Football News: Brendan Rodgers Time As Liverpool Manager

Brendan Rodgers Time As Liverpool Manager

Before I begin, this review is all my own opinion and how I saw Rodgers' 3 seasons and a bit at the club from on the pitch to off it. I won't be quoting transfers fees, committees or anything like that just the way I saw his tenure from the comfort of my seat.

When Kenny was sacked, I remember being gutted but also to be honest a bit relieved because this was a chance for the owners to get their man in and I was excited as to who it would be. When the speculation begun there was two men I was hoping would be appointed new manager Andre Villas Boas or Jurgen Klopp, funnily enough I had money on Klopp at 12/1 to take over. I was gutted when both men said no the position. After meetings with Roberto Martinez and again with Brendan Rodgers who initially rejected the role, he had a change of heart and decided to take Liverpool's offer.

In the Summer, Liverpool had run a 6 episode show called Being: Liverpool in which fans got an insight into the goings on behind the scenes at Liverpool all the way up to the draw with Manchester City. It will possibly be remembered most for the spat Rodgers had with a young Raheem Sterling when he threatened to send him home. I thought to myself that summer that Rodgers spoke a lot regarding how he wants Liverpool to play, a bit too much I initially thought but then I said to myself I was just being paranoid. What was to follow that would suggest I was right - Rodgers did speak too much, foot in mouth phrase I've seen used quite a bit from the editors.

Death by football was his religion, during the times when his tactics were employed and I want to stress 'his' tactics again so you see where I am going with this when I say that death by football was the correct term because man it was so boring, ineffective it surely put people to sleep who were staying up to watch down under because at times I nearly fell asleep during the day! We limped through the first 6 months and everyone thought we need to get more attacking options, and in January it happened in the form of Daniel Sturridge and Phillipe Coutinho. Those two signings were a breath of fresh air at Anfield and they settled straight in.

Rodgers said when he was appointed judge him after 3 seasons, I bet he wished he had said 2. That 2nd season was the best football I have ever seen Liverpool play in the final 3rd - it was so good, you didn't want to even run to the bathroom at times in case you missed something. I go back to earlier when I stressed his tactics and the death by football statement. When Liverpool were at their best going forward under Rodgers - it was not his vision on how he wanted Liverpool to play - it was advice he got from elsewhere; Marcelo Bielsa. Now, there isn't anything wrong with a young coach seeking advice from a genius in the game like Bielsa - I am not judging here. What annoyed me from all this was to follow from Rodgers, yes we came 2nd and yes the football was brilliant that season but we came 2nd! move on, fix a few pieces - new keeper, new defender or two, get a defensive midfielder and sign a proven goal scorer and go again. Rodgers decided to scrap the tactics that nearly made him a legend and go back to the death by football tactics.

That 3rd summer defined Rodgers for me, now don't get me wrong - at the time I was excited for the new season to see what the follow up season would bring with the new faces at the club and I must admit it didn't start that bad - we got by Southampton, only just 2-1 - Man City beat us 3-0 which was frustrating but we soon got over that with a convincing 3-0 win at White Hart Lane and that day was to be the end of the diamond at Liverpool under Rodgers as we knew it. The squad went on their international break and that's where Sturridge got injured and his next 12 months would see him come in and out of the team and I do feel sorry on Rodgers for that but why the big change in tactics though? Why not anymore pressing from the front? Why wasn't Henderson allowed into the oppositions box anymore? Why were we so bad in Europe? How did it take nearly 120 minutes of football to figure out Basel's weaknesses? So many questions we would all love to ask but unfortunately we won't have that opportunity.

Loads will say that the summer was the time to sack Rodgers when were just humiliated by Stoke City 6-1 but in my opinion the time to sack him was the 3-1 loss to Crystal Palace. I knew it was never going to happen but that was the day when I turned to a friend and said he has to go. Soon enough, he would be looking elsewhere for advice to turn his season around - remember this is the 3rd time in a row he has dropped his vision and went elsewhere, remember I said it took them 120 mins to figure out Basel's weaknesses - well Rodgers went and employed their tactics but as Ed001 says he did it "half arsed". Initially it caught teams out by surprise and it did work but as the games went by it soon was found out but Rodgers didn't bother tweaking it. I think it was the Bolton game where I thought he needs to change this 3 at the back as it's found out. It really came to every ones attention when United came to Anfield and exploited it and won 2-1 to put an end to our outside hopes of top 4.

From the 6-1 humiliation at Stoke to sometime in June every day I was waiting for the news to break that Rodgers had left Liverpool but that never came, from reading articles online to the famous meeting Boston - the sacking never happened and on we went with Rodgers minus his Assistant Colin "shorts" Pascoe who was let go and first team coach whose contract was not renewed by the club. Speculation began then to see who would come in and before I knew Sean O'Driscoll and Gary McAllister were hired as assistant manager and first team coach respectively. Soon to follow was a promotion within for the promising Pepijin Linders whose title would be first team development coach. Another window of opportunity for Rodgers - he had a chance to put everything right but again we were treated to lots of incoming at the club.

This season began just like the other 3, death by football. 1-0 wins against Stoke and Bournemouth had Rodgers smiling but it was just papering over the cracks. We limped through both of those games and could of easily been bottom with no points after two games, the signs were there early on but as I said 6 points covered that up. A trip to the Emirates followed and again thanks to a linesman decision we got a point there, a good point I might add - we did have chances to score but unfortunately didn't. What was to follow in the next weeks leading up to right now as of me writing this review was painful to watch. Bad decision after bad decision - you just knew he wasn't going past Christmas as manager of Liverpool. The decision to sack Rodgers came a lot earlier than I thought it would and I can't say I was disappointed with the news. Rodgers time at Liverpool was up in my eyes a long time ago but I am just thankful it has happened now.

Now, we can look to a new chapter in the history of this wonderful club, which man will have the honour to take the hot seat? Will it be Jurgen Klopp, the man I hoped for in the summer of 2012? Will Carlo Ancelotti take up the reigns or will someone else arrive? Whomever it is, I ask all Liverpool fans to give the new man a warm welcome as we go down this new road together...

You'll Never Walk Alone

Written by Ed023 October 07 2015 19:20:14