HAVING guided Swansea City to the Premier League, and the unexpected safety of a mid-table finish, Brendan Rodgers got his move to the next level when Fenway Sports Group selected him as the face of their project. This modern, innovative manager represented everything the boys from Boston wanted to exude; he spoke with confidence, and believed strongly in his own methods and ability. The aim was to win, and win smart, writes JOE WATSON.
The next three and a bit years of his time at Anfield would feature some glorious highs and crushing lows. Towards the end of Rodgers’ first season, Liverpool had new signings Philippe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge transforming their attack, and by the second they seemed to be closing in on that long awaited Premier League title. Yet just one year later, Liverpool were still without a Premier League crown, and were 6-1 down to Stoke, in what would prove to be Rodgers’ final full season at Anfield.
Those halcyon days of 2013-14 have been written and rewritten. The man who fans think of when reminiscing is Luis Suarez who, for his part, was really quite good that season. He became the best player in England and arguably the best in the world over a relatively short period of time, and moved on to prove himself in one of the most frightening front lines in history at Barcelona. The puzzling part of his Liverpool story is where his ascent to greatness merely ‘coincided’ with being managed by Rodgers, in the eyes of some supporters.
When Rodgers took charge at Liverpool, Suarez was 25. Not yet at his peak, there was definitely room for improvement at that age, but he was by no means a young prospect. Rodgers discovered something in Suarez that no manager had done before, and found the key to unlocking some frightening potential that not many can claim they saw coming. His form of that infamous title run was unlike anything most Liverpool fans had seen before, and he was a joy to watch. His manager deserves a share of the credit for that.
For many of those players in the 2013-14 side, it is the highest level they will ever reach. Will Aly Cissokho see a sustained league title challenge again? Joe Allen? Could an ageing Kolo Toure have been expected to become a part of what he did? Iago Aspas will surely never grace the top of a Premier League table come the last six games of a season again.
Rodgers took a squad that featured the likes of those players, prodigious talents such as Coutinho and Raheem Sterling, and did something special. He helped those talents find an element of consistency far beyond their years, and inspired others to find ability far beyond their expected capabilities. When fans heard Jon Flanagan was starting in the derby at Goodison, there was confusion to say the least. Never was it dreamed that he would become a crucial player for a side dominating teams up and down the country, as he did from January onwards.
History shouldn’t be re-written in that case. Credit should be given where it is due, and it was certainly due that season. The next, however…
The 2014-15 season was quite unbelievable, in many ways. With Champions League football in the bag and a reputation established as one of the most stylish teams in the country, despite falling short of the ultimate goal, summer improvements were expected and the foundations appeared to be in place for a second push at Premier League glory.
Some baffling signings for a side playing the high intensity, fast paced football Liverpool had produced to devastating effect at times included Rickie Lambert and Mario Balotelli. These strikers were tasked with filling the void left by Suarez, and it’s fair to say their Liverpool careers never quite took off. Sturridge began to pick up injuries, Steven Gerrard started to look like a man who knew things were coming to an end, and suddenly Liverpool were losing 6-1 to Stoke on the last day. Rodgers’ stubbornness tactically and his failings in the transfer market came under intense scrutiny, and rightly so.
To the surprise of many, he was given the summer to turn things around. He could not. Wins over Stoke and Bournemouth and a 0-0 draw at the Emirates, in which Liverpool played excellently, took them into the first international break and seemed to paper over the cracks. But that was followed by back to back defeats against West Ham and Manchester United, and the cracks reappeared. Teams would come to Anfield with growing confidence, and by October the Rodgers seemed down and out. Hours after a 1-1 draw in the derby at Goodison on October 4, Rodgers was sacked.
The factors behind the continued slump and ultimate downfall of Rodgers have been analysed and discussed at length. He was dubbed by some as a ‘con artist’, his management credentials and the heroics of that season were put down to a combination of luck and the brilliance of his Uruguayan talisman.
The way he reacted, his next move, would be a huge test of his character.
When it was announced in the summer of 2016 that Rodgers would take over at Celtic, it seemed a smart yet unambitious move, in many ways. On the one hand, he was joining a reputable club where he could prove his credentials as a manager, on the other hand any success seemed a virtual certainty given The Hoops’ reign as Scotland’s top club.
Many would have thought that the ‘snake oil salesman’ was up to his old tricks, and it seemed like there was no way for Rodgers to come out with a vastly improved reputation. Arguably, there were two ways to prove himself; European success, or by somehow taking the league by such storm that Celtic’s title run stood out against all those that went before it.
In November, they won the Scottish League Cup, Rodgers’ first trophy as a manager (aside from a valueless play-off final trophy with Swansea back in 2010-11). Then in January, they began to set records. A 4-0 victory over Hearts saw them surpass the unbeaten domestic record set by the Celtic team of 1967, which would become known as the ‘Lisbon Lions’ as they overcame Inter Milan to win the European Cup. Somehow, this record was almost brushed off, with critics rushing to point out the lack of competition in Scotland, while explaining how easy it is to break records that have been around since the ‘60s.
Since the Hearts game, they have won a further four games, scoring 14 goals in the process. They’ve not only broken this record, they’re potentially going to extend it beyond recognition.
With one trophy in the bag and the league title all but wrapped up, Rodgers has just one cup to focus on in order to cement his place in history. If they can balance that with an unbeaten league campaign as well, then Rodgers will have delivered upon his promises at Celtic.
It isn’t inconceivable that he is learning as a manager too. Perhaps the mistakes made during his Liverpool reign will enable the Northern Irishman to establish himself as a big name in the future.
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I was at Newcastle sitting among home fans laughing their heads off we were that cr*p and unfortunately saw us lose 6-1 to Stoke. So to answer the article’s question – no.
Of course not. He has Celtic who are a big fish in a so tiny pool that Bugs Bunny would do just as well.
My Gran would win titles as manager of Celtic
This season under Klopp has been like Rodgers last two: great, then garbage.
Rather fascinating, the level of revisionism going on amongst our friends at Anfield. It appears a mixture of “maybe Brendan wasn’t so bad after all” and “perhaps Jurgen isn’t quite the saviour we dreamed of”. The plain truth is that, as Suarez and Sterling both openly admit, both players are products of a management style that made them what they are today. I wish Liverpool all the very best but, at the same time, must thank you from the bottom of my heart for letting Brendan go. From Dembele and Tierney, right through to our somewhat older captain, Scott Brown, those management skills are now being employed and enjoyed at the home of the team he supported from the very beginning.
Agreed Jamie, I think Brendan has learned from his time at Anfield & the Hoops are going from strength to strength.
As for Liverpool, i think Klopp will get there in the end.
YNWA
Forget what online warriors say, most Liverpool fans do show genuine gratitude to Rodgers. I certainly do, and while I thought that his time had come to an end in October 2015 (certainly with Klopp available it was difficult not to take that opportunity), he’s ultimately a good man and a good manager.
However people like to revise their opinions that it was just merely Suarez who did it for Rodgers (if so, then why did he not do it for King Kenny?), he was undoubtedly key to the title charge. As you say, players spoke highly of how he improved them, even Gerrard who he was able to get an excellent season out of in 13-14, heaped praise on the man. I sincerely hope he goes on to achieve great things at Celtic – we haven’t had too much to shout about the last few years but being a supporter in 13-14 felt terribly exciting and despite the gut wrenching disappointment at the end, I ultimately hold great memories from that season. I hope he gives your lot a similar feeling.
Brendan is living the ‘dream’ with managing the team he supported growing up. He’s here to build a legacy and achieve and all done with hard work and talent and not Murdoch poisonous££££ that will eventually kill the EPL.
Rodgers had some qualities but he thought he was better than he was and NEVER admitted his mistakes.
Also, he bought Balotelli, forget the excuses about the “transfer committee” !
Shocking lack of ignorance with no nuance with this comment. It was the transfer committee’s job to recommend the right player for Rodgers. Once we failed to get Sanchez, the committee screwed up big time by giving Rodgers a lose-lose option of either buying Balotelli or nobody.
Hardly his fault and to try and pin all the blame on him is wishful thinking while such malign influences continue to work at Liverpool. Delusion of the highest order.
Rodgers main aim, it seems, was to save face and take the easy option. He knew that should he take a more difficult job and fail, his rep would have been irreparable .
Its what he does when he leaves the pub league that will define him.
Really good article, and one of the first I’ve seen to defend Rogers from a Liverpool perspective.
Cards on the table- I’m a Celtic fan…but I just cannot understand the lack of respect among Liverpool fans for BR. It’s bizarre. Without Gerrard’s slip he wins Liverpool their first title in what, 25 years or so? Who outside of Man U, Chelsea and Man City has come that close in the last 10 years? The article is right to point out that he made mistakes, but, just like players, managers can learn and improve over time. It’s fair to say he’s definitely become more tactically flexible at Celtic, anyway.
The comments above seem to totally miss the main points: it isn’t that it’s difficult in Scotland – only a fool would argue the SPL is close to the strength of the EPL – but that irrespective of the quality of the league he is achieving results which nobody, not even Martin O’Neill, have managed since the 60’s.
Equally daft is the assertion that it was all down to Suarez. A phenomenal player no denying, but the implication that a single player can win a league is just so misguided I don’t know where to begin. If that were the case then the league would just be won by the team spending the most on a single player each season. It seems obvious to point this out, but even great players can be terrible in the wrong team.
Bottom line is, Liverpool don’t seem to be doing much better under Klopp, yet he seems to escape similar criticism. Genuinely curious to hear Liverpool fans’ thoughts.
I agree that he’s a little unfairly maligned in terms of ability (he’s an especially good coach), I just think the Liverpool job came to soon for him. As for Klopp, I would take issue that we’re not doing much better. In his first season we reached the final of the UEFA, Europa League and the League cup, this season we’ve been one of the best 2-3 sides in the league for most of the season and are only a point or two off second (which would equal Brendan’s best). That, without Suarez, Gerrard and Sturbridge at his best – that’s three pretty much World Class talents that BR had at his disposal. So, I do believe we are doing pretty well under Klopp. Brendan did very well for a 16-18 month consecutive period, before and afterwards though, it was pretty excruciating. The test at Celtic will come when a side emerges who can actually challenge your dominance as adversity is a great signifier of managerial competence. All the best though, always liked your lot, glad you’re doing well.
Brendan’s Dad, you seem to have a short memory.
Depending on how you see it, Rafa Benitez nearly won the league in 2008/2009 with one of the best Liverpool XI I’ve seen play since the 80s. He also helped us win that trophy in 2005 when we were down 0-3 at half time. Do you think Brendan could have mustered that type of strategy and inspiration in the dressing room in ’05? Based on the Chelsea game, I don’t he could and didn’t.
So please, enough of this rubbish with Gerrard’s slip, etc. You could argue about what was Brendan Rodgers doing for the next 45 minutes or so after that goal went in? Where was all the strategies to win or draw the game and keep our title hopes alive?
In addition Brendan lost the easier games prior to the Chelsea game that really hurt us, and that Crystal Palace game.
I just think Rodgers was inexperienced and as I got the impressions from his approach to matches, in the media, and with the transfers when the pressure was turned up. That’s about it. I personally thought he was a good coach and manager, not a great one.
Celtic seems to be the right level for his management skills. So he’s having a nice run and I hope he does well.
Klopp has not finished a whole year with a team mostly inherited from Brendan Rodgers, and this team did not involve Suarez, Sterling and/or Gerrard.
The team Brendan had was mostly injury free, and with Suarez’s motivational and unbelievable talent when hitting top form especially seeing the Barcelona carrot dangling made it worth the effort for him. He inspired the entire team to some degree. You could see this in the players around him. Add Gerrard to this mix and it was brilliant run of games.
Klopp had to come in mid-season and motivate an entire team devoid of any fight or clue after those final few games and not to forget the Stoke pasting. They got to two cup finals and fucked up, but so what. It was enough to get them playing football with some confidence and stop becoming a total embarrassment.
Personally I would have axed Rodgers after previous season and brought in Klopp, but we know he wasn’t available etc.
Anyways I will gauge Klopp when he has all the players he wants to work with. His signings, not Brendan Rodgers, so there’s no excuse of not having his tools, etc.
As for Brendan being called back to LFC, I think he shouldn’t be. He has left a very poor reference/memory in his last season and a half, and that I think will get the fans on his back if he lost the first game even if he wins 20 in a row at the start of any season. Almost winning the EPL is not good enough, especially if he wins nothing with Celtic.
Rodgers is dire but we should be ringing Celtic for Dembele.
So Rogers joins a club in a vastly inferior league, a club which is the only big fish in a tiny pond and wins the league with them and some are wondering were we wrong about him??
Really??
We should be going after Dembele though.
Dembele is playing in a “vastly inferior” league…why would you want him? What’s the Scottish league got that makes you think this lad is suitable for us? After all, he is a big fish in a tiny pond, scoring goals my gran could score. isn’t that the narrative?
The article is asking the wrong question. It should be why Klopp is getting away with murder when Rodgers was verbally decimated for similar mistakes and near identical failings. The day Klopp can claim he would have won the PL if not for the ‘Gerrard slip’, or better yet, actually win the damn thing, is the day he’ll be a better manager than Rodgers. At least at Liverpool anyway.
The generic, typical and lazy counter arguments that Rodgers’ current success is merely down to the league he is competing in is laughable. Winning an inferior league is one thing. Breaking records that haven’t been topped in literally decades while doing it is another.
And regarding Dembele, he’s far too good for Liverpool. Bayern and Real Madrid are apparently the latest clubs to emerge as potential interested parties, so no luck.
Poor league. Even Rodgers cannot fail there he is at his level
Liverpool are a small fish in a big big pond there’s not a pond big enough for celtic f.c simple as that brendens catching big fish
Interesting……One slip from glory !………And he would have been a Messiah …..Shows how fickle football fans are …..What he does ….He improves players…
Rodgers had plenty of games to find answers to our problems. We were unable to attract top players even though we got to the ECL. He would find a formation that worked (the diamond in 13/14) and play it till it didn’t. Then play it some more. And more. Until I was sure it was just a fluke he found something that worked in the first place.
Rodgers is a good manager, I think the Job with us came much too soon for him though. As a coach he is very good but where he fell down with us badly was his managerial personality. He just was not fully formed as a manager in the way Klopp is, and you just cannot have that at a club like Liverpool. I do take one exception to the article though – far from being “stubborn” tactically, Rodgers was actually the opposite. He was far too quick to lose belief in his own convictions, I remember a game in 14/15 where he changed the system FOUR times in 90 mins! Managers need belief, especially at big clubs and Brendan was conversely, too quick to believe his own press, then far too quick to break – Klopp seems to have a more stable equilibrium.
Rogers made mistakes but we will never know the extent to which he was culpable in poor transfers what is undeniable though is the devastating nature of football we played under him in that title run anybody who says Brendan had nothing to do with it is only misleading themselves. It was always inevitable that the level of football we played without winning the league wild be hard to replicate.
It is even my personal opinion that Suarez has not replicated that level at Barca maybe because of the Barca style or whatever so how much more the lesser mortals like Rahim, Stu etc etc they were mental tired and when you see Super Mario in the stead of El Pistolero my God you will need councilling and probably a shrink.
But I am not surprised by all these snide remarks because there are fans that think Stevie and not Raffa was responsible for Istanbul and Cardiff.
We all have an opinion but we must also have perspective.
Don’t understand the hate for Rodgers, I never fully have. He was cringey and made some shocking decisions late on, but to say 2013/14 was down to Suarez alone is wrong. It wasn’t. Simple as that. Rodgers was the man who changed his side and found a tactical system that suited us best after the winter and won 11 games on the bounce and took us to the brink of winning the title. That is and will always be an outstanding achievement 2 years into his reign as manager. He devised a way when looking at the players he had to make them better than the sum of their parts. We should not forget that. That we didn’t do well afterwards shouldn’t mean we all believe he is a fraud. He’s not
Hi Sean, I am one of those fans who don’t hate Rodgers, and remember the things he was trying to do at LFC. For me, he seemed inexperienced in how to handle the pressures of transfers, managing egos and the press with respect to a club with the history like LFC.
I do however think that it was Suarez inspiring the team on the pitch, setting the standards of playing that got the whole team really going. It felt like watching a kid grow up into a man and take some responsibility.
Suarez always seemed like he wanted to leave for whatever reason at the time, money, winning things or just wanted to be at a prestigious club that had blossomed into a giant that LFC used to be in terms of winning trophies in the modern day football environment. So when he learned that biting was not going to get him out of the club like he did in Holland, he decided to grow up and focus whatever he had on the game. His reward was always going to be Barcelona.
Rodgers added his two cents to the mix, tactics, approach to an attacking game allowed Suarez’s unbelievable talent, and ability that unfolded at the time and it had a knock on effect. I mean even had fucking Martin Skrtel scoring goals for fun from corners! Since then we can’t score from corners for shit. Suarez took the games by the scruff of the neck at times, and so did Gerrard. All the bit players like Sterling, Sturridge, et all came in to help.
I don’t know about the fraud title Rodgers seems to be given. I don’t appreciate that. I don’t know what that means in the context of managing. He was just inexperienced and went on the defensive especially with the press.
The only issue I had was when Brendan started the blame game with players, etc, it reminded me of Mourinho. That I didn’t think was cool.
I think a lot of the dislike comes from out of the fact that lots of people started off thinking he wasn’t good enough for the job and that FSG should have been going for bigger fish (me too at the time). People don’t want to admit to being wrong and are therefore almost happy when the wheels come off. You build up a position and then look for reasons to prove yourself right – everything that goes well is due to somebody else and everything that goes wrong is down to him. Same thing happened to Rafa.
For me, he made mistakes like all of us do is clearly a talented coach. Hope he goes on to have a successful career.
Brendan is a good manager with knack for getting teams playing on a positive footing. Thought it was a bit safe of him going to Celtic. The real answer to this question lies in what he accomplishes after leaving Glasgow.
It’s difficult to understand some of the signings made at Liverpool & I assume this was a direct result of the transfer committee employed at the club. He recently made soundbites about certain players that were dismissed as unsuitable, e.g. Virgil Van Dijk.
I rate Brendan Rodgers very highly & have a soft spot for Celtic so hope he is very successful north of the border.
The issue of his failure at Liverpool is a complex one. There is no doubting that he abandoned his footballing principles with the signing of Benteke, but equally there is evidence enough of a backroom war between himself and the transfer committee. Is he a good manager? Yes. Is he a good enough manager to manage a EPL winning side? Probably not, the gulf in quality between the EPL and SPL is vast.
At the end of the day this article is moot. Those who are blinded by the ‘shine of his teeth’ will never give him credit, and let’s be honest, there is a sizeable number of our fanbase that never wanted him to succeed because he wasn’t their manager of choice. The rest of us, however, will acknowledge the good things he did and thank him for arguably the most exciting season since the Premier League began.
Sick of this epl spl crap
Man city were cruising the epl until they played celtic so to say hes took the easy way is a lie hes set the foundation for us all to beat city the players hes got in celtic are playing phenomenal would i take dembele ?? Not just him id have brown sinclair if he could keep it up tierney roberts all be it hes a city player.
Brendan or klopp for me its brendan all the way yea he made mistakes but that happens in life all the time
The man loves nothing but himself, pure chocolate.
As far as him being successful at Celtic do we really need to list their recent success without anything close to competition?
As a Celtic fan who lives in England and somebody with a soft spot for the city of Liverpool and its people, I’ve seen plenty of both clubs over the past five years. There’s no doubt that Rodgers made mistakes at Liverpool but in my opinion, there are definitely aspects of his work at Celtic that might shed a different light on his time at LFC and cause the need for some reevaluation.
Whilst it’s easy to look to the records that Celtic have broken under BR, his greatest success has been the development of the squad that he inherited. Brown, Armstrong and Rogic look like totally different players to those that we saw last year and a few others have improved exponentially too, including some of the signings that were made in the summer. Dedryck Boyata now looks as if he is a footballer. To my mind, this factor gives a significant degree of credibility to the claims that he played a key role in the improvement of players such as Suarez, Sterling and Henderson etc. I personally thought that Scott Brown was finished at the end of last season and I couldn’t have been more wrong; this is probably the best season that he’s ever had as a Celtic player. The Celtic players have been unanimous and effusive in their praise of Rodgers and his coaching abilities, as well as the those of his staff.
Another factor of his stewardship at Celtic that may have some bearing on the interpretation of his reign at Liverpool is how he has negotiated the transfer market; to my mind, he has not failed in any capacity whatsoever. His rate of success has been frightening. The squad was in desperate need of an injection of pace, a left-sided winger, competition up front and a little bit of experience to help out the younger players and Scott Brown who was forced to bear the responsibility of seniority almost on his own. BR brought in Kolo Toure who was more responsible for seeing us over the line into the Champions League than any other player, Scott Sinclair has been a revelation and is likely to clear-up at the end of season playing awards but more importantly, Moussa Dembele’s transfer fee, when he is eventually sold, will ensure that Celtic wins the league for the five years proceeding his departure; Rodgers only paid half a million quid for him. The competition that De Vries has given Craig Gordon has seen Celtic knock-back a large bid from Chelsea for his signature and Cristian Gamboa has also been an able addition.
When I look at what’s happened at Celtic over the past six months with respect to how we’ve operated in the transfer market, I can’t help but think that the culpability in relation to what occurred at Liverpool in terms of stockpiling players, buying the wrong players, buying players that couldn’t play in a particular position etc must lie with the club/transfer committee to quite some degree. It’s obvious that BR quickly worked out what was needed at Celtic and immediately addressed the issues; he’s worked within a budget and got great value for money. He deserves immense credit for how he’s used the market as manager of Celtic and it’s extremely difficult to reconcile what happened at LFC with the same manager. I appreciate that LFC operates in a different market but the central tenets of identifying a weakness and buying to strengthen are exactly the same. His success at Celtic must cause the finger of suspicion to be pointed at LFC’s transfer committee. The club has to have made mistakes too.
So, why has BR ended up in Scotland? There is no denying that the league is weaker than the Premier League but this is where the record breaking run becomes relevant; if Celtic do break records, it will mean that Rodgers has won a weak league with greater aplomb than anybody else and that is an achievement in itself. It wasn’t too long ago that Graeme Souness acquired the Liverpool job on the basis of his exploits in Scotland. Something that many Liverpool fans overlook, quite surprisingly in my opinion, is that there are only a handful of management jobs in world football that aren’t a huge step down after you’ve walked in the same shoes as Shankley and Paisley. In England, only the jobs at Arsenal, Utd, City, Chelsea and possibly Spurs come close in terms of budgets and performance etc. Even then, you’re looking at only Utd with a stature that is similar to Liverpool’s. What’s the point of turning up at West Brom to scratch around in mid-table obscurity forever? I’d personally find it soul destroying. Perennially, you’d be haunted by your time at Liverpool; it is a club that casts a long shadow. Think about how Benitez was treated at Chelsea. You would struggle to get a fair crack of the whip anywhere; everything would be seen through the lens of your time at Liverpool. Made a bad signing? Did that at Liverpool. Lost a game you should’ve won? Did that at Liverpool. Let a lead slip? Did that at Liverpool. It’s almost a form of psychosis. Rodgers was entirely right to get out of the madhouse although he is able to pop his head in every now and again whilst playing in the Champions League. It won’t have gone unnoticed that his team, compiled for £20m, took points off of a Man City side that cost £420m to cobble together. In Scotland, BR has been able to escape Liverpool-mania but remain in English football’s consciousness. He has also averted the risk of managing on the continent, something that has seemingly debilitated the managerial careers of two of Liverpool’s old foes, David Moyes and Gary Neville…
Rodgers also receives the remuneration of a Premier League manager and is treated impeccably well by the majority shareholder. Private jets and the like are not uncommon. He has also been given carte-blanche to implement his vision at Celtic. The club has asked him to use his expertise in player development and his experience of managing an elite club like Liverpool to become the architect of what happens over the course of the next generation at Celtic. Not many individuals are afforded such a remit. We are an impeccably run club that does things the right way and our modern day success in Scotland is down to Celtic fans, from Fergus McCann through to Peter Lawwell and the 52k of us that buy season tickets. To put it simply, we deserve to be in the position that we find ourselves. We get next to no help from Sky, BT and the BBC; it’s genuinely down to us. A little over 20 years ago, the Bank of Scotland wanted to shut Celtic down over a £6m overdraft. A Celtic fan, John Keane, got his bank manager to queue outside of the Glasgow branch of the BoS the next morning and deposit a million pounds into the club’s account. He received no security for his deposit, he just did it to keep the club alive. Rodgers also has a connection to Celtic through his heritage, as a number of LFC fans that I know proudly do, and it’s impossible to overestimate the role that this played in him joining Celtic. His cousins are season ticket holders and have been making the trip over from Northern Ireland for years. When he addressed the supporters outside of Celtic Park after winning the League Cup, he was visibly moved. Later, it was revealed that he had thought about his deceased Celtic supporting father whilst speaking and it was this that had caused him to become emotional. Anybody would take career moments like that over finishing in eleventh place with Stoke…..
All the very best for the rest of the season. Would love to see you lot win the league, even if it’s just to make Fergie’s nose redder…..
Great post.
Interesting post Michael – thank you.
Nice one, very true. My opinion is that the Liverpool job came to soon for him, not in terms of coaching and developing players (at which he clearly excels), but in terms of managerial personality and maturity. Whatever anyone thinks of him, he made huge mistakes at Liverpool, though he got us in a great position in 13/14, his immaturity saw him blow his tactics in a match we only needed to draw, against a Chelsea squad side (tho’ an expensive one). Yes, Stevie slipped, but the tactics were too frantic from the start and I think this affected the mindset. However, 13/14 was an achievement whichever way you look at it, I feel he then lost his equilibrium and started to believe his own press. Glad he’s doing well for you though.
Michael, your analysis is fabulous and so correct. Like all clubs, LFC fans will have divided views on our managers and revere the ones who win the most as gods. Those who win little will often be crucified. Yet all managers work under different restraints and sometimes luck is needed too.
I believe he had his hands tied to do for the club what Celtic are allowing him to do. I believe FSG always wanted Jurgen (rightly) and took BR over Martinez to manage the ship until Klopp became available. It’s not that he was inexperienced or incompetent, quite the opposite- he wasn’t given control over the ways and the players he wanted. He, like JK, RB, Kenny II, had his faults but he made players better, changed formations to suit the squad frailties as well as their strengths and just came short against the richest disposable income team in the world.
I’m delighted he’s showing us again what he can do when given the chance. For me, he gave us so much that others wouldn’t have gotten near with a couple of greats, many decent, some dud players and a load of kids in 13/14. Our best football in 25 years.
Delighted to see him raise eyebrows once more. It’ll be hard to do Europe these days when your weekly opposition is Hearts, Motherwell, Hibs, current Rangers etc. to refine your battling and polish your skills- but against City he showed he isn’t far off if given the time and support he is rightly getting.
You’ll do well to hold onto him long term- or maybe he’ll go that step further than the great Martin O’Neill and closer to big Jock.
It made me consider Findus Crispy Pancakes.
Just as I thought. Those stupid Liverpool fans that chased him out of Liverpool have all been proven wrong again. Now they’re trying to run Sturridge out of town. When will they learn. There is no more Raheem Sterling. Glen Johnson was sold prematurely. Suarez is now gone, although he left on his own. I wonder though if all the condemnations by the Liverpool fans on his biting issues helped him to make his decision.
This is not a bloody video game. If you don’t know how to use social media responsibly, then don’t use it. Stop telling the management to sell players. Stop acting as if you yourselves are paying these players salary.
Better yet. Forget sports altogether and see all the crap that is happening to you all while you have been distracted by all the sports mess.
Your rights are being taken away from you and all you are worrying about is how much money a soccer player is being paid.
Mix it up a little. Enjoy your sports, but keep your eyes open as to what’s happening around you. Don’t fall for the old okey doke.
really
“When Brendan was appointed, I was excited, I’d actually spoken to him when he was at Swansea in Spanish, which I thought was a good touch. He was familiar with the Spanish way of playing, as he’d studied there.
“He was very clever and told me that Liverpool would play possession football, as it would suit me. He helped me with my runs, arriving in the area at the right time and coming in from wide – rather than just waiting in the middle – which benefited my confidence.
“We worked hard on finding ways I could isolate players and then try to beat them, man on man. That was the only way I could succeed in England.
“I wasn’t proven and I had to adapt to the Premier League, which Brendan knew. He knows all about English football and he educated me to become successful and the player I am today.”
So Luis Suarez is a liar???
Yes this is true as you saw what everyone read in the media. I just wish it was more than just PR management on Suarez’s part on his departure to Barcelona, then perhaps Brendan would have applied it again to the following season.
nah, Suarez is a natural he woulda picked it up under any manager. hes just being polite in his book
I supported BR all the way but NO. End of; he was not good enough and he rid the coat tails of Suarez.
Rodgers arrogance knows no bounds, he will not accept criticism on any grounds,his dealings in transfer at Celtic were very poor and costly and his style and philosophy of. football was not liked by many celtic supporters, and given the lack of quality in Scottish football,and rangers demise at the time, contributed to his success there. His failures in Europe, were the worst of any Celtic manager in history, and at Liverpool he squandered money in transfers and his lack or success there led to his inevitable sacking. for me he is a very overrated manager.