EVERYONE knew on the day that Liverpool confirmed Brendan Rodgers as their new manager, one thing was clear – Rodgers would succeed or fail according to his own beliefs, his own values and his own ideas on how football should be played.
We knew that he wanted to work with players who could understand how he wanted to play, and the more sensible LFC fans also knew that this would be a process that would take time.
Imparting your own philosophy and personality from the top to the bottom of a football club is not done overnight.
What’s becoming even clearer now is that the process will also have casualties. Those players who don’t want to take the time to understand and apply Rodgers’ way of playing, or don’t follow his vision for the football club, will be shown the exit door and, as fans, we should be backing the manager’s commitment to doing it this way, for several reasons.
First and most importantly, Rodgers has shown that if his philosophy is best understood and applied by younger players than more established stars, then he is not afraid to back those players and leave the experienced players on the sidelines. Of course, the way the team plays on the field is an important part of the Rodgers system, but equally relevant is his work ethic and his expectation that his players will work hard and fight for their place. This is where his personal values are important – you get nothing in life if you don’t work for it, and you will only get out what you put in.
Think about the manager’s quotes in a press conference last week when he was asked about why Raheem Sterling and other young players were keeping Stewart Downing and others out of the first team:
“He [Downing] has a wonderful left foot but what is important is that it is more than talent. Talent alone is not enough. You have to work hard, you have to fight for the shirt. We have seen that in a number of the young players and if you don’t do that then longer-term you won’t be here. It is as simple as that really”.
If Rodgers has liked the willingness to work that he’s seen in the young players, and their ability to soak up and apply the ideas that he’s putting across, then he is being rewarded many times over. The increased maturity of the performances from players like Sterling, Suso and Wisdom is visible with every game and, whilst it’s important not to get carried away too early, they have been a huge bright spot on the first weeks of the season.
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The second reason we should be backing this approach is very simple – as Liverpool fans, our history is littered with teams that played attractive, possession based football, but also teams that knew the value of the Liverpool shirt, were prepared to work as hard as possible to get into the first team, and then to stay in the first team once they got there. Alan Hansen, bought from Partick Thistle; Ronnie Whelan, bought from Home Farm in Ireland – they didn’t think that they had a divine right to be in the first team, they played plenty of games in the reserves; learning about Liverpool and demonstrating that they had what it took to succeed. If Rodgers is looking at established stars such as Downing and questioning whether they have the same attitude, then we should be supporting him 100% in his desire to challenge them to prove themselves.
The course for Downing, Henderson, Enrique and even Carroll if and when he returns is clear – follow the example of the young players, show that you’re willing to listen, take in information and above all work your socks off, and you will be rewarded. If you think that, because you have international caps and awards under your belt from other clubs, your reputation will be enough, then you’re wrong. Rodgers’ faith in the young players is making that abundantly clear, and again as fans we should be glad that he’s taking that line.
Lastly, it’s fair to say that recent weeks have shown Rodgers to be very single minded, determined and committed to his philosophy, in spite of pressure from outside. He has had a difficult run of fixtures (and one or two below average performances) to deal with, but he has never wavered in his focus on playing a certain way – short, compact passing moves, pressing the ball hard when not in possession and playing with a 4-3-3 that becomes 4-5-1 in defence. It would have been easy to abandon that in the face of results and go back to a system that better suited Downing and the rest of the established internationals, but the manager didn’t even consider it.
The greatest football managers of all time – Bill Shankly certainly among them – were steadfast in their confidence that their way was the right way, and they did not falter in their own self-belief. For any football manager, that’s a hugely important asset – most fans would rather have a man in charge that had that confidence in their own approach, instead of one that chopped and changed every week according to the headlines and the phone-ins.
When it comes down to it, by backing the young players and their willingness to work hard and above all listen to and apply his ideas, Rodgers has laid down a challenge to his underperforming older stars. Follow the lead of the young guns – knuckle down, and really get your head around what it is the manager wants you to do – and you will be rewarded. If you don’t want to fight for a place, or you think that your reputation alone should be enough to get you in the team, then get used to life on the sidelines, because Rodgers’ Liverpool will not be a place for compromise.
Find me on twitter @rossco1981
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rubbish
totally agree . where does this site get its writers from ? the local junior school ?
rodgers is here for one reason – to get results and success , playing this neat sideways football is boring , its about scoring goals not possesion .
as for the kids , its great to see them but given a choice of
– kids + poor results = season over in october
or
– top pros + better results = maybe some success
id choose the latter
FSG OUT PLEASE
i agree
well said bob -FSG must go
Yes rubbish idiotic article
Who cares who is in the team as long as we are successful . BR your time is running out ! lets have our Liverpool back , get out yankees YNWA
i agree too
Buy, buy, buy….our way straight into administration. Ask a Rangers fan how that’s going for them.
fool
another dumb american tht knows nothing bout football .stick to baseball
Downing should be offloaded. BR is right, you must be a committed player and ready to fight for the shirt before you get to play in the first team. I dont see that in Downing. In BR we trust. YNWA
in RH we trust , in KD we trust , in BR we trust . liverpool fans are very trusting these days , if the yanks hired mickey mouse as our next manager ,would it be in MM we trust too ? probably
It will 20 weeks this Friday that Rodgers has been in charge and he hasn’t won us a chamoioship, have him drawn and quartered! FSG has owned our great Club for two whole years now and have only brought us one trophy, have them drawn and quartered too! And then ask a Rangers fan how it’s going for them these days.
you cant compare a scottish team to one of the biggest clubs in the world , thats stupid . get the dumb yanks out !
easy with the dumb yank nonsense. I’m from the states and have been a Reds fan since I was 15 – you think your a bigger fan because you live there and I here? I agree that you are immersed in the club but dont fault us. Some of us cheer just as loud as you and have more faith then you.
Were Hicks and the other idiot awful for Liverpool? YES
Do I feel FSG have done there part? for the most part yes but the last 4 months… NO
Do I feel they need to spend in January for a striker, goal keeper etc… YES
You say you want them out but no English owners came to the Reds rescue nor did a middle eastern prince. I am just as disappointed after a watch our beloved Reds but its only been 2 years. Please tell me what team has shot up the table 2 years after almost being put in administration?
If we were winning, you would probalbly be praising ownership. Stop being a child and grow up.
We dont have a billionaire owner who will piss money out when he sees fit. It would be nice for FSG to splash 40 million in January but we shall see.
Just root for them and be patient. we have no choice but to do so
YNWA
YOU HEARD
you are right , of course there are many knowledgeable intelligent american proper fans out there . i apologise .
i am frustrated with 2 sets of american owners because lets be honest , rich ruthless american businessmen ? they are here to make money not spend it . and there are 1 or 2 less knowledgeable american fans on here who dont know whats going on.
if we won the next 15 games that would be great , but it wouldn’t change the long term outlook for our club , which under FSG is bleak , so i wouldn’t be so fickle as to change my stance
Administration is administration, it’s where LFC was almost certainly headed without the Yanks purchase, don’t remember reading about the line of Brits, nor anyone else, waiting to buy the Club. The only difference between the Glasgow club and LFC might have been that LFC proceeded them.
you must be american . you really dont know anything about soccer , do you ? in administration , they would be lining up to purchase one of the biggest brands in world football .
liverpool are huge worldwide you moron
Sorry Simon, should have read bankrupt is bankrupt. Lines to purchase were the same no matter how you want to phrase it.
yes and when bankruptcy happens , owners go , administration comes , we lose 10 points and the administrators find new soluble owners who can take the club forward , new owners get liverpool very cheap and pay off debts !
duh , how difficult to understand is that ?
Exactly Simon, FSG saved LFC from going into bankruptcy, the crooks H&G didn’t have the money to repay their debts. They paid off the Clubs debts and are positioning the Club to be a healthy financial entity. I stand by my 20 weeks/ 2 year sarcastic comment. How is spouting off ‘get rid of the Yanks’ helping the Club any? LFC and Rodgers needs stablity, something that each team that has a serious top 4 chance this year has. Each, save Citeh, has had a stable manager or ownership for some time now. Yes, the Russian oligarch has been there almost 10 years now. The team needs time, not instability. Even Citeh’s sugar daddy had to wait almost 4 years to win the league
liverpool would have been better off in administration , than with yanks who want to milk liverpool . there would have been lots wanting to buy us ,yes wow we are financially stable and not able to compete with the top clubs , how great is that ?
we need FSG out and owners who will invest in ASAP , or we will be so far behind we will never catch up
FSG out
and there is no difference between H+G and FSG
whats the point in giving time to a group who wont spend money ?
thats called wasting time
FSG OUT
YNWA
time for mr henry to walk the plank