A friend once suggested Gringo is short for ‘Green go’; a phrase he claimed used to describe unwelcome American army personal in Vietnam. This imaginary origin of the word, in my opinion, is particularly apt in describing the mercenaries who claim to be ‘custodians’ of Liverpool FC.
The word actually just refers to people who have a certain type of accent which prevents them from speaking Castilian (or Spanish) easily and naturally. I believe, so far, the ‘accent’ (the spirit and way) of FSG seems to not sit well with the ‘accent’ (the spirit and way) of Liverpool FC.
Rodgers’ Liverpool stumbled and bumbled to a fortunate win over Villa. Not convincing but an okay display. Villa will feel hard done by, quiet rightly as they dominated for much of the game. If Villa do go down by one point then Gabriel Agbonlahor will be haunted by the point-blank-save-by/shot-hit-straight-at Pepe Reina. The European dream, nay the Europa League dream isn’t over – but we never dreamt of Europa League football…
We dreamt of Champions league football and that dream, like our season, ended long ago.
As this season officially starts to draws to a close, I wonder if FSG (those Football Club Spoiling Gringos) will be writing us another letter of apology. I hear the rumours of Carlo Ancelotti replacing Rodgers and feel nothing. I’m not full of joy or despair, and there is no excitement or anything else. I’m indifferent. Why?
Last season Kenny Dalglish lead Liverpool FC to two cup finals, wining one and an eighth place finish. Andy Carroll struggled but started to look like a real footballer at this point of last season (much like he did this weekend, maybe it’s his lucky time of year). FSG backed Kenny Dalglish with money but not time.
This season Rodgers has not been backed financially when compared to last season. A great deal of the ‘dead wood’ on big salaries and underperforming, has been cut away from the LFC teat. They now suckle elsewhere, and shall never darken our door again, amen. FSG are expected by many like me to back Rodgers with time, a luxury not afforded to Kenny. Looking back now, last season was even more of a success.
We’ve heard a great deal of noise referring to Carlo Ancelotti heading to Anfield. If this is the case then why have FSG wasted Rodgers and LFC time and money?
If FSG wanted a proven manager with experience and respect in the game then King Kenny was here and succeeding; given time, I firmly believe his way would have worked. In my opinion Sterling would have come through just the same and Coutinho and Sturridge were already on the LFC (and everyone else’s) radar. I believe Jonjo Shelvey would have had a better season under Kenny. The support from Rodgers seems to be inconsistent while Kenny always stands firmly, shoulder to shoulder with his players. Maybe Kenny had to go because of the support he gave his players (Suarez-Evra-gate). In my opinion this would not have been a good reason to sack King Kenny, and I hope that played no part in FSG’s thinking (or lack of).
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Carlo Ancelotti is a good manager, but he will want real money to bring in his own players. I would like Rodgers to be given another season to prove his ideas work, or don’t work. Life is short but two seasons is a fair crack at being a top manager for a top club. If we’re not top four or narrowly missing top four next season then I will meet anyone outside Anfield with a banner begging for Rodgers to go and a Carlo Ancelotti type to come in during May 2014.
What point was there to the ‘Rodgers experiment’ if we change now?
Chopping and changing managers has only worked for clubs with almost unlimited funds such as Chelsea. We aren’t like Chelsea, and need to heed the warning of managerial change radiated by Newcastle United in the past, Blackburn Rovers and others.
Imagine building an extension where you suddenly lost faith in the builder and sacked him halfway through the job. You still have to pay him the full amount owed (unless he finds a new job sooner, when you can pay him less). You still need the extension, so have to pay a new builder. In the beautiful game, you have to sack the support staff too; they need to be paid and new support staff must be hired. Usually all the people coming in have jobs elsewhere, so they need to be bought out of their contracts.
Everyone needs to be paid, money spent here, there and everywhere! The costs of each managerial change must be at least £9+ million (last season LFC spent £9.5m on exceptional payments which included payments to King Kenny and costs of hiring Brendan Rodgers).
Would you run your own finances like this? Not me (at these prices, I’d have kept Kenny).
The idea of giving a relatively unknown, young ambitious manager, a shot at the ‘big time’, in my opinion needs to be explored properly before we throw in our cards and play a new hand.
Now we’ve rolled the dice let’s play the game properly and find out if we’ve won or lost. Let’s get behind Rodgers and see if he can take us to the top (ish) of the table.
Disclaimer: Rafael Benitez is welcome back any time, he’s got unfinished business and more importantly he’s one of us. In Rafa we Trust.
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It’s Gringo because of “Green grow the rushes O”, a song American soldiers used to sing during the Mexican war in the 19th century. If you fail to research your articles on the opening sentence, then how can you expect to be taken seriously?
I think fsg have no enough finance becoz how can they want to give brendan rodgers £2O million to spend for this summer transfer.but Rodgers need 4 good players,the money very little he can spend on one player. Liverpool owners should give Rodgers more money to spend on players he want to sign during this summer transfer then if Liverpool nextseason not qualify in champions league ,they can sack Rodgers and find gud manager .
Somebody please sack this championship level manager so we can move forward.
We will achieve nothing with Rodgers and his average signings
last season was an embaressment under Kenny, he never gave carroll a chance and us only beating cardif on pens was a joke. he deaserved to go . ancelotti will not be at l.f.c, Rodgers will be given time and money. keeping suarze will be the big one for us this summer!
when liverpools fans accept mediocrity – then we are in big trouble. rodgers is mediocrity personified. not good enough for lfc.
terrible signings. terrible results. worst season in over 60 years.
For what its worth I think Dalglish should have been given more time, but having sacked him (defo as result of Suarez/Evra situation btw) I can’t deny the football for me is better. And tbh even though the owners have trimmed the budget and run light of a top 4 squad this season, I think the club (club mind u) is fast moving in the right direction and I think the first team squad is on the road to getting fixed. I’m no fan of foreign ownership – but PL football is the most sought after in the world and it takes BIG money to compete now. I believe the Americans are learning the game fast (and if we’re honest with ourselves we know they can’t be total mugs). Cards on the table from me, I think this 20m budget is a ‘levyesk’ bluff, I also think I lfc will net spend near double that this summer and that if they don’t they will leave; because these guy’s business modle to make money is inexorably linked with CL football without it the house of cards falls in. I also think they know that if they get it right they are sitting on a potential gold mine owning one of only 8 true globally supported clubs in world football which (if they get back to CL winning ways could be hawked for a lot more than they paid for it to the right Arab). Of course it repulses me that they want to sell and make loads of money off lfc but to do that they need sustainable CL football (and that’s good enough for me). I don’t know where we will finish next season but i do think we’ll half the points gap between this seasons pl champions and next seasons pl winners, playing some nice stuff along the way. In my book that is progress.
Good comment. Hope your right. When I’m buying I always understate my budget so hope FSG are too.
Kenny was sacked for the simple fact that the last half of his season in charge had a team on relegation form cup runs mean nothing if you have a team that is going backwards in the league. We were lucky to finish 8th. Am I sad to see him go, yes because I wish for any one who finds himself in charge of our team success, especially Kenny.
What the author here forgets is that at one stage all managers were young and untried. Had Fergie been given 2 seasons where would United be. when we talk of FSG shopping and changing. Firstly Hodgson was not their man, Kenny initially was caretaker and more or less a fans choice. At the end of his reign in charge we were firmly headed in reverse. Rodgers is their first major signing. Their hand picked choice.
Given time and support he will be a good manager and with some luck a great manager. Stop writing articles based on stupid rumours.
There is no reason or evidence to suggest Rodgers will become a good manager. You are acting on blind faith
And your facts are terribly wrong about Ferguson. He had a immediate impact and improved utd immediately
With respect Ferguson was most definitely NOT a success at United straight away. Ong game away from the sack in fact….Mark Robbins remember him???…. The United supporters turned against him for getting rid of McGrath / Whiteside and their other darlings. The scum fanzine Red-Issue wanted rid. The board stuck with him and the rest as you say is history!
With respect lar. I recall wish you would check your facts before calling me out.
Ferguson was a proven manager with 10 trophies including a european one. I think he deserved decent go with his record
First season , he took over a team in 21st place , a team in disarray and with zero confidence..in half a season he guided them to 11th
Second season he guided them to 2nd . That’s 19 places in 18 months. Instant improvement
I know he had his difficulty in his 4th season. But with his track record a bit of leeway was perhaps warranted
Rodgers has done nothing .won nothing .talked a lot .and thats it
I agree with u! Absolutly agreee!
I think you’re deluded to say fsg haven’t backed rodgers with funds..since when they took over the club millions of pounds have been pissed away by managers on mediocre players even rodgers has wasted money
So I only think its logical for them to tighten their purse, even rodgers has still spent over 50mil.I had so much respect for kenny and it hurt when he was gone.we were poor in the league but our season still didn’t end until may,unlike brendan.
last season our defense was good all we needed to do was fix our attack and we would have been flying.now under brendan its like our defenders play for the youth team..its all fsg fault when the likes of van gaal avb and deschamps were interested but saw it fit to give brendan the job.all we can hope for is he gets us top4 next season if not he should be shown the door
Don’t think BR should be given any more time .he is out of his depth at a big club. And with Rodgers in charge we won’t attract top players
And if Kenny was still here we would drop lower than last season . But because of everyone’s hate they feel for FSG it doesn’t matter what they or Brandon Rogers does ..
Rodgers out . More mid table rubbish next year if he stays
Doubt it,he has his scouting team in place and knows what needs improving just watch us go
Coutinho and Sturridge how would you rate them out of ten so far?
Everyone knows the best clubs are run on stability. If you only gave the government 1 year to do their thing, then we would be no where politically because there wouldn’t be enough time to see the effects of what they are doing. That’s why they get 5 years before they call an election. Last season we finished 8th. This season we are 7th. Last season we could hardly win at home. We’ve already won more home games. We’ve scored twice as many goals. If that isn’t progress, then sack Rodgers. Then appoint a new manager. Then when he loses a game, sack him. And then keep hiring a firing managers until we start looking in Sunday leagues. That is stability. Everyone thinks the same way so the current manager will carry on what the last manager was doing meaning there will be no need to buy new players and change the squad. Losing a minimum of 9million per sacking. Economically, losing 9mill per sacking, that is great. And the after, we can change our name from Liverpool Fc to Chelsea Fc. Right?
Stop talking rubbish lad. Your another seeing imaginary progress
Chelsea and city have had no stability and lots of success. Arsenal and Everton have lots of stability and no success
You are talking total bull . Are u Brendan Rodgers ? He talks bull
Some dumb kids on here preaching about ‘progress ‘ nonsense lol.
I wonder if Rodgers pays people to stick up for him on forums
Yawn
I’m glad people see right through this Brendan Rogers illusion, I personally can’t offer this man support, you’ve either got it, or you haven’t as a manager, & he ain’t got anything to add to this prestige of this club. The sooner he’s gone the better, please FSG get real & get rid!.
Yes .amen to that !!!!
I can’t believe there are Liverpool ‘fans’ on here praising FSG .
Don’t you people know anything ? Are you that stupid that you fall for the same con as the last lot of hungry yanks
FSG are hicks &gillett in nearly every way .lies lies lies and they are here for our money
Nobody from the city believes them any more . I can’t believe anyone would be stupid enough to think they care about anything except dollars
Feel free to put your hand in your pocket and buy the club from them then, oh you can’t can you, then suck it up or sling your hook
I couldnt agree more with you david, Its thier club, Either support them or bugger off! It needs a rebuild and money cant buy you unity, Rebuilding is necessary and having a system rather than particular players will bode well for the future. It is what it is, stop whinging, or put your money where you mouth is!
Gullible people will believe what they are told . Hicks and Gillet mark II is what they are .Sometimes a little education helps …
The owners are so damned they said that he will be given time to build his own team and not be put under any pressure. why hiring him when after 1 season his gone.(fsg are cowards) kop 4 life ynwa.
IF you believe the RUMOURS.
Why is everyone assuming that the rumours of a managerial change are true?
I know the press have NEVER gotten it wrong before but surely they may be wrong this time??
Am not a fan of disposing coaches after just a season but d fact here is roger’s got some things right and got some things wrong but pls let him correct is wrong here after next season we can finally judge him.
If you want Liverpool to be a bottom of the table team, then keep changing the manager every year. That said, Dalglish was clearly past his best. I’ve been impressed with Rogers. These idiots that have a downer on him, clearly haven’t got much experience of football. It always takes a long time to get players playing in a totally different style, particularly if it is an attacking passing game.
Rubbish. It took pochettino 5 min at Southampton. Good managers don’t ave a problem
I know Rodgers isn’t the best .I’m just trying to be positive
The whole article is based on the “rumour” that FSG will change Rodgers and the false impression that Kenny was doing a good job.
The fact is that these people put up the money and now own our club, its theirs to do with as they wish, deal with it!
FSG, Rodgers and whichever player is this weeks scapegoat really don’t give a shit what the uninformed ranting masses on these forums think, they will just keep on doing what they think is right regardless of the petty bitching and dreamy reminiscence of times LONG past
Rodgers is being found out to be a poor manager . FSG won’t put up with losing money for long
They should sack him , but I fear they will give him til December