YOU have to be sure. It’s no small thing taking away the Liverpool job, so you have to be sure. I feel like Henry Fonda in Twelve Angry Men, writes PAUL LITTLE. It has to be beyond reasonable doubt for me – or at least that’s how I always feel when it comes to removing a Liverpool manager.
Bar Roy Hodgson, I’ve backed every Liverpool manager to get it right, to turn things round. Even Graeme Souness — I thought he’d sort it. Right up until the very end I have this belief. And then I feel regret as the trigger is pulled. And then I feel excited about the new man — apart from Roy Hodgson (I’ve read Kundera, too, you know, and thought it to be rather tedious, naval-gazing shit) and then the cycle begins again.
Given the timing — after a horrible FA Cup semi final defeat to Aston Villa and on the back of an already underwhelming season — it was hardly surprising that as soon as Jurgen Klopp announced his intention to leave Borussia Dortmund that he would immediately be linked with Brendan Rodgers’ position at Liverpool.
But you have to be sure. Maybe you are sure — that Brendan has done as much as Brendan can do or that, regardless, Jurgen will do more. You may be sure, but I am not. But then, if it was down to me, I’d be right behind the incumbent because he is the manager and I believe he will get it right.
What gets me is how sure some people can be. Sure that Rodgers has been found out, certain that Klopp is a step up. I’ve read the pieces, but like Fonda, for me there is still room for doubt — doubt that after three years of doing a more than decent job, Rodgers has no more to offer. And doubt that the German could really *really* make a difference. Doubt because the Bundesliga is not the Premier League. Because beating the odds for a club like Dortmund is not the same as beating the odds for a club like Liverpool. Doubt because Germany has one super club, while England has three and Arsenal, knocking on the door. And doubt, because while I have no intention of writing a hatchet piece on Jurgen Klopp, it seems clear that, like all human beings, he is fallible.
Fallible — but nevertheless, talented and charismatic and in demand.
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If FSG are interested in Klopp, a man they sounded out for the Anfield hot seat three years ago, they certainly won’t be alone. According to many accounts, Real Madrid, PSG and Manchester City will be in the market for new managers this summer. So even if FSG are interested, like the top name players we have bid for in recent seasons, Klopp may make similar calculations and give Anfield the swerve.
On the surface, however, the Kop job looks like one that would suit what we think we know of Klopp’s sensibilities; a storied club, not without money and with a young and talented squad, looking to recapture former glories in the face of financially powerful rivals.
But even were he to be interested, would Klopp actually do a better job than Rodgers? Would he take us to the next level? Maybe, FSG will think. Never, thinks Brendan, who says he is the best man for the job.
I say maybe and only maybe because there is cause for doubt.
Klopp’s role in Borussia Dortmund’s revitalisation is well documented — but it’s also fair to say that he had plenty of help along the way. The club’s hugely successful policy of scouting for talent in the relatively unexplored leagues of Eastern Europe and its strong youth development initiatives predated Klopp. And progress to his first title win was at least partially smoothed by a brief Bayern Munich transition period that saw them finish a lowly third in 2010-11.
Context is important. I’m not trying to diminish Klopp. Just offer a little balance. After all, if he did take the Liverpool job, he’d get the same backing I give to all Liverpool managers (except Roy). I’d have the same belief I always have — right up until the end.
So while it’s true to say that Klopp benefited from the environment and the structure that BVB offered, he nevertheless capitalised brilliantly on his position and good fortune.
But I still have doubt — because Brendan is the manager and Klopp is not. Because Brendan has entertained and inspired me with his football and ideas in the last three seasons, so is worthy of my defence. And part of my defence is to question his potential successor.
Rodgers has been hammered this season. There’s no room for doubt for some — he’s a fraud, a bottler. No room to argue that he’s really just a talented novice. Short shrift to those who suggest that fifth place in a difficult season behind three financial monsters and Arsenal isn’t actually all that bad. No room for any argument that any manager can make mistakes and even just have a bad season.
And yet…well, isn’t Jurgen Klopp having a bad season…a worse season than Rodgers?
Eighth place in the Bundesliga for Borussia Dortmund represents serious underperformance. From runners up last season to eighth — not fifth — eighth. Eighth despite spending more (€68 million) than any other German club in the last two transfer windows. Eighth in the Bundesliga behind the likes of Borussia Monchengladbach who spent €2.3 million, Augsburg who spent €12.4 million and Hoffenheim who shelled out a paltry €13.3 million. Eighth despite spending €60 million more than fourth-placed Schalke and almost twice the outlay of Bayern Munich’s closest challengers this season, Wolfsburg.
Ok, transfer spend isn’t the most reliable of indicators of how a club will fare. But cause for reasonable doubt all the same. Doubt about what Klopp has been doing this last year.
But forget transfer spend, and look at revenues and player wages, which correlate more strongly with a club’s league fortunes. But on that basis, Dortmund and Klopp are faring little better of late. BVB are the world’s 11th richest club (just behind Liverpool). Critically, they are Germany’s second richest club, boasting the Bundesliga’s third biggest wage bill as of 2013-14. But Klopp has them eighth — after a season spent largely in the lower half of the table, even bottom at one stage. Eighth in a two-horse race.
Some have tried to pass off Dortmund’s lacklustre performances as being the result of the natural staleness that can set in at a club where a coach has worked with many of the same players over a prolonged period. They say it as if this is a reasonable excuse. As if a manager fabled for his charisma, his innovation, his motivational qualities could be excused for losing the buy in of his players. They say it as if a manager who has lost his power over his players gives you absolutely no grounds for concern. They cut him slack, slack they will not cut Brendan Rodgers. But Klopp’s fortunes this season leave me with cause for doubt.
Reasonable doubt.
Maybe you still have none. And that is fine. I’ve just laid out the grounds for mine. But ultimately, even if John and Tom share my doubts or they share your certainty, mere football results may not be their only calculation. Maybe, as they weigh up any approach, they will run the numbers on whether Jurgen’s box office appeal will be greater than Brendan’s. That regardless of whether Klopp can actually take Liverpool further, just watching him try will keep the fans engaged and the stadium full. That letting him try will attract the kinds of players that missing out on the Champions League would normally see go elsewhere. That a three-year Klopp project would bring more TV and commercial interest than a continuance of Brendan’s voyage.
Perhaps box office is what Brendan should be most worried about. That being the best man for the job isn’t just about football results.
But it’s all just conjecture, for now, of course. And my doubting and your certainty won’t add up to more than a hill of beans in this crazy old football world. After all, Klopp may simply recognise that taking on one super club every season is one thing, but tackling four with a club that is considerably less-well resourced is quite another. And he may well think that having spent years building a club and fighting against the financial odds in Germany, that in his next position, he’d like — even deserve — the freedom that a super club’s budget might afford him.
READ: KLOPP FOR THE KOP – WHY WOULDN’T YOU?
READ: BRENDAN RODGERS AND JURGEN KLOPP: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY
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I think Klopp would ask FSG are you prepared to break your transfer policy in terms of fees and wages paid for players. Even with CL footy we couldn’t attract a top striker to the club, which has seen our season undone with the shear lack of goals either through injury or options.
With a new gaffer and a new TV money deal coming into play then do you want Rodgers in charge of that budget or Klopp.
Going forward Rodgers and Klopp would appear to be on the same page, defensively they both have issues, Dortmund have been found out to some extent.
European experience and Global appeal Klopp hands down. I believe Klopp would have the personality to draw big players in. I’m sorry to say this but the way Rodgers treated the CL this year was small time, he went to Real Madrid as Swansea not Liverpool.
This season feels like year 1 of a 5 year plan, not year 3 and I think this year was about consolidating a top 4 spot and giving Europe a decent go. It’s all starting to feel a bit like this is as far as he can take this side, we seem to be running on flat tyres.
If start to think along the lines that City could well go into transition with an ageing squad do you want to transition us now with a ok semi decent young side or wait until they’ve done it.
No, this feels like a year 3 when your 20-goal striker, who you’ve assembled the squad around, is out injured for the *entire season.*
We went into last summer with a threadbare squad that needed to be filled out in virtually every position. We have done so. We needed to tighten up our defense. Based on recent months alone, we now have more clean sheets than anyone in the league.
If you just insert one top striker into the mix, we again become a fearsome prospect. Sterling—Lacazette—Sturridge would have defenders pissing themselves. Put Coutinho in behind them, then add to that a defensive unit of Can–Skrtel–Sakho that has been miserly when not disrupted by cards and injuries (with Lovren much improved lately).
Yes, it sucks being toothless. But bring back a fit Sturridge and the money spent on Klopp would be much better invested in a truly top of the line striker.
Klopp wins stuff. Hell, he won the German Cup last night beating Bayern Munich. Bayern Munich. Not Aston Villa. So his season’s already looking better than Brendan’s despite the naysayers (and no team has had more bad luck with injuries than Dortmund this season).
So he wins things, brings through young and cheap players and sells them at a profit, He wins things despite having to sell his best players every summer to balance the books and he knows how to play in Europe. His teams are always competitive and he knows how to manage club legends without fear or favour.
It’s a no-brainer for me, and I like Brendan Rodgers. We need to step up.
He won a semi-final last night, not the cup itself.
And it was on penalties.
And weirdly Bayern didn’t score a single one. Missed four in a row.
I can’t imagine even Klopp planned for that.
“Eighth in a two-horse race.”
So Wolfsburg, Schalke, Bayer Leverkusen and Mönchengladbach don’t have good teams?
Klopp won titles against in a very competitive league despite losing players and has continually made good progress in CL. Our CL campaign was embarrassing, and we have not beaten a top four side apart from City this season.
A pretty silly comment considering their season isn’t over and they dumped Bayern out of the Gerry Cup last night to make the final.
Klopp would attract players, Rodgers is a one season nearly man, with a record of woeful European results in both seasons spanning last season. Rodgers has been pretty clueless all season, floundering after anything that will work. He obviously doesn’t believe in his now forgotten tika-taka game.
Let’s be clear: pointing out that the EPL and Bundelsiga are not the same is not to denigrate Klopp’s achievements. You win the league in Germany, chances are you’re a pretty decent manager. That said, there are some simple facts to consider:
Since the start of the EPL, 22 of the 24 titles have been won by one of the perennial top 4: Utd, City, Arsenal and Chelsea. Not coincidentally, those teams are 4 of the top 7 richest clubs in the world. The other three are the Spanish giants and Bayern. For a team with the resources of Liverpool to overhaul not one, two or three of our game’s behemoths, but all 4, is a task of a different order of magnitude to that facing the manager of Dortmund in the Bundesliga. It just is.
During the period Klopp has been in charge, the EPL has produced 50% more CL quarter-finalists than the Bundesliga: our 12 to their 8. Of the German 8, all bar 3 were Bayern.
None of this means Rodgers is better than Klopp, or that Klopp wouldn’t do a great job at LFC. But saying “compare his record in Germany to Brendan’s in the EPL” as if you’re remotely comparing the same thing is just silly.
What the author doesn’t mention is that Borussia Dortmund could still finish as high as fifth. Their season, like ours, isn’t over yet. There are still more games to be played. To get to fifth from where they were early this season is an accomplishment itself.
But for Rodgers to go from where we were on Boxing Day to go on a 13 game unbeaten run is less of an accomplishment?
No one’s saying the state of things is great, but so many people will cut slack for the grass that is greener on the other side.
I’m not a Rodgers hater but I just don’t see how he and Klopp compare.
Even if you set aside his Bundesliga achievements he has been very good in Europe. Rodgers has failed miserably each time he tried to get anywhere in the Euro comps.
Klopp has actually won stuff. He’s competed against the biggest teams and came out on top more than once. He’s had to operate under less of a budget than Rodgers has had to and has remained competitive, this season aside. He’s had his best players sold each summer, often to his direct competitor and still managed. His name alone would be an attractive prospect to potential new signings. Can you say the same about Rodgers?!
I think he could be a good fit for us.
Whether we can get Klopp or not is another thing altogether but if we can I’m happy for Brendan to go.
If we can’t get a better manager than Rodgers then give him another year but he will be under massive scrutiny and I believe the atmosphere in and around the club/fan base could become a little ugly.
Calm down with the German cup win, it was only a semi final. Still something that B-Rod couldn’t manage this season. I think something needs to change and someone should be held to account over the gross negligence of not replacing the goals that the side have lost from last season. I think it’s unacceptable to keep bringing it up in press conferences as if it’s an acceptable excuse.
You’re right, but it was Bayern Munich. For me the standout performance was the destruction of Mourinho’s Real Madrid a couple of years ago. I just can’t see Brendan doing that.
He destroyed most teams in England last year when he had a couple of decent strikers to build a team around Paul.
He couldn’t beat Mourinho’s b-side though.
A cup win over the league champions and about to be champions. That’s more than Rodgers managed over a terrible Villa.
Klopp is a distraction, let’s focus on our own club and whether Rodgers exhibits any signs of being able to stop his rot and whether he’s able to attract non mid-table players who move for bigger wages.
‘Hell, he won the German Cup last night beating Bayern Munich.’
Not quite. That was the semi.
“Short shrift to those who suggest that fifth place in a difficult season behind three financial monsters”
5th?
It looks possible, maybe even likely, that we will finish 7th at this rate.
But I thinks it’s moot. I will be very surprised if Klopp wants to come here he won’t come here.
And let’s talk logic here. How many top players do we need in the summer?
Why on earth would you trust the guy who bought this lot to do better. I mean SERIOULSY.
What is the actual logic here? Rodgers HAS to be given MORE time. Why?
More time to do the same. Why?
If Dortmund qualifies for the Europa and win the German Cup (which are all likely) then for sure they’ve had a better season than us
There are pros and cons to it all but I think one thing Klopp would bring that we don’t have now is an identifiable style, the gegenpressing and the direct fast football that he will surely implement. Atm I just don’t know what a Brendan Rodgers side is anymore and I doubt the players do as well, when they’re asked to change what they do all the time or do something out of their natural expertise then they’re gonna look shitter than they are
The bottom line is we need to find our next Rafa, someone who we can put 5-8 years into building us not just as a football side but as a club. Someone who’s won leagues against bigger opponents and can punch above their weight. The only two out there now are Klopp and Simeone (And arguably Rafa himself), and only one of them coooould come
Bottom line is we don’t have a board who have won much in football, and we don’t have many players who have won much in football and certainly don’t have a manager who has won anything in football (Play-Off Trophy aside).
One of those needs to change, and the cheapest and easiest change is removing Rodgers and giving Klopp a go at it. Klopp has certainly had success in Europe and won league titles – and is only 4 years older than Rodgers.
A no brainer, if he wants to come. If he doesn’t then keep B-Rod.
I look at this piece as more of an issue of fans loyalty rather than anything else. It clearly has not convinced me Rodgers is better than Klopp as manager. Nor has it shown how Klopp will not be suitable for us.
Good read, but you are massively underrating the Bundesliga. Wolfsburg, Schalke, Leverkusen, Monchengladbach all very good. Augsberg, Hoffenheim, Bremen etc would all do relatively well in the Premier league.
I can understand that people want to back the manager that’s fair enough, but belittling others achievements is just ridiculous… If we had bought cheap like Dortmund then the transfer committee/FSG would be cheapskates and it would be Rodgers coaching master-class… When Klopp took over Dortmund were on the back of almost financial ruin and those types of signing were all they could afford – they are only the 11th richest and 3rd in Germany now because of the achievements of Klopp himself (winning leagues and getting to the CL final – I think they finished 13th the year before he took over)
The one super power claim is a little unfair as well – yes that might be true of the league title but it is the same for Liverpool if the target is top 4… pick any of the four mentioned you only need to finish above one. Also Bayern’s “transition” period was on the back of a CL final losing team under the nation’s favourite genius Louis Van Gaal hardly David Moyes stuff
How would Klopp or any other manager will balls get on with FSG and their transfer committee? The football last year was scintillating, and this year we have no strikers and no goals. Any manager that gets dumped in that position is going to be pissed off, are they going to say I told you so in private or are they to public-ally lambast the committee.
For Rodgers to stay FSG would have to blame themselves for providing a bunch of mis fit strikers and no replacement for Suarez, can’t see that happening, easiest thing to do is to dump a whole lot of shit on Rodgers and go into the new season with Klopp and his ability to attract players, this all seems a bit hard on Rodgers after last year but if he lasts you would not expect the investment required and it will all turn to dogshit in September with no managers available.
Sound about right. I’ve just got a feeling that a new manager will have a much stronger negotiating position with FSG.
Just to note Dortmund are 8th but only 3 pts off 5th with 4 games left.
We are 5th and looking likely to slide
Ah don’t do it to yourselves. Klopp is a fantasy.. when we can’t compete for top players how are we expected to compete for something that is even rarer?
IF it ever was a choice, Rogers of Klopp. Anyone that needs to think longer than five seconds to choose Klopp is living in serious denial. Although i suspect it’s more of a defence mechanism to shield from the depressing reality that Klopp would never choose us over Real, City or PSG. R
omance in football is dead.
I’m afraid that if we can’t get someone better than Rodgers who could possibly come to us (which are only Klopp and Rafa IMO), then we’re looking at a sideways step like De Boer or Bielsa or someone, or possibly even worse
Owners should be making phone calls to managers right now and see who is willing to talk about this project
Also, how do we square this:
LFC’s need for marquee signings, where we’ll need to break the bank to bring in the proven quality we need (transfer fees and wages), and
the desire to have Klopp, a manager who has only spent more than 15mill on a player once in his career (19mill).
Again, Klopp might be the best manager we ever have, but there’s a difference between working minor miracles on relatively low budgets, and moulding teams around elite superstars of the game. It’s one of the reasons Clough never managed an elite club or got the England job. They are different skillsets. Maybe Klopp has both.
And maybe he doesn’t…
Clough signed the first 1 million pound player in English football……
I hate you sometimes. :-)
Maybe, but you get the general point, right? The question mark over Clough was always “what would he be like with a dressing-room full of superstars?” Could you have seen him managing our side back then? Can you imagine him patronizing Souness and finishing with a “young man”?
Again, Klopp might be the best manager in the world, but he doesn’t have any experience finding, buying and developing players at that elite level. He might be great at it, but it’s sort of ironic that everyone seems to agree that we need (probably) at least one 30mill+ player this summer, and yet one of Klopp’s major talents appears to be that he can get squads to punch well above their weight with resources that are inferior to his opponents. In that respect, he’s right up FSG’s street, right?
Or to put it another way, Klopp for Rodgers makes most sense for owners who are planning to continue in the same vein, i.e. dabble in the transfer mid-market, acquiring young talent to develop. If FSG really are in for Klopp, maybe we should be concerned about what that tells us in terms of their ambitions for this summer? If nothing else, we’ll be 10mill down having had to pay-off Rodgers.
I take your point and the Clough comparison is interesting. I’d be quite happy were Klopp to come in, give the place a good shakeup and win two European Cups.
I don’t see FSG making huge changes, so Klopp’s probably the ideal fit for all the reasons adumbrated.
Imagine if Man United were the only big club in England but twice as good as they are and took our best players every Summer. Then imagine us winning the title in back-to-back seasons, while achieving the highest points total in history.
If that doesn’t convince you, imagine if you were a Dortmund fan and were told that Klopp was being replaced by Rodgers. We’ve got into this habit of treating managers like a pair of boots that need 5 years of treading-in before they can give us decades of comfort.
Rodgers is in the results business. Even in times of austerity, he needs to prove he can get the deal done. That’s what the best managers do.
Enjoyed the article and it chimes with how I feel.
The case for Klopp should take Dortmund’s season as a blip and not try and dress it up as more of a success than it is. 16 points off a top 4 that includes three teams with less revenue for last season than Spurs, Newcastle, Everton, West Ham, Southampton, Sunderland, Swansea and Stoke. Perhaps people are looking at the wrong German manager?
If we are ready to take see Klopp’s season as a blip, perhaps we need to be a little careful about how we right off Rodgers for this seasons performance?
I don’t know which one of the 12 Angry Men I am. Sometimes I’m Henry Fonda and sometimes I’m one of the others.
At the moment I think I’m Henry Fonda or maybe the parent from that “Harper Valley PTA”song.
Anyway,there are about 45 people from Directors to Heads of “this and that” at Anfield.I know that Rodgers is ultimately responsible for where the team finishes up and how they play but surely there are one or two others out of that army of 45 who carry some responsibility too.
Klopp for Rodgers? If you jump over the fence for a moment into the FSG camp, rather than the fan’s side,there’s surely a different agenda.Have you damaged your investment by that much? Not really.Chances are that a few of the 20 odd signings will improve over the next year so.You’ll take a hit on few of them but then you’ve got a big increase in TV money next year.
I think we need to look beyond Rodgers if we’re to seriously return to competing for honours.We need to look at the philosophy as a whole.It seems we don’t want to compete on transfer fees or wages? We’re doing nicely with our sponsorships? Well,that’s all great but we’re playing brinkmanship with some of the players contracts? We seem to be getting into the news for all the wrong reasons lately?
Rodgers might be at fault for the performances on the pitch.But is he responsible for all the issues off the pitch?
I
Agreed. I just feel a new manager will have more influence. A manager of Klopp’s cache can demand changes before he even talks to the club.
Hell, Klopp can demand changes as part of agreeing to take the job. That’s just the thing though. He can demand changes at Liverpool. Can he demand changes at Real Madrid or City? I don’t know.
Lets put this in the context of we know we’re 2 forwards and a quality Centre Mid away from making a real push on the top 4 next season. If we acknowledge goals have been an issue all season and agree that the club fucked up in the summer then actually where we are isn’t that bad.
Can’t blame Rodgers for the injuries and signing Balo
Frying pan and fire?
If one young manager can’t do it why would another with no experience of the English Game, Pressures of English media and LFC’s weighty expectations.
Comments are often made about players and the weight of the shirt on them but what about the pressure around the throat of the manager caused by the club tie?
As in the article, I’ve backed all managers except the Hodge up to the day of departure; and one in particular way beyond that date. If BR is for the high jump way should FSG gamble on Klopp, why not go back to the future and appoint Rafa?
He,
Knows the English game
Understands LFC and the fans
Is a proven winner both with English and European Clubs
Is a master tactician
I say back the man in the job but if he is out then Klopp, nein danke!
Unless Klopp comes in and wins the league next season, none of this will stop.
Round and round we go getting on our managers back every time we don’t win the league like a bunch of spoilt kids.
BR nearly wins the league last season, has a bad start this one and half our supporters get their knives out..!!
Stability is what we need – because we haven’t got a bottomless pit of money… And we will only get stability if a manager and his team around him are given a fair amount of time – time to develop the youth, get the majority of signings right, learn to work with the owners and their way of thinking and time to develop their own management skills whilst being in charge of such a club as LFC.
I will exaggerate a bit, but I will say this:
The reasons of missing out on Jurgen Klopp as “we are not sure he’ll be able to do better at Liverpool, after all he’s had a bit of a poor season just like Brendan Rodgers” sound as valid as missing out on Lionel Messi on a free transfer, and signing Danny Ings instead, because Messi hasn’t had the best season, and “can he do it on cold Tuesday night at Stoke” vs “Premier League proven” but ultimately mediocre Danny Ings.
whatever happens, if they do decide to axe Rogers, it needs to be done quickly and uneventfully. The last thing we need is the manager’s exit drawn out over the course of next season, which will affect everything we try to do as far as contracts, wages, buy new players etc. If FSG are going to make a change, and I believe they will, they might as will rip the band-aid off as quickly as possible at the end of the season. Klopp in….. assuming he would take the job of course.
I believe it would be a good Klopp.
BR is a good manager more not the best for Liverpool. He thinks small, a small team manager. By selling Suarez only brought trash and look what happened. And did the stupidity to hire Balotelli. Which causes more problems in the field or off to play football.
We need someone to give us titles, not a manager when there comes a decisive game gets narrower and can not decide.
Klopp took the Dortmund shit literally.
We had a chance to get a spot for the CL more than is now completely apart. Rogers does not know decide games and our main sector that needed strengthening he brings the fucking Lovren. Rodgers out and come Klopp
Another article that speaks for me practically word for word. What Klopp has achieved at Dortmund is great but he wouldn’t be moving somewhere in the summer with his stock at it’s highest, although he’ll probably now go on to win the German cup after getting through last night. He’s certainly not on the sort of Benitez and Mourinho 2004 crest of a wave that he could have been on had he left a couple of years ago, anyway.
As of right now I feel Rodgers should get time but if he was to go and Klopp was to come in I would obviously be excited. But after spending a long time relative to modern manager standards turning a sleeping giant into a winning club that can beat Europe’s best for a few seasons, I’m not so sure he’d even fancy another job in that vein. As you allude to at the end there, maybe he’d just like the luxury of going to one of the mega rich clubs where the odds are stacked much more in his favour to win titles.
The fact his stock is not at its highest could very well work in our favour.
It’s hilarious, after 25 years without a title, that the
author of this piece is unable to see the irony of his
lack of vision, introspection and indecisiveness.
Does he seriously think that the way forward for LFC
is under Rodgers, Marsh and the other guy in the shorts.
Does he have a shred of evidence to support the continuation
of Rodgers regime (in terms of titles or trophies won) that
didn’t pack his bags and move to Barcelona last season?
Meanwhile, identifying with Hank Fonda in the 12 Angry Men
serves no purpose other than illuminate the author’s detached
vanity as Terry et. al waltz to another title.
Hilarious, after 25 years without a title, and
the author is oblivious to the irony of his
lack of vision, confusion, introspection and
indecisiveness.
It reminds me of the insular fear that has gripped
the club in the interim, perfect for exploitation by
a charlatan like Rodgers. A pocketful of hope, money
for soap.
Does he seriously believe that the way forward
for a club with the tradition of LFC is under Rodgers,
Marsh and the other guy who wears the shorts?
Can he offer a shred of evidence (in terms of trophies
or titles won) to support the Rodgers regime that didn’t
pack his bags and move to Barcelona last Summer?
As for the author identifying with Hank Fonda in 12 Angry
Men, merely a sign of his detached vanity as Terry and
Co. waltz to another title.
“and Co.” meaning the Russian oligarch with so many squillions that a Chelsea second eleven is still worth more than our first?
LFC was never about making excuses.
Maybe you’re too young to understand. You don’t
get that fans of a certain age shake their heads and
recoil in horror every time Rodgers opens his mouth.
Our tradition is rooted in dreams of glory allied with
innovative thinking, steely determination and teamwork.
The driving force for this success came from the
impoverished mining communities of Scotland.
I think maybe you support a different club, one that
wallows in navel gazing and beard stroking. Where
the fans engage in deluded arguments behind a
pay-wall, with dodgy statistics replacing intuition
& footballing common sense to string along
middle class, supposedly intelligent fans.
“Pass the martini dear and a copy of today’s Guardian,
football actually means nothing to me, I use it solely as
a vehicle to promote my latest book project and project
the depth of my pseudo-intelligence.”
Dear me, you fancy yourself as a bit of a Mystic Meg, don’t you? A couple of comments on a blog and you (think you) know what age I am and what class I am. That and you presume to speak for what must be several million LFC fans of “a certain age”. Nice work.
Having a firm grasp of reality does not mean you are less passionate about your club than those who believe a glorious history lends entitlement. Refusing to scapegoat a player/manager/owner every time you have your dreams dashed does not make you less passionate about your club than those who aren’t happy unless they have someone to blame.
You don’t just have to want it enough to be successful. You do know that, don’t you?
“My idea was to build Liverpool into a bastion of invincibility. Had Napoleon had that idea he would have conquered the bloody world. I wanted Liverpool to be untouchable. My idea was to build Liverpool up and up until eventually everyone would have to submit and give in.”
I preferred the first draft, by the way. You know, the one you wrote while you were still looking for your thesaurus.
The TAW is losing its USP with its use of dark arts straight from the shitty text books of crap journalists like Henry Winter Patrick Barclay David Maddock and co..
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Do you know what average is?
Since Klopp started out at Dortmund, he spent two years improving (6 and 5) until he won the league twice and then became second in another two years, now, Dortmund may well finish in the 7~5 zone, since he started, this is his out of average performance, his average is in top 3.
Rodgers had one amazing season between two crap ones. The amazing season was the one out of his average.
If both managers stayed in their clubs, Dortmund would likely be back to 2º or 3º position while we would stay in the 5~6 zone.
I know i’m being i little harsh, since Rodgers is in his third season and Klopp is in his 7º, but at Dortmund, bar this season, there was always improvement, and here, it’s really hard to see any.
You pointed that he only won the league because Bayern was in transition, well, what do you call last season for our competitors? United had Moyes, Arsenal is Arsenal, Chelsea was inconstant and City tried really hard to let us win the League.
Last year we had one player in GodMode and very good ones (Coutinho, Gerrard, Sturridge and Sterling).
Rodgers said that he needs quality players to work, then he isn’t the manager for us, i’m not saying he is a bad manager, but a lot of good managers can do amazing things with great players in your squad, we need one that can get the best out of the ones we have while developing the potential of others, THIS is what Klopp did at Dortmund.
I’m not saying that Rodgers is a bad manager (he have some good tactical feelings and i believe he will improve), my concern is his stubbornness and how he deal in bad situations, putting his players under fire.
Is hard to believe that Rodgers can turn things around, and i don’t think he is bad, but trying to compare him with a proven manager as Klopp is ridiculous.
Agreed to some extent but one line from the article that runs through my head is Bayern Munich is the only giant club in the German League where the EPL have 3 giant clubs plus Arsenal coming through. Dortmund really only have Munich to combat. Liverpool have 4. Dortmund are 8th and spent the most on transfers last summer in the German league and they are 8th. We’re 5th and Rodgers is getting hammered. It’s a concern.
Whoever is charge next season will need to start well or will be straight on the back foot of Rodgers has a poor start it will be a case of “should have got Klopp” and of Klopp starts poor “Rodgers needed more time.”
The strangest part of the debate is how similar the season has gone for both Rodgers and Klopp. Although they never sacked Klopp there hasn’t been an out cry of despair or end of the world feeling from Dortmund since he decided to leave. And although success in the past can be used to back the Klopp argument they’ve not come close to challenging Bayern in recent years. Even the year they reached the champions league final they finished 30+ points behind Bayern.
What does seem strange within the comments is that “Dortmund could finish as high as 5th” or that “could qualify for Europa” are deemed as indicators Klopp is the man to take us forward yet if Rodgers achieves this then it is used a reason to let him go?
IS this article serious???????? My grandmom could do a better job than Brenda, you are suggesting he has done a good job when he has failed miserably and wasted 100s of million along the way doing it!! BR OUT and his supporters should support another club, westham, swansea are the clubs for you, Midtable garbage..We want more for Liverpool, i support Liverpool not BR, i love Liverpool not BR, and i supported Brendan for a long time, enough is enough! He gots to go before we find ourselves fighting to stay in the Premier league next season because the players hate him and most of the real fans want him gone ASAP
I agree with everything you wrote. Rodgers has had as much if not more bad luck with injuries to key players, especially Lucas, and he’s been fighting fires with Gerrard and Sterling and Mario as well as integrating young foreign players. Sturridge has been fully fit for about 3 games this season. Sure we should have covered our spine by having decent replacement s at gk cb cm & cf but I don’t think anyone really knows what our transfer policy is, Rodgers or committee. Last year we were 2nd verses a motivated city, a shit United, a transitional Chelsea with no cf and an inconsistent arsenal and we had the best strikforce in the world too. How many more points would those 50+ goals we’ve lost have gotten us? How many points would we have taken from our rivals? I would certainly back Rodgers next year, I think he deserves our trust.
I agree with a lot of what is written here and I fall in the ‘Rodger deserves another season camp’ but if he gets shipped out for Klopp then I won’t be too upset. Rodgers is an exemplary young manager who will no doubt have success one day but he can also be confident to the point of arrogance.
I’m not for rash decisions but don’t really get ‘the manager gets backing no matter what’ argument. They’ve got to be judged objectively and dispassionately to a certain extent and on the evidence of this season both managers have been a failure.
It’s right to question Klopp’s record, but for balance worth noting he is far more successful than Rodgers in sheer number of trophies and has built one of the strongest teams in Europe (regardless of their Bundesliga competition) while having his team pilfered by the noisy neighbours every season. Even if you are rightly cautious and don’t rate the Bundesliga, Klopp is still a good manager, and if FSG think they can get him, would fit well with LFC.
I’m in no rush to release Rodgers, but let’s see.
I’d be happy to see Rodgers get another season. I hate the management merry go round.
That said I really don’t like the guy. I’ve never felt him ‘one of us’ like I did Benitez, Houllier, etc… It’s a purely emotional thing, not something I can really explain.