LAST season ended badly, writes NEIL POOLE of the We Are Liverpool fanzine. Very badly. It seemed like the manager was sinking with along with his team. Yet FSG have given Brendan Rodgers a second chance. Something that — in the modern game at least — almost feels like unchartered territory.
A second chance is an interesting concept. Bad stuff weighs more than good stuff: Giant Haystacks weighed more than Big Daddy. Hitler weighed more than Gandhi. Neil Ruddock weighs more than Philippe Coutinho.
That’s rock hard, granite evidence. It must be true. It’s also the only reason to explain why — up until a few weeks ago and looking forward to the season ahead — I was less tolerant of the Brendan Rodgers 2015 Model (despite knowing he had taken us to the brink of a league title) than I was of the Brendan Rodgers 2012 Model (who had done nothing of the sort). It’s an unusual concept, and one which is perhaps peculiar to football — to have less faith in someone once they have demonstrated they can do more than you originally thought they were capable of.
However, in 2012 we also didn’t really know Brendan Rodgers’ weaknesses either. Now we do.
I appeased the pain of each of last season’s failures and abject performances by dipping into my piggy bank on which I’d scribbled: “Brendan’s Credit — 2013-14”.
Beaten by Aston Villa at home? I’d buy a Twix. “Yum, yum, munch munch. It’ll be ok. Brendan proved it last year. I’ve got his back,” I’d say as I took to comfort eating. But come May, the piggy bank, after frequent raids, was depleted and after being walloped by Stoke I removed the last coin to purchase a tissue to wipe away the single tear which rolled down my cheek. The money was gone. I was spent. My mascara was all over the shop.
It’s seemingly much quicker and easier to spend credit than build it. Consequently, Rodgers faced his own personal credit crunch. In the face of austerity, I’d become more austere. I’d drastically reduced the terms and conditions of my goodwill and I wanted to know minutiae of his business before I even considered lending him my patience again. In essence, I’d become a football Tory. I felt deeply ashamed.
I expected Brendan to be sacked at the end of last season and I wasn’t averse to the prospect. Rodgers’ team took a meagre 11 points from the last 30 available in the league. Stats, however just draw the outline. The spineless no-show against Villa in the FA Cup semi, the inability of the team to give Gerrard the decency of going out on a high for his last Anfield performance against Palace, and the aforementioned capitulation at Stoke all coloured the season finale. It coloured it with the frantic scrawl of a serial killer’s purple crayon. There was no way he was turning this round.
Recent history pointed to the imminent arrival of his P45 as the likely outcome. Over the last decade or so when the perception takes hold that a Liverpool manager is in decline, the decline is always assessed as terminal and the axe falls in the summer.
Liverpool managers with much more credit in the bank than Brendan Rodgers have suffered the same fate.
When Kenny Dalglish was sacked by FSG he had so many strings to his bow that it was more like a fucking harp — Kenny is unanimously accepted as the best player Liverpool ever; he won the double in his first season as a manager in 1985-86, scoring the winning goal against Chelsea to secure the league; he saved us from Hodgson and he managed to win us another cup. And genuinely, I’m only scratching the surface. You know that. But none of it was enough to cancel out a league performance at the back end of the 2011-2012 season which hit the skids and saw Liverpool finish eighth on a mere 52 points and having only picked up 16 points out of a last possible 42.
At the end of the 2009-2010 season Rafa Benitez was armed with a European Cup, an FA Cup, a title challenge and season after season of Champions League qualification that you used to take for granted. But missing out on the Champions League for only the first time, and finishing seventh on 63 points put paid to his time at Liverpool. Taking only 13 points out of the last possible 30, the season ended badly and he was gone. The view was taken that even after all he had done it still wasn’t enough to warrant a second chance.
Gerrard Houllier had a 2001 treble under his belt, plus a healthy sprinkling of other trophies and a title challenge. He even managed to ensure Liverpool qualified for the Champions League in his final season. We finished fourth, although only on 60 points. But like Rafa, he was judged in the context of his own previous successes and to that end was judged to be on an irreversible downwards trajectory.
So with case precedent, I expected the same fate for Rodgers. And although I never sought it, I welcomed it.
But then that strange thing happened. He was given another chance. And it’s very interesting to see what’s occurred as a consequence. Time has been allowed to pass. Dust has settled. Space has been given, and the first unexpected shoots of potential recovery have begun to spring up in the wasteland of the previous season.
Each change, with the exception of Firmino, was uninspiringly low key as it occurred: The ‘sackings’ of Pascoe and Marsh. The subsequent recruitment of O’Driscoll and Lijnders. The recruitment of Milner, then Ings and Clyne and Gomez. The return of Gary Mac. The pursuit of Benteke and then finally sealing the deal (we think).
However, it’s a range of changes and acquisitions that when I stop and look back at them in their totality, smacks of being more than the sum of its parts. Now it’s all but complete, it looks like a coherent plan and concerted effort to dig a fresh channel and direct our course down a new path. It ‘appears’ that lessons have been learnt.
Don’t get me wrong, it still may all go to shit. However, the very fact that it even looks like we could do well next season comes as a welcome surprise.
The treatment of Rodgers raises a series of interesting series ‘what ifs’. What if Houllier, Benitez and Dalglish had been given just one more summer to turn it round? Would they have come up with a plan? I think so.
Brendan has been given the full backing of FSG to implement what he thinks are the necessary changes. Whether you’re a Rodgers believer, a Brendan agnostic like myself or whether you think he’s the anti-Christ, the full backing of Rodgers by FSG is a valuable commodity. It will remove any doubt. By the time Rodgers leaves Liverpool there should be no ‘what ifs.’
As a consequence of the simple passing of time –and the radical idea of giving people a chance — I’ve got some of my faith back again. I’m making a new investment in Brendan. I’ll give him more time to turn it round. Nothing mad like, I’m not talking twenty quid! But, I’ll throw in a tenner. What I’ve seen this summer has earned him a bit more credit.
Pass me the piggy bank.
For more information on the We Are Liverpool fanzine go to www.weareliverpoolfanzine.com or follow the magazine on Twitter at @WeAre_Liverpool
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Pics: David Rawcliffe-Propaganda Photo
What a brilliantly written piece this is. Hands down the best I’ve read on here.
I would like to comment on this well-written, thoughtful piece. But instead I have to go buy a Twix bar, you bastard.
Brilliant piece.
I was puzzled by BR’s most recent (allegedly “big”) interview with the LFC site. He wasn’t the BR of yesteryear. I couldn’t work out whether he was on serious antidepressants or had become much more measured and dare I say modest. Let’s hope he has learned from the mistakes of last year and can give this new (potentially pretty exciting) squad the kind of leadership it needs.
It seemed like Rodgers was buying into his own hype last year.
Hopefully last season has humbled him into remembering how lucky he is to be at LFC, rather than the other way around.
At the same time, I hope he somehow recovers his aggressive attitude in regards to managing the club, rather than continuing with the Hodgson approach of ‘managing expectations’.
I just wonder what’s been said behind the scenes between Brendan and the owners. A few home truths on both sides maybe….who knows.
Certainly the interviews so far have been a bit more low key and it will be interesting to see if that theme continues going forward.
It wouldn’t have mattered to me who the manager was after the 6-1 defeat to Stoke they would have walked. However, given the situation we have to get behind Brendan and the team. Full 100% support.
I like the signings we have made so far and I think Benteke could give us a very good option up front. Getting Milner is an excellent move. Also having Gary Mac as first team coach will help the players immensely.
Lots to look forward to.
You’ve hit the nail on the head, second chances are rare. We’ve seen extensions to see if a manager could turn it around but rarely do we see backing them in the way FSG has Rodgers. By this summer I’d lost the will to even care what happened to him but 10 games prior I’d have said there’s no way he should go despite our poor season. I felt there was mitigating circumstances and to sack him would be daft. The run in made anyone who’s backed Rodgers look a bit stupid but the point still stands for me. If we’d got rid of him there would always be something at the back of my mind wondering what he may have become. I think he deserves that chance. He’s put a lot in. Like you say, if it goes tits up from here then there’s enough to satisfy that sacking is justified. I wasn’t really satisfied earlier in the summer, just angry at our capitulation.
I’d bet there’s a small part of FSG that are determined for him to work out because he’s ‘their man’ but I think it shows commitment to back him. It’s not a case of being in limbo and seeing how he does for 6 months. They’ve actively provided the tools to counter every reason he probably gave to what had gone wrong, even down to a new screening fence around Melwood. For me personally, it’s a clean slate. I’m not bothered about the past either way, I’m not bothered about his personality or what he says or who he’s signed. He’ll be judged on results. We’ve got a good squad and there’s no excuses. Outside of ‘for obvious reasons’ I hope he succeeds.
Great article that encapsulates the general mood of Liverpool fans. I’ve got a sneaky feeling that we’re going to play some excellent football next season and score a lot of goals. Whether it’ll be enough to finish fourth I’m not sure but the squad certainly looks deep enough to go far in the Europa league. I just feel like we need one more, always one more I know! Fuck it, let’s blam £50m on a Rolls Reus
Where are all the characters that shouted BR’s name from the rooftops in the title chasing year? How fickle you are. Give the guy a break. Yes he failed last season , we all did. Did it occur to anyone that arguably our worst performances came in the games where any manager on earth would have been inhuman not to have picked Gerrard due to sentimentality. Villa semi. Palace at home . Stoke away. The damage was done in the summer when we lost the best striker in the world and the next in line was pretty much crocked for the whole season. Yes, the rest of our striking recruitment that window is up for debate agreed.
Let’s be patient and show more class, support your manager.
The mistakes were obvious last season but hindsights a great thing, check out our last 6 or 7 seasons league positions ….not great.
I hope you’re not calling Rafa ‘inhuman’.
Good piece. Rodgers was likely one slip away from delivering the holy grail. We can challenge again if we stick with him. There is only one decent defence in the division as it stands, so everyone bar Chelsea are there for the taking on a game by game basis. We now have goals again too, C’mon you red men!
“…the very fact that it even looks like we could do well next season comes as a welcome surprise.”
Yes it does, and it feels good.
I’m just a little concerned that with Sturridge not due back until October ?, he might have the usual slight hamstring pull that many strikers have after a return from injury, and then it might not be all sweetness and light. But if we can win 3 and draw 2, of the first seven, i’ll take that as a sign all might indeed be well.
This season can’t come quick enough now.
Now just imagine how good it would feel to go fucking mad and throw in a £20…..?
I’ve gone loop da loop, doubled it, chucked in £40 and I’m gonna have a fine time…
The reds are coming up the hill boys
Lovely words.
My faith has been growing exponentially since the start of our summer dealings. This is mostly unfounded but who cares. In my eyes we’re going to win the league this year, until we can’t. Bring on the football.
It feels less about ‘Brendan Rodger’s Liverpool’ now, instead more a collegiate effort of BR, SC,GM and PL. Especially as we have all had a relatively long break from BR’s media presence.
If this carries on, and results are good, and people are played in their best positions : Happy Days.
Nothing has changed. Yes excited by our summer dealings but at the end of the day we still have a manager who is out of his depth. All the goodwill will be gone before November. I hope I’m proved wrong but we have spent countless $$$ on players and our defense still leaks like a fountain. That is a direct result of the tactics Rodgers employs and not of the quality we have at our disposal .
Fuckin hell mate. New season, new players, new back room staff. At least start positive and then get all bitter when it doesn’t go to plan. If not, what’s the point in being a fan?
Hang on a mo, out of his depth, he brought Swansea up and kept them up, we finished runners up the season before, last season granted a poor finish in the league, but we did get to two cup semi finals. This with our two main strikers missing, any team would find it hard going when their two most inform players are gone, give the man a chance, was Shanks out of his depth when he dragged us out of division 2?
forgive me some egg chasing. Graeme Henry didn’t win the World Cup for the all blacks first time round, typically that means the sack. 4 years later the all blacks win, and what’s more the legacy continues with his assistant now the head coach.
Hopefully BR can repay the faith, second chances are to rarely given
super article
Enjoyed the article, thanks Neil.
Rodger’s has some credit in the bank with me, I just hope he doesn’t blow it all before Christmas!
At the start of the summer, there was a lot of concern being expressed about the fact we weren’t being presented with a plan after the end of season review. Well, I think it is clear that there has been a plan, a plan that was already being put in place well before the dreadful capitulation at Stoke. (We are not Greece in the austerity analogy.)
I have really appreciated the radio silence from the club, while they have just gone on with execution of the plan. No hostages to fortune offered up to be thrown back in their faces when something goes wrong.
I will start the season with real optimism, and hopefully that optimism lasts beyond our tough run of early games.
There are a number of reasons that I am really looking forward to the season.
We have added £75 mill of attacking talent, and we have to believe that is going to represent some sort of upgrade. It is talent the club and manager wants, rather than some last minute panic buy.
We have the talent and depth to play Rodger’s preferred formations. I do not expect to see Rodgers desperately tinkering and trying novel formations to get enough of his best players on the pitch. If there are challenges or the need for tactical changes, I think Rodger’s will feel better supported by his staff, than he might have done in the past.
28-1 for the Premiership? I think we are better than that.
Great Article I think we’ll compete in the new season
Love this article, says exactly how I have felt over the past 9-10 months. Put it far more eloquently than I ever could.
Please correct the spelling of Gandhi. You’ve written ‘Ghandi’ up there. Its ironical that you can get a murderer like Hitler’s name correct and not the man who preached peace and non-violence forms of protest. Something the entire world follows now…
Wasn’t Gandhi not considered an enemy of the British empire while Hitler initially is seen as an ally of Britian
‘It’s seemingly much quicker and easier to spend credit than build it. Consequently, Rodgers faced his own personal credit crunch. In the face of austerity, I’d become more austere. I’d drastically reduced the terms and conditions of my goodwill and I wanted to know minutiae of his business before I even considered lending him my patience again. In essence, I’d become a football Tory. I felt deeply ashamed.’
If the use of Benteke is not in line with Brendan’s (and the likes of Coutinho’s) best football, I might shit it and go full Liz Kendall to the dark side.
I think Gary Mac has an important role and the player development is something that could see us challenge for the title late on like we did in the season where we just missed out – players improved as the season went by.
If somebody can do sprint training with Lallana that would be great. He’s got the trinks but just needs a little more pace to capitalise
I have backed BR all along. Losing Suarez caused the mother of all hangovers…it lasted a full season. That, coupled with our striker woes and having to manage SG out of the team (sad but the time had come) was a tough ask; for any manager, even those with sugar daddy deep pocket owners.
That said, I did question BRs purchase of RL and Ballotelli – it smacked of David Moyes first season at the ‘theater of mares’; out of his depth and buying questionable players. I have also questioned BRs approach to several games. The league was there for the taking in 2014 but we approached everything in a swashbuckling thrust of ‘Attack! Attack! Attack! All great to watch, but the trophy cabinet remained empty and the holy grail of the EPL eluded us yet again!
On paper; no one would have criticized the purchase of Lovren but not all players that join clubs, having played fantastically for another club the season before, are successful.
I also believe that Raheem caused a lot of upset in the dressing room. I also point the finger of blame at Mario; a man who needs to wise up and mature a lot. Maybe recent events in his life will show him that life is too short.
Get behind our Manager. lets hope that he leads us to glory years ahead. in BR we trust!