THE sun is shining (for now), birds are singing, Pimm’s is quaffed (probably) and strawberries devoured, the frivolities of summer are upon us.
A lovely time of year for everyone as long as they don’t like football! For the average football fan, sunny days are spent looking longingly at the calendar wishing it forwards to the start of the new season in amongst the anxiety of losing your star player and desperately searching the worldwide web for the 16 year old world beater your club is allegedly buying.
A time of year where we reflect on the season gone by and non-transfer talk is consumed by reviewing managers, players and owners, yet never ourselves.
So for a change, and to distract from talk of Suarez et al, I wanted to raise a personal bug bear in modern support. It is this seeming need for a villain of the piece, the infamous ‘scapegoat’ that truly grinds my gears.
For me it is detrimental for the player, the club and the fanbase and epitomises the negative aspect of the modern game. This short-termist plague covering our game I have christened the ‘Goldfish Syndrome’.
Why I hear absolutely nobody ask? Well famously Goldfish have next to no memory; how else can you explain something being so content swimming round the same bowl day after day? Translating this into footballing terms, a player/manager/team are merely as good as the last 90 minutes played.
Destroy a team 6-0 are they are world-beaters, get beat and it is time to pack your bags son! Should a player not set the world on fire from day 1 or perhaps see a dip in form, then heads are called for and they should be cast aside as a complete waste of money.
It’s always good to support your claims and that’s what I am going to do now. Here follows a couple of comments posted on some of my previous articles. Initially I won’t include the players name (I apologise for spelling and grammar, taken directly from the comment):
– ‘X is the worst player iv ever seen wear a red shirt..dont care how old he is.’
– X is ‘worse then Jovanovich, konchesky, voronin, insua or even worse than lucas leivas. oh wait you seen the potential in lucas from the start, real reson for this is that you prob an over night red cant even remember these players. for lack of a better word.’
– X is a ‘player with no skills at all’.
Now to be clear, this was not a general consensus, but a worrying trend. The player?
Jordan Henderson.
These were comments left on articles posted after his first season with us.
Fast forward 12 months and the lad is viewed very differently. Many times throughout this season his name has been wanted on the teamsheet by the fans. His substitution during games has been questioned and we have seen what sort of player we are getting now the lad has been playing a more natural position and playing it with confidence.
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Of course every fan wants a new signing to come into the club and have a ‘Suarez’ or a ‘Torres’ kind of impact, but coming to a club of this size with its history and expectation can take time to adjust to in itself; this is not eased by derision from Goldfish!
Looking back in history, before this scientific breakthrough was made, look at the early records of Shankly, Ferguson, Rush, and you will see initial impacts in terms or results/trophies/league finishes for the managers and goals/performances for the players, as light; certainly when compared to what they went on to achieve.
Both Shankly and Ferguson took time to establish themselves and build a base, and Rushie took a year to register on the scoresheet. Hard to imagine but what would the ‘Goldfish’ world of today made of those kinds of records?
Where is this leading to?
Whilst I am sure the Goldfish Syndrome is systemic throughout football, I am only really commenting on Liverpool, and in the squad at present there are seemingly two favourite targets for the Goldfish crew. Step forward Joe Allen and Fabio Borini.
Unsurprisingly when their names are mentioned transfer fees are referred to as seemingly this should be the strict indicator on performance, followed closely by an absurd accusation that they were brought in not based on talent rather they were brought in as they are favourites of Rodgers.
What these two have seen is a debut season disrupted through injury. Borini missing the vast majority and Allen not seeing the finish, alongside playing on whilst needing surgery. Yet in the Goldfish world this is largely ignored following a misplaced pass or a squandered opportunity.
Should either Allen or Borini be judged to date? In my humble opinion no. I happen to think Allen is an exciting talent that should what we can expect at the start of the season, and Borini shows intelligent movement and work rate. It is wrong to judge any player so soon, particularly negatively, let alone young players experiencing such a culture shock.
We have seen Henderson begin to blossom, needing the full season to bed in so really need to learn the lesson. Any player pulling on that famous red jersey needs the support from those cheering on, needs the pick up when they are down and needs the belief to drive them forward.
It is the support that turns good into great and great into world class. Learn the Henderson lesson and smash that goldfish bowl!
I’m sure many will disagree and I embrace that: please leave a comment as to why you agree or disagree on Allen, Borini or Henderson (or in fact the whole Goldfish Syndrome!)
Come find me on Twitter @timdibs
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I think the goldfish bowl is for the wannabees and the jump on the band wagon types, being born and raised a supporter gives you the benefit of seeing the ebb and flow of football teams especially your own, a team takes appx: 3-4years to mature and fight for the big targets eg. cups and leagues, we missed out with Benitez’s side that came second in the premiership, if that team had stayed together they would have won just about everything inc, the champions league, when Alonzo etc, left the team that team needed to be rebuilt and it wasn’t, now we are rebuilding again and it will take 2-3more years for this side and the Manager to get to that level again.
Hopefully the manager will be given time. The owners seem to know what is needed.
“The owners seem to know what is needed”?….What like?, A new ground for example? or maybe a proven manager, who would hold a bit of weight when it came to speaking up against your policies of buying young n cheap, then moving them on once they become stand out players, just for profit?…Sorry Mike but your last statement betrays what I am currently seeing going on at the club. FSG know nothing about football, and too be honest, the amount of time they spend in Liverpool, I don’t expect that to change in the near future.
just to qualify your accusation Paul, can you please list all the young players we have bought cheap and then sold for profit when they have become stand out????
Spot on mate.
100% agree. The modern supporter affords no time for development.
Lucas is the shining light as to why people should be given time, as frustrating as that may be. But as society demands everything quicker day by day I fear it’s only going to get worse.
can see your point the problem is when people pay 50 pound week in week out they want players to put hundred percent in week in week out,yes players take time to fit in but can you say you go to the match and think every player is putting everything into every game i cant what i can say is for the wages there on i do expect it.
I see your point Ken, but i think that’s a seperate discussion, and of course the very minimum we should expect is 100% effort, nothing more frustrating than seeing someone be lackadaisical in red!!
Don’t get me started on ticket prices
going back in time liverpool bought a striker. He was not an instant success, hardly on the team, but working with the reserves. it took a couple of years, and we caught a glimpse of, what he could do. He was finally sold to Italy, and it took 3 players to replace him. The name : Ian Rush.
I was happy, when rafael benitez brought home the champions league trophy, but since then it has been taken it for granted, that we at last became premier league winners again soon. Sorry folks, but its not that easy. Rodgers started all over a year ago, and some may not like the me saying so, but it took Alex F. SIX years to make scum united title winners. It may tale a couple of years, espeacilly because rodgers has set back time. Buy unknown/young. work on/with them. build the team brick by brick, and build something, which can last a long time. That was what Shankly/Paisley/Fagan was doing, and thats why i became supporter of this club more than twenty years ago.
Now Rodgers has set back time, and it may not have been a great season we just seen, but i feel we have a manager, who truely understands what liverpool is all about. no quick fix, but something which may pay of in 3-4 years time. I have been sitting here in DEnmark waiting more than 20 years for thee next championsship, and i believe, liverpool has the guy, who can deliver. No quick fix, but hard and steady work will get us there. just have faith…..and patience
Well said Jack
What a load of bull.
Oh dear!
Spot on! We get too caught up in the “win now” mentality. However i sympathize with some that never got to see Liverpool of the 70’s and 80’s when winning trophies was almost a given and we were in contention almost to the bitter end of each trophy campaign. Rodgers looks like a very very astute, although still learning, manager. The owners and plenty of other established managers seem to think so too so we have to give him a few years to build a dynasty at Anfield. These clubs that switch managers at a whim will suffer one day when the money runs out and the stabilizer – the long standing management – is not in place. Shanks built a future that got handed down from him to Paisley to Fagan. We need that structure to come back and who knows Rodgers may – and i think he will – lift us back to the top of the heap and hand it down to someone like Carra or even Hyppia.
I really think that the current owners have got it right with Rodgers and with how to run a football club that will pay for itself in the long run. I certainly feel more optimistic today than I have since Evans took over as manager. Even more so than when Rafa was here.
I wasn’t born and raised a red but chose Liverpool when I was 12. 1996 cantona bad game to chose but a team I love to this day. I believe however a fan no matter how young, old or new should have their opinion on any player in a red shirt. I like Henderson he will come good but it was a slow start downing too but for me Jose Enrique is a very weak link in our side and to use the goldfish term differently, is he one because he seems to forget he’s a defender/footballer at times. We are definitely in a stage of transition though and when Rodgers gets his players sorted we will be back again where we belong.
On another note countiho is going to light the prem up next season.
Excellent article Tim! However, I certainly don’t get too excited about searching the worldwide web for the 16 year old world beaters that could be joining. I’m only concerned about the over 18’s. 🙂
This is the usual drivel and nonsense from Tim . Every week the same ‘have patience and we will be successful’ nonsense.
Wake up
another fine argument steveg
Funny you should call yourself no fools , because a fool is definitely what you are
StevieG spouths again with his usual unsupported claims. Need anyone say a thing? Absolutely not, he shoots himself.
Same fool with multiple names. Very smooth
have you ever seen a game of football that wasn’t on fifa. you joker
wait wait wait! i should call myself no fools cause im a fool? i dont get it? can you explain how that works please
future is bright lets be patient enough to see the kid walk under rodgers guidance you wount regret mark my words and if we let him go we will live with I wish.
Ever since sacking multi trophy winning Kenny last summer the club has been on the decline. The appointment on a Championship manager with championship ambitions has driven a once great club into the horrific world of mediocrity. Now we know what it is like to be Stoke City.
With a limited ambition of “arriving in the top 4” which basically means he doesn’t want to win trophies but finish 4th, Brendan is a man way out of his depth. Man Utd may have lost a great manager but they have replaced him with a decent one, and he inherits the best squad in England. Chelsea will be a powerhouse for years to come, as will Man City. Spurs and Arsenal will improve next season.
Meanwhile LFC has a manager who can’t get the most out of a top class striker like Carroll so he’s forced to sell him. LFC will be lucky to finish above Stoke next year under this failed manager. And as for he owners….enough said!
I am dreading next season already.It looks likely both Suerez and Carroll will be gone along with Skirtel and Pepe.In his programme notes v QPR,Brendan says that this season he has learned what Liverpool F.C is truly all about.What a relief,unfortunatly I to have discovered what Brendan Rodgers is all about
EF you have piqued my interest.
I’m not sure how you can justify a statement of the club being on the decline this last year, the club has been stabilising for the last 3 years! I agree sacking Kenny was wrong, but that doesn’t mean hiring BR was!
We know what it is like to be Stoke?? How?
We are undergoing a step by step process, we can’t leapfrog to be title contenders immediately, even with all the money spent bot City and Chelsea took a couple of seasons to challenge. For me he is being realistic for the short term, is that bad?
Yes Moyes is a decent manager, but he has arguably the toughest task in world football and will be learning at a level entirely new to him, tough ask. Not sure united have the best squad as it stands, for me it is Chelsea. Getting back to top 4 will be tough but it is the first step we have to take.
I don’t get your Carroll point. We don’t know what BR could get out of Carroll because he hasn’t played him. He identified as unsuitable for the way he wanted to play, this doesn’t make him a bad manager, makes him brave really, huge risk. Even the top managers can struggle with top players, ferguson-veron and Forlan, mourinho – shevchenko, Benitez – morientes, it happens!! Carroll was bought by Kenny as he fitted the way he wanted to play, BR style totally different.
If Carroll goes he goes, I like him but would struggle in our system for me, Suarez is making his bed at the mo. would love him to stay b if he goes and we get 2-3 with his fee that could be very beneficial. Skrtel has always worried me a tad, and again with peep, if he goes its a big loss, but not sure how any of these can be placed a BR’s door?
You took the words right outta my mouth Tim. Glad to see a sensible few are left. I didn’t get this part btw – “I happen to think Allen is an exciting talent that should what we can expect at the start of the season” . ‘shows’ perhaps? On the whole, great idea and great writing. I wouldn’t mind reading more of your articles.
Thank you, if you click on my name at the top of the article you should see all penned by me
oh my god.
1. how is rodgers a championship manager, if he won promotion to the prem and finished 13 in his first year up?
2. rafa’s last season at lfc finish like 8, so how is it rodgers who brought this club into this the horrific world of mediocrity?
3.can you please put up a link where rodgers said “which basically means he doesn’t want to win trophies but finish 4th”
4. united have a decent manager who has won less then rodgers.
5. united has the best squad in england? (man city) muppet.
6. rodgers can’t get the most out off top class striker carroll? are you saying the king did?
7. Liverpool will be lucky to finish above stoke next year, everything we need to know about your footballing knowledge is right there.
8. look forward to you childish reply.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
Outstanding ignorance of football. Can you really be that stupid ?
1 . Swansea didn’t finish 13 th with Rodgers . Try and get something right
2 . Of course utd has vest squad they won the league
3. How can anybody have won less than Rodgers ???? Duh…Rodgers has won nothing
My god you are stupid . I’m sure it’s past your bedtime
i love it when clowns come out to play.
1. i meant say, like 13 in his first season. unlike you i don’t need to check out every stat that i wright cause i draw from memory. you troll.
2. united has the best squad, cause they won the league. ha really. here’s you chance to pull up both squads and match them up one by one. then come back when you know what your talking about. united won the managerial battle, mancini lost the dressing room. muppet.
3. wrong again rodgers won promotion to the prem.
Maybe you should go through last season’s games again, We were an embarrassment against the big clubs, we beat teams comfortably, who didn’t turn up(Any realist who watched these games would admit that)..but even when a smaller club closed us down and were up for it, we crumbled. Rodgers had Suarez on fire all season, Gerrard fit all season, lucas only missed a few games, but still we were out of the cups embarrassingly, struggled in a league where “All the other teams, apart from man utd, were poorer this season…fact.. If Dalglish had had Suarez on fire, like this season, we would have finished 3 or 4th, The fact that “Fergie” approved of Rodgers being lfc manager, speaks volumes. As for the extra goals scored this season, thanks to Suarez. Look at the teams we played and beat last season under Rodgers?…we were unable to compete with the best, unlike the season before. If Rodgers didn’t blag so well and suck up to the media he would be getting lambasted.I never seen such spin coming out of this club in all the 30 years I have supported them. I really don’t understand all this blind, bias, manipulative, support for a manager who failed all of his goals for last season.
So 13th was enough to convince you that he should have got the job of managering Britains most successful club?…Ironic really how, the manager who won a cup last season was sacked from this club, whilst this season the team who Rodgers left to come here, won the cup. Looks a born winner does our Brendan.
Paul, your arguments raises many questions for me.
Why was Suarez on fire this season and not last? Personally I dont think Kenny should have been sacked but that is entirely seperate to the hiring of BR. The noticeable difference in performance of Hendo, Downing, Enrique for example show top quality man management.
If not for suarez – why is our record without him in the team greater than when he is?
What has fergie got to do with anything whether he like BR or not?
Not able to compete with the best? Individual errors cost us both times v City, affected the United game at Anfield, chalked off a decent goal at Goodison. Perhaps we didnt take as many points as we should/did last season but to say we didnt compete is a tad extreme.
BR getting lambasted for what? not perfect but imporved on points and goals in a year. More points in a first season since Evans.
What were his goals for last season then?
Exactly. I didn’t want Kenny gone either. But, that is an entirely different argument to the hiring of BR. What do these relentless critics want? Undo whatever work we’ve done over the past year and bring in new personnel? BR gone and with that all the supporting staff gone (coaches, physios, scouts etc.)? FSG, Borrell, Inglethorpe and McParland gone too? Klopp’s in season, he’d fit wouldn’t he? Start over; Really?
Thanks @no sheep… U just put my soul to rest with these comments of yours, thanks once more… @EF I am so sure you are just an intruder, there is no sign that you are an Lfc fan… Opta says that Rodgers team scored 71 goals this season to 47 of last year… Can someone tell isn’t that an improvement???
Your talking nonsense. Lol opta ??? Ha ha ha .
you deadly eoin. why is jude’s post nonesense, because he miss spelt optima.
You really are a dumb kid k or no sheep . You haven’t a clue about anything .
Jude meant opta…as in opta stats . Get it ? Not optima . Fk do you know anything ?
And you meant 13 in his first season . 13 what ????
Haha ha ha . You are dumb
And Rodgers won promotion ?
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha haha ha ha
It so easy …you make yourself look stupid every time
Ha ha ha ha ha ha
Total bellend no sheep. Can’t spell and don’t know football ,as usual .
Ha ha ha ha . Little boy no sheep doesnt have an answer. 13 what ? And Rodgers won promotion…ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
Keep them coming. Ha ha
Sorry it has take this long to wright back. You like yourself I have a job and a life. But who am I to judge a dedicated troll such as yourself.
So like all oricals you know without asking the poster, that he meant opta and know optima. You should become a judge, ye would save the country millions on court cases every year. Just roll out the acused, and you can make you judgement right there and then, no need for evidence or facts, cause you have shown that you don’t really need them to pass judgement.
If I’m so dumb Why have you not had a go at all the points from my o,p and not less then half.
you didn’t have a problem with me saying 13 in my o,p. guess you now know how stupid you look. So now you are trying to undermind me by calling me stupid because its all you can do. It takes a lot of intelligence to call someone stupid.
Are you telling me Rodgers did not win promotion to the prem? It does sound like something you would say to be fair.
I agree with you on the its easy for you to make yourself look stupid every time. And we all appreciate it.
Well I even get a reply?
Mightn’t be from realist but I sure you will post under one or two of you other names.
Sorry
Was meant to be. Unlike yourself I have a job and a life.
Ha ha ha ha
What a idiot response
Get back to school . You cant even spell write ha ha ha or oracle or ….
Sad little troll who doesnt understand English or football
“Rodgers WON promotion” ha ha ha ha ha ha
13 what ? You never answered or do not know ?
As for facts..mine are right . Swansea didn’t finish 13th
Rodgers has won nothing…nobody counts promotion you clown
Go on . Come back with more kiddie replies
And other names ? Lol. No sheep . No fools. Jon . K
And what has optima to do with football ? Ha ha haha ha ha
You have certainly been skipping to many days at school
Amazing how you seem so happy to pick out my grammatical and spelling errors, while you posts are littered with them. It’s best not vest. It’s also has the best squad and not has best squad. It’s ,or do you not know ,and not or do not know.
While having a look at you posts I noticed that you said, duh, so on the basis that no one over 13 in this country would use that childish insult. I would have to guess your a yank with all the football knowledge of a yank. So unless you come from a country that calls football, football and not soccer you will never be taken seriously. Or are you gonna try and tell me you from merseyside. Which we know is not true. Have you even been to a pro game of soccer.
It is called opta you are right. For that I am sorry, honest mistake ( took you half a day to figure that out you chancer). Unlike yourself I don’t use it to get my football knowledge, no I go to games and speak with like minded people.
Also as I said I meant to say in my original post. Swansea finished like 13th In there first season in the prem.
I see you have dropped your argument about united having a better squad then city.
Yes or know has Rodgers ever won a footballing trophy?
Realist/stevieg/Jon? We can all do this.
As for calling me a troll? A troll is someone who post to cause an emotional from other posters.
Guess you described yourself then didn’t you.
How you manage to move out of you moms basement soon.
Once again comical stupidity . There are no spelling mistakes in my posts merely typing errors
‘swansea finished like 13th’ ha ha ha ha ha ha ha .
As for utd v city squads .that is a matter of opinion not fact , and I certainly won’t argue football with someone who can’t read or spell as well as my 6 year old
Every post you have made makes me laugh. Your lack of education shines through. Funny very funny
Looks like I have been proved right Jon. Childish immature behavior ranting and raving insulting people like a 4 year old .It’s all you ever do on here . You need to grow up . Sheep is what you are
How many times did we beat man utd? or Chealsea? or Man city? or Arsenal? or even Everton?….One win against Spurs. Our defense looked all over the place. You must be a young fan, judging by how you accuse others of “not being an lfc fan” just because they see through the cosmetics, and have a different view to yours.
I fail to see your point here Paul. Are you suggesting that everything should be based on results alone? how can a team ever progress if this is the case? So we were worse this year as we didnt beat those teams, but better because we got more points? confusing analysis!
Granted our defence was not as good as the previous year, but our attack was much better.
Paul where did I acuse others of not being an lfc fan?
True we only beat spurs. But how many games did we not win cause of poor defiencive errors against those teams 3,4 maybe more.
Look at it this way your a new manager coming in to lfc last season. Up till Xmas they had the best defence in the league, then Lucas get injured, there biggest problem was putting the ball in the net. Now which area would you try to fix?
There was no way of knowing that skirtel would not be able to play in the system, likewise there was no way of knowing that carra would excell in the system(pre season is not enough)Carr has always been known for his defending and not his ball play.
Also how long should a new manager get before you can start to judge him, he has to completely change the way the team plays. From the first game/from 10 games in/ half a season/ 1 season/ 18 months ?
Ha ha ha ha ha
Get back to school and learn some spelling.
realist didnt see you reply above pauls. was on phone.
glad that my lack of “education” give you so much joy.
but you are right i didn’t do that well in school, but it does not embarrass me at all.
i have done pretty well sense i left.
bet you cant wait for the special olympic’s to be on tv again, you must find that hilarious.
and you called me a troll?
yes like 13th, knew it was near top of the bottom half of the table.
totally agree that the squads (roster’s) are totally objective, like real v barca
and lfc v stoke. but you would go for real(Madrid) and stoke’s ya.
i have answered every question you have asked to the best of my knowledge,
so when will you answer mine?
has rodgers won a trophy with swansea?
if i lack any football knowledge why did you only question less then half of my original post?
all you do is change the subject, usually its well you stupid and can’t spell, lets see if you can come up with something else this time with your superior intelligences and education. doubt it tho.
as for your 6 year old son, your the one making me laugh now. the only way someone go near you is if your a good looking bird, then no one care’s about personality. that would explain why you can’t admit being wrong, you try and change the subject so you won’t have too.
hear comes the you stupid reply i guess.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
Another moronic response. How intelligent to make up things about someone you don’t have any information on.
Keep it up . A little education goes a long way.
even tho you have been found out you still can’t admit you are wrong.
3. How can anybody have won less than Rodgers ???? Duh…Rodgers has won nothing
wiki him and there is a photo of him holding a cup that he won at swansea
“How intelligent to make up things about someone you don’t have any information on.”
“Outstanding ignorance of football. Can you really be that stupid ?”
this was you observation of me and i gave you my observation of you.
and you still won’t acknowledge the fact rodgers has won more then moyes, will you, cause then that would mean you have to admit your wrong.
was also right that your reply would be about me being stupid, noting to do with football or liverpool.
“Another moronic response.”
“A little education goes a long way.”
education doesn’t go as far as you think, personality,commitment and ability to see what most don’t(no sheep) goes a lot further.
maybe you should teach your imaginary boy that calling someone stupid and uneducated does not make you any smarter or better educated.
don’t bother posting if you aren’t going to answer any of the footballing questions cause i am sick of your dodging the real question.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
The little boy lost with no sheep thinks a playoff cup for winning 2 fixtures constitutes a trophy
Ha ha ha . What a fool you are.
yawn! oh by the way at least i can admit my short comings,
it is obvious that your education wasn’t a success also.
many grammatical errors and of course the fact you dont have the intellect to have an argument.
the end
ps it is the fa who awarded swansea the cup, the same association that award the prem title, fa cup, league cup and so on. so you can not say he has won noting as a manager.
Ha ha ha ha ha
What an uneducated little boy
Once again a staggering lack of knowledge
Still thinks Swansea finished 13 th , ha ha ha
Thinks Rodgers won a cup . Ha ha ha ha ha
Playoff winners are not cup winners
Still can’t spell – noting. Ha ha ha ha ha
Thinks optima makes stats
It was entertaining. Come again soon
Spot on EF. It’s not going to work with Rodgers. And no amount of patience will change that
why?
Don’t like FSG anymore, & can’t stand the manager, o how standards have dropped!, and all the muggy supporters except what going on. We are finished under this new regime.
I agree with you. Everyone is expecting us to be back next season. It takes time to rebuild but with the way we were playing without Suarez at the end of this season I have great hope for next season. We haven’t seen much of Borini but I have liked what I have seen, his goal against Newcastle was brilliant. I am a big Henderson fan as well, who can make such a harsh judgement of a 21 year old player anyways. They all need time to prove themselves and we are going to see them prove themselves this season.
It’s pure fantasy to think we will ever be a top side again with a clearly uselessmanager like BR in charge . It’s not going to happen.
Or usless ‘supporters’ like you.
You, Peter, are a goldfish.
No he is realistic. You quik are a dreamer and you let your biases get in the way of common sense
Well, what do you propose then Ben? Let’s start over. I’ll drive Brendan outta town and you fetch Guardiola/Klopp.
Good article, I personally believe if you love this club then you support it no matter what. The people that rag on about BR beIng a bad manager, are not real supporters. All the so called fans that keep bringing up our past need to move on.
??? So if you think Rodgers is bad manager your not a real fan ???
So I suppose if you thought Hodgson was a bad manager you weren’t a real fan too ?
Lol
You must have been devastated when Roy was sacked
Lol, Yeh right, Like Hodgeson, whome I’m sure you supported through thick and thin?…Hypocrite, why would fans who have supported the club for years, not have an opinion on a manager who has just delivered our worst season for decades?..Maybe you should form your own opinion instead of just swallowing everything that comes out of the managers mouth. The fact that you are calling fans whome have a diff opinion to yours “Not fans”, just shows us what age you are.
how is it our worst season in decades?
I hate pple talking nonsense. Dont jst talk cos u hv a mouth. U are very stupid @EF or wat eva u call ur self. Br is d right man to lead us bk to where we belong. Tnk God U aint d club owner and u cant do any tin.
To the idiot that said ManU had the best squad in the league ….u are an idiot. No sheep is right, as as much as I hate ManU u have to have some level of respect for Ferguson because even with a mediocre squad he can pull off a miracle
Can’t agree with any of this article, it makes no sense. Anyone with half a clue can see that Rodgers is not a top manager and it’s never going to work
The players he has bought are general sub standard and it’s unbelievably naive to think that a unproven manager without any history of success will be successful.
You people need a reality check instead of believing fairy tale nonsense like this article
Ben, I would love you to qualify your criticisms. Never going to work? Why not?
general sub standard?? Coutinho and Sturridge have been a resounding success. Allen and Borini have injury hit seasons so how can you judge?
this is your quote: ‘its unbelievably naive to think that an unproven manager without any history of success will be successful’ really? What success did Klopp have prior to Dortmund? Benitez prior to Valencia? Shankly prior to Liverpool? I could go on.
If you want to talk reality, then the reality is that a club needs stability to thrive (or failing that a sugar daddy), Liverpool have not had this for a long time. Is BR perfect? no, but in my mind has shown enough to warrant time and the opportunity to take us forward.
Good article. I’ve been watching Liverpool for nearly 40 years and I agree with the whole point of this piece. It’s often the case that us fans are far too emotionally involved to judge anything dispassionately. Fan is a shortening of fanatic.
As fanatics we find it hard to separate fact from fiction and tend only to deal in absolutes, i.e. a player is either brilliant or crap. Football like life is full of grey areas but many ‘fanatics’ can’t or won’t see that.
The club, our beloved Liverpool, was almost lost completely thanks to the H&G debacle. Rafa was, and still is, a great manager who tried to take on a regime that was killing Liverpool FC.
Thankfully those days are behind us, but as a result of them the club slid down the table, inevitable when you actually think about it.
We now have sensible owners and a young, hungry manager. It will of course take time to recruit, bed-in and train new players. Time, a word no fan likes. The reality is everyone needs time to settle, whenever I’ve changed jobs I’ve needed time to adjust, learn the ropes etc. Usually it takes a year before I feel fully settled, why should it be any different for players? They’re people like you and me.
So give players a chance, not all will succeed of course. But given support and encouragement they’ll adapt much quicker than if they’re barracked constantly. Christ, imagine going to work everyday and hearing people say your *, not good enough to work there, should never have come! How well would you perform? I know I’d struggle.
If two thirds of our reported targets are signed, not an unreasonable hit rate. I think we’ve a chance of getting in the top four. That’s a short term goal, I’m pretty sure BR is aiming to challenge for the title as soon as possible, why the hell wouldn’t he?
Let’s make the coming season a good one. Get behind the players and manager, if you go the game, make some bloody noise. Anfield needs to be intimidating for the opposition not our players. Take a leaf from the brilliant travelling Kop’s book. I suspect then even the rawest recruit will feel ten feet tall and play out of their skin. YNWA
If BR manages to keep LS then he is good enough to be our Manager for another year at least and he will get my support. Without LS we will do worse than last year which means he will be sacked at the end of it. IF LS is sold BR should follow him out of Anfield the same day.
I dont think the possible departure of LS is down to BR. His points about treatment in certain sections of the media ring true, and a club like Real will remain hard to turn down for any player. Dont particularly like how this is all coming out however.
As for worse off? I disagree. Whereas LS carried us some what at the start of last season, as the season progressed the club evolved towards BR’s style and became more self sufficient in his absence as the end of season began to show. Should he go and we replace with 2-3 15-25m players it could actually work out quite well for us. As much as I love LS and his genius, never been truly comfortable relying on one man.
Patience and stability does not necessarily bring success. It’s a stupid argument.
We had patience with Souness , success ? No
We had patience with Evans and Houillier .success ? No
We finally got a good manager in Rafa and had patience .success ? Limited
All of those managers are 100 times better than the useless blagger we have now . Success ? Not a flipping chance
Lets get a top manager , give him time and see what happens. Clown Rodgers is failing miserably and is showing no signs of improving the team
Nothing guarantees success you are right, but you are more likely to achieve success with stability and patience.
A manager needs at least a couple of years to implement his style before being judged good enough or not.
Souness was the wrong man for me at the time but he allowed for the likes of mcmanaman to come through.
Evans was unlucky in my book not to take us further. Had we had the financial backing and off field knowhow of united at the time it would have been very different.
Houllier brought no success?? 2001? Houllier ran his course but couldn’t take us further, we know that through experience not second guessing.
Rafa was not shown any patience or any backing. Rafa was binned the first sign of trouble because those up top didnt like challenging. The club would be very different now if rafa had FSG instead of H&G when he was here.
You don’t like BR, I get it, but how can you not see that any manager brought in now would need time to settle and establish! Would you afford them that??
Yes. A decent manager. Not this clown.
Well said Ed and Paul . Spot on lads