discussed in the first part of our feature, fans should not get too carried away in any praise at this stage, as there is a background in our recent history of placing our managers on a prematurely assembled pedestal.
This isn’t intended to diminish the importance of a new manager’s opening period though; it can often set the scene for years to come. To that end, a summary is provided below of some early thoughts on Brendan Rodgers.
Firstly, as stated on here previously, Rodgers ‘talks’ a good game. His communication skills are on a completely different level to all of the above managers. If he performs as well in team talks as he does in press conferences then he will have hopefully gained the respect of the players.
Interestingly, we have been provided with a glimpse of how Rodgers interacts with those within the club via the first three episodes of Being:Liverpool. Overall, the programme has shed Rodgers in a positive light, however, there is a subtle touch of David Brent in his rhetoric. His pep talks with John Flanagan and Jonjo Shelvey, in episodes one and two respectively, provide evidence of this, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed by several fans.
This is clearly a slight concern because we don’t want the players to view Rodgers in this manner, but it is also true that football is not a personality contest. If stroking a player’s face and whispering a sweet nothing gets their attention, then so be it. If a corny catchphrase or buzzword motivates the player to run an extra mile, then we should be all for it.
It should be noted also that his pre-match talks – both on a one-to-one level and also with the entire team immediately prior to kick-off – appear to be quietly inspiring. Based on the programme’s coverage of these particular scenarios, there is an intriguing sense of intensity and passion in Rodgers’ eyes that grabs the attention and commands respect.
Of course, we aren’t able to provide a thorough assessment of Rodgers because we only see him through the eyes of the media, however, the easiest way to judge a manager – rightly or wrongly – is by observing their behaviour in the public eye. In this respect, another slight concern is Rodgers’ incessant reference to his intended playing style. This won’t help with managing expectations and promoting patience.
An instant flip-side to this however is absolutely crucial: talking about a playing style and philosophy is an essential first step in implementing it in the first place. We should be thankful that he wants Liverpool to play that way, because Barcelona and Spain have proven that it’s a pretty successful model in contemporary football.
Indeed, in Liverpool’s matches against West Brom and Norwich in particular – where the teams were made up of completely different playing personnel – the fluidity of our passing and movement looked very exciting. Perhaps these are initial signs that Rodgers’ ideas are starting to be adopted successfully.
Where Rafa appeared to over-complicate the game at times, Rodgers’ tactics are in many ways a throwback to Bill Shankly. The simple idea of passing and moving is the beating heart of Rodgers’ philosophy – and the great man would no doubt approve.
Probably the most endearing aspect of Rodgers’ tenure so far though has been his willingness to give our youngsters a try. We spoke in this season’s preview about doing things differently to Man City and Chelsea because we cannot compete with their resources.
An alternative strategy for long-term success would appear to be a focus on the club’s Academy. Giving its players the time to make their mistakes and settle into the team is a fundamental part of this process. We can only assume that Rodgers is well aware of his limitations in the transfer market and the need to make the Academy his potential source of success.
All of the above considered, it would appear that Rodgers has made a good impression on Liverpool fans thus far. Throughout the West Brom and Norwich encounters, Liverpool fans were heard singing several times, en masse: ‘There’s only one Brendan Rodgers’.
Football supporters are renowned for their loyalty and would run through a brick wall for anyone who is connected with their club. Therefore, a hefty proportion of fans who recited this widely used football ditty would put it down to a simple backing of a Liverpool FC employee and not an acceptance already that Rodgers is the right man for the long-term.
That said, we need to be careful as a collective group of fans, not to fall into the same trap as we have done in previous regimes. If you add in the potentially lethal ingredient of social media, where every loss and win is met with widespread condemnation or euphoria, an environment is created that fosters unhealthy levels of scrutiny.
This club is in a very unique position in English football: it is the most successful, but it is also quite a distance from further prolonged success. Over the last 22 years, this situation has created a pressure which has proven intolerable for several failed signings, and indeed managers, so Liverpool fans – romantic bunch as we are – should not become a part of this cycle by creating extra pressure with unrealistic expectations.
Liverpool’s past successes have instilled an inherent, deep-rooted optimism – almost entitlement – in the club’s fans. This isn’t a criticism; it’s a by-product of our glorious history. If we hadn’t won a thing then it would probably take four years for us to chant Rodgers’ name, never mind four months.
But let’s take another few years taking stock of the situation before treating the Northern Irishman as the latest in a long line of Merseyside Messiahs.
What do we want? The league title.
Only when we become genuinely convinced that Rodgers is capable of delivering something that several previous managers couldn’t should we as fans be completely content.
If Rodgers’ first few years are considered the tip of the iceberg, then at the moment we are swimming through bitterly cold waters trying to find it.
Follow me on Twitter: @antonyjlfc
Click here for the first part of our Brendan Rodgers feature.
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