Liverpool Must Stay the Course with Jolly Rodgers

25 April 2015 14:55

After an extremely exciting beginning to his managerial career, Brendan Rodgers is now beginning to polarise opinion, not just with the neutral, but also with Liverpool fans. Weather you love or hate his mind-numbing, relentless positivity, which inevitably comes post match regardless of result or performance, it is his ability to manage on the biggest stage that has people conflicted. Tipped as the new breed of young, forward thinking managers, this seasons short-comings have cast doubt over whether he is the right man for the Liverpool job.

At the end of the 2011/12 premier league season, Brendan Rodgers stock was high, a disciple of Jose Mourinho (though he had coached at reading previously), he had continued Roberto Martinez's work at Swansea, and finished a respectable 11th. However, it was the manor of Swansea's play that grabbed the attention, quick passing, and possession football was their philosophy, and it shouldn't be forgotten that Liverpool signed him for this reason, as a long term successor to Kenny Dalglish.

Rodgers first season at Liverpool was a transitional one. His first mandate was to cut the wage bill, which he did impressively. Players like Reina, Kuyt, Aquilani, and eventually Downing and Carroll were all dismissed. Meanwhile, the team was playing with lots of possession, and creating lots of chances, but they drew too many games, eventually finishing 12 points off the champions’ league places in 7th. Still, Rodgers was calm, he had a plan and this was just the first phase.

We all know what happened last season, the team played, at times, mesmerising football. They had, arguably, the best striker in Europe in Luis Suarez, and Daniel Sturridge, against all odds, managed to stay fit for more or less the whole season. They were helped, also, by the other teams going through their own transitional periods, Man United and Chelsea had new managers, and Spurs had lost Gareth Bale. Liverpool's league position aided by a perfect storm of factors, but it was deserved. However, even then, Rodgers was claiming his team were ahead of schedule with their plan, although only 'one year' ahead according to Rodgers.

This year, as results at the beginning of the season, and again recently have been below par, and Rodgers reputation as one of Europe's best young managers is beginning to wane. When the team is doing well and all your ideas are working, all the management talk is bearable, but when it's attached to a losing outfit, then it all becomes a little more David Brentesque. That amazing season may well be the worst thing that could have happened for Liverpool, expectations rose, but as Rodgers said they were ahead of schedule.

Liverpool can't compete with the Manchester clubs for money (and brand name), and they will lose out on players to Chelsea and Arsenal because of money and location (see Alexis Sanchez). So Rodgers has had to go a different way, he has invested in youth. Can, Markovic, Sterling, Ibe, Origi, these are the players Liverpool could compete for, and Rodgers may still mould them into a champions league team at least, however, I would think that he is still more than a year from really competing again.

By doing this, Rodgers, and FSG are taking a gamble, but it may be their best chance, and if they are planning to do it with aesthetically pleasing football, Rodgers may well be the man to do it. FSG have bought into what Rodgers believes and I think he will be given the opportunity to follow that through, but they need one big signing to replace Suarez and that will be Rodgers biggest test, with the club now unlikely to be amongst Europe’s elite next season.

Make no mistake, Rodgers is an excellent manager, players like him, and he is as tactically astute (at least in an attacking sense) as any manager in the premier league. Even with the Suarez sale, Liverpool were investigated over FFP. The club just doesn’t generate enough revenue, so what Rodgers has done is really quite impressive, creating a team which plays exciting football, built on youth. The fans must keep faith in Rodgers, he is their best chance of a top 4 finish. Additionally, Rodgers brand of possession football should, in theory, measure up well to European teams, so even if Liverpool do end up in the Europa league next season, that may be a realistic chance to win a trophy, and gain champions league football next season.

As Rodgers said, the title tilt last year was ahead of schedule, and while they were entitled to enjoy the ride, Liverpool fans must temper their expectations as it will be a huge task to overhaul the current top 4. Rodgers often tells us how Liverpool are a 'massive club', and historically, and in the British Isles, this is very much true. However, football is now a global sport and to compete, Liverpool must become a global brand, something FSG are only too aware of. But as far as Rodgers is concerned, he seems to have the backing of the club in the long term, and I think they will be willing to see where the Rodgers experiment goes. But it is the fans that need have the same faith in Rodgers as FSG, I’m not sure where they would find a better man for the job, as Newcastle fans can attest to, you don’t always know what you have got until it’s gone!

Source: DSG