http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/4347599/Brendan-Rodgers-will-rebuild-Liverpool-in-spirit-of-Paisley-and-Shanks.html (http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/4347599/Brendan-Rodgers-will-rebuild-Liverpool-in-spirit-of-Paisley-and-Shanks.html)
Brendan will rebuild Kop in the spirit of Shankly and Paisley
By ANTONY KASTRINAKIS
Last Updated: 31st May 2012
BRENDAN RODGERS will rebuild Liverpool in the spirit of Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley.
27 comments
His football philosophy was shaped by the 'Liverpool way'.
Rodgers grew up watching legendary boss Paisley's great side win Leagues and European Cups with their unique brand of passing football.
Paisley assumed the mantle from Shankly in 1974 and in his nine seasons Liverpool won 21 trophies.
They included three European Cups, the UEFA Cup, the UEFA Supercup, six league titles and three League Cups on the spin.
Joe Fagan took over from Paisley and an 11-year-old Rodgers watched Liverpool become the first English club to win three trophies in one season as they won the league, European Cup and League Cup in 1984.
As a bright-eyed boy, Rodgers sat in front of the telly to watch Kevin Keegan and John Toshack.
Later, it was Kenny Dalglish, Steve Heighway and Ian Rush and many of the game's greats that graced the red shirt and Anfield. Rodgers said: "My grandad loved that Liverpool team of the 1970s.
"That Liverpool were a truly great side. It was two-touch football — pass move, pass move."
Rodgers fell in love with the style of football which established Liverpool as the world's leading club and the most popular English team overseas, before Manchester United's period of dominance began.
It was a style forged in the 15-year reign of Shankly, perfected by Paisley.
The type of game Rodgers implemented with incredible results at Swansea — the best passers in the Premier League last season — was based on the Liverpool way.
Rodgers' FIRST task is to restore the famous style Liverpool's fans, players past and present and, of course, their American owners want. Speaking before his Swansea beat Liverpool in the last game of the season three weeks ago, Rodgers spoke passionately about his love affair with Liverpool.
He added: "I used to sit there and watch Match of the Day with my grandad, to watch Liverpool and the way they played. We loved to watch them, just as we loved the Brazilian side of the 70s too.
"My father was big into the Johan Cruyff era with Ajax and Holland and that too was a philosophy that I grew to understand from when I was very young.
"Liverpool have an incredible history of winning Leagues and European Cups. They are trying to build back towards that."
The famous 'pass and move, get and give' game was disastrously abandoned by the dour Gerard Houllier and the turgid tosh Liverpool served up during his reign. Under Rafa Benitez, Reds became more boring to watch and, of course, the two seasons since the Spaniard got the sack were complete write-offs.
By appointing Rodgers, American owner John W Henry and chairman Tom Werner proved they understand the tradition and heritage of the club.
They understand the need to rediscover the club's lost identity.
Rodgers represents Liverpool's best chance to reconnect with their glorious past as his work at Swansea in recent seasons proved.
He said: "It's what you do, that counts. You can have the best facilities in the world.
"If the philosophy and the vision of your team aren't correct, it doesn't matter how good your facilities are.
"It doesn't matter how many hours you train. If you're doing 50 hours a week, if you're doing the wrong thing — it doesn't matter."
A lot has been said about Rodgers' relationship with Jose Mourinho.
The Special One appointed him as head of Chelsea's academy as soon as he took over at Stamford Bridge in 2004. Yet Rodgers insists that his footballing philosophy is the opposite of Mourinho's.
"Although he does concede that the Portuguese chief has been a huge influence on him.
Rodgers said: "My philosophy on the pitch is completely different to Jose's. Absolutely. In football there's more than one way to get results.
"He helped me grow. People probably think that, and this is what people don't see.
"They don't see how is there such a difference in philosophy when he's been so important to me?
"Simple, before I went to Chelsea my philosophy was already formed.
"I had 10½ years of development as a coach and a structure as a person. So my philosophy and principles were already in place.
"What I was then able to do, going from Head of the Academy at Reading to Chelsea, was to be able to explore these ideas with top talents. Jose liked his teams to control the game, the ball, the tempo, the possession and control the game with or without the ball.
"Every coach has a different slant on it. We worked very closely and our relationship grew to be very strong.
"The biggest thing he told me was 'Be yourself' "He said to me, 'you will be good enough but it will be about the timing'. That was the biggest thing.
"I used to sit in his Press conferences, you know, to look at how he dealt with the media.
"I obviously am different. Different personalities, different characters.
"But it was the concept of it, the cleverness of how he put it together. Again this for me was education.
"But the single most important bit for me was about timing."
Wistful Kopites still chant 'And the Redmen still play the same way, all round the fields of Anfield Road' almost every week.
For them, the timing of Rodgers' arrival could not be more perfect.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/9301301/Brendan-Rodgers-playing-philosophy-could-be-a-success-if-he-transfers-it-from-the-Liberty-Stadium-to-Liverpool.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/9301301/Brendan-Rodgers-playing-philosophy-could-be-a-success-if-he-transfers-it-from-the-Liberty-Stadium-to-Liverpool.html)
Brendan Rodgers' playing philosophy could be a success if he transfers it from the Liberty Stadium to Liverpool
Brendan Rodgers' ideas about football were formed when he was a youth player with Northern Ireland, a small, creative midfielder watching helplessly as the ball hurtled back over his head the few times his team managed to wrestle it away from the Dutch, French and Spanish opposition.
By Duncan White
11:59PM BST 30 May 2012
10 Comments
In the simplest terms, Rodgers wants his team to get hold of the ball as quickly as possible and then keep it. I spent a couple of hours in his office at the Liberty Stadium last season when he talked me through the logic behind his tactics, derived from various sources but especially inflected with the Barcelona way.
One of the key points he made is that your initial formation — say 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 — matters less than what that translates to on the pitch. When going forward, the best way to move the ball up the field is to create angles of diagonal pass. If you have two banks of four across defence and midfield there are no diagonal passes on. The system needs to be more fluid.
So Rodgers seeks to create as many 'lines' across the field as possible. In his system you have a minimum of seven lines. He wants his goalkeeper to be part of the play, then the centre backs, then what he calls the 'controller' (a deep-lying playmaker), then the full-backs pushed on, the two attacking midfielders, the wingers and then the centre-forward. That allows you to draw seven horizontal lines across the pitch.
Through coaching, Rodgers ensures that every player knows his place in this system. When a player receives the ball he should always have at least two options for an 'out' pass. He gives the players confidence to make those passes by taking the blame on himself when it does not come off.
When the ball is lost, his players seek to win it back quickly by pressing high up the field. This means reacting as a unit and nobody shirking their duty. Winning the ball back quickly creates openings in a disorganised opponent, especially when it happens near their goal. The team as a whole need to know when to press like this, and hold a high line, and when to drop deep and absorb the opponents' efforts to break them down.
How will this work at Liverpool? In Pepe Reina, Rodgers has the ideal goalkeeper for this system, coached to play as part of the team in the Barcelona academy. Daniel Agger is the kind of ball-playing centre-back Rodgers likes but he made need to recruit a specialist 'controller' to do the selfless job Leon Britton did for him at Swansea.
One of the main issues will be how Steven Gerrard can adapt. Is he capable of subjugating himself to a role in a disciplined tactical system at the expense of playing by instinct?
Andy Carroll must also show himself capable of playing in a system in which he will be required to build the play more than he has done in the past. Physical strength is secondary to tactical acuity and technical ability for Rodgers.
There are plenty of technically-adept players in the Liverpool team who will thrive on Rodgers' emphasis on possession when attacking. The thornier issue is with Rodgers' defensive system, in which you are only as strong as your weakest link.
If a player does not press off the ball, the whole approach unravels. That is why Barcelona are such an important example — even Lionel Messi closes down and harries.
Selling this to Swansea players was not easy. Selling it to Liverpool players, with big contracts and big egos, will be even harder.
Its almost a non-event. Nothing to get excited about really. I doubt they could attract a 'name' at this point with what has gone on there over the past few seasons and Liverpool being what it is.
Good step up for Rodgers but their supporters will be calling for his head by October.
Already comparing him to Shankly and Paisley? Dear god, no pressure.
I think Rodgers is a very good manager.. BUT Liverpool fans still think they are the best team in Europe.. i think they were expecting a high profile manager. I can honestly see it going the same way as Roy.. couple of Dodgy results and they will be on his back.
If they can back him, they'll do amazingly well. If they don't, he won't. We've seen it with Roy Hodgson, but the way Swansea have played has lit up the Premier League and perhaps Rodgers' style of football is more of what the fans want to see rather than Hodgson's conservative but gets results style.
I do think he will do very well (annoyingly), he's a class young manager that studied Spanish and Dutch football for a long time, and that hard work has finally paid off for him. If he can make his own squad, Liverpool could be back in the top six within 3 years. I expect a bid will come from Liverpool (if they get Rodgers) for Joe Allen.
Quote from: Frankie-Peter Taylor on May 31, 2012, 04:15:13 PM
If they can back him, they'll do amazingly well. If they don't, he won't. We've seen it with Roy Hodgson, but the way Swansea have played has lit up the Premier League and perhaps Rodgers' style of football is more of what the fans want to see rather than Hodgson's conservative but gets results style.
I do think he will do very well (annoyingly), he's a class young manager that studied Spanish and Dutch football for a long time, and that hard work has finally paid off for him. If he can make his own squad, Liverpool could be back in the top six within 3 years. I expect a bid will come from Liverpool (if they get Rodgers) for Joe Allen.
Lol
Not sure Liverpool fans would give him that long!
Quote from: AlFayedsChequebook on May 31, 2012, 04:25:54 PM
Quote from: Frankie-Peter Taylor on May 31, 2012, 04:15:13 PM
If they can back him, they'll do amazingly well. If they don't, he won't. We've seen it with Roy Hodgson, but the way Swansea have played has lit up the Premier League and perhaps Rodgers' style of football is more of what the fans want to see rather than Hodgson's conservative but gets results style.
I do think he will do very well (annoyingly), he's a class young manager that studied Spanish and Dutch football for a long time, and that hard work has finally paid off for him. If he can make his own squad, Liverpool could be back in the top six within 3 years. I expect a bid will come from Liverpool (if they get Rodgers) for Joe Allen.
Lol
Not sure Liverpool fans would give him that long!
That was my original point. If they do... it will go swimmingly.
Quote from: Frankie-Peter Taylor on May 31, 2012, 04:29:28 PM
Quote from: AlFayedsChequebook on May 31, 2012, 04:25:54 PM
Quote from: Frankie-Peter Taylor on May 31, 2012, 04:15:13 PM
If they can back him, they'll do amazingly well. If they don't, he won't. We've seen it with Roy Hodgson, but the way Swansea have played has lit up the Premier League and perhaps Rodgers' style of football is more of what the fans want to see rather than Hodgson's conservative but gets results style.
I do think he will do very well (annoyingly), he's a class young manager that studied Spanish and Dutch football for a long time, and that hard work has finally paid off for him. If he can make his own squad, Liverpool could be back in the top six within 3 years. I expect a bid will come from Liverpool (if they get Rodgers) for Joe Allen.
Lol
Not sure Liverpool fans would give him that long!
That was my original point. If they do... it will go swimmingly.
Not sure that simply getting back into the top 6 in 3 years is what Liverpool fans and owners are after, especially if they give him the money to create his own squad.
Liverpool fans think that finishing 8th is the end of the world, so finishing anywhere outside the top 6 for the next few seasons is hardly going to end well.
I have no idea how well Rodgers will do and agree that if he gets backing he is more likely to succeed, but I think you may be being a tad optimistic about how much time he will get and the level of expectation from both the fans and owners.
If the fans like him it's a shrewd move but I'm pretty sure they will reject him. They wanted a big name. He does seem to have the support of the owners though who clearly wanted a young up and coming manager to take the reigns. All in all I think it was a mistake on his part, he showed a real lack of loyalty and I just hope Liverpool don't pinch any Swansea players. They probably will though.
Would love to see the odds on him being sacked by christmas!
Really hope he doesn't go. At Swansea he has the perfect set-up, low expectations, fans and board behind him and most importantly players who actually want to play his brand of Football. At Liverpool he'll get 5 minutes into the first game of the season before the fans get on his back, and he'll have diffuculty, as Roy did, in trying to get the players to buy into his style.
The best of British luck to Rodgers, who will need it. I've been following the saga since Queen Kenny was sacked. It seems to me that they really wanted Martinez, but his insistance on making ALL football-related decisions was probably the deal breaker. If Rodgers has the gig, that means he doesn't object to people signing players whether he sees a role for them or not.
By the way, it's all very well to laugh at Liverpool's "plight," but the truth is that if your lowest finish in the Prem is 8th and if you've won a couple of FA Cups and Champions Leagues, Fulham is the LAST club to be joking about your organization.
Last season was an aberration. Under Rodgers I expect them to be back in Europe -- even likely in the Champions League.
Quote from: HatterDon on June 01, 2012, 02:07:32 AM
The best of British luck to Rodgers, who will need it. I've been following the saga since Queen Kenny was sacked. It seems to me that they really wanted Martinez, but his insistance on making ALL football-related decisions was probably the deal breaker. If Rodgers has the gig, that means he doesn't object to people signing players whether he sees a role for them or not.
By the way, it's all very well to laugh at Liverpool's "plight," but the truth is that if your lowest finish in the Prem is 8th and if you've won a couple of FA Cups and Champions Leagues, Fulham is the LAST club to be joking about your organization.
Last season was an aberration. Under Rodgers I expect them to be back in Europe -- even likely in the Champions League.
I think most people are mocking the Liverpool fans who continue to talk down to other clubs and believe they are the biggest club in the world (despite not having won the league for over 20 YEARS). For them, it is a complete disaster that they finished 8th this year.
A bit of humility from Liverpool fans and I think people would not be laughing at their current predicament.
Have Swansea really been that amazing?
Obviously avoiding relegation in the first season up is an achievement and it was largely done with the same players.
They played attractive football and had some good results but were never above mid table and tailed off at the end of the season.
In no way has Rodgers proved himself to be the equal of let alone better than Hodgson and at Liverpool he has the same problems of over high expectations and big egos.
If he succeeds there he will prove himself to be a top manager but it looks like a risky punt to me.
A lot of the work at Swansea was done by two previous managers and while he did get promotion it was with pretty much a bunch of players he did not sign.
At Reading he tried to make a lot of changes and it did not work and Watford was ok but nothing special.
He has a good reputation and Swansea did play nice football, but is that really enough to warrent getting the Liverpool job?
Would we want him?
It's risky for the various reasons stated, but he is at least a man with a plan. In principle that is to be admired in managers. Taking a risk on youthful promise seems admirable too on the part of a club with much to lose if it doesn't work out.
Some of Swansea's stats across the season were astounding - in terms of passes, possession, crosses, attacking play etc. They were up there with the top six sides for a lot of it. The stats clearly pointed to a side playing proper football in a way I can't remember any promoted side doing successfully since we came up.
Fenway want European football immediately and Champions League football within three years is what some journo's have said. There are simply to many 'big' and/or well funded clubs now who are dependent on CL revenues and they can't all get in every year. There is going to be a high profile casualty fairly soon.
Quote from: AlFayedsChequebook on June 01, 2012, 09:14:36 AM
Quote from: HatterDon on June 01, 2012, 02:07:32 AM
The best of British luck to Rodgers, who will need it. I've been following the saga since Queen Kenny was sacked. It seems to me that they really wanted Martinez, but his insistance on making ALL football-related decisions was probably the deal breaker. If Rodgers has the gig, that means he doesn't object to people signing players whether he sees a role for them or not.
By the way, it's all very well to laugh at Liverpool's "plight," but the truth is that if your lowest finish in the Prem is 8th and if you've won a couple of FA Cups and Champions Leagues, Fulham is the LAST club to be joking about your organization.
Last season was an aberration. Under Rodgers I expect them to be back in Europe -- even likely in the Champions League.
I think most people are mocking the Liverpool fans who continue to talk down to other clubs and believe they are the biggest club in the world (despite not having won the league for over 20 YEARS). For them, it is a complete disaster that they finished 8th this year.
A bit of humility from Liverpool fans and I think people would not be laughing at their current predicament.
SPOT ON!
Quote from: White Noise on June 01, 2012, 10:11:54 AM
a side playing proper football in a way I can't remember any promoted side doing successfully since we came up.
And that's an interesting comparison. Our approach had similarities, but we were (weren't we?) less assiduous on the pressing side of things. We also had a much more expensive team and (in the prem itself) did less well than Swansea have. As you say, we may still have been the closest thing.
There are loads of reasons to wonder if it'll work for Rodgers at Liverpool, but his Swansea achievement does deserve full recognition. And that he did it (as has been pointed out) more with players he inherited than bought in isn't unpromising from his new bosses' point of view.
Quote from: b+w geezer on June 01, 2012, 11:27:03 AM
Quote from: White Noise on June 01, 2012, 10:11:54 AM
a side playing proper football in a way I can't remember any promoted side doing successfully since we came up.
And that's an interesting comparison. Our approach had similarities, but we were (weren't we?) less assiduous on the pressing side of things. We also had a much more expensive team and (in the prem itself) did less well than Swansea have. As you say, we may still have been the closest thing.
There are loads of reasons to wonder if it'll work for Rodgers at Liverpool, but his Swansea achievement does deserve full recognition. And that he did it (as has been pointed out) more with players he inherited than bought in isn't unpromising from his new bosses' point of view.
About your last point - Rodgers did have the advantage of walking into a very well run club who had been playing this style of football since the early Martinez years. He has advanced it further, although he had the correct personnel in the first place.
If you look at the style Swansea played then look at the Liverpool squad, there is only one midfielder who seems to fit the style - Lucas. Considering they splashed out a shedload of money on players who dont look like they will definitely fit (Carroll, Henderson, Downing, Adam) it will be interesting to see what happens - Will they gut the squad or will Rodgers adapt his approach?
They do have Suarez and Bellamy in their attack which would suit Rodgers style, so it will be interesting to see how much he builds the team around them,
With Hodgson you got the feeling that the players attitude was "who the f*** are you to be telling us how to play, grandad"
Substitute "sonny" for "grandad" maybe with Rodgers.
He's either going to prove himself a great manager or he'll be gone within a year. No middle course.
Quote from: TonyGilroy on June 01, 2012, 11:48:31 AM
Substitute "sonny" for "grandad" maybe with Rodgers.
Distinct possibility, no doubt about it. What has, however, changed is there are now known to be owners who won't standard for nonsense and will crack the whip.
Quote from: b+w geezer on June 01, 2012, 11:53:55 AM
Quote from: TonyGilroy on June 01, 2012, 11:48:31 AM
Substitute "sonny" for "grandad" maybe with Rodgers.
Distinct possibility, no doubt about it. What has, however, changed is there are now known to be owners who won't standard for nonsense and will crack the whip.
Which can translate to being ruthless with a manager who isn't achieving.
Are these no nonsense owners willing to take a massive loss on the likes of Carroll and Downing? What other clubs would match their contracts even if they take a hit on the fees?
Has Rodgers got to work with these players or will they fund another expensive rebuild?
http://www.talksport.co.uk/magazine/features/120601/bye-bye-henderson-hello-sigurdsson-how-liverpool-may-look-under-brendan-173409 (http://www.talksport.co.uk/magazine/features/120601/bye-bye-henderson-hello-sigurdsson-how-liverpool-may-look-under-brendan-173409)
Quote from: TonyGilroy on June 01, 2012, 09:23:41 AM
Have Swansea really been that amazing?
Obviously avoiding relegation in the first season up is an achievement and it was largely done with the same players.
They played attractive football and had some good results but were never above mid table and tailed off at the end of the season.
In no way has Rodgers proved himself to be the equal of let alone better than Hodgson and at Liverpool he has the same problems of over high expectations and big egos.
If he succeeds there he will prove himself to be a top manager but it looks like a risky punt to me.
By 2018 Rodgers and Martinez will be rated among the top 5 managers in Europe.
