The modern day Liverpool supporter is not unlike Private Joker in Full Metal Jacket. Born to fight for the collective cause, but with a peace sign on the side of his helmet. We want Liverpool to grow, and to win, and to dominate, but we’re not so sure we want to go through what it takes to make that happen.
It’s an unfortunate metaphor, maybe, but there’s no escaping it right now. We might not be aware of it, but we have a difficult decision to make. A cold hard dillemma to address. There’s no easy choice, and both options will involve sacrifice, patience and pain.
What we saw yesterday was one symptom of a game that’s founded on collective belief. When you hear Brendan Rodgers talk about the game, you hear that kind of rhetoric a lot, don’t you?
“I like my players to show their character, and their belief, and their charisma, and their imagination, and I want them to be brave on the ball, and I’ll fight for my life for…”
OK, so I lapsed into a little B-Rod Bingo at the end there, but it’s true, isn’t it? If you’re building a game based on ‘tiki-taka’, or ‘pass and move’, or ‘circulation football’ – whatever you call it – the ability to make the play is going to wholly depend on your belief as a group that you can pull it off. The belief that you can do it yourself, and that when you give your team mates the ball, they can do it too.
That’s why the Barca coaches insist on them warming up using the Rondo, the Rondo, the Rondo, talking of it as the barometer of their mood before any given tie. If the pre-match Rondo is tight, light-hearted, quick, sharp, and full of energy and audacity, then all is well with their world. Their team is replete with confidence, and each team member believes in his team mates, trusting them with the ball. If it’s not working well, on the other hand…
Building that belief generally takes time, graft, and a fair wind. It’s impossible without support. But here we are just after our third competitive game of the season, and many fans are wringing their hands, while prominent media figures are drawing all sorts of definitive conclusions about the so-called inadequacies of Rodgers’ work to date. Hansen wants the centre halves to launch it, counter-intuitively enough. The Sunday Supplement boys feel the defence is all at sea. Yeah, so much so that we’ve had to fight off megabucks bids from Manchester City for two of them. The team lacks heart, the team lacks fight, the same old same old finishing problem, the ‘glaring need for a striker’.
It’s all cobblers. It barely even matters which players we end up with. OK, it would have been nice had we nicked Sahin, because in terms of collective confidence, the squad needs as many archetypal midfield cogs for the Rodgers mechanism as it can reasonably muster – all upgrades are welcome. But even then, given time, the game plan will bed in, and the level of fundamental belief will grow. It takes commitment and patience, but with time consistent levels of performance will come, and they’ll come as a by-product of the group’s collective belief, integration, and empathy. Things that will grow. But only with sustenance and time.
Barca’s rondo has tended to work very well for most of the last few seasons, hasn’t it? It’s taken time and investment, as well as patience. Of course their starting point and the resources at their disposal were somewhat different when they started out under Guardiola; but the point stands. with time their belief grew. Even when the wheels came off from time to time, they played and played, passing from the back when under pressure (that’s right Alan Hansen, even when you might not have done), even when having a man sent off, even away from home against Hiddink’s Chelsea in the dying seconds of a European Cup semi 2nd leg.
It’s why little old Rodgers, with his side 1-0 down to Man Utd at home in the early part of last season, asked them at half time if they’d swapped their shirts with the big stars in the other side yet, because if they had, maybe they could get back to playing their own game again. If you don’t believe in your right to do it yet, you need a jolt to remind you of it.
When the wheels come off, a playmaking style of game can really take a knock, because suddenly you’re looking around and you don’t feel secure in the knowledge that your team mate’s gonna do what he should with the ball. Things go wrong. Wondergoals fly in. Referees make questionable decisions. Bewildered stares abound. And it takes a little reassurance and calm to restore order.
So be calm. Rest assured it’ll come. Allen has shown what he will add. He’s a wonderful little player. Lucas is almost back fully fit.
Do you love your football club?
Then how ‘bout getting with the program? Why don’t you jump on the team and come on in for the big win?
Thank you. Sanity and hope restored. Down with the doom and gloom mongerers!
I agree with a lot of what you say. But please can you not shy away from the following Question i have in the pod?
1. What does playing Carra do to help us? Why give him games when there is a perfectly good youngster waiting for games? I know about his contribution to the team , etc…. Will he even Sunderland’s number 3 any more? Lukaku turned him an omlete…
2. Why do we make space for Joe Cole but there is no number for Pacheco. If you are a player and JC cant do 15 mins in 2 games back to back. Why is BR persisting with him?
3. We needed a clear goal scorer. Why are we not after a true finisher to address our problems from last season.
I don’t understand this clamour for Pacheco. He couldn’t get a game for Rayo Vallecano last year. Joe Cole lacks fitness, and hasn’t produced for a fair few years, but at least there used to be a player there.
Coates is also a talented youngster but very mistake laden so what alternative to playing Carragher.
SSR. Bore off.
Why have a comment section if you tell your readers to f£&€ off. Love the pod. Love the club. Since we can’t ask the club these questions, I thought you could do it in the pod. At least you guys get to go to Anfield. Have access to jcheng etc. I trust in our destiny to be winners again. Can’t have a revolution without a few heads in the floor. Just belief is not enough.
SSR, I don’t know if you’re taking the mickey here, but assuming you’re not, “Bore off” does not equate to “Fuck off”. I’ve never actually been on the pod. The article talks about the need for patience and my view that it doesn’t really matter what players we bring in. You respond by asking to cover stuff on the podcast about what players we bring in. Fair enough, you didn’t maybe get my point, but if you want something covered on the podcast, add a comment on one of the podcast posts. All the best.
No need to be a bell end, is there Roy?
Besides, question 2 was a good one – Why is Pacheco getting a place in the first team?
* I mean, why isn’t he get a first team place.
Good article, but I’d argue we do ‘need’ a striker. Our passing can be as assured, incisive, and ultimately lethal as we like, if we continue to finish as we did in the first half we’ll see many more frustrating afternoons over the course of the season that don’t boil down to fortune or refereeing decisions.
This isn’t a knee jerk, either. Sure, it’s the first game of the season, but the profligacy we showed in the first half was almost identical to that which cost us so dearly last season. Suarez is a boss creator, and a fantastic mover inside the box, but he’s not a prolific goal scorer.
It was said that the club acknowledged how we hadn’t replaced Torres, as long ago as last summer, we really need to do something about that if we aspire to climb the table, no matter how slick the passing further down the pitch. We need a player who can take a single chance, and change a game.
Suarez can do it, he did it in the FA Cup against Everton, for example, but he can’t be relied upon to do it. Carroll, too, has missed too many gilt-edged, gaping chances over the course of last season to have me doubting his ability to be relied upon, too.
Just a thought.
Well said, Rob, but while everything you say is right, it’s not hard to feel deflated. Now it seems Sahin has decided against it – while I’d never want to sign a player vascillating over signing, it’s still a bit of a kick in the knackers. We still haven’t sorted Agger’s contract, ditto Skrtel’s. And while I’m optimistic Rodgers is the man, another candidate we spurned, Laudrup, got off to a flyer. Not that it matters to supporters, but I think we may actually have to wait for financial fair play to really take hold before we can be really competitive again at top four level.
Good article Roy, and thank you for writing it. For me, the excitement and promise of the new system was on full display in the first half yesterday. It’s obviously early days, and there will be hiccups, but 24+ hours later I’m more excited than anything. Seeing Allen & Lucas as the base of the midfield for the next few years is going to be fantastic. With that pivot in place, the rest will come in time.
Yes, the loss was disappointing, but any loss is…no reason for people to make it out to be more than it is, especially at the very beginning of the new regime. Perhaps people were spoiled by the free-flowing display in the 2nd leg against Gomel?
Anyway, going off of your Full Metal Jacket Theme, I’d like to add the following:
*To the moaners after one league game – “What is your major malfunction, didn’t Mommy and Daddy show you enough attention as a child?”
*To doubters of the system – “[Liverpool] does not want to build robots…we want to build indestructible men, men without fear.”
*To Joe Cole – “You look like 150 pounds of chewed bubble gum.” =)
Apologies, Roy. Typo.
Enjoyed this. A teeny piece of right-thinking flotsam bobbing along atop an ocean of internet bullshit. More please.
“It barely even matters which players we end up with.”
That sounds similar to the attitude Hitchcock had towards actors.
It’s important to remember that Barcelona are the world’s highest-paid sports team and this is because they have a number of players regarded as the best in the world in their position. Having a defined system of play is important but how far it will take you will depend on the quality of its components.
Superb.
Wish more people had your sense of perspective.
I think people forget that Swansea did not just start playing in this way last season when they joined the premier league. They had this method drilled into them over several seasons. It will take a while for Liverpool to be as fluent and confident under this new system.
good man hope is a four letter word but by god it is a good one
I was feeling glum this gloomy Monday morning, after the awful result on Saturday. Feeling optimistic for the two games this week now.
Somone on the podcast said he belived we would get tonked at some point this season. Nice to get it out of the way early I say.
Brilliant stuff. 1 game and the kneejerk internet bullshit has started. we need to give this a chance and take the knocks when they come. Rome wasnt built in a day.
Nice attitude, same as mine really. I didnt expect the baggies to beat us but I was prepared to be bottom of the table after 6 games. It will click, hopefully sooner rather tha later.
BTW that a banner or a t shirt right there:
Do you love your football club?
Then how ‘bout getting with the program? Why don’t you jump on the team and come on in for the big win?
Great post and exactly what many fans need to read to calm themselves down after West Brom. We aren’t anywhere near guarenteed a top 4 spot this season in what is the toughest season I can remember in all of the Premiership – how strong / solid do Man City, Man U, Arsenal, Chelsea look this year along with the ever impressive Newcastle and Tottenham in a similar position to ourselves. Newcastle should be seen as an example to us, I thought the appointment of Pardew was foolish but as usual a football fan can be made to look as foolish as easily as a manager, hack or player, they have spent amazingly well and built a team with a solid structure, something we should admire and also take some hope from.
The thing we have now under Rodgers is a clear direction that the majority of Liverpool fans hankered for especially after the drab and dire Hodgson spell. Even Dalglish’s direction when it started to kick in (footballing wise), was counter to what most would want for Liverpool and despite us all always holding King Kenny up as a deserved hero, we should be bold enough to admit that.
Easily the most enjoyable football I’ve seen us play in the last few years was the short spell post hodgson when the players seemed to revel in the release of the ‘4-4-2 direct’ shackles, under the seemingly unrestrictive (‘Arry Redkanpp style) tactics of ‘go out there and play your game’ – Because of the players we had then; Lucas, Spearing, Meireles, Maxi, Kuyt + Suarez naturally tended towards the intricate quick passing style of football, it worked wonders and we tore teams apart. I hope that is exactly where we can get to again and I still think it’s a shame Dalglish didn’t stick to this path with a few shrewd signings rather than the Adam + Downing supplying Carroll game plan he headed towards. Allen is an upgrade to Spearing it’s just a shame we couldn’t have held on to Maxi, Kuyt and Bellamy for one more season to help things bed in (whilst clearing the squad of Downing, Cole and Adam).
Anyway, we can’t let the ever vocal minority (thanks Twitter..) and the capricious media voices who are pouncing on anything that will get comments and page views let us lose a man with a plan as concise and clear and inline with the core fans’ thinking as Rafa, who we should never have let go in the first place.
Finally, all this jumping on the ‘Suarez isn’t a goalscorer bandwagon’, it’s nonsense, he’s the best player we’ve had in a long long time and knows full well where the back of the net is, he’s just clearly down on a bit of confidence and missing backup from others plumping up with a goal or two to help him out. And despite all of that he’s still pretty much always man of the match.
‘Wondergoals fly in. Referees make questionable decisions. Bewildered stares abound. And it takes a little reassurance and calm to restore order…’ Truth.
And that reassurance and calm, should come, out on the pitch at least, from the captain. But it didn’t. Gerrard was like a rabbit in the headlights. Brendan doesn’t have to convince me, I’m with the guy all the way – but it looks like his players have some distance to go.
Good stuff,
If it were FM 12 95% would quit without saving and start over to preserve a perfect start to the season, in the real world that privilege is not afforded. How anything can be gleaned from the first league game of the season in relation to where we are at now or will be come the end of the season is a mystery. Come the end of the transfer window we will have a group of players to take us to the next window opening and then through to the next season. Not the team in it’s fully evolved state but a team in evolution, there are no cheats available to make it happen just hard work and time. Until then enjoy the highs make the best of the lows and support the club.
Whilst watching the Gomel match away via a dodgy internet stream I was alarmed, I then watched the return match on TV and felt reassured and then watched us play Bayer Leverkusen and felt even more reassured.
I then watched the second half against WBA with increasing concern and spent time reflecting what had happened. I admit I’m a glass half full person but I remain convinced that with BR taking us forward we are on the right track.
Rome wasn’t built in a day and BR’s system with the first fifteen can’t be implemented and executed in a few weeks. This is going to take longer and the team have to learn to consistently retain possession, win it back when its lost and get a breather when won back. It sounds simple but its a world away from what most of them have been used to. Even Gerrard who is one of the top 10 midfielders in the world has got to learn that at 0-0 or when we are not comfortably winning he cannot do a hollywood ball that is less than 80% chance of getting to its target because its against the principles of our system! The ball is our friend!
We must keep the faith. Sure, some of the players aren’t gonna be up to it in the long term, but I think another of the advantages of Rodgers is that he excels in improving his players.
Things to be positive about.. Brendan Rodgers, our new system, Lucas is back, Suarez and Skrtl have re-signed, Joe Allen looks class, Borini will score goals (given some service), Assaidi is still to come, we’ve got players who were in the first team last year who want to stay and raring to show us what they can do in cup games and the Europa league. etc etc. YWNA
Part of rodgers remit was to get more from the existing players- thats fair enough, but you cant dress mutton as lamb for long.
Luis needs to be playing with better forwards than Downing.
in my opinion, how well we do this season is dependent on who else we bring in before the window closes.
we are thin on the ground as we are, especially if one considers that carroll, cole, adam and spearing are unwanted.
The board need to back rodgers a bit more if they want us to be in the mix come april/may. in my armchair based opinion that is.
I totally agree, we need to back the managers idea’s with players to fit his style and on far less wages then players unwanted, FSG need to step out of the shadows because our net spend over last two summer winners isn’t that much. Spend more on transfer fees and pay less wages will balance these figures and really strengthen the squad overall.
I totally agree, the amount of stupidity after the first game from all clubs and pundits well 99% anyway has been nothing short of ridiculous, Yes I walked home after watching our 3-0 defeat and I was in shock and wondered what happened. Then I got home and thought of the positives and straight away thought we can redeem ourselves soon again and its best now it happens then a run in in April or May. Of course there is problems needed fixing, like going down to ten men and introducing Carra, damage limitation why? Cole and Adam on the bench ahead of Sterling,Coates, Morgan but it is early days and BR will learn like he did from this painful defeat that we could of been more positive and took a more measured approach at 1-0 down and to get rid of Cole due to his dodgy injuries.