What's your opinion of Brendan Rodgers?

[stringvest]

I think it's different with some managers. The amount of work we do pressing, covering, making runs, etc, is right up there. A lot of sides don't do that. It's more than just work ethic, perhaps. It's a real drive. The best sides have it. I think some managers get it out of players, and some don't.

 

As for the rest of your post, it's dead clear that we've needed to improve from the start of the season, that we need to keep pushing forward. My point was - at least in the post you originally quoted - that we should be sticking with Rodgers for this. That changing now would be folly. Stick with what we've got because he has shown, in my view at least, very positive signs. A dodgy half season after the loss of Sturridge and Suarez isn't going to derail my pro-Rodgers train. I think there's enough to be positive about to give him - at the very, very least - another transfer window and another season. The alternative is knock everything down and go again. There's going to come a time when you're just kicking through rubble talking about building a skyscraper.

 

I don't think many are suggesting he should go at the end of the season.  Some people are suggesting that any judgement should be made at the end of the season, which is sensible imo.  If it is clear we are improving, there will be no chance of him getting the boot.  If we regress to playing as we did at the beginning of the season, questions will inevitably arise.   

[stringvest]

I think it's different with some managers. The amount of work we do pressing, covering, making runs, etc, is right up there. A lot of sides don't do that. It's more than just work ethic, perhaps. It's a real drive. The best sides have it. I think some managers get it out of players, and some don't.

 

Agree, but other teams work hard and are organised in a different way, which perhaps suits their personnel better.  There are teams with less accomplished players who will grind out results due to being very well drilled and prepared to put the effort in to work for each other.  

Hard work doesn't always manifest itself in having little players buzzing around opposition defenders.  It's all good.  I prefer the way we play though, and it is the way most teams enjoying the advantages we have do play.  

[Guest davelfc]

You could argue that some of his best decisions (on who to play etc) have come from injuries. Johnson and Lovren come to mind.

 

You could argue it, although I won't here obviously. 

[Brigant Moloch]

Every top team is being build from the back. Rodgers couldn't set a defense to save his life, we play the system we're playing now and players we're playing now only because Lovren, Johnson and Lallana were injured and Gerrard was shite and required rest & change of position.

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

We played the same system last season for a run of games. He organised a defenseman at Swansea. I hate that some people look for any excuse to have a dig at him, I hate it even more that they also look for any excuse to take credit away from him for the things he does right.

[KevieG]

He fucked up but he has turned it around. He has to get massive credit for that just as he deservedly took a lot of flak for trying to repeat last seasons system without Suarez and Sturridge. 

 

However we have a seriously hard run of games coming up and that will be the real test of whether we have turned a corner. 

[stringvest]

We're 70 games away from greatness.

[Brigant Moloch]

We played the same system last season for a run of games. He organised a defenseman at Swansea. I hate that some people look for any excuse to have a dig at him, I hate it even more that they also look for any excuse to take credit away from him for the things he does right.

 

his Swansea team gave away a fuckload of goals too, I like the way we play now, always loved 3 at the back & wingbacks but it has been established too late and he was forced to change his previous dreadful tactics

[s(k)aturation]

We're 70 games away from greatness.

 

For God sake, have some patience, man.

[xerxes]

I think it's different with some managers....etc

Although I have serious doubts about Brendan's ability to return us to the top, I agree that he has done enough to retain his position.

 

FSG's finances, and the financial firepower of Arsenal, Chelsea, Man U and Man City are even greater restraining forces then the ability of any LFC manager right now. When you look at the money spent and managers churned at Spurs in recent years, the benefits of managerial change look pretty thin in that context.

 

What I worry about is that post-Rafa we are now in a "good enough" era. Where despite no silverware we are still hovering around the top 10 money league, mainly by trading on past glory, and income is enough, where the team, shorn of world class talent can be flirting with honours, where the stadium is a bit bigger, but not competing with the best, where the manager may not be the most experienced, but is good enough.

 

EL glory is our best chance, but Euro football is Brendan's weakest area, let's hope he learns fast.

 

How he leaves us is the intriguing question. Will he hang on believing that it will never get better? Will he "do a Pardew" and feel at some point that his job is done, and broaden his experience abroad? Or will gravity tell at some point as the axe falls?

[VladimirIlyich]

It does, but it's wrong. You've got a point but we are right in in it for top 4, even 3rd is realistic. We are in the fa cup and a Europa league win takes us to CL again. We turned in around when we were still in the Rumbelows Milk cup too. So competing on 4 fronts, with trouble afoot if we don't make CL is hardly pressure being off. Kenny's first half season was.

My opinion is based on the stats of no team ever finishing higher than sixth from the position we found ourselves back in November/December.

It took so long to put right the failings of mixing the CL and the PL that we were snookered.

I still have some reservations mixing European and domestic football as our good run of form has coincided with our CL failure.

Have to agree with Anubis post about Rodgers,I too realise the separation between man and manager and if he does well then he will most likely keep his job.

Personally I dont think we've got more than an outside chance of the top four,but top six is pretty much where I expected us to be at the season's start.

[Joey8FrogsLegs]

He fucked up but he has turned it around. He has to get massive credit for that just as he deservedly took a lot of flak for trying to repeat last seasons system without Suarez and Sturridge. 

 

However we have a seriously hard run of games coming up and that will be the real test of whether we have turned a corner.

Exactly. And based on our last performances I think we have the quality, form and confidence to more than match most of these teams. Many of them will still be tight games however, and our main problem is the lack of goalthreat from too many of our players. Sturridge returning will definitely improve, maybe even transform, the team but it still remains to be seen if this is enough. With the fixture list ahead I also assume that his fitness level will not allow 90 minutes in all those games anyway.

[ratcatcher]

Although I have serious doubts about Brendan's ability to return us to the top, I agree that he has done enough to retain his position.

 

FSG's finances, and the financial firepower of Arsenal, Chelsea, Man U and Man City are even greater restraining forces then the ability of any LFC manager right now. When you look at the money spent and managers churned at Spurs in recent years, the benefits of managerial change look pretty thin in that context.

 

What I worry about is that post-Rafa we are now in a "good enough" era. Where despite no silverware we are still hovering around the top 10 money league, mainly by trading on past glory, and income is enough, where the team, shorn of world class talent can be flirting with honours, where the stadium is a bit bigger, but not competing with the best, where the manager may not be the most experienced, but is good enough.

 

EL glory is our best chance, but Euro football is Brendan's weakest area, let's hope he learns fast.

 

How he leaves us is the intriguing question. Will he hang on believing that it will never get better? Will he "do a Pardew" and feel at some point that his job is done, and broaden his experience abroad? Or will gravity tell at some point as the axe falls?

 

That's a half decent post when you're not chatting gibberish to make your usual stadium comment.

 

Have to say since Ged (god love him), benitez or rodgers, I didnt know whether any of them could return us to the top. I saw the King as more of a re building of the foundations like Shankly did rather than resurrecting the time from 85 to 90. Given the football landscape now, Im pretty much of the opinion that one man as manager cannot achieve it.

 

I dont think any manager is going to return us 'to the top' without considerable and continuous injection of cash aided by increased profit by the club. We're constantly hanging on to the coat tails of manchester united, chelsea and arse and now find there is city in the mix.

 

Sometimes I think we're on the edge of even letting go while last season, it seemed we were actually climbing up the coat tails only for us to lose our grip again this season.

 

That's not to say you give up but at the same time, you have to be realistic at what can be achieved. The world over, you have to throw money at a project until you reach the level of success that starts to become self funding. This is turn attracts the level of players to continuously compete at the top.

 

I dont see FSG (or any new owner for that matter) having the wherewithall to continually inject the funds. With the exception of mansoor, virtually every owner now wants to have sustainable self funding.

 

I think football's largely shit nowadays. Always support the club but after 25 years of waiting, I think when will that wait ever end?

[Razoray]

I think he deserves credit for making three at the back work, as not too many people would have called that one as an answer, but I agree that he was a bit slow in making some obvious changes like playing Lucas and Lallana regularly, dropping Johnson, and not playing Gerrard as a deep midfielder.

 

I also think we'd have done better doing some fairly obvious things that he hasn't done, like giving Borini a run in the side, as of the three fit strikers he's the one who best fits our style of play, and playing Gerrard further forward when we were struggling for goals. So he has stuff in both the plus and minus column for me.

 

I also agree that he is at least partly at fault for the summer signings, but on the other hand if it's true that he was denied his first choice striker by the committee, we might have been in the title race if he'd had his way.

Gerrard has played 4 or 5 games further forward lately and has he scored from open play. I might have missed it/them but he has definitely not solved that struggle.

[bouncebrigade]

23 league games, 7th, goal difference +6, one champions league group stage win.

 

 

Five points off third sounds better.

[Paco]

I don't think many are suggesting he should go at the end of the season. Some people are suggesting that any judgement should be made at the end of the season, which is sensible imo. If it is clear we are improving, there will be no chance of him getting the boot. If we regress to playing as we did at the beginning of the season, questions will inevitably arise.

20% of people who voted wanted him sacked immediately.

[ratcatcher]

20% of people who voted wanted him sacked immediately.

 

Yes, I keep reading the line 'I dont want him sacked but.......' Someone's telling porkies.

 

If people want him sacked fair enough. Its all the bullshit hiding behind the 'but.......' that grips my shits.

 

I know more than one person in this list of wanting him sacked frequently says 'I dont want him sacked.'

 

an tha, Hades, BCM, JoeyJones65, TheFridge, JaminKibbler, Red House, SilverSong, skend04, ritchie, Robbo29, lroy, reece289, fungus, MokTheAfflicted, Nightcat, Soleilrouge, mouse1989, Phoenix, Jairzinho, Joey8FrogsLegs, ali, SPReds, Mr T, MichaelThomas, Creator Supreme, Funnneeeee, Docfoz, Jarvinja Ilnow, chrisbonnie, RazorBack, Brigant Moloch, Franny DelMucho, Ezekiel 25:17

[Brigant Moloch]

There's no "but" from me, I just think there's time for him to go.

[ratcatcher]

There's no "but" from me, I just think there's time for him to go.

 

That's fair enough. At least you're being upfront however much I disagree with you on it.

[boomer39]

sack him..ffs. no way.. but if they did sack him, who do we bring in???? 

[Reckoner]

Look closer guys, many people voted multiple times for each option, presumably to take the piss. Rightly too, any poll that has an option about despising someone trying to get Liverpool winning matches should be treated with utter fucking contempt.

[Brigant Moloch]

sack him..ffs. no way.. but if they did sack him, who do we bring in???? 

 

Frank De Boer, Emery, Klopp or Capello. Simeone out of reach.

[Faustus]

Capello?

 

Really? A man who's pushing 70 and been phoning it in for years now and has been criticised in Russia for stealing a wage?

[JermainePennant]

You could argue that some of his best decisions (on who to play etc) have come from injuries. Johnson and Lovren come to mind.

 

You could argue it, although I won't here obviously. 

 

Lovren was dropped almost immediately after Sakho came back from injury, it looks clearly like a tactical decision imo and is backed up by Lovren not getting a look in even when we have had injuries to cbs during games.

 

Johnson was dropped due to injury but either way his presence in the team is not a massive contributing factor to us winning or losing although he did get a winning goal just before his injury putting his body on the line for the team.

[JermainePennant]

Capello?

 

Really? A man who's pushing 70 and been phoning it in for years now and has been criticised in Russia for stealing a wage?

 

De Boer is a worse suggestion while Klopp is having a longer bad period then rodgers and is probably about as realistic as simeone.

 

And on Emery despite him doing a decent job the sevilla fans want him out as they cant stand his football, that along with him doing nothing special as a manager puts me off.