Brendan Rodgers - a re-evaluation?

[Pogue Mahone]

A lot of chat in the Klopp thread (and by assorted pundits) about Liverpool's recent form being a reversion to the norm. They spend top 5-7 money to build a top 5-7 squad, full of top 5-7 players and that's where they'll finish. Between 5th and 7th place.

Someone who recently bucked this trend, spectacularly, was Brendan Rodgers. It's easy to dismiss but they were really really good in that season where they finished second. 101 goals scored, sensational attacking football and absolutely eviscerating some of the biggest clubs in the league. Since Klopp took over I've often thought that their best moments were as much about recreating the swarming, overwhelming attacking football they delivered under Rodgers as it is about anything new that Klopp has introduced.

Rodgers was sacked relatively hastily IMO. Especially considering the massive challenge he was lumbered with in finding a way to compensate for the loss of a megastar like Suarez. My personal opinion is that Henderson and Coutinho are their best players, both signed by the previous boss.

Since he left the Premier League he's been doing a hell of a good job at Celtic. Signing exciting young talents and making them more dominant than they have been in a long long time (even allowing for Rangers' collapse) They also acquitted themselves well against one of the PL's strongest teams, (City) at a time when they were in excellent form and they're very much playing his trade-mark style of football in doing so.

So yeah, can he feel a bit hard done by? Is he someone that top clubs should be looking at?

 

[SteveJ]

Brendan Rodgers - a re-evaluation?

Ok - I'll give you a quid for him.

 

[Samid]

Since he left the Premier League he's been doing a hell of a good job at Chelsea.

 

[Gio]

He was a huge coup for Celtic. The league was over the moment he was appointed (and Delia was sacked).

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Eesh.

 

[balaks]

Normally I really support fellow Northern Irish folk and want them to do well. Brendan I'm afraid is the one exception to that rule. Everytime he opens his mouth I get annoyed.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Normally I really support fellow Northern Irish folk and want them to do well. Brendan I'm afraid is the one exception to that rule. Everytime he opens his mouth I get annoyed.

He's an annoying, fake-tanned prat who talks fluent David Brent. He does seem to get his teams playing great football though.

 

[Pace Abuser]

Chelsea? I'm confused.

 

[VP89]

Honestly, I always thought he was a good manager. But every Liverpool manager will get stick here, and he did bang on about Character too much in his interviews.

That said, there was talk of a transfer committee limiting manager decisions, which seemingly only broke after Klopp joined and it was publically confirmed that he alone would ratify transfers. With this in mind BR did very well and Klopp has not improved Liverpool in the slightest by way of league position since.

 

[DWelbz19]

I can see your point a bit, but he still made some really rudimentary errors - e.g. having huge success with a blistering counter attack side who play their best football on the floor, only to make his key signing a target man in Benteke. I think he was just as bad - probably worse - at setting up defensively than Klopp too.

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

Liverpool shat on him a little really, he was a slip away from winning them the title, closer than any other manager for 2 decades.

I'm not sure he's all that, but still, they went from comparing him to Shankly to sacking him very hastily imo.

 

[VP89]

I can see your point a bit, but he still made some really rudimentary errors - e.g. having huge success with a blistering counter attack side who play their best football on the floor, only to make his key signing a target man in Benteke. I think he was just as bad - probably worse - at setting up defensively than Klopp too.

Well, who is to say Benteke was his signing?

 

[LFC-Fans]

He is a very good manager. Nobody can argue that, but I think it was right to get rid of him.

For his benefit more than anything else, I think he was running out of ideas and the loss of Suarez coupled with our disappointing form just took it out of him. He needed a break after that incredible season.

Look at him now though, hes had some time off and working wonders with Celtic.
I and all Liverpool fans can only wish him the best. He made us so exciting to watch, that demolition job against Arsenal was breathtaking.
I honestly don't think I've ever seen a more attacking side than that 13/14 team. Tore defenses a new one every time.

 

[DWelbz19]

Well, who is to say Benteke was his signing?

Come on now. Let's not start that.

EDIT: In any case, Tony Barrett - who is normally clued up on Liverpool stuff - claims Markovic, Moreno, Sakho and Origi were committee-prompted signings, while Lovren, Clyne, Milner, Lallana, and Benteke were Rodgers’ selections.

 

[VP89]

Come on now. Let's not start that.

Why? There was a lot of talk about the transfer committee at Liverpol, so much so that Klopp had to publically clarify that he has the final say.

 

[DWelbz19]

Why? There was a lot of talk about the transfer committee at Liverpol, so much so that Klopp had to publically clarify that he has the final say.

Check my edit.

 

[balaks]

Why? There was a lot of talk about the transfer committee at Liverpol, so much so that Klopp had to publically clarify that he has the final say.

Was there anything to suggest Rodgers didnt also have the final say as is the case for the vast majority of managers who work under the same system?

 

[tomaldinho1]

I think they're quite similar in what they've achieved with L'Pool - the fact Rodgers nearly won the PL with that team is very impressive.

I think the general level of Liverpool's squad is a notch below their competitors and I do see them finishing just outside the top 4. No doubt Koeman will move again soon for some additional wonga so Brendan can go to Everton and get the ultimate revenge!

 

[shaky]

He was a huge coup for Celtic. The league was over the moment he was appointed (and Delia was sacked).

Rodgers is doing a great job at Celtic, but I think the awfulness of Delia is making Rodgers look even better. Strachan led them to the last 16 of the Champions league a couple of times, Lennon did pretty well there too. Delia stunk out the place and still won the league titles he was expected to.

 

[VP89]

Check my edit.

Fair enough - in which case Benteke is a poor transfer but still the only one. Clyne, Lovren, Milner are good deals on paper.
The man had 29 goals for Aston Villa the year before though, so you can understand the logic in there somewhere. He looked a completely different player then to now.

Compare that to Klopp who is playing Wjynaldum from a winger's position to a deep lying midfielder & Karius/Klavan as answers to Liverpool's back 5.. its really not that bad at all.

Was there anything to suggest Rodgers didnt also have the final say as is the case for the vast majority of managers who work under the same system?

No I think Liverpool's case was quite exclusive, to the extent where even Jamie Charrager came out and criticised it IIRC. They intefere more than they should. Or did anyway.

 

[VP89]

Rodgers is doing a great job at Celtic, but I think the awfulness of Delia is making Rodgers look even better. Strachan led them to the last 16 of the Champions league a couple of times, Lennon did pretty well there too. Delia stunk out the place and still won the league titles he was expected to.

Isn't Rodgers on the brink of some form of record though?

 

[harms]

He is not as bad as he is seen here and not as good as he thinks he is. Still can't believe that he hanged his own portrait at his house

Great at constructing attacking game, be it at Swansea, Liverpool or Celtic, but clueless regarding the defensive side of the game, which eventually cost him the title and the job

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Come on now. Let's not start that.

EDIT: In any case, Tony Barrett - who is normally clued up on Liverpool stuff - claims Markovic, Moreno, Sakho and Origi were committee-prompted signings, while Lovren, Clyne, Milner, Lallana, and Benteke were Rodgers’ selections.

Those player in bold have probably been the pick of Klopp's squad (other than Mane, anyway). Coutinho too. Another Rodgers signing.

 

[Ødegaard]

Think you guys are looking too much into things.
They did well because Suarez and Sturridge was firing on all cylinders, apart from Suarez pulling them along, they were a average top 7 team.
Also, Brendan was more cringe than Klopp is during interviews.

Liverpool should buy more quality & depth and improve with the coach they have, as they won't be getting anyone better for quite some time.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Isn't Rodgers on the brink of some form of record though?

Just beaten a record first set in 1967.

 

[lem8sh]

Very good manager imho.

 

[Bepi]

He seems a plastic man to me, he can do his job for sure but artificial manners and eloquence meh?

 

[NinjaFletch]

I think he's a good manager who was largely a victim of his own success.

The double think that criticises him and praises Klopp in equal measures is bizarre because they got virtually identical results with the squad last season, and I don't think Rodgers would be doing much worse this season if they made similar additions (whether they would have not is a matter of conjecture).

But still, he's a cnut so feck him.

 

[Varun]

Absolutely hated the Pool side that almost won the title and it wasn't to do with the fact that they're Pool. Guess that's the biggest compliment I can give them, they were absolutely sensational to watch.

 

[SuperiorXI]

Definitely a good manager, a bit of a deluded gobshite though and not top team quality. Mid to high PL range.

 

[Varun]

I think he's a good manager who was largely a victim of his own success.

The double think that criticises him and praises Klopp in equal measures is bizarre because they got virtually identical results with the squad last season, and I don't think Rodgers would be doing much worse this season if they made similar additions (whether they would have not is a matter of conjecture).

But still, he's a cnut so feck him.

Yup.

 

[Peanut Butter]

He's a decent midtable manager in our league and had Swansea playing some nice football at first times although all he did was tinker with the blueprint Martinez left behind. People often think that Rodgers invented the Swansea way of playing but he didn't - Huw Jenkins informed him in the interview that was the football Swansea expected and BR followed suit. He still had to execute this of course and he did it well.

Liverpool he did ok but couldn't organise a defence even if his life depended on it.

Celtic is an easy job for any half decent manager. It's a 1.5 team league and winning it is a formality rather than success (see Neil Lennon).

Rodgers has probably found his level.

 

[MoskvaRed]

It's too early to judge how good Rodgers is as a manager but, as things stand, he probably deserves another chance. Although it did go wrong at Liverpool after Slippy G and Crystanbul, I remember United having a terrible hangover at the start of the 92-93 season after they had blown their chance to end a 25 year wait. Liverpool went through something similar under Rodgers and then lost their superstar.

Does he still talk so much b*llocks at Celtic by the way?

 

[204Red]

Hmmmm... in his best season he rode the on the back of a player who was genuinely top 3 in the world... yes I know we hate him, but Suarez was the best PL player since Ronaldo. He also had a fairly fit Sturridge (something Klopp hasn't really had)

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Hmmmm... in his best season he rode the on the back of a player who was genuinely top 3 in the world... yes I know we hate him, but Suarez was the best PL player since Ronaldo. He also had a fairly fit Sturridge (something Klopp hasn't really had)

Or did a better job getting the best out of a mentally/physically brittle player?

 

[Rory 7]

He's not a bad manager but he's an awful egotist. The season he 'bucked the trend' with Pool was a freak, driven by the emergence and form of Suarez. If Suarez had taken a shot from the car park at Anfield that season he would have scored. So you have to factor that into any analysis of Rodgers at Pool. Failure to replace Suarez was ultimately his downfall but, in fairness, replacing what Suarez had brought was impossible.

 

[NinjaFletch]

Hmmmm... in his best season he rode the on the back of a player who was genuinely top 3 in the world... yes I know we hate him, but Suarez was the best PL player since Ronaldo. He also had a fairly fit Sturridge (something Klopp hasn't really had)

Is that a negative mark on Rodgers though? Very few managers have ever won anything without also having the best players too.

 

[Theonas]

I really disagree with the narrative that managers from these Isles don't get the benefit of the doubt or the opportunities to show their qualities with top jobs. I believe the likes of Allarduce, Moyes, Pulis, Pardew are simply too limited to ever be trusted with a top club. The one exception for me is Rogers, I genuinely thought and still think he was one of the brightest young coaches tactically and technically as I was really impressed with the way he got Liverpool to play. He suffered due to his own success as well as the indisputable that he maybe the most annoying and cringe inducing manager in the history of the PL.

 

[Peanut Butter]

He should approach Ireland for the job I think he would do well. Martin O' Neill is awful.

 

[shaky]

Isn't Rodgers on the brink of some form of record though?

It's a great achievement, breaking the record of 26 domestic games unbeaten. I'm not saying he's not doing an excellent job, but just for context, in the 2013/14 season, Neil Lennon went undefeated in the league until the end of February, only lost 1 game all season and managed to go 13 wins in a row without conceding a single goal. Not many would consider him a top manager.