Does Rodgers deserve another season.

[skend04]

I know people are not that happy with the state we're in but talk of getting relegated is fucking crazy talk.

Yes its crazy talk because we have taken 11 points from the last 10 games. A repeat of that kind of form will see us get 42 points next season, so definitely not anywhere close to the bottom 3.

[ritchie]

So we can speculate: 

(a) the transfer committee has prevented Rodgers from buying better players than we have now

b. Rodgers has got through a significant number of his choices against the committees wishes

c. they are both as bad as each other

 

If (a) was true, then the manager who resisted a DOF would surely do the same to a transfer committee that controlled everything. He would have walked by now, no?

If b. was true, then the owners would surely be like "What the fuck is this shit?" and Rodgers would have been sacked by now.

 

So by the powers of deduction....

There's bits of a b and c.

 

A) It's how you define 'better' players. We keep on hearing Ashley Williams/Ryan Bertrand as examples of Rodgers being overruled as though these are great players denied to him. I think he's happy politically to use the transfer committee as a shield while being more passive aggressive by discarding most of their signings.

 

B)Rodgers forced through Borini and Allen in the first window. He forced throuhh Lallana, Lambert and Lovren after negotiating more power over transfers in his new contract from a position of strength after last season. The committee would never have targeted those Southampton players, not least because they'd fail whatever scouting criteria. But Lallana looked good on MOTD and Carra and Neville raved about Lovren on MNF.

 

C) They've all fucked up. You also have to take into account the likes of Ayre unable to get deals done. Costa, Willian, Sanchez, Mikhitaryan, Konopylanka, Salah etc. most of them would have improved us. We end up with back up targets who are probably down the committee's list and Rodgers isn't that arsed about. And rodgers isn't easy to buy for because he has a throw away attitude to signings and has a tendency to play players out of position. Can as a right back, Markovic as a wing back, Balotelli as a lone striker are bound to look worse than they are.

[Jennings]

Swapping managers on the manager merry go round won't be good for us at all. The only time we should do it is if an amazing opportunity comes up to employ the right guy. For me that would be Guus Hiddink - or someone like that.

 

Equally keeping a bad manager is a poor strategy. Rodgers has shown he can challenge for the prize we all want - but he has to convince his boss that he can repeat that feat.

 

I have been a supporter of Rodgers throughout his tenure. I like his attacking philosophy - but I hate his transfer dealings.

If I was his line manager I would have him in to explain with clear reasons why it all went wrong. I would expect him to take accountability and to explain what needs to happen and by when. Depending on his answers I would give him another year - with a set target and tell him he goes if we miss it.

[ngogswilly]

Doubt its an indication of anything just yet but still interesting.

 

Simon Clancy:

"Liverpool's players fly to Dubai today for a small farewell celebration for Steven Gerrard. Brendan Rodgers isn't going."

[RobbieOR]

Yes its crazy talk because we have taken 11 points from the last 10 games. A repeat of that kind of form will see us get 42 points next season, so definitely not anywhere close to the bottom 3.

 

Teams go through bad form, whether Rodgers is here or not we're not going to be fighting relegation. He's not Roy Hodgson.

[1892-LFCWasBorn]

Liverpool's defeat to Stoke was shameful. Brendan Rodgers must pack his bags NOW so we can progress

17:55, 24 May 2015
By Jim Boardman

Before kick-off I remember thinking that whatever happened in this game it wouldn’t be proof on its own of what should happen to Brendan Rodgers. Before we’d even got to half-time it was difficult to think of it as anything else. Rodgers should have stayed in the dressing room at the break before making his own way back to Melwood to start emptying his desk.

If Rodgers has an ounce of honour in his body he’ll resign this evening and allow this club to move forward. If he stays Liverpool are in danger of drifting further away from the level most Reds don’t just want their club to get to but expect them to be at.

Rodgers said recently that fifth place would be par. It shouldn’t be, but he couldn’t even manage that.

As Liverpool fans we are often criticised for dwelling a little too much on the past, but as fans of a club that has had some pretty good days in its history that’s a little unfair. Why shouldn’t we mark the end of an era as Steven Gerrard moves to pastures new, or the tenth anniversary of that famous night in Istanbul, or 50 years since the club’s first ever FA Cup?

We aren’t celebrating that it’s 25 years since we last won the league but who would want to celebrate that? Last season we went close but this season showed that was nothing more than a false dawn. As soon as Rodgers was faced with having to play more than one game a week his plans fell apart. Time and time again this season he’s claimed a lack of coaching time was the biggest issue – but that’s how it works at clubs who play in Europe.

Even making allowances for today – Reds fans have had to make a lot of allowances of late – and that this was the last game of the season it was humiliating. Stoke wiped the floor with Liverpool in that first 45 minutes and in doing so brought back bad memory after bad memory from a season full of embarrassing performances and results.

A 6-1 defeat to Stoke is a low point from a low season. Six one. Shameful. What a way to end a season.

Steven Gerrard got Liverpool’s consolation, and it was scant consolation for the way his Anfield career has ended under Brendan Rodgers. His last home game was another defeat, 3-1 to Crystal Palace. With all due respect to opponents who have played well, these are ridiculous scores for a team like Liverpool and they are far from the only ones in this miserable campaign.

Not only are Liverpool losing to sides they should be beating they are getting hammered. It’s too painful to go through the results from this season now, but how many times have Liverpool conceded three or more goals, or lost by a margin of more than two? I don’t want to know.

Many people have tried hard to defend Rodgers but his position has now become untenable. If he has any feelings at all for the club he’ll fall on his sword now – but if he wants to make one last effort at leaving something good behind him he should throw a few public home truths at the club’s hierarchy in the process.

Liverpool were 5-0 down at half time, five goals conceded without a single striker on the pitch, despite getting £75m for the one we sold last summer. One we sold a while ago made it six for Stoke.

The failings of the ownership and their clearly below-par transfer committee need to be dealt with but that should not take away from the failings of his young manager. The nicest thing to say is that the Liverpool job came too soon for him.

Even throwing a generous pinch of salt in with the gossip leaking from the dressing room there are far too many in there who have lost all respect for him. Forget the nice PR-friendly stuff churned out through official club outlets, far too many players are left baffled at his decisions and disappointed at his treatment not only of them but of their teammates.

Listen back to interviews past players have given about the way they left, players like Pepe Reina and Daniel Agger, listen to how they talk about being told one thing by the manager, only for him to do another. Word from the dressing room is that this is still going on now, and Rodgers seems oblivious to it.

Look at the performances on the pitch today. Not just today either, but especially today. Which side was playing for their manager? Not the side wearing black.

Rodgers is out of his depth. A club like Liverpool expects to be challenging near the top of the table and putting in a good show in Europe. Rodgers complains about there being too many games.

A club like Liverpool should have big names in its ranks and with that comes the age-old problems of the big personalities and egos those big names have. Rodgers can’t even handle the ego of a 20-year-old, allowing Sterling and his agent to make fools of him and the club. Sterling deserved to be dropped for allowing his agent to do what he has this week, but he also has every right to question Liverpool’s ambition.

As punishment for recent events, Sterling sat this one out, left on the bench at kick-off and kept there throughout despite Liverpool needing to claw back a five goal deficit. That will really teach the youngster he’s wrong to think he’s got a better chance of trophies and success somewhere else, Brendan.

Liverpool fans are often accused of living in a fantasy world based on past glories. The biggest fantasist at Anfield these days is Brendan Rodgers, who is more Kenny Dalglish Senior off Phoenix Nights than Kenny Dalglish the manager who brought Liverpool their last league title a quarter of a century ago. I fully expect to hear him say the second half performance was outstanding and bodes well for next season. It’s what he does.

After Gerrard got that consolation 20 minutes from the end the travelling Reds were singing from the small repertoire of songs featuring his name. One of them is a slight reworking of one that is in its own right a snapshot of some good old days, when Liverpool had “the best midfield in the world” with Gerrard joined by Momo Sissoko, Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano.

Today was a day when a former Liverpool midfielder who would never have got near being in on that song outshone the demoralised one that Brendan Rodgers put out.

This game alone should not be enough to see Liverpool sack Brendan Rodgers, the rest of the season had already done more than enough for that, but it should certainly be enough for the man himself to hold up his hands and finally admit to himself, his bosses and the fans that the job is too big for him right now.

Thanks Brendan, you tried hard, there’s no doubt about that, but trying hard isn’t always enough and in the end you were putting more effort into making bad things sound good than actually making them good. As you’ve said yourself, you will get better from this experience, but Liverpool can’t wait for you to do so.

For all our sakes, do the honourable thing and go.

 

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/liverpools-defeat-stoke-shameful-brendan-5756005

[Grinch]

All the journos close to the club have turned on him.  He's gone, thankfully.

[Special K]

Doubt its an indication of anything just yet but still interesting.

 

Simon Clancy:

 

"Liverpool's players fly to Dubai today for a small farewell celebration for Steven Gerrard. Brendan Rodgers isn't going."

Which is also why no one should give a shit about the players. They were on a plane to Dubai while we're all pulling our hair out about the season

 

Fuck them all

[Nightcat]

Give him another season? Seriously? on the basis of what?! are you suffering by some sort of  sadomasochistic syndrome?

 

Are you so deluded to believe that he will improve a team that is about to lose The Legend Steven Gerrard and its best talent (Cunt Sterling)?

 

On the basis of what do you believe in this potential improvement? On the experience of how well he handled the departure of Suarez, where we were supposed to thrive and be better without him(according to Rodgers)?

 

No, time is up. Three FULL seasons are more than enough time to judge on someone's work. He needs to go and there are no excuses for the Fraudsters from Boston to retain him.

[Lycan]

Which is also why no one should give a shit about the players. They were on a plane to Dubai while we're all pulling our hair out about the season

 

Fuck them all

Yep. I've never been so disgusted in a Liverpool side in all my life. We've had some shit sides this past 25 years but at least they had some heart. This lot though...Biggest bunch of spineless, gutless, shithouses ever to wear the red shirt. Fucking fuming. It wouldn't bother me if we sold them all.

[Paco]

anybody hear the 'liverpool fan' on talksport with collymore yesterday?

 

crying and shit but sounded really fake.

[Pan77]

Yep. I've never been so disgusted in a Liverpool side in all my life. We've had some shit sides this past 25 years but at least they had some heart. This lot though...Biggest bunch of spineless, gutless, shithouses ever to wear the red shirt. Fucking fuming. It wouldn't bother me if we sold them all.

This is pretty much bang on. As the goals were flying in yesterday no one actually seemed that bothered. I'm not sure if it was disbelief or just acceptance of being shit. The entire squad is soft and mentally weak.

[Nightcat]

Yep. I've never been so disgusted in a Liverpool side in all my life. We've had some shit sides this past 25 years but at least they had some heart. This lot though...Biggest bunch of spineless, gutless, shithouses ever to wear the red shirt. Fucking fuming. It wouldn't bother me if we sold them all.

 

 

That's what happens when you so easily get rid of players like Agger, Reina et al in order to fulfill a flawed recruitment policy transcended by bullshit such as moneyballs, soccernomics etc.... You end up with a team of shithouses.  

[ritchie]

Teams go through bad form, whether Rodgers is here or not we're not going to be fighting relegation. He's not Roy Hodgson.

The first 15 games this season, and the first 15 games of Rodgers first season, were as bad as Hodgson at least in terms of results.

 

The first 15 games of this season (with the exception of the win at Spurs) and the last 10 games have been as bad as anything i've seen from a Liverpool side. It's more than just bad form, there's something seriously wrong. Even the games we did win where at home to useless Newcastle and QPR teams in even worse form than us.

 

The difference between Hodgson and Rodgers is Rodgers can get on a roll and get a winning team. I think with Rodgers though it is extremes. When we're on a winning run everything clicks and his confidence comes to the fore, but when we start losing, and struggling to win, he just doesn't know what to do and starts losing it. Much like Pardew.

[Paco]

That's what happens when you so easily get rid of players like Agger, Reina et al in order to fulfill a flawed recruitment policy transcended by bullshit such as moneyballs, soccernomics etc.... You end up with a team of shithouses.

agger is finished. read somewhere hes played 6 games for brondby.

[KevieG]

anybody hear the 'liverpool fan' on talksport with collymore yesterday?

 

crying and shit but sounded really fake.

 

Complete with cockney accent. Clearly fake, and not the first..

 

But it will do the rounds. The shitness of modern football thread will burst at the seams.

[1892-LFCWasBorn]

I've had a think overnight and decided that I want Rafa back over Klopp. Go get him FSG.

[withnail71]

There is no way, NO WAY , that FSG will risk giving Rodgers another penny after the debacle of last seasons transfer window.

[RobbieOR]

I've had a think overnight and decided that I want Rafa back over Klopp. Go get him FSG.

 

He's going to Real Madrid.

[Denny Crane]

agger is finished. read somewhere hes played 6 games for brondby.

He has played 18 games out of 30 according to this around 60%. Not sure if he was any less injury prone than Allen, Sakho or Lucas this year.

 

Agger on crutches is better than 20plus million on Lovren.

 

 

 

http://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=41328

[withnail71]

He's going to Real Madrid.

He's signed nothing yet.

[Section_31]

Say what you want about Rafa, but if you gave him a choice between Madrid and Liverpool he'd go to Liverpool.

 

Still, part of me would like to see him trounce Chelsea in the CL next season with a similar spending power at his disposal.

 

"I'm gonna rain on you Mourinho, for sure."

[Harry Squatter]

We will end up with

 

Eddie Howe

Author Karanka

Quique Sanchez Flores

Garry Monk

 

Or any manager of a mid table Italian/Spanish/German team who has managed ok on a limited budget and wants to prove himself.

 

I wouldn't mind Jorge Jesus of Benfica, has experience of managing a big club, has won trophies and plays good football. Plus he looks like he should have been the lead singer in some Merseybeat band.

[RobbieOR]

Say what you want about Rafa, but if you gave him a choice between Madrid and Liverpool he'd go to Liverpool.

 

Still, part of me would like to see him trounce Chelsea in the CL next season with a similar spending power at his disposal.

 

"I'm gonna rain on you Mourinho, for sure."

 

He'd be an idiot to turn up the chance to go there in my opinion. Once in a lifetime gig, even if I reckon it's about 8 years too late for him. 

[1892-LFCWasBorn]

He's going to Real Madrid.

 

You think Rafa would choose Madrid if we ask him to come to us?