WITH the weekend passed and the memories of inflicting a 6-0 thumping fresh in the mind, it is time to take a first look at where we find ourselves in the Premier League, having surpassed our points total for last season.
As it stands with 3 games to go we find ourselves:
Points: 54
Wins: 14 (8 home and 6 away)
Draws: 12 (5 home and 7 away)
Losses: 9 (4 home and 5 away)
Goals for: 67
Goals against: 42
Last season after all matches were complete we stood at:
Points: 52
Wins: 14 (6 home and 8 away)
Draws: 10 (9 home and 1 away)
Losses: 14 (4 home and 10 away)
Goals for: 47
Goals against: 40
So looking at this what does this tell us? We are much better at attacking but not as good at defending. We haven’t and won’t lose as many league games as last year. Our record at Anfield is better. We are getting better results away from home.
Well that’s pretty clear cut isn’t it – number 1: Rodgers is better than Dalglish, and, number 2: Progress is being made. Simple.
NO IT’S NOT THAT SIMPLE!
Point 1 above is absolute nonsense for a start, whereas point 2, whilst not 100% correct, is actually very encouraging. Nothing in football is simple which in itself is wonderfully ironic as football is one of the simplest sports, in concept.
My previous piece looked at a comparison between Rafa and Rodgers and how nonsensical it was to do so. So with this in mind, trying to compare Kenny and Rodgers is just as ludicrous, even if confined to pure footballing terms.
Nobody can touch Kenny for the impact he has had on the club, the fans and the city as a player, a manager and more importantly as a human. There is a reason he is referred to as King. Yet in some quarters, towards the end of last season, people were calling for his head. Absolutely barmy.
Following the fall out of the dark days surrounding our court appearance and the limp end to the Hodgson reign there was only one man that could stabilise the club and reunite the fans. To the new generation of support this was the return of a man from legend to save us, and to us in the older generation this was our hero; this was our Gandalf arriving at first light on the fifth day, to restore the club to where it should be.
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The club was in the hands of one of us, someone we looked up to and believed in, but a poor run of results following our trophy success saw people turn on him.
Whether this influenced FSG I have no idea, but what I can say is that to fire him when they did and how they did was utterly wrong. He was supported financially but never allowed to see that investment develop due to the instantaneous demand for success in the modern game.
Whether it be age, personality or influence, it was decided that Kenny was not the way forward, Rodgers was. That was FSG’s decision, not ours, not Brendan’s and certainly not Kenny’s so why the constant need to compare and belittle one against the other?
I’m not sure if I will ever get my head round the constant stream of negativity that walks hand in hand with football nowadays. Of course, Kenny leaving hurt (and will continue to do so), but why use this as a stick to beat Rodgers with?
In terms of progress, this must always be viewed as an entity not entirely comprised of statistics. Yes we have done better in the league this year, but last year we won a trophy and got to a final. The back and forth of this ‘Arsenalitis’ (league v success) debate will never find common ground for people to agree on.
We have to look purely at Rodgers and this season primarily rather than the constant cross-reference. At the start of his reign Rodgers lost Kuyt, Maxi and Bellamy through no fault of his own. Three established stars with influence far reaching on and off the field. We saw the debacle at the end of August which I lay squarely at the door of FSG, leaving us with one forward (fortunately one genius forward however troubled), and the enforced need to rely on inexperience which should benefit us long term.
Rodgers has experienced a large number of factors limiting the impact he can have which all need to be taken into account. But this is all negative; in order to move forward we need to focus on the positive.
Overall the players have responded well under Rodgers. We have seen some breathtaking football and some truly wonderful goals this season – St James’ Park being the latest example. We have seen previous scapegoats really pick up their game and show the kind of players they can be, the most impressive of which (in my mind) is Henderson, who could yet prove to be excellent business by Dalglish. We have seen some exciting signings made and a promise of things to come. Has he made mistakes? Of course, but who amongst us can state they never do?
So what is it I’m trying to say? Has progress been made under Rodgers this year? I think so, basing my decision on how we were when he took over to how we are now. Kenny shouldn’t have been sacked, neither should Rafa.
We need to learn from our mistakes and sacking Rodgers would be a huge one. A decent summer transfer window is needed to push on.
Come find me on twitter @timdibs
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I understand your general point of view but you lose me when you throw FSG under the bus. So tired of hearing “fans” and media putting blame on the owners. It’s their money at stake. They are trying to make the club profitable and successful. I don’t remember the last owners or the one before doing any of that. It’s called being responsible with your investment. Dempsey isn’t exactly setting the prem alight with his dazzling displays at his advanced age. FSG, along with Rodgers, will prove to be the best thing for this club going forward. Lets see where we are in two years.
If we stick with Rodgers for 2 years . We will never recover
What a stupid comment,progress has clearly been made and the very promising youth have been given valuable experience.If we had started this season with Sturridge and Coutinho we would be at the very least qualifying for Europe.Get behind the manager for *sake
What a stupid comment. If you think progress has been made you are delusional
‘if’ this, and ‘if’ that …grow up. This season has been a disaster!
I think this article is pretty much spot on. The only point I wouldn’t agree with is the fact that we should have stuck with KD. There where far to many mistakes made during his reign, whether it was transfers, tactics, the general starting 11, the evra-Suarez debacle. After the second half of the season, where we had relegation form, I am pretty sure the majority of liverpool fans wanted a change in management. In was just a case of the cons outweighed the pros whereas with rafa this was not the case, the owners at the time (hicks & Gillette) made it impossible to coach the club without there being some sort of tension. Hogson was an ignorant appointment from day one and no one expected him to bring any sort of success towards LFC. Rogers has had a relatively good season with the inexperience he’s had in the squad (first half of the season) and especially how the summer ended. This summer will be vital, we need to purchase quality players in certain positions. Next season will need to be an improvement.
Kay, I take it that you was in a deep sleep when writing this, wake up and stop dreaming, Bodgers out!, as simple as that.
E Another ridiculous article. You cant compare a title winning maanger like dalglish with a cheap championship manager like Rodgers
Rodgers is a awful awful useless no mark who had given us our worst season in 60 years Yeah yeah , I know we have more points and more goals scored…well so what ? Where has that got us ? Nowhere is the answer
BR has been a huge disappointment. He is simply a poor manager who has failed
KD was much better in every way. BR will be sacked by Christmas and then we must get a proven top class coach
I am sick and tired of this anti BR crap. Does anyone actually recall how awful the football was last season. If you want to watch dull, lump it football and then bitch and moan well I suggest you go follow West Ham. BR is the here and now and Kenny is the past, get over it and just enjoy football. I’m sure the King would echo that.
Oh yeah. 2 cup finals and a trophy , and some decent football
Rodgers is pathetic. If you like mid table football so much u go support west ham
Fool
Rodgers “philosophy had to be abandoned for us to start winning(albeit against minnows).Says everything about a manager who”Talks about 2nd place just because we win a team in the bottom half of the table,then he lowers it to 4th,then 6th,then”We are better off out of europe altogether”…The mans a joke and speaks more like a politician.Can’t believe we have this kind of man as LFC manager.
Put whatever spin on u want but this was the season when Liverpool truly stopped being a top team
Rodgers has lower our standards so much that some fools actually believe big wins against Newcastle and Swansea etc make up for a pathetic season
Sack the fool , or more mid table misery next season
Well said geoff and terry
i agree with you liverpool owners should find good manager,last week win 6 zero nothing will because the season is going to be over
Look at how Rodgers handled Carrol. Never gave him a chance. His ego is in the way. Playing Allan with an injury against a physical side just to prove what exactly. If Kenny is not the answer Rodgers is worse.
Bodgers has made us worse . People need to stop makin excuses for him
there should be a restriction on how many clowns can post on this site at once. dhara, geoff, bhophari and terry mac. that is 4 right there, maybe we could half that number or something .
1 rodgers was told to get rid of as many high earners that we can, out went bellers, kuyt and maxi. who did the club replace them with stirling and suso.
2 we are 5 points better off then last year and with another 9 up for grabs, also the 4 points that were robbed off us like suarez’s goal against everton onside and enrique’s against swansea onside, so that would put us 9 points better off then last year and with 3 games to go. i would guess we will have between 15-18 points better off then last season.
only in a clowns mind would that not be improvement with the second youngest squad in the league.
3 two cup finals last year. the day we talk about how many domestic cup we have won is the day we become a small club.
rodgers is here to get us back fighting in the league, not to win us carling cups on penalty’s against a championship team. just. we never had our full first team out in any of the cup games we played from what i remember.
here here K well put over..!
Ha. Commenting to yourself k or rich ?. Very sad
There should be a restriction on the amount of naive idiotic morons like ‘k’ who dont understand football
Only a total melon could think rodgers is anything except a total failure
Stop with the idiotic excuses. It’s childish
The ‘if Suarez scored here’ or ‘ if this hadn’t happened’ blah blah.
well put simon. so facts are just excuses makes about as much sense as the rest of your argument. guess i can add you to the growing list of clowns.
look forward to your reply, i imagine it will be something like
I KNOW YOU ARE BUT WHAT AM I !
Wow. What a dumb comment k. Just goes to show the kind of low intelligence fans out there that support this useless manager
Sometimes a little education helps
well where are the facts to prove the crap you spout.
Just lucky shankly is not managing now as fans like you would not give him the time. No one is useless if their opinion is different to yours or they support rogers or not. Your opinion doesn’t carry any more or less weight than any other.
This is the kind of dumb uneducated response you get on here
Chris do you know your Liverpool history ? If you did u would know shanks improved Liverpool immediately.
And comparing the excellent team full of stars Rodgers inherited to a run down second division team is ridiculous anyway
Read a little maybe , before posting silly comments
Shankly described the training ground at Melwood as “a shambles”.[78] The Liverpool squad he inherited consisted largely of average players and some promising reserves. this is a better description of the squad that rodgers inherited then your one of a team full of stars.
it took shanky till his second season to win promotion to the first division.
maybe you should learn your history before posting.
by the way no one is saying that rodgers is a good as shankly, but give him a fair chance and he might be.
we dont know.
This man K must be smoking some strong cheese, he actually believe in this man’s football propaganda. As I said, Rogers OUT!.
KD bought the the young english talent. But Rodgers that benefit their progression. So it’s unfair to compare Kenny with Rodgers. I believe if we stick with the King we will be in much better position now. But if i have a choice now i sack Rodgers and get Rafa. Under Rafa we are the most feared team in Europe. And almost won the PL but all that is gone because of Hicks and Gillet. So it’s unfair to criticise Rafa as well.
Respect 2 Rafa!.
Stick with Rogers, we can’t afford (money) to pay off another manager. He preaches good football, we’ve played great in some game, and the last two signings ( sturridge, Coutinho)look very good.Mistakes have been made, Allen (good but cost too much, Borini too much paid and not showed enough yet..) Rogers has had the balls to play youth, but not afraid to change things early in a game when things are not going well,) I like the guy and touch wood things will look much better next season.. Good start is imperative!!
We can’t afford NOT to sack him . No champions league qualification this season or next
No cup success. No star players joining with this no mark in charge
We are losing a fortune with Rodgers , not to mention the damage this mediocrity is doing to our brand worldwide
fergi didnt win the league till his 7th season incharge. football expert
Ferguson improved utd massively in his first season. You dont have a clue
Rodgers is a 2nd rate manager who has won nothing
Ferguson had won 10 major trophies before joining utd
Comparing the two is idiotic . Really …you should read up before looking stupid
I know my history well. Shanks took over a mid table team who were just knocked out of FA cup by non league team and guided them to 3rd in first season
LOL . Another fool repeating the old fergie chestnut
Get a clue k.
This Ferguson comparison is fkin ridiculous. Only the totally braindead do it
He had already won a Euro trophy with unfancied Aberdeen,What has Rodgers won which is so important that you go out of your way to defend him?..Fergie also broke the stranglehold of Celtic and Rangers.Some of the wafer thin excuses that are wheeled out in which to defend Rodgers with are just laughable.
I will reserve judgement until the end of next season… Hes got to get his transfers 100% right…
Well so far I would say he got about 30% right . Not good
Taking into consideration the squad they inherited , injuries , the suarez/evra thing , and money spent
I would give dalglish a 6out of 10 which is just ok
And I would give rodgers a 4 out of 10 which is poor
I cant see rodgers doing better next season , I don’t think he is a capable manager
dalglish is a legend both as a player and a manager , who restored our pride after hodgson , and gave us our 1st trophy in 6 years
rodgers is a arrogant waffler who has made us a laughing stock , with his dreadful summer signings , his embarrassing cup exits , and his non stop bullsh!t
rodgers deserves one thing this summer – the sack
My sentiments exactly .
Wow! Just how many cry baby fans does LFC have. I’m a Chelsea fan and seeing all these comments makes me realise why your club has nosedived. You call yourself ‘fans’? Shame on you all!
No. We have nosedived because we pick incompetent managers.
goodness!! rushed verdicts. why condemn a manager so soon? Borini and Allen are alleged to be flops after one played less than half the season and the other played more than half the season with an injury. the manager is considered 2nd rate after changing the look of the team on the pitch and giving as many youngsters as he could the chance to prove themselves. give him a minimum of 2 seasons.
You dont know what you are talking about. Are you a child perhaps ?
Grow up a little and educate yourself
for exposing them, they are going to tell you to go to a Chelsea forum and express your optimism there.
for exposing them, they are going to tell you to go to a Chelsea forum and express your optimism there but in reality, your view is spot on.
Rodgers is totally out of his depth how he ever got a top manager job I’ll never know
Why wait for another season of mediocrity with this clown ? Any other top club would have sacked him after 6 months
It seems that Liverpool standards have dropped to such a low , there are even a few fools on here who want us to give this clown even more time
Ask ANY chelski manure or evertonian the question .- should Liverpool keep Rodgers ?
All will answer YES keep him forever. Why ? Because they are having a great time laughing at us
Only Mancs and evertonians etc want him to stay . Real Liverpool fans want rid