The 'Rodgers Out Campaign'....

[old skool tom]

From today's Guardian

 

Brendan Rodgers claimed there was a conspiracy to oust him from the Liverpool manager’s job after the pressure on his reign eased with a 3-2 win over Aston Villa. Daniel Sturridge scored twice, the injury-plagued striker’s first goals since March, after James Milner opened the scoring on 66 seconds against his former club to give Liverpool a first win in five Premier League matches. There were nervous moments for Rodgers when Rudy Gestede twice reduced the arrears for Tim Sherwood’s struggling side but, after seeing his side move within five points of leaders Manchester United, the Liverpool manager condemned the “hysteria” he believes has been deliberately stirred in recent weeks.

 

Related: Liverpool see off Aston Villa as Daniel Sturridge hits double

 

“I was never worried about the players,” said Rodgers on an improved display. “They have been absolutely brilliant this group here and they have worked very, very hard. I am pretty confident that there is a group of people that don’t want me to be here as manager. In all competitions this season we have lost less games than Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal.

 

“The hysteria around ourselves is interesting to note. Myself and the players stay very calm and work very hard, and they got their rewards.”

 

The Liverpool manager refused to identify who he believes is behind an alleged campaign to force him out of Anfield. However, he is believed to be aggrieved with the number of former Liverpool players turned media pundits who have criticised his team’s poor form and results in recent weeks. Jamie Carragher, Graeme Souness and Jamie Redknapp have all been critical in their roles for Sky, though, when pressed, Rodgers would only say: “I am talking about people outside of here.”

 

He added: “I think it is pretty clear. Sometimes we haven’t lost games and the hysteria around it is pretty clear. There is maybe something else going on from behind. I will continue working with the players – they have been absolutely first class – and we still have top class players to come back in.

 

“The players and the supporters were fantastic today, we gave them something to sing about. We are five points off the top with a lot of progress still to come.”

 

Discuss

[Paco]

There is no Rodgers out campaign.

 

wink wink.

[SasaS]

I think Rodgers should have better things to do than brousing threads on TLW.

[torahboy]

A win, against another struggling team with a piss poor manager, and he's off on a victim trip. The man who is really endangering his position is himself. Fucking prick.

[old skool tom]

Lets be honest,despite being one of his biggest (or should that be remaining?) supporters.

We've been shite for months and the performances are the reason he's under pressure.But he's got a right to feel paranoid because I also feel that Gerrard and friends see an opportunity to shoe horn our greatest ever player into the Anfield hotseat ASAP

 

The shite he has come out with lately is fucking embarrassing.First he said he left because he didn't wanna be a squad player and now he says he would of stayed if he was offered a coaching role?

 

But over all I just think The pressures been immense and he's letting off steam and come out fighting.Cant blame him really,hope the players do like wise and BR continues playing attacking footy so if he does go,he goes out fighting

[SlugTrail]

its not a conspiracy, that would mean people are keeping it secret, its pretty much the first topic debated for.most LFC fans, not if he should go but who should replace him

[Zak D'Indermorden]

As others have alluded to, what was called for today was a little humility. He would have won a fair few fans back today if he'd have shown some of that. As it is he's just pissed off most of the fanbase by acting billy big bollocks after we've endured a long period of shit football.

 

 

 

I can understand some of it, he's been under a lot of pressure lately but a hell of a lot of it has been his fault. His biggest problem seems to be that he's started to believe the bullshit he's been spouting and that's a dangerous direction to take for a bullshitter. 

[El Dangerous]

Lets be honest,despite being one of his biggest (or should that be remaining?) supporters.

We've been shite for months and the performances are the reason he's under pressure.But he's got a right to feel paranoid because I also feel that Gerrard and friends see an opportunity to shoe horn our greatest ever player into the Anfield hotseat ASAP

 

The shite he has come out with lately is fucking embarrassing.First he said he left because he didn't wanna be a squad player and now he says he would of stayed if he was offered a coaching role?

 

But over all I just think The pressures been immense and he's letting off steam and come out fighting.Cant blame him really,hope the players do like wise and BR continues playing attacking footy so if he does go,he goes out fighting

Gerrrard and co are trying to get Kenny his job back?

[Dr Nowt]

Coming out with that bollocks today was the managerial equivalent of Downing shushing the fans after finally scoring a fucking goal, in terms of flushing any goodwill it created straight down the toilet.

[Paco]

Gerrrard and co are trying to get Kenny his job back?

Gerrard Carra dream team with souness dof and redknapp chief exec.

[Paco]

It was the managerial equivalent of Downing shushing the fans, and if he hasn't learned by now he's never going to.

the same downing some on here were saying got a bum deal from rodgers recently because well its something else to beat rodgers with.

 

I d say the pressure is immense on him and he feels that after a first win in a while he should come out swinging.

 

cant really do it after a draw or defeat because that will be viewed as an excuse.

[G Richards]

There's no conspiracy against Rodgers. His team have been poor and so those in the media, ex-Red or otherwise, are right to do their job and point it out. If we were playing decent stuff and winning more games everyone would be delighted.

 

He got a reprieve in the summer and after winning the opening two games and doing OK at Arsenal, we were starting to look ahead again, albeit cautiously, because we finished last season so poorly and the wounds from that run deep. Since the Arsenal game it has been pretty dire stuff from us, and while I will welcome any Liverpool win, today against Villa wasn't too much to crow about.

 

The ridiculous thing about it all is that a simple home win against Norwich would see us now only 3 points off top spot.

[Jairzinho]

I d say the pressure is immense on him and he feels that after a first win in a while he should come out swinging.

 

 

I'm sure he does feel that, but it makes him look like a complete tit. It was our first win in about six games, he's won fuck all, ever, how about just not making a complete show of yourself and actually winning several football matches.

[Delmar]

its not a conspiracy, that would mean people are keeping it secret, its pretty much the first topic debated for.most LFC fans, not if he should go but who should replace him

 Mostly, people prefer to be quiet, not to humiliate the manager.  If even then this is the most debated topic, the conclusions should be easy.

[Iceman]

Saying there's a conspiracy against you when you've wasted loads of cash, don't know after 4 years who your best first XI is, have no solid spine to the team, pussied it twice in Europe, have just scraped past a Division FOUR team in the cup and have just today let in another 2 goals for the upmteenth time and had a striker who you didn't even want to sign bail you out of trouble is fucking ace trolling it has to be said. 

[littletedwest]

said this before but he is the football equivalent of Audley Harrison. Another journeyman dispatched and proclaiming he is destined to be world champion.

 

Brendan is the world heavyweight champion of liars to paraphrase true romance.

 

Also best not to proclaim you've won everyone over after beating a bottom five team by one goal at home.

[ritchie]

Conspiracy against Colin Pascoe from his best mate in the summer so the worm could keep his job after doing a spectacularly bad job last season.

[Dr Nowt]

the same downing some on here were saying got a bum deal from rodgers recently because well its something else to beat rodgers with.

 

I d say the pressure is immense on him and he feels that after a first win in a while he should come out swinging.

 

cant really do it after a draw or defeat because that will be viewed as an excuse.

 

Can't speak for others mate, but I didn't bash Rodgers over his treatment of Downing, I thought the lad was a coward who wasn't good enough for us and shushing the crowd was perfectly emblematic of why, so there are no double standards here on that one, and I often defend Rodgers against what I think is an over-excessive level of personal attacks and pettiness.

 

He's lost most of the fans though, including myself.  That has nothing to do with some group working outside the club who want him out.  There's speculation around his position as everyone knows he's a bad result or two away from getting the boot, because he's completely lost sight of what he wants to do and we're a total mess who are always liable to shit the bed.  Even things like playing Ings and Sturridge together up front has come about through luck, in the form of a £32.5M striker most felt in advance didn't suit our style of play being injured, rather than judgement. 

 

No doubt it's horrendous pressure to live under, we've seen what it did to the likes of Ged and Rafa, it's not nice to view and I'd rather it was over with sooner than later, but he's trying to sell a crock with his comments today and the last thing they'll do is engender any goodwill from fans who have doubts about him.  Quite the opposite.

[stringvest]

he did point the finger at some feline who goes out when it's dark.

[Gnasher]

If he wins games and trophies no conspiracy, if he dos'nt he'll be forever sleeping under a grassy knoll. Just the way it is.

[Section_31]

It's bollocks, Rodgers has had more slack than most managers I can remember, his transfer record is a diagrace, now we find out his biggest saving grace - sturridge - wasn't even wanted.

 

That's not a conspiracy, it just means you're not very good. Grow a dick, take some responsibility.

[Paco]

Mark Lawrenson: That's why Liverpool FC have been waiting on Daniel Sturridge07:00, 27 SEP 2015BY MARK LAWRENSONStriker underlines his value... while Dejan Lovren has made me look silly

 

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Liverpool's Daniel Sturridge celebrates grabbing his second and his side's third goal against Aston Villa

 

That’s what you get from Daniel Sturridge.

 

That’s why he has been such a big miss for Liverpool this season and last.

 

And that’s why, when he was knocking them in along with Luis Suarez, we nearly won the Premier League.

 

Having been sidelined for a lengthy time myself during my career, I can guarantee Sturridge will have been second-guessing himself when he stepped on to the field against Aston Villa.

 

He’ll have been asking himself whether he can still do it.

 

Whether his fitness could hold up, having not long been working again the main group, as Brendan Rodgers likes to call it.

 

Two goals later – and brilliantly taken they were too – and Sturridge will be flying.

 

Confidence is always a big thing in football. But I would say that for Sturridge, it’s a massive, massive part of his game.

 

You get the feeling that to get the best from the striker, he has to be 100% right in both body and mind.

 

Danny Ings has helped provide mobility to Liverpool's attack

 

After his brace against Villa, there’s no way he’ll be anything than 100% for the next Premier League game. And with it being at Everton, Sturridge will be needed.

 

Everybody recognises Sturridge is a great talent, it’s just keeping him on the pitch that has been the issue.

 

And that will, you suspect, always remain the case.

 

With two mobile forwards in Sturridge and Danny Ings, the difference in Liverpool’s game was noticeable. They could stretch the game and the midfield had more room in which to play.

 

Okay, there are still questions about the defence. But when you haven’t won a game over 90 minutes for some time, any win will do.

 

It’s a massive win for everyone, regardless of how much pressure the manager is under.

 

At times of crisis, Brendan Rodgers has turned to players he can rely on, which is why I was surprised to see Lucas Leiva play such a big part.

 

A lot of work he does is unseen.

 

He’s always been that kind of player, but it’s on days like against Villa, with the defence wobbling and the attack firing, that the Brazilian comes into his own.

 

It looks as though Rodgers has decided a back three is the way to go for now, not least with the crocked Dejan Lovren unavailable.

 

It wasn’t convincing, but maybe the time has come for the manager to stick with it.

 

I'm not feeling the Lov right now

 

How good a judge of player am I not?

 

I always, always thought Dejan Lovren would turn the corner.

 

Call it loyalty for a fellow centre-back, but I have always been willing to defend him.

 

He had a spell of two or three good games at the start of this season and you thought 'you know what, maybe he's going to fine'.

 

Wrong. His decision-making is absolutely awful. Awful.

 

What on earth was he thinking for the goal Carlisle scored in midweek? He should have gone and closed the ball down, not least as there were two other centre-backs to cover.

 

Instead he came rushing out. It's like he had never, ever defended before in his life, let alone been a £20million international centre-back.

 

The Carlisle game was a great on for Dejan Lovren

 

You never want anyone to be injured, and you wouldn't wish a serious injury on anybody.

 

But the timing of Lovren's absence could be a blessing in disguise for both player and team.

 

It's now a big chance for Mamadou Sakho to stake a regular claim and maybe even for Joe Gomez to, at some stage, impress in his favoured position.

 

Roberto Firmino will also be missing for a while, and that's another injury that ultimately could prove beneficial to the player.

 

I don't know what his best position is. Is he a number 10? Is he a second striker? Is he one of a three? And does he play on the left or the right?

 

One thing I do know is that he looks very lightweight for the Premier League.

 

His time in the stands could help him, as it gives him a chance to look at the game.

 

It's part of his education. He can see how the team plays and imagine his role in the team in the position he wants to play.

 

Sound of silence is concerning

 

Liverpool's strong line-up against Carlisle United underlined Brendan Rodgers realising the importance of the game.

 

There comes a time when you simply have to pick what you reasonably think to be your best team.

 

It doesn't matter if you scruff a win – you just need to get the victory.

 

And that's how Rodgers will have looked at the progress against the League Two side.

 

It wasn't pretty. It wasn't convincing.

 

The most worrying thing about Carlisle was that against Norwich City a few days earlier, it appeared there were green shoots of recovery given the manner in which we got lots of players forward and should have won the game – we had enough chances.

 

Scarves... but not much noise last Wednesday

 

But the performance against Carlisle was arguably the worst performance of the season up to that point.

 

Certainly, it was worse than the defeat at Manchester United because we went into the game with greater confidence and Carlisle are not a front-running Premier League club.

 

If you look at the last 20 minutes in midweek, we still played with three centre-backs despite the fact Carlisle didn't come within 40 yards of our goal for the most part. I couldn't understand it.

 

The other thing was the sound of silence: it was a real Simon and Garfunkel moment.

 

I was watching the game at LFC TV and I said to the lads 'listen to that'. They responded 'we can't hear anything' and that was the entire point. Apart from some noise from the Carlisle end, there was nothing.

 

I wasn't at every game when certain reigns were coming to an end. But, for a cup game, I have never, ever 'heard' that before at Anfield.

 

Rodgers says is straight - for once

 

There's been a fair bit of chatter about Brendan Rodgers' demeanour at his pre-match media conference on Friday.

 

Some people said it was the Reds boss coming out fighting in the face of increasing speculation over his job.

 

For me, though, it was more him accepting his situation and being very matter-of-fact about it.

 

'Yes!'

 

It's a shame he hasn't been quite as straightforward and straight-talking previously during his reign.

 

But ultimately it's results on the pitch that will decide his fate.

[Section_31]

'We' nearly won the league?

[bossy]

He can't help himself can he? A team plays badly and people on telly say so. No conspiracy just opinions.

[Bjornebye]

End days