Does Rodgers deserve another season.

[Anubis]

The problem with our defence will not be banished by a change in personnel alone. Williams had a worse record than Skrtel in the head-to-head of worst Premiership defenders up until Saturday. The same players who had the third best defensive record last season currently look like headless chickens when the heat is on. In the past we've endured analysis of zonal marking vs man-to-man, but I'd be hard pressed to tell you which system we're trying to play this season.

 

Given how poor Skrtel has been I can see why a change may be needed, but until the defensive set up as a whole, and how they relate to the rest of the team, is addressed, as I initially thought it might have been in the Zenit home game, then whoever we bring in will not substantially improve things.

[Gym Beglin]

I'd rather have abysmal and two cup finals than not-so-abysmal and nothing.

 

 

Boro got to two cup finals and got relegated. I think Portsmouth did the same or near enough.

 

If we get less abysmal each season, then we might make a few more finals, and we might not shit our pants in them as well.

[Dr. J]

Trophies, yes - but you don't spend 100 million fecking pounds to win the Milk Cup and call it success.

[Gym Beglin]

Williams had a worse record than Skrtel in the head-to-head of worst Premiership defenders up until Saturday.

 

Where is the link to this, I'd like to see it.

[Pureblood]

Boro got to two cup finals and got relegated. I think Portsmouth did the same or near enough.

 

Why is this relevant? We got to two finals and DIDN'T get fucking relegated.

[Pureblood]

Trophies, yes - but you don't spend 100 million fecking pounds to win the Milk Cup and call it success.

 

It was certainly more successful than this season. Give me last season over this season every single time.

[Anubis]

Sorry, Funeeeee, I'm on my phone so will look for it when I get home later.

 

As for the Milk Cup, it got us into Europe this season, which we'll struggle to do this season. And Europeean football helps attract better players.

[Redder Lurtz]

Redder lurtz in "sanity shocker".

 

Fuck off sexrex

 

Yeah Brendan Rodgers taught Gerrard how to play.

 

Yeah because clearly I suggested he did.

 

Fucking hell.

[Guest San Don]

Sorry, Funeeeee, I'm on my phone so will look for it when I get home later.

 

As for the Milk Cup, it got us into Europe this season, which we'll struggle to do this season. And Europeean football helps attract better players.

 

Predictive text, eh?

[piscinin]

Winning trophies is not success. I think I've read it all.

 

'twas a crocodile trophy we won last year.

[Gym Beglin]

If we sack Rodgers, then that's £15-20m spent on him and his backroom staff and their contracts, and losses in players sales that another manager might take when selling on some of those players.

 

Or, we can give him £15m-£20m to spend on a couple of players.

 

 

That's the basic equation.

[Jairzinho]

Tell Birmingham that and I am sure they love having it tough in the Championship after they won the League Cup.

 

I am sure that Middlesborough loved it too when they got to two cup finals and ended up getting relegated.

 

Madness does not even begin to describe this train of thought.

 

As much as I want us to win things, getting to two finals and finishing 7th and winning a trophy is not what I would call a real success. The expectation was set that we would achieve 4th. We never. That is the crux of the matter. Top 4 is the priority for the future of the club. Whether we like it or not.

 

This does not mean I think this season could be deemed as a success as I want us to win trophies, but in terms of rebuilding and progressing, then I would say it has been a relative success in parts, with improvement needed in other areas in the summer moving in to next season.

 

Reckon we will this year?

[Dr. J]

Wages attract players. How many players will be attracted by the chance of Europa League qualification matches? Even CL football - how many players jump to sign with Celtic because of it? And they're in the CL every year, right?

 

The overall financial success of the club is what's imperative - and that depends on either winning the league or getting into the CL.

 

The fecking Premier League killed us - a lot of people saw that at the time.

[Anubis]

Wages attract players.

 

The wrong type. But even if true, the current owner's are looking to a reduced wage bill.

[Pureblood]

'twas a crocodile trophy we won last year.

 

Haha.

[Whelan]

It was certainly more successful than this season. Give me last season over this season every single time.

 

Unfortunately you are not going to be able to help us make the top four! Trophies are great (but should never be used to measure how good a team is) - but players want to play in the Champions League not win the League Cup, might not be what the fans prefer but that foreign lad who we are all convinced will succeed and take us to the next level wants to play against Barcelona at the Nou Camp not Cardiff at Wembly.

 

That is the problem. To attract better players you either pay shit loads an appeal to greed - or appeal to what they want to achieve and at least target the champions league.

 

We may be liverpool in our eyes but - would Erikson (for an example) look to play for us next season and have a chance of winning the League Cup - or would he prefer to play for Spurs for the chance to play in the champions league.

 

Last season we had a good cup run - but were terrible in the league after Christmas - I think we have been steadily getting better in the league and performing better. Incidently, Kenny fucked off the UEFA cup when he first arrived - playing the Greek and squad players away to Braga, nobody seemed arsed about that then.

[LFC64]

The problem with our defence will not be banished by a change in personnel alone. Williams had a worse record than Skrtel in the head-to-head of worst Premiership defenders up until Saturday. The same players who had the third best defensive record last season currently look like headless chickens when the heat is on. In the past we've endured analysis of zonal marking vs man-to-man, but I'd be hard pressed to tell you which system we're trying to play this season.

 

Given how poor Skrtel has been I can see why a change may be needed, but until the defensive set up as a whole, and how they relate to the rest of the team, is addressed, as I initially thought it might have been in the Zenit home game, then whoever we bring in will not substantially improve things.

 

I agree with this. Skrtel out Williams in will make no difference. Williams is good on the ball but our problems are not retaining possession but what we are not doing or cannot do when the opposition have the ball.

The other half of Rodgers' 'philosophy' is regaining possession and pressing with intelligence to make life difficult for the opponents.

An intelligence we don't seem to have.

I don't think for a minute it's a simple case of a manager too obstinate not to compromise. Not only because it's too early to say that he won't make suitable adjustments but also because he's on record as saying the success of his system is reliant on the ability to press high up the pitch as a unit to regain possession. This is a quality we don't have at this stage and often it's too easy to play around our midfield and draw our exposed defence into errors.

[Soleilrouge]

Well maybe I should congratulate you that you're consistent in your view that we should sack yet another manager. Well done you.

 

I should take a look at myself for an "abusive" post? Maybe some of the best fans in the world should look at the state we were in when Rodgers got here, give him some credit for clearing out the utter dross like Joe fucking Cole, getting performances out of Henderson and Downing, getting Enrique back to something resembling a decent footballer, getting Carra back to performing well in his last season for us, getting better performances out of our captain (note the lack of "Gerrard is shit" threads recently), dragging our goal tally up and bringing quality team performances out of the team overall. This is a team that looks like it's going to go places - bar the signing of Joe Allen - so why is there a thread suggesting we should sack him? It's fucking pathetic really and extremely small time.

 

its not sacking managers has been our problem

 

its the hiring thats the problem

 

and this guy rodgers would not be allowed manage near any half decent club in europe

 

you re deluded if you think even half of the above

[Pureblood]

Unfortunately you are not going to be able to help us make the top four! Trophies are great (but should never be used to measure how good a team is) - but players want to play in the Champions League not win the League Cup, might not be what the fans prefer but that foreign lad who we are all convinced will succeed and take us to the next level wants to play against Barcelona at the Nou Camp not Cardiff at Wembly.

 

That is the problem. To attract better players you either pay shit loads an appeal to greed - or appeal to what they want to achieve and at least target the champions league.

 

We may be liverpool in our eyes but - would Erikson (for an example) look to play for us next season and have a chance of winning the League Cup - or would he prefer to play for Spurs for the chance to play in the champions league.

 

Last season we had a good cup run - but were terrible in the league after Christmas - I think we have been steadily getting better in the league and performing better. Incidently, Kenny fucked off the UEFA cup when he first arrived - playing the Greek and squad players away to Braga, nobody seemed arsed about that then.

 

I don't think it ever has to be mutually exclusive. You try to manage your resources to win the trophies you're capable of winning and finish as high up the league as possible. I don't see it as either/or but if it's a choice between finishing 6th or 7th with no cups or 7th with a cup, I'll have the cup please. And I'm really, really struggling with the bit in bold.

[Whelan]

its not sacking managers has been our problem

 

its the hiring thats the problem

 

and this guy rodgers would not be allowed manage near any half decent club in europe

 

you re deluded if you think even half of the above

 

And do you think we qualify as a half decent team in Europe?

 

I don't think any half decent team in Europe would appoint Roy Hodgson or a manager who hasn't managed at the top level for at least 10 years!

[Skidfingers McGonical]

Reckon we will this year?

 

I was talking about last year, and to be honest I thought 4th was a little too high an expectation this season. I seen this season as transitional (I know, I know another one) and I expected to get 6th maximum

[Major Tom]

I don't see it as either/or but if it's a choice between finishing 6th or 7th with no cups or 7th with a cup, I'll have the cup please.

 

I think you'll struggle to find anyone who disagrees with you there, or even anyone to sit on the other side of that argument. The debate is CL qualification or domestic cup. Where do you sit on that question?! Kind of rhetorical, so you don't need to answer.

[Jairzinho]

I was talking about last year, and to be honest I thought 4th was a little too high an expectation this season. I seen this season as transitional (I know, I know another one) and I expected to get 6th maximum

 

I know you were talking about last year.

 

Do you think 4th was too high an expectation last year?

 

I don't see any seasons as transitional. Predominantly because it assumes that at some point we'll be good.

 

I expected to get 6th minimum. This season, and last.

[Whelan]

I don't think it ever has to be mutually exclusive. You try to manage your resources to win the trophies you're capable of winning and finish as high up the league as possible. I don't see it as either/or but if it's a choice between finishing 6th or 7th with no cups or 7th with a cup, I'll have the cup please. And I'm really, really struggling with the bit in bold.

 

They shouldn't be used to measure how good a team is because there are so many variables that come into play. Everton could very easily have gotten to a cup final by playing Wigan, at home on their way there - they win one match - are they a good team? No, not necessarily, would Wigan be a good team if they reached the final and won it?

 

You are spot on with arguing they shouldn't be mutually exclusive as demonstrated by Chelsea, City and United who manage to win trophies and compete in the league. We are not at their level.

 

I don't consider last season a success - I thought it was poor with the finals saving it. I didn't enjoy beating Cardiff - my main thought when Gerrard missed was 'thank fuck that's finished'. I judged our season on the numerous defeats towards the back end of the season - that to me, is where we were as a team.

[Skidfingers McGonical]

I know you were talking about last year.

 

Do you think 4th was too high an expectation last year?

 

I don't see any seasons as transitional. Predominantly because it assumes that at some point we'll be good.

 

I expected to get 6th minimum. This season, and last.

 

Yes I did, but to be honest I was caught on the crest of Kenny being back and the feel good factor we had. Then we signed Downing and I started to question my own sanity.

 

I don't think 6th is that bad a position as long as we are not miles away from 4th and put up a fight to get in till the end of the season and be within a shout.

 

Which I feel we have done this season after a bad start. Which is impressive in itself in my opinion.