07 Mar 2015 08:24:47
So.
Rodgers wants to stay here for a long time.
I am on board with that.
I know people don't like his press conferences but I thought yesterday's one was very good.
Built a young team, basically saying we won't be buying much in the summer, concentrating on tying those already here to longer contracts.
The single most important reason why I like Brendan Rodgers is his ability to solve problems that arise.
Even he has admitted that he feared his job was on the line early on this season (rightly so as it is a results business) but the way he has found a solution is very impressive.
Contrast that with Moyes last season at United and Martinez this season at Everton.
It is difficult to stop the rot and climb out of it.
He is obviously a very good coach as the players seem to be improving all the time under him.
My biggest bug bear has always been Martin Skertel but Rodgers is even ironing out the errors in his game to the point where now I think he is a very good defender.
So, where does the future go with Rodgers and this team?
I look at the league and see Man City and Chelsea always being there or there abouts, United I can see struggling under Van Gaal( who will be gone in the summer in my opinion) and Arsenal who are perennial under achievers with a very capable squad.
Maybe Wenger will go in the next couple of years as well who knows.
Tottenham have given a few of their young lads a chance and a seem to be a decent side as a result.
But I think we can sit at the top or very close to the top of that pile for a sustained period of time.
We have very very very young players, a young manager and a very attack minded way of playing.
If we box clever then I can only see us reaching the top of that mountain.
I am never really optimistic about winning the league. I think it is a travesty that we have genuinely challenged for the league on no more than 4 occasions in the last 25 years.
But I really do think that we are onto something with this team, these owners and these players.
I welcome your thoughts guys and eds.
If I am wrong to think this way then tell me why?
07 Mar 2015 09:58:25
Agree with everything you've said. Although I hope we do sign in summer as everyone always strengthens. Need 2 real quality plays in my opinion.
07 Mar 2015 11:30:33
I think there could be 4 players coming in, 2 strikers, a CB and a GK. If Lucas leaves, a replacement will be bought.
07 Mar 2015 11:47:56
You like BR's ability to solve the problems that arise? i'm pretty sure it was BR's fault that the problems arose in the first place. I find it amusing you give him this credit for fixing the problems that he caused all on his own due to stubbornness or arrogance or incompetence. Though OP while he is a terrible manager, I agree with you that he is an excellent coach.
07 Mar 2015 14:24:51
Barnes, you make some excellent points and I agree with most of them. However, Brisbane`s post demonstrates excactly the reasons why your optimism though admirable and on point, is a bit excessive. The fear is not what our team nor BR are capable of. We have visual evidence of what they can do on the pitch which atimes is breath-taking and credit to him and the players. It`s all the other stuff (ego, failed system, media handling, unwillingness to accept a DOF, transfers and help where he clearly needs it) that many of us are wary of. The fact that he is unwilling to accept a DOF while managers bigger than him have them at their big clubs is just baffling to me and smacks of stupid pride, IMO. Mistakes will happen and nobody is perfect. But like Brisbane posted, his errors are all down to him and he is simply not learning so far and that has to be a worry even for you. These probs did not pop out of nowhere. It`s the same errors he`s been making since he got here and so far, there is no sign he will learn. I am hoping to b proven wrong, though for the good of LFC because he is a brilliant coach. We all have to recognize that fact and be ready to move forward with that in mind. Crediting him with fixing his own recurrent and IMO, unforced mistakes does not help and sounds convenient and blinkered. You`re an eternal optimist and I truly like that. But we must face facts and be willing to accept them. My hope is that he has learnt from this season and will work with the framework these good owners are putting in place because if he doesn`t, then unfortunately for many of us, he will be shown the door.
07 Mar 2015 14:52:20
Brisbane, get over it and stop the same old rhetoric, move on get behind your team and manager.
You have to take the word of Gerrard, Suarez, Sturridge, Couts, Sterling etc.etc at face value, they all praise him and his way of working as do others in the know. Rogers is great for LFC.
Moulding the youngsters into a solid exciting unit, with a bit more experience and a few key signings we will be set for years.
The other option is to sack Rogers and start all over again, which is why the club is in the position it is today.Faith mate and a little Patience.
07 Mar 2015 16:34:35
Well said Redohio. The problems that Brendan rectified were of his own doing in the first place. The man clearly needs help if he wants to win trophies with LFC. If he refuses then sack him because the club is bigger than him and what the owners want is more important than what Brendan demands. There is absolutely nothing special about him that makes me want him at LFC's helm for the long run. If he had not been so blinkered and obsessed with his possession based system for the better part of the last 3 seasons, then the club would have been in a much better place. What many fans are afraid of is his tendency to revert back to his beliefs at the expense of what actually works. Honestly, if De Boer makes his desire to manage LFC in the summer, i would go for him and let Brendan go if he refuses to work under a DOF who has more control over the football aspects of the club than him.
07 Mar 2015 23:17:01
I really hope that Brendan can be for us what Ferguson was for ManU. Sir Alex made plenty of mistakes too, but was given time and trust to rectify them and he did. I really hope the club will trust Brendan for a longer time. It's impossible to tell what a man is capable of until he tries and maybe he's not the right guy for us, but a lot of signs tell that he might just be. I really hope he is.
09 Mar 2015 08:20:29
I just wish I got as much credit at work (or anywhere really) for solving the problems that I went out of my way to make in the first place as BR does it life. Must be nice.
09 Mar 2015 10:56:00
It depends on whether you think Rodgers caused the problems or whether the situation dictated the problems.
I would say a bit of both.
But the important thing is he has learnt from mistakes that were his fault or not his fault.
The important thing is he is proactive.
I don't think he is perfect but I would rather have him at the helm than any other manager at the moment because he already has his feet under the table.
The transition phase has been completed under this manager.
He knows the squad inside out and our form reflects this.
The longer he has had with the players the better they are getting in terms of adjusting to the system that we play.
I see no reason to get rid at the moment.
And for me that is whether we finish 5th 4th or 3rd.
09 Mar 2015 12:50:11
I would say he caused the problem. If we were still playing well but toothless up front so things fell apart a little then fair enough, he wasn't able to adapt to losing all his goalscoring power which no matter what you spend, unless you buy one of 3 or 4 players in the world won't be easy. But the fact that he changed everything into that boring, ineffective nonsense was not forced and entirely on him. I don't dislike him or even particularly think he can't win us big things, I just wish a more balanced area between blaming him for everything and crediting with nothing, and the other way around, were allowed. Cleaning your own mess twice = slightly below equal footing for me. Building a great young squad = big plus. Needing to be forced to use our own academy and prefering to buy unproven, expensive players from Spain and Portugal = big minus. All in all? A little credit in his favour but not much. Great potential to draw it all together. Decent chance of losing the little credit he has next season (or even before the end of this one)