FIRST of all, Brendan Rodgers is NOT “a fraud”. It seems madness that after a first defeat since December in the league many have reverted to levelling this at the manager once again.
Constructive criticism, discussion and analysis is fine, but some of the things thrown at the boss have been unfair. I think his tactical flexibility while in charge of Liverpool has been nothing short of sensational. He has been brave in trying different set ups and different formations and they have worked.
Rodgers switched to a diamond and he got it working last season, his side scoring 101 goals in the league and winning 84 points, finishing just two points behind Manchester City with a total bettered only once by Liverpool in the Premier League era and only four times by the Reds since three points for a win was introduced in 1981-82.
This season, he has turned things around with the 3-4-2-1 formation. He has got that working, too, with the form before the defeat to United at Anfield at title-chasing levels. I don’t see how you can give him anything other than praise for that. He has got results with what are very much his own methods.
From the outside looking in, where my concerns lie about Liverpool at the moment is a possible question over the level of preparation for the players. Those concerns stem from what looks like a bit of confusion around the players’ understanding of their roles, especially the front three and what they are supposed to do without the ball.
Against Swansea and Manchester United, the opposition set up exactly how I thought they would. It shouldn’t have come as any surprise to Liverpool, yet Daniel Sturridge looked completely lost. When he was pressing no one else was. Then he would drop off when the two behind him were trying to press. Neil Atkinson has referenced on a couple of Anfield Wrap shows that in the ground he could see Coutinho pointing at other players and saying to the manager and his staff: “Where do you want me?”
It seems that either Liverpool are laying down great plans and the players don’t know how to execute them, or the coaching staff are maybe not preparing them correctly pre-game when it comes to a plan without the ball. I think there is some confusion in the side in recent games and that’s causing Liverpool to sit deeper than the manager would ideally want. In turn, that is then affecting the team with the ball.
If you think back to some of Liverpool’s best performances in recent history, Real Madrid in 2009, or even Manchester City last season, I don’t think of us rolling the ball out from the back and being like a Pep Guardiola side. I remember us being full of high intensity and being 100 miles an hour, winning the ball back quickly in the middle of the pitch and being quite direct, springing attacks and taking advantage of space.
Liverpool as a club has seemed like one that if it’s great without the ball, it’s great with it. It’s been the club’s identity for a long time. That hasn’t been the case in recent games.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eywxh5L6W4
It can be difficult to get over your plans to a dressing room at times. What we can say with some certainty is that Brendan Rodgers didn’t turn to his team before Manchester United and say let’s give them 60-70 per cent possession of the ball. He will have wanted them to press and be on the front foot.
But if you want that, you have to sit in a team meeting and say ‘you three up front, this is how you press’. They are then backed up by the midfield but the plan also needs explaining to the wing backs and the back three. If the attacking players are pressing high and aggressively up the pitch, is the plan to go one v one at the back? Are you accepting that if the opposition beat the press you are exposed and relying on recovery runs from midfielders?
Or, do you say to your front three, ‘I don’t want to be exposed at the back so we’re still going to press but just not as high’? You’ve got to be clear what areas you are pressing in, who is doing it and when.
If the defence is deep, and the wingbacks stay deep but Sturridge presses high, the side is completely disjointed. It leaves the striker very isolated because when we win the ball back the two centre mids and the wing backs are 50 yards away — Liverpool haven’t looked compact enough and the system doesn’t look like it’s working without the ball.
Against Swansea and United, Rodgers could have instructed Sturridge to sit on the opposition’s holding midfield player and let their centre backs have it at 0-0. They aren’t going to keep it all game, they have to come forward at some point or there will be a sloppy pass that offers an opportunity.
Then you might say to Coutinho or Lallana, ‘you can keep an eye on their full backs’. That gives licence in turn for our wing backs to push higher and pressure the opposition’s wide men and we are not exposed in midfield. The alternative is squeezing the wing backs up very high and playing a very high line but potentially going man for man at the back.
If some press and some don’t, as we have seen, that spells problems. When you see players confused and looking around in games, asking questions about who they are picking up that has a knock-on effect to how you play when you do win the ball. If you’re not in fifth gear without the ball, how do you get into it when you’ve got it?
When I last wrote something for The Anfield Wrap, I was praising the buy-in Rodgers had achieved with the formation change before the Manchester United game at Old Trafford.
At that time, it looked like a system that was getting the best out of most of the players on the pitch. On the whole the players were clearly happy.
The problem you have after a bad result is that your players are leaving the pitch having chased shadows for 90 minutes and they will be thinking that either you as a manager didn’t have the right plan, or that you didn’t explain it well enough.
They will be walking into the dressing room and saying: “What’s going on? I’m pressing here – where were you?” And another player might be saying: “Well I’ve got these problems!”
If that goes on for more than a game or two, you’ve got the opposite of the buy-in — you’ve got players maybe starting to question your methods. They could be starting to think ‘our manager’s not helping us’.
It’s often just a case of some tactical tweaks. Off the ball problems should be easier to solve. I always say I can ruin your Van Gogh picture just by drawing a muzzy on it — see how much it is valued at then. To destroy a football game and be defensive is not that difficult. But if I say replicate that Van Gogh, do me another one? That’s difficult. You want all your energies, and all the players’ focus, on what they do with the ball.
The other factor is reacting to how the opposition set up. Is Rodgers saying to them, ‘if they do this, we conquer it with that’? There is a lot of focus on 3-4-2-1 because of how the last few games have gone but this isn’t system specific. It’s something else that will get you buy in with the players.
On 3-4-2-1 specifically, it’s the hardest system I have ever coached because it’s basically the same system with and without the ball. Most other formations aren’t — they change, they are fluid.
With 3-4-2-1 you have unique criteria for the roles. For your outside centre halves, do you have a full back who can play centre back, a centre back who is better on the ball than your average centre back or a midfielder playing in the back three?
For your wing backs, do you play a winger who has got an engine and can get back or a full back who isn’t that great getting forward compared to an orthodox winger? Even your midfield isn’t playing how it would in a 4-2-3-1 set up, the gaps are totally different. Normally, they are not roles any player has learned growing up; it is a demanding system and requires a lot of coaching. It creates a lot of questions about who squeezes the full backs and how bold you are. Do you leave your centre backs three v three? Sometimes you can’t go too bold as you won’t get that buy in from the players.
The other problem is teams playing one up front. You can be left with a centre back too many and that can leave you an attacking player down. Then you can have a situation where you aren’t getting enough players into the box. If you look at Arsene Wenger against a side with one striker (particularly the bottom 13 sides in the league), he will keep two centre halves,a holding midfielder to cover and he will say to the rest that they can go to join in, go and attack.
When I used 3-4-2-1 we kept four clean sheets in a row and we never looked like conceding a goal. But I also felt a goal was never coming for us. It never felt like we had a team on the rack. The weaknesses of the system are how you squeeze their defenders without leaving yourself exposed. With the ball you’re an attacker light and in transition you can struggle to get people in the box due to how deep/far away the wing backs and centre midfielders are in transition.
The strengths are it’s a fantastic system to use against 4-4-2, as we saw against Manchester City. And it’s a good system once you are ahead in a match. It’s also a surprise to most coaches to come up against it because it’s so rarely used. Initially, at least.
But what we’ve seen recently to counter act it is wingers occupying the space between the outside centre halves and the wing backs, cutting out passing options, stopping five of our players by using only three, as Neil has correctly referenced recently. If a team presses you high you have to go more direct to your front three but when you’re picking players for this system you’re not normally picking players who like direct football because of the technical ability and fluidity required.
By playing the system regularly Liverpool are giving top coaches a lot of time to get the tactics board out with the staff and work out how to combat it.
The decision facing Rodgers and his staff now is what the Plan B is. 3-4-2-1 is Plan A. But they have to identify — and get the players to identify — the circumstances where they are struggling and need to turn to Plan B. They might say this is something they can’t identify until 10 minutes in — that it will need a shout from the bench or from the leaders in the team. And then, when they recognise that situation, they change. So the opposition is putting three up top to squeeze us? Fine, we go direct to the two in the gaps, or to the frontman, and we’ve taken seven or eight of theirs out of the game. Or you hit deep opposition territory for 10-15 minutes. The team will then subconsciously drop, giving you space. It’s what Guardiola did against Valencia regularly due to their phenomenal high pressing strategy and it was a very effective counter. It gave Guardiola’s side space to play. Eventually.
Ultimately, the question for Rodgers is which players he wants to get the best out of. And the answer to that is probably his attacking players: Sturridge (when fit), Sterling, Coutinho, Lallana, Markovic.
At Arsenal I’d be tempted to go to a diamond. It would worry me going with the system Rodgers has favoured recently because they have technically good midfielders and forwards and full backs that like to bomb on.
It feels like everyone is down after United and down because we face such a tough game next and that’s why I think there may be something in saying ‘we go 4-4-2 diamond, and we hit these hard, we’re treating it like a cup final’. You have to sometimes think what does your dressing room need and they might need a call to arms here. We are Liverpool. Let’s remember that. No task insurmountable and we can win anywhere against anybody.
Arsenal will more than likely score, the form they are in. So we have to go there planning for scoring two goals at least. We have the ability to do it and maybe it is time to shock other teams again.
I think the focus has to be on getting the best out of the players that can make a difference. Getting the best out of Sterling is now a priority. Sterling in peak form helps us win games of football and will do those contract talks no harm. Sterling at wing back will do the opposite. It will be interesting to see if Rodgers thinks the same come Saturday at 12.45.
Sean is manager of Mold Alexandra FC in the Cymru Alliance Division and holds a Uefa B licence. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sean_Rogers
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I wouldn’t worry about Sturridge looking lost He’s finished for the season anyway.
Listen I love rodgers but it’s time we move him on he’s had 3 years and failed terribly in the transfer market.
This team is all his, save Hendo and sterling(even if he promoted him) Not fogetting no top player wants to play for him. He f@cked up last year not shutting up shop against Chelsea and beating them at their own game or just have sat deep and held on againSt palace. We’ve waited 25 years for a league title and enough is enough.
While arsenal are being linked to reus we’re being linked to Danny fcuking ings to improve our already sh$tty strikeforce.
The owners should really grow some balls and finally hire a top class European league winner and judging on how rafa turned out it’s not the worst thing to do.
We need a top class coach and brendan rodgers is not.
What ever people are saying about our record since the turn of the year….We are still only fifth. Every time we get to the cusp of something great we blow it (ie cfc and palace last year and last Sunday against a very average United )because he doesn’t have a winner’s mentality simply because hes never won anything trophy wise. It’s three years since we won a trophy and this cannot continue. I’m sick of next year will be our year. We’ve said it for far too long
go back to Twitter with the nonsense.
I hear this view that Rodgers cost us the league regularly, and that we only needed a draw against Chelsea and that we were naive. I don’t doubt there’s an answer but I genuinely would like someone to explain to me what it means. I don’t know much but my memory is that up until 45 minutes nothing had happened whatsoever. I certainly didn’t see Mignolet sprinting up the pitch for our corners. I wondered if I was mistaken so I checked out the BBC match report. It clearly says no chances for either side in the first half apart from an early Cole effort and Sakho missing the target. Nothing. Surely, that’s ideal. I don’t see passing it around the back on 47 mins as too adventurous. Just so happened there was one of those one in a thousand times when you slip.
So, maybe my understanding of the accusation is wrong or I missed something from the match. Like I say, I’m sure the explanation is correct but I’d appreciate Ake or anyone else spelling it out for me. I did ask once before but no one replied. It made me wonder if they were full of shit but I’m sure that’s not the case. Thanks in advance.
Nothing much happened because that’s how Chelsea set up. To wait for us to make a mistake and then capitalize.
Liverpool’s last line being on the halfway, with Gerrard in that position, a massive sign of tactical naivety. We should have sat back and played out the most boring 90 minutes in PL history. Mourinho giftwrapped the draw and Rodgers was too arrogant and naive to take it.
Is a mistake poor tactics from the manager?
“Chelsea set up to wait for us to make a mistake and then capitalize”.
Hindsight’s a wonderful thing.
Not hindsight at all. Was clear as day at the time.
Because, obviously, if we’d have sat back there’s absolutely no chance that would have drawn Chelsea onto us, allowed them to create more chances, and increased the likelihood they’d score.
But Gerrard didn’t slip, he miss controlled the ball and then he slipped in his frantic efforts to make up for his miss control.
It will probably go down as one of the greatest PR spins in history, liverpool and England captain mis controls ball……no wait lets turn it into something else…..
Just saying.
“But Gerrard didn’t slip, he miss controlled the ball and then he slipped”
So did he slip or not?
“probably go down as one of the greatest PR spins in history”
Err, it probably won’t mate.
Ba was through by the time Gerard slipped though……
Greatest PR spin ever? Now there’s your AFQ?!
Ba was through by the time Gerard slipped though……m
Greatest PR spin ever? Now there’s your AFQ?!
Rodgers isn’t a fraud. He’s a good manager but not the great one that Liverpool needs.
His record against the top 4 since he arrived and his European disasters have proven he isn’t nearly as tactically adept as some claim.
He’s a good coach, he’s not a good manager.
No English team did well in Europe this year and it was his first time in European football. Record against the Top 4? Didn’t see that getting leveled at him while we were twatting them all last year.
Wasn’t his first time, we were in Europe his first season. No English club did as poorly as Liverpool this season.
You call it tactical flexibility, others call it tactical cowardice. He runs from one set up to another with no firm basis. When teams figure him out, he immediately changes course. No identity to the team and nothing resembling his “philosophy” that he spoke of when he took over.
3 years in and he hasn’t fixed our defense, he’s hid the problem at the expense of being decent going forward but he hasn’t fixed it. Go back to a back 4 and we’ll start leaking goals again.
Pathetic performances in Europe. Pathetic errors in the transfer market. Pathetic treatment of players. Notable that our two top captaincy candidates are both players Rodgers tried to shove out the door, Henderson and Sakho. Appalling judge of players.
And personally I don’t want someone of his questionable character as manager of the club. He takes about players character and he said he would improve Mario as a man. Hypocrisy from a mere fraction of a man. How’s the wife Brendan? How’s the club employee you got pregnant? Super Injunctions work a treat don’t they?
I neither know nor care whether your allegations are correct but one thing I would say is, sometimes marriages break down. If they do, people are entitled to sleep with who they want, that’s what people do. Is this bitterness because you can’t get laid?
You say ‘He hasn’t fixed our defense’ but then say ‘Go back to a back 4 and we’ll start leaking goals again.’ So you’re saying he has fixed it by changing to a back 3?
No, he’s hidden the problem. To fix something means the issue isn’t there anymore, the issue is still there.
Simon,
” You call it tactical flexibility, others call it tactical cowardice”.
Who are these others – most professionals I have heard actually praise him for his flexibility. As others point out who are these top coaches you have in mind that are so willing to come to Anfield?
As of late what is actually wrong with our defence – 6 games without conceding a goal isnt bad at any level. Unless you can show me otherwise you dont go into Europe generally speaking and roll over the opposition. History normally shows that you have to go in for a number of years gaining experience – Manchester City who have had better players than us have had an appalling time.
The fella makes mistakes and is far from perfect but he still gets a lot right. He isnt part of that top grade of managers as yet and only time will tell if he can make it but I for one will continue to back him.
As for your other comments/allegations – see Robins comments which are spot on.
Yes, a lot of professionals are concerned by his tactical cowardice.
If you can’t support our manager and get behind these players you need your head examined. Back to the diamond with Lucas at the base and PC at the tip with Balo and Sterling up front with Joe and Henderson on the sides. Emre at right back with Sahko Toure in the center with Alberto on the left. Migs in the goal, get behind the tricky reds
Run along Kelly, nobody wants to see your drivel. What a shocking suggestion for a line-up as well.
It’s about time some people accepted the fact that, right now, Liverpool is not an attractive club to the highest regarded players and managers. We won’t pay extortionate wages and we don’t have a recent and ongoing title-winning record. This means we have to bring in very good players and make them into great players – something we arguably did with Torres, Suarez and Sturridge – and to a degree we’re doing the same with Rodgers. Yes, Rodgers may be a level below the likes of Guardiola and Mourinho but in reality it’s highly unlikely, with the current ownership and status of the club, that we’d sign such managers anyway. For a manager that is clearly still developing to get within two points of the league title in his second season at Liverpool is quite frankly miraculous and it’s proof that apart from the handful of ‘elite’ managers who Liverpool, quite honestly, wouldn’t be able to obtain right now Rodgers is as good a choice as any other manager available.
“Yes, Rodgers may be a level below the likes of Guardiola and Mourinho but in reality it’s highly unlikely, with the current ownership and status of the club, that we’d sign such managers anyway.”
What about Simeone? He beats Real Madrid like a rented mule with a wage bill probably lower than ours. Hell, we bring in a lot more money than Atlético. Just imagine what he could do here.
Brendan’s not a fraud, he’s a very good, young football manager. This season was all about consolidation, a top four finish would have sufficed. We have every right to be disappointed should he fail to deliver. It would be madness to get rid of him though. Who else will get what he gets from the younger players? He’s building something here, let him carry on, with the proviso that top four is essential next season.
Given what his contract is, I doubt he’s gone after this year. You are right how ever. Next year is key. He’ll certainly get sacked after next season if he finishes out of the top 4.
Rodgers joined the club when it was arguably at its lowest ebb in the modern era. He has done so well to restore a sense of style and panache on the field and respect to the Liverpool ‘brand’. Sure, that respect has taken a hit this season with the European travails and a poor first half of the season, but it has been a valuable learning experience both for him and his young players – I think it is safe to assume that he will be modifying the pre-season programme to ensure the lads jump out of the blocks a lot quicker next season!
Can, Markovich, Moreno, Lovren and Lallana have all had a season under their belts and will improve next year, as will Sterling and Henderson, one would assume.
Sturridge might even be full fit for quite a few games before Christmas.
He is doing a good job considering what he found when he arrived. He will improve, as will his young players and he will be manager next season … and the Brendan Bashers can, I’m happy to say, suffer in their jocks.
I am not sure how anyone can judge Brendan and condemn him on the basis of one game. Surely it’s best to wait until the end of the season and then consider his record since he began his tenure.
On the face of it what we do need is a better system for recruitment and retention of players. Too much is played out in the media IMO. And how we end up with a player that the manager said we definitely wouldn’t be signing defeats me.
It will be very difficult to beat Arsenal at their place and it maybe will need Brendan to spring some sort of tactical surprise. Interesting!
He will have another season to try to get us back into the CL, if it doesn’t work out then who knows what FSG will do
He’s gotta get his big money transfers right, Lallana and Lovren have been very disappointing. People say price tags don’t matter, but they do for a club like us who can’t spend massively, we gotta get value for our money especially the big money signings
We’ll see how FSG backs him in the market in the summer and if they back him and still no top 4 then he’s in a bit of trouble
Blah blah blah blah
Are people really judging the manager on one game, much less Sturridge? Sturridge scored against Man U and should have had an assist.
Yeah I’ll agree they looked sluggish
to start against Swansea and Man U, but seriously, both of those teams had to throw every ounce of energy at LFC to give them trouble. Swansea ran out of gas in the second half and LFC was largely outplaying man u while down to 10 men.
Liverpool didn’t lose because Rogers this or that, they didn’t lose because Gerrard was a bone head. They lost because Moreno got burned not once but twice by Juan Mata who made two great finishes from two good deliveries. Mata deserves credit for his excellent performance.
Doesn’t matter what system you run if your wing back is going to doze off. The system is crucial to having those wings play both ends of the pitch.
It doesn’t matter either if guys like lallana can’t hit an open net though. That was pitiful.
Quit blaming Rogers or Sturridge when your wing back was asleep on the pitch.
There’s a ton of reasons that we can’t attract the so-called “top players” and the very least of them is that Rogers is our manager or we don’t have CL football. If that was the case then we’d be nursing a £300k a week bill for the frankly hopeless Falcao and DiMaria wouldn’t be plying his trade at Old Trafford. The main reasons are that we won’t pay the extortionate wages that the billionaire playthings of Chelski, Citeh, and these days Arsenal are offering, we’re not in the capital (yes, it’s an issue, get over it) and transfer fees for some of these players represent our entire budget for the season. On top of that FFP (which we were investigated for) is an issue for a club with a relatively small ground and limited match-day funds to draw upon.
Money is the only way to get past these stumbling blocks for transfers but if we blew it all on a Falcao it’d be BRs fault when he was crap and if we buy another 6 Coutinho’s it’ll be more luck than judgement as they progress – basically he’s damned if he does and damned if he don’t.
He’s not perfect by any means but he’s doing a bang-up job with what he’s got and he deserves praise for it. Can you seriously see the likes of Mourinho, Van Gaal, Ancelloti, Guardiola et al coming to L4 and dealing with limited budgets and wages after what they’re used to? Okay, maybe you can get Klopp or Simeone or Prandelli but seriously, are they really any better than Rogers? I don’t think so, but if you want to start another clear-out and re-build and put our progress back another couple of seasons….
Did you really just ask if Klopp and Simeone are better than Rodgers?? They’re two of the five best managers in the world!!
The rest of your post is equally stupid.
Simeone is miles ahead of BR. Look at what he does with Atlético. We have more money than them!! And he still beats Real Madrid like a rented mule.
He nearly wins us the long awaited title, everybody loves him. He has a poor start this year, and he’s a fraud who was carried by Suarez. He gets us going again, unbeaten in 13 and you all love him again. He loses to united and he’s shite again. I actually despise most of our fans. Fickle as anything. This man came into a club who were sliding further down the table each year, the gap to the top teams absolutely massive and he’s made us relevant again. If you can’t support him or the team go support the blue shite.
Comical stuff
Get over yourself. Are you happy with the disaster that the transfer market has become? Who is to blame for that? Are you telling me that BR wanted Balotelli? If BR has finally say despite the transfer committee, why did he accede to it? BR knew we needed a striker. So what happened? Being a fan doesn’t meaning accepting whatever dreck is foisted upon us.
Some brilliant stuff written above on the current plight but I would like to talk ‘facts’….as Lord Rafa Benitez once did about that scumbag ferguson
Transfers under BR: overall a shambles.. 2 good buys, Sturridge and Coutinho and a possible 3rd in Can…. The rest border between flattery to deceive or dreadful( Allen- Aspas is the scale)… Net deficit of £100m+… Described Sterling as best young player in Europe and now can’t secure him to a contract…. I wonder why?
Trophies: we haven’t won any in 3 years but won one in 18months under the King
Big Game in PL record: couple of positives with City but abject failures when it really mattered v Chelsea, Palace and utd
Big Game in Europe record: lost twice to Real, couldn’t get a result v Basel, failed v Besiktas and embarrassed v Ludgorets
Overall assessment: not good enough, not a winner, the luckiest man alive and not good enough to be manager at LFC…. Sad, but all true!!
You’re obviously a brilliant Liverpool manager in waiting. I hope you’ve got your CV in at the club – clearly, as soon as FSG clock you, they’ll dump Rodgers and give you the gig.
I look forward to you guiding us to the title next season. After all, you are so adamant you are right, how could you not?
Everyone throws transfers at him, well look back through the years and tell me one of our managers who was a success in the transfer window. That’s makes me point the finger at the club more than the managers.
Ba was through by the time Gerard slipped though……
Greatest PR spin ever? Now there’s your AFQ?!
Great article, I totally agree with Sean because of my experience as a manager of 13years using the same system. As a player we were a mid table team playing 442or 451. Scores of 3-2, 4-2, etc were common. So I knew we had goals but how do we keep clean sheets. When I became player / manager I changed everything but the single most important change was the formation, 3421. In the first season we gained promotion with the best defensive record in 6 divisions. 1-0, 2-0 and even 0-0 were common. We then had great success over the coming years.
The key is intelligent back 3, 4 energetic midfielders/wing backs and 3 dynamic forwards. We have Lovren, Skirtel, Sakho and Can at the back, Henderson, Allen, Moreno and hopefully Flanagan for midfield/wb, Coutinho, Sturridge, Sterling and Ibe for the front positions. But the formation only suits certain players Lallana, Markovic, Lucas, Manquillo, Gerrard(in midfield) Enrique it does not suit. As much as I believe in the formation, I do think 451, 433 would be best for Liverpool. These formations can help Liverpool dominate and destroy teams, admittedly lt will leave us a little bit more vulnerable but hey that’s football. For us to really succeed I think we need another top centre half to play alongside Skirtel or Sakho and a top holding midfielder to replace Lucas, I would still keep Lucas as cover.
My centre half replacement would be Godin or Garay and in midfield it would be Schneiderlin or Kongdogbia.