IT’S been another mixed bag of a season so far but it could yet finish on a positive note, depending on whether we can finish in the European places.
There have been some highlights though – Luis Suarez, in general; the progress of many of our young stars; Steven Gerrard getting through most of the season uninjured, amongst others.
For me though, one of the biggest positives has been the maturing of Glen Johnson.
It’s easy to forget that we signed the England international almost 4 years ago, and that he has now played over 125 games for Liverpool.
Johnson has received much criticism for his defensive lapses and ‘off-days’ and much of that was justified; there was a top player in there just waiting to come out but it wasn’t half frustrating to watch him struggle for form sometimes.
But at the age of 28, he appears to be peaking at just the right time. Having cementing his place as England’s first-choice right-back and had a solid run of games for Liverpool this season, Johnson – at last – appears to have come into his own, both in the attacking sense and defensively.
It’s hard to argue with the fact that Glen is clearly one of the best attacking full-backs in the league. He has plenty of technique and I’ve many times expressed my desire to see him play further up the pitch, such are his attacking qualities.
But this season he appears to have worked out any kinks in that all-important defensive side of his game too. It’s possible that he’s the only member of Liverpool’s defence not to have made a costly individual error this season.
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Suarez is clearly going to win Liverpool’s Player of the Year award, but Johnson would be a front-runner if not for the genius of the Uruguayan.
The question is: is Johnson the finished article, or can he get even better?
Provided he keeps his concentration and those lapses don’t find there way back in, I can’t really see where Johnson can improve his game. He’s even managed to bring some consistency to his performances this season and you could even say he was one of the few players you could rely on week-in, week-out.
However, he could perhaps do with adding a few more assists and goals to his game. All the great attacking full-backs over the years have chipped in at the opposite end and if Glen could bring on that aspect of his game then it would be hard to see where else he could better his game.
It’s definitely been a long time in coming, but it looks as if Johnson has finally started to show the kind of form that justifies the £17.5 million the club reportedly spent on him in July 2009. Long may that form continue.
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Ed, how is Rodgers to blame for Agger failing to mark the runner or Carra’s bad back pass against zeneth? These defenders know how to defend regardless of any systems their asked to play, most of the mistakes we have made have been individual errors. Who would you rather see in charge?
It’s obvious to everyone that Rodgers system gives the back four no protection.
When Rodgers plays that little wimp Allen in midfield we get overrun.
The wingers are not trackers and don’t cover. The silly passing they have to do in their own half makes the defence unneccesarily nervous
…everything is down to Rodgers rubbish rubbish tactics
Clarke and Kenny had a excellent solid defence well organized – second best in the league.. And now look .good players don’t become bad ones overnight
It’s all Rodgers ..he is useless. We desperately need a proper manager to sort it out
100% spot on livebaby
So Rodgers is at fault coz the defenders are ball watching not concentrating or sh* themselves when some big b*d finds space and comes running straight at them.
Yes he doesn’t organize team properly
Sorry boys, but the truth doesn’t support your arguments much.
Last year under Kenny and Steve we had
P 30 W 11 D 9 L 10 GF 36 GA 31 GD 5 PTS 42
This year under Rodgers
P 30 W 12 D 9 L 9 GF 57 GA 39 GD 18 PTS 45
ie We had won more games , lost less games , drawn the same number , and had 13 more goals difference AND HAD MORE POINTS.
The ONLY thing in KDs/SCs favour in the league is that we had conceded 8 less goals, but we had scored 19 less too.
So this thing I keep hearing about how much better our team was under KD/SC is a MYTH.
And our season went down the toilet in the league after March last year too. We only scored 47 goals in total ALL SEASON. We were set up not to LOSE, which is why we let in less goals.
But in the end we lost MORE GAMES,
I keep hearing how we were solid and stingy in defence and how the current back 4 and keeper all need changing.
But this lot lost LESS than last year’s lot, not more!!!
Rodgers needs to improve. But let’s not have all this crap about how much better we were last year…
Total bull. Or doesn’t 2 cup finals and a trophy count ?
I agree Liverbaby…..Kenny came in with a terrible squad – Brendan had more money on what Kenny built and went backwards.
I think johnson play unconcerned because he has no competitor for his wing,that why he plays has if he is not been paid.
Liverpool NEED a new goalkeeper and a completely new defence! – the current defenders are spineless cowards, chokers and serial letdown merchants!!!, its never gonna happen with them, no room for sentiment, they are NOT good enough….ship them OUT!.
What about Gerrard/Carragher – not just this match – are they perpetually immune from ctriticism?
Yes . They do not deserve criticism. Legends
What’s bull Liverbaby is your childish refusal to face the facts.
I don’t give a damn if you think what you think as long as you can back it up. What the hell has a carling Cup win against a Championship side on penalties got to do with our League form ?
YOU were the one lauding our brilliantly organised and stingy defence. You forgot to mention were were also unable to win as many games as we have this year, and were set up not to take any chances. Even in the Carling Cup final we couldn’t outscore a second tier side …or even prevent them from scoring an equaliser when we only had 12 minutes left to play.
Some defence that.
In case you didn’t realise , you don’t get much for losing a cup final For pity’s sake, a 4th tier side got to the final this year!. Shanks was the one who said the League was our bread and butter. Before you call somebody’s reply bull, try answering the gist of the post beforehand
Oh no, you can’t can you? not without turning a blind eye to the real facts of the matter
I suppose you think we should be another Blackburn and change managers every two months.
Infant.
Your the infant with idiotic posts like that. Like luverbaby said your comment was bull.
Rodgers has given us our worst season in 50 years
Kop on kid . You have a bit of growing up to do
Back your statements up with facts like he did ya nothin but a keyboard warrior.
Kop on Mikey
Oh dear mikey . You bang on about stats when all you need to do is look at the state of the team.
Our defenders confidence destroyed by Rodgers inane tactics.
The weakness Liverpool midfield I have ever seen
Joe Allen 15m lol lol
Only a in form Suarez has saved us from further humiliation
Kenny had us beating all the top teams , and 3 trips to Wembley with a trophy was a good return
If you want stats – check anfield history site you willies
– Rodgers has the worst win ratio of ANY Liverpool manager in the league since before shanks
As the others said
KOP ON . You are clueless
Still nothing but your own self important opinions, no substance beyond that. Sure, you can feel that this year is the worst for 50 years Dennis. But you are way wrong. That was a stat ( funny how you now want to use them) that was trotted out some months ago before the team started to gel. It was true for a SINGLE WEEK. And NEVER since. You just jumped on it cos it suited your Rodgers is Rubbish stance.
Dennis -OK let’s check shall we?
Win % since Shanks:
Paisley 57%
Fagan 54%
Souness 42%
Evans 51%
Evans/Houllier 39%
Houllier 52%
Benitez 56%
Hodgson 42%
Dalglish 47%
Rodgers 47%
Now, HOW exactly does that make Rodgers the worst since Shanks? Like I said, that’s just completely WRONG. He actually is the same as KD which is not surprising given they only had 1 game difference in their stats so far (Actually, Rodgers’ actual win % is higher) But broadly the same.
Three trips to Wembley was nice, but we only won the Carling Cup. Which Birmingham won the year they were relegated…
Worse %? Hodgson, Souness, Moran, Evans/Houllier
That’s the end of your argument.
Redrum – Kenny had us beating all the top teams-
And losing to lots of the rest. We only won 14 league games all season ! We’ve won 12 already this season…
Too early to say with Allen, just as it was for Lucas. And Henderson (£16m). And Downing (£20m). Let’s not even go there with Carroll… All Kenny buys. So to go on about Allen is a bit much. What did those players do in their first season?
It’s not banging on about stats.
I’m not even convinced Rodgers is the best we can get or will definitely turn us round.
It’s just NOT possible for anyone to say things like look at the state of the team as proof Rodgers is ‘inane’ tactically, and that Kenny was so much better, when we won LESS games last year and lost MORE.
Not without looking like a prat.
Or maybe you think that losing more makes you a better manager as long as we win the Carling Cup?
Those ratios are lies
LIES
I said league ratios
U cant count games against scrappy Europa league qualifiers
U said it’s the league that counts …..so where ate the league ratios ?????
Rodgers IS the worst
Stop lying
Those ratios are not true
I said league ratios . Where are the league ratios ???
U said the league matters not the cups
…so ? Print the league ratios
Rodgers IS the worst. The stats prove it
Tell the truth instead of printing rubbish
And just for a change fellas- How about providing some kind of rationale or corroborating evidence for your claims.
That would be nice
You just make up untruths. You either don’t know your stuff or just like our manager – you just bulls+it a lot
Show me ONE fact I’ve made up.
I can give you links to the sources I’ve used.
Show me your sources or shut the hell up
Ok mikey . They are the league stats. When I saw your fake Rodgers percentage I presumed they were the cup stats
So .are you really really bad at maths ?
Or were you trying to mislead people ??’
Which ??
Liverpool have played 30 games
Liverpool have won 12
What is the win percentage ???
Answer is 36%
36% makes Rodgers THE WORST BY A MILE
Even worse than hodgson
If you were any kind of man .you would apologize and then shut up
You have been doing a lot of ranting …but u got it wrong. Admit it
It wasn’t a fake percentage- you didn’t ask for just League stats, you said win percentage. Then you complain when the stats proved you wrong ,
Now. league percentages.
Actually 12 out of 30 is 40% not 35%
When taking the mickey about maths skills, try to make sure your own maths is right…
If you were any kind of man you’d agree there isn’t much to choose between Kenny D and Rodgers so far. But it doesn’t suit your agenda .
You said the defence was worse. Look at clean sheets in the League . We have 11 so far. There were only 12 all last season.
Look at the loss percentage. 9 lost out of 30 this year. exactly 30%.
Last year: 14 lost out of 38. 38.8%
tell me now- which is worse?
We lost more games as a percentage of league games under Kenny BY A MILE as you put it. WE only need 1 more clean sheet out of 8 games to equal the clean sheets from last year. Even if we don’t, it’s hardly the difference between what you call inane tactics and KD/SC’s supposed great defence- 2nd best in the League remember? so how can Rodger’s record so far be considered poor?
If you were any kind of man YOU’D apologise and shut up.
Or at least learn to do percentages….
And you didn’t say League ratios Redrum.
You said win ratio.
And you say I make things up?
Prove me wrong. And show us all your sources, I’m still waiting for a SINGLE claim of yours to be substantiated
There u go
Waiting for an apology
Still waiting . You were quick enough to reply b4
There’s nothing there . What did you prove.
Here’s my link:http://stats.football365.co.uk/dom/ENG/teams/Liverpool.html
Are you totally stupid ???
What is 36% of 30 ???
12 is the answer
Rodgers win percentage is 36 %
Kop on
Go to the same place you got your percentages because they are all correct except the Rodgers one – which you made up
It’s not rocket science
I proved Rodgers has the worst win percentage of all managers since b4 shanks.
Just to finish off:
Kenny Dalglish last season P 38 Won 14
win percentage: 36.8%
Brendan Rodgers this season P30 Won 12
win percentage 40.0%
Who’s the worst for 50 years now?
game over.
NOW APOLOGISE
Are u really that dumb ?
The league win ratios are overall . Not individual seasons
Dalglish second tenure win percentage = 47.30
Rodgers 36%
My god .you are so stupid u can’t even do maths
hahaha haha
30 games 12 wins = 36%
GET A CALCULATOR YOU FOOL
Your the worst kind of ‘supportet’ mikeyboy.
You come on here all high and self-important mouthing off , and slagging others for not having facts
…and your facts are fake.
Then you don’t even have the decency to admit u are wrong
Pathetic
I have never seen such a sad loser as you on here mikeyboy
hahaha
Found out how to do percentages yet? HAHAHA
Only kidding. I’m not looking for apologies even though you probably wouldn’t have given one anyway.
All I’m asking (hoping) for is a bit more balance in the views I read, not just blithely trotting out something you heard once and making out it’s a fact.
You don’t like Rodgers? Fine, it’s your prerogative. Nobody can tell you that you have to like him.
Just don’t peddle these myths and present them as facts, and hopefully you’ll decide to base your opinions on an open minded assessment of the situation…
You will admit you faked the stats then ?
Those stats ARE facts , not myths
Oops . My mistake . Im doing the percentages off the top of my head. It is 40% . I apologize
But you still faked the facts and Rodgers is still the worst
…and it’s you who started trotting the stats out for your own agenda
Well done red rum . That will teach the numpties to try usin statistics
Numpty my ass. You are a bigger fool than most for not noticing even when it was pointed out.
here is my source for the so called faked statistics
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Liverpool_F.C._managers
I haven’t faked anything as you can see.
Rodgers overall record : P45 won 21
Win percentage 46.67%
As you can see, I have rounded up/down using the standard method right across the board.
That shows both of you that you should be more careful when accusing people of making stuff up.
I’m still waiting for you to explain how Kenny in a full season, (2nd spell)can have a considerably worse win ratio, lose ratio, and STILL not be called all the things you called Rodgers.
You, of course, think it fair to include the previous season’s stats for Kenny when Rodgers hasn’t even completed a full season yet. Mainly because it boosts his % from just over 36% which it was for the whole of season 2011/12.
I already posted a link to compare the stats at the same point in 11/12 and 12/13. Kenny was worse in that comparison too
Since the team has considerably improved their performance level over the last 10 games or so, it is reasonable to expect that Rodgers’ win ratio will increase by the end of the season. If it doesn’t, he deserves to go.
That accusation of making stuff up to suit my point has been proven wrong. And it’s your final point against me as far as I can see.
You apologised, which means you are not as big an idiot as I made out.
But please note that I will NEVER knowingly quote stats that are Incorrect, and definitely will NEVER make them up.
I checked out the stats and you are wrong Mikeyboy. You shouldn’t open your mouth if you dint know what your talking about.
Good find redrum. I have used them already.
NO he’s not. Check again. Souness, Evans/Houllier, and Moran are both worse for a start.
That’s re you saying Rodgers is still the worst…
By the way, Kenny’s overall 2nd spell win % was 47.3 against 46.7 for Rodgers. Which is why I said before that they were broadly similar. 1.5 points per game.
That’s why I don’t buy the line that we were great under Kenny/Steve but crap under Rodgers.
You haven’t even given Rodgers a full season yet.
If it gets much worse- sack him.
but at least give him the chance you gave Kenny
What are you on about ?
i said league ratios . the cups are full of crappy games against rubbish european qualifiers
check the LFChistory website for LEAGUE ratios
Now i believe u are just twisting the stats deliberately
These are the facts as by Liverpools own historical website
………….. win % ……. average points per game
shankly …52.11 ……….1.81
paisley ….57.57 ……….1.97
fagan ……54.20 ……….1.90
dalglish ….60.91 ………2.08
souness .42.04 ………1.55
evans …..51.77 ……….1.80
houllier ….52.12 ………. 1.80
rafa ……..56.28 ………..1.90
hodgson 41.93 ………..1.51
dalglish ..47.30 ………..1.65
rodgers .. 40.00 ……….1.5
THEY ARE THE FACTS – Rodgers is clearly the worst
Stop making up rubbish , your just looking stupid
Check them out on the website and then shut up
what you did mikey – was take the exact same stats as i did , the league ones … but u changed rodgers stats from league percentages to overall percentages .
silly mistake to make . but the least u should do is check my facts are correct and admit you were wrong
Anfield Online has all the stats too .just look for historical LFC manager stats
No I didn’t, you’re mistaken.
The first figures I used were from Wikipedia and were ALL overall stats for ALL managers. Check them.
THEN you said you meant LEAGUE ratios, so I quoted league win ratios for EVERYBODY including Rodgers.
At no time did I EVER mix the two. Check it.
Your facts ARE now correct.
If you look properly at what I said, I clearly stated that I felt it was unfair to boost Kenny’s stats by using win percentages from the previous season when Rodgers hasn’t been able to post a full season’s figures.
The reason I believe that to be unfair is that Kenny should be judged on a full season’s figures as that 2011/12 season is the one which we managed AFTER he made his own team by buying Henderson, Downing, Carroll etc.
Now IF you disagree with that reasoning, by all means pull me up on it and tell me why you think we should include the previous part season figures. While you’re able to make a case for that, I think that most people would agree with my assessment that 2011/12 was Kenny’s real figures as it was HIS team.
The fairest way would be to look at the first 30 matches for ALL the managers, but I don’t have the time or desire to do so. You can if you wish.
I COULD, however, compare Kenny’s first 30 games in 2011/12 to Rodgers’ first 30 games of 2012/13:
Kenny 2011/12
P 30 W 11 D 9 L 10 GF 36 GA 31 GD 5 PTS 42
Rodgers 2012/13
P 30 W 12 D 9 L 9 GF 57 GA 39 GD 18 PTS 45
I THINK THAT’S THE FAIREST COMPARISON. Please tell me why it isn’t if you disagree
The reason you will likely want to include the previous season’s figures is that Kenny’s 2011/12 season’s stats are BELOW Rodgers. And you want Rodgers to look worse.
I’m not just adding this point of view afterwards, check my posts and you will see that I made this point earlier.
The gist of my argument is that you are castigating Rodgers for his present performance, but didn’t do the same to Kenny over last season’s performance which is unfair in my eyes.
I am not saying Rodgers is brilliant , or Kenny is not, I’m saying there’s too much difference between the reaction to their actual performance, certainly more than can be explained by referring to the Carling Cup win.
People were saying give Kenny another season when his win percentage OVER A FULL SEASON was 36%
But you and others are saying Rodgers Out for this season after only 30 games when his win % is better at 40%.
You’re not letting him complete the season to see how it compares on a like for like basis. His team over 38 games vs Kenny’s over 38 games. You want him out NOW
And THAT’s what I’m saying is wrong.
Ps Moran’s ratio was 40% same as Rodgers. Evans/Houllier 38.9 (source Anfield Online)You left those out.
Plus AO’s figures are out of date for Rodgers. His current ratio is 40% as you know
I’ve put this last stat separate because it is probably the most important. My first post pointed this out.
Using Anfield Online, as you suggested look at the LOSS statistics
They show who lost more games over their time with LFC
Dalglish 2nd period
Loss % 29.73%
Rodgers
Loss % 26.92% ( currently 30%)
The defence has been NO WORSE under Rodgers.
(well,.08%) There’s NO way out of that fact. Which was my original point.
The LFC site btw omits the figures from Evans/Houllier and rolls them into the respective manager’s overall stats which is why I didn’t use it as my source.
I didn’t put Moran in because he was only a caretaker manager and only had 10 games. It wasn’t his team and he was never a proper manager
I didn’t include Evans/houillier joint reign because that was a ridiculous situation .how can judge the 2 ? Who was to blame ? Evans ? Houllier ? Nonsense
It never occurred to me to seperate Kennys reign into 2 . A manager should be judged overall. His remarkable run after taking over was fantastic and should not be discarded
Yes include Moran, Evans/houillier if u must but I dint think it’s fair .but Kennys stats are the way they should be.
Kennys league form was disastrous last season no doubt….as is Rodgers. However 2 cup finals , a trophy , all the problems he had with the Suarez affair , injuries to Gerrard and Lucas.I think Kenny deserves a hell of a lot more credit than Rodgers. In fact overall I think last season was acceptable and this season NOT.
I truly believe we have a fool in charge an
even a few wins (against mostly poor teams) wont change that
The tide is turning , more and more fans are sick of his bull and poor tactics , and inexcusable selections (Allen).
To me as a man and a manager – he is a big let down to LFC
Ok reasonable points, I also think we should have given Kenny another season at least, but the cup wins were just a band aid to mask a poor season, Rodgers will need to be better at the moment he is doing slightly better but I agree not enough.
I think Downing and Henderson were similarly inexcusable for Kenny though- like he was trying to justify their fees, both of which were more than Allen’s who I agree has been poor.
End of the season though, that’s the time to take stock. It’s not too late for him imo