I've never posted a thread about Rodgers and I can understand the likes of Dai getting cheesed off with it, even though Rodgers these days seems to be the gift that just keeps giving. This thread isn't really about him but was prompted by him. It's more about the wider picture on how managers publicly handle results that don't go their way and also how they deal with their disappointment in individual players that don't perform. Ferguson always seems to have a go at the refs, sometimes outrageously, but rarely criticises his own players publicly. Other managers follow suit. I've hardly ever heard Laudrup criticise refs other than when Mike Dean allowed play to continue after the Michu head injury. And he was right. He's a class act for sure. I can understand it when managers are upset with refs - we as fans are the same - but Laudrup seems to recognise that by and large they're an honest bunch who have a split second to make a decision. Some are bound to be better than others. Secondly, as a fan I'd be truly disappointed if our Manager went over the top in publicly criticising our players. We all know when an individual has had a bad game and the Manager can and should deal with that behind closed doors. Now to Rodgers (sorry Dai). For a Manager who always had the tendency to say we were great when we were in fact awful I was amazed at his interview (seen here http://bbc.in/X5JsBO ) during which he singled out his younger players (who are easily identifiable) publicly. He's right to say that youngsters learn from the older professionals and I actually think he deserves some praise for bringing the young kids in like Sterling and Wisdom that were criminally ignored under Dalglish. But to publicly rebuke them in that way was just plain wrong imo and something Laudrup would never do. He even went as far as to say that in future they may find themselves playing in Division 1 and regretting their opportunity. This is a sea change in the way Rodgers deals with post match interviews but I suspect that he was only saying what the Liverpool fans were thinking. Is this tough love or over the top? Who's right? Do players need a public boot up the backside smetimes? Should managers reflect the fury the fans sometimes feel with players and referees?
Nothing wrong with what he said, it let the kids know that they either sort themselves out or start packing their bags because the club is ready ship them off.
Fergie is cunning old fox and whenever he says something stupid or something that gets him in trouble I truly believe it's so he deflects all the attention onto himself rather than the team who'd just put in a poor performance. What he says to the players behind closed doors is a different matter. I think Rodgers was trying a tough love tack. I think he was correct to be honest. Sterling was diving in all shapes. Robinson was fouling and then gobbing off to the ref all of the time. Coates was cack. And quite a few of the other youngsters were anonymous. However, these situations say a lot about their man management skills. You need to tailor your approach to each player and I can't believe all of the young players have the same attitude and therefore need to be approached by a public dressing down. One will need a quiet verbal cuddle, another the public boot up the a55. In this respect I think Rodgers scatter-gun approach with his criticism could really crush one of the youngsters confidence. We'll see I guess. Rodgers is probably under a bit of stress because of the antics of his son as well as the demanding needs of Liverpool FC. So far we don't really see the man management skills of Laudrup in the press. He is always polite, well spoken, never hyper-critical and talks respectfully in front of the cameras. He obviously likes to do his man management in private. Same as Fergie really. Redknapp has been known to castigate a player in public. Horses for courses. Conclusion, I prefer Laudrup's style. (Reading this back this is just pure rambling so apologies)
From "The Art of Good Management". "Praise your workforce in public,but only ever criticise them in private". As a one time manager,I found that advice to be absolutely spot on.
If a manager selects young players then he is responsible for the selection and ensuring that they are ready for the event. If they fail to perform in what was always going to be a tough game, on a dirt track, against a battling bruising team then he should address them privately, but to publicly point the figure at them in the way he did makes them the scapegoat for the performance. Having watched a most of the game I can tell you that they were not that bad. Ager et al at the back didn't exactly cover themselves in glory, nor did Sturridge, nor did a seasoned "youngster" like Allen (who scored on a deflection) and was clearly outworked and out muscled for much of the game (not a lot of style and guile shown there). It was a clear example of a manager venting his frustrations on young players of limited stature, who have no come back, but have to take that **** and move on - I'd like to see him vent the same way at some of the senior pros (who let's face have been on and off the boil all season.) and see how long he lasts. A bull-**** move by BR .... along the line of the envelopes. Edit: in practical terms its borrowing against your respect capital. I'd be interesting to hear what the senior pros said to the youngsters after the game in the locker room or on the bus - what words of wisdom and guidance did they offer - because that's where a seasoned pro comes into his own with younger players.
Very suprised at what was said by Rodgers , it could just be a knee jerk reaction (considering the stress he must be under ,not only with managing but his personal issues) and something which I think he'll regret .There's a chance with those comments that he may have divided the dressing room ,(win bonus etc ) .He gave Sterling a training ground bollocking when the TV cameras were there recently now whether that was for effect or not but somethings should be kept in house .I can't imagine Mr Laudrup doing a similar thing , he's the most laid back manager I've seen in a while .
I dont see a problem stating 'That we didnt play well today'. But i have an issue with singling players out. Everyone has a bad day at the office and also when players come in for one off cup games, we all have to remember they probably havent played that many competitive games. Just look at Tremmel. when he first come in after the injury to Vorm, How would it have been id ML had slated him for any mistake he possibly made, we probably wouldnt have the quality number 2 we have now. Rodgers needs to look at what he put out and how much football those kids have played. He seems to have a problem getting squad players going. Go back no further than Shrewsvury away last year. These youngsters, need encouraging and not slating. If it had been the likes of Gerard and Suarez not doing it on satruday then i think they are fair game. It could be that since slaughtering Enrique, Henderson and Downing earlier in the season, their performances have improved. Maybe he has tried it again.
As some have said on here, in Laudrup we have a class act. Rodgers is definately 'buck'ling under pressure and was clearly deflecting in the interview. Yes the players under performed but HE picked the team and is not above criticism. I believe his later comments praising Gerrard and Carragher ( who didn't even play ) is an attempt to keep the senior Pro's onside, however after listening to some comments of Roy Evans, the sheen is definately comming off ol' buck and I believe loss of the changing room will inevitable follow! Tick Tock!
I agree with your observations by and large. I dislike bringing up Rodgers all the time but there was a marked contrast compared to the way he used to conduct himself after our games as well as with the way our current Manager behaves. As some have said, Laudrup isn't under any pressure here whereas Roders has put himself in a pressure cooker. You make your bed I guess.
BTW, nice article KJ - good to see you back on-line. Following on from your last post - I think it will be interesting to see how the paths of the two clubs diverge or run parallel over the next season or two. Not because of the 'Pool/Rogers/Allen connection, but because we currently have similar standing in the table with totally different classes of assets on-hand. For example, managers - style, experience, schooling, past playing history, cache. Contrasts in almost every dimension. Club History - almost none to a hell of a lot - what relative current value this presents is open for debate. Club Funds - by all accounts we are fiscally healthy, operate with prudent fiscal discipline and policies to player acquisition and compensation and still enjoy a cost structure inherited from our time in the lower divisions (but this is going to rapidly change) - we have free cash flow at this time (I think / hope). 'Pool on the other hand are / have splashed the cashed with limited impact. How deep are the pockets and long the patience of the new ownership. Is managing a football club the same as a baseball club in principal on an executive level? To what extent is there cultural distance between the ownership and the club and how will that manifest itself. Pyramid model v franchise model - implies completely different pressures and approaches; if you **** up in the franchise model the worst that can happen is that you finish last and get to start over again next season, in the pyramid model you drop a level of competition, a level of financing, and recovery becomes a major project. Football philosophy - we have a progressive philosophy rapidly being recognized as the go to style - certainly across much of Europe - and have now been perfecting this over several seasons, not always perfect but we strive to stay true to core principals. We hire managers to mesh with these principles and maintain coarse. We acquire players that blend well. All in all creating minimal internal "friction" and change. 'Pool seem to have lost their way over seasons - or never really had a particular way - have gone through a series of managers with conflicting / contrasting styles and player acquisition has similarly been more splash and dash to meet the manager-of-the-moment's thinking not necessarily club philosophy or planning. They are striving to adopt something along the lines that we have perfected over many seasons - hence the hiring of BR in an attempt to emulate what we have (I think so, others may see it differently). Performance / rankings to date: Swans: v top half, 6th, v bottom half 11th. 'Pool: v top half 18th, v bottom half 3rd. I find this statistic intriguing and it will be interesting to see how it evolves over the rest of the season and next season also.
I would rather a manager say the truth that a player was rubbish today than flannel over and make excuses for him. He bollocked sterling on T.V. at the beginning of the season for back chat and messing about and that has made sterling a much grown up player who now listens and plays to the managers instructions....He has been awesome since. Players must not question the managers decisions even though they think he is wrong as at the end of the day its the manager who will get the sack. Brendan for example is pretty laid back and mixes with his players and he also talks to fans. fergie is another who is very strict with his players but still has fun with them with team activities. Sir mike comes from a different environment where he looks laid back and reserved but behind closed doors he commands respect and his only fault i can see is his lack of involvement with the fans. he never seem's to have any time with the fans like Brendan did or martinez did... he is a bit distant but as long as he keeps doing a good job then its not much of an issue really...
I don't see an issue KJ. For any business to work effectively all of its parts need to work, at minimum, to their potential. For a team to perform each player HAS to at least try to play to their potential as failure to do so puts immense stresses on the rest of the team. This pressure could cost them goals, points. Personally, I think any player who is 'taking the p***' should be called out and arse kicked in public. Its every players job to TRY hard to achieve their potential and the key word here is TRY. The players BR criticized were those not trying. I'm sure BR had already spoken to them on many an occasion, in private, in training, yet THEY constantly failed to respond. In any case he felt it time to use the stick as his silky tones haven't worked.
I don't think it's an issue either Stumpy. It just struck me that the guy's approach has changed these days and is now very different to our own Manager. Interesting to see the approach that fans prefer. It may just be a question of style. I agree Dai that Laudrup seems a little more detached but he's like that with the players. You can't imagine them being mates with him which may be a good thing, I don't know. He's professional, you've got to give him that. Yankee:
There are many different types of man management. Why, the teething problems that were supposed to have been around the Liberty a few months ago could be put down just to the players needing to adjust to the changing from the consultative approach of BR to a more permissive autoctratic/persuasive approach under ML. They had to take on more responsibility themeselves rather than have the father figure BR saw he got a result out of Downing from changing tact to tough talk, he has copied that onto the kids. He is paternalistic dictator (like a David Brent type), but it doesn't work on all. Both types of these management techniques are dependant on the subordinates ultimately respecting the man at the top. If you cant respect the top man, then you have to move on. If results do not follow, rot can set in pretty quickly.Given time, I am sure BR will do the job. It all depends if he gets that time and if the job done is enough for a possibly over expectant Liverpool/kop. ML certainly benefits from a less expectant situation. His mandate was more simple but he has more than surpassed that, and deserves the plaudits. Right now, cannot fault ML and would honestly take no other manager over him to run our club. The £7 mill for Rodgers and co to leave, with ML technically on a free, is actually the true Best Bargain Buy Of The Season. It makes the Michu deal look pricey!
BR is certainly reciting a new set of sound bites KJ. His style and attitude have changed recently and his true colours, tinted by his ambition, maybe at last emerging. It must be frustrating for him though. His own career progression is dependent on the success of his team. This success, in his mind, is being threatened by some players who are not putting in 100%. It could be that the Yanks have got involved and had a word with him. In the US success is all and second place is for losers. They may be putting pressure on him but either way, this is a big sign that his honeymoon is over at Liverpool FC.
Couldn't agree more. Perhaps his slightly detached style (other posters words, not mine) stems from him having a truly world class career. As a comparison to the modern era, you don't see Messi or Ronaldo down the local with the fans very often. When you are put on such a pedestal, perhaps detachment is a way of dealing with it. What shines through with me about his personality is the sheer class of a man who has done it all in football terms, and is just relaxed and happy to be in complete control for the first time in his managerial career. For that we have Huw and the board to thank. His comments tonight about the possible penalty after 5 minutes were such a novelty coming from a premiership manager who are all too quick to slate the officials. I would like to think he is actually enjoying himself at the moment without the sort of pressure that Brendan is under. The difference in their demeanor is tantamount I believe. I mean the guy was all smiles when we were knocked out of the FA cup by Arsenal. What a dude.
"I mean the guy was all smiles when we were knocked out of the FA Cup by Arsenal. What a dude". It takes a special kind of person to accept defeat with any kind of grace. Being a winner is a lot easier to live with than coming second. You only have to read posts on 606 to see the veracity of that statement. Mr. Michael Laudrup has the class to know how to behave at all times. I suspect his parents and upbringing has something to do with this. I compare him to the magnificent American golfer,Jack Nicklaus. At the end of any tournament you couldn't tell by his behaviour and demeanour whether he had won or lost. When asked by a reporter how he was able to accept defeat with such grace,he referred to his father's advice when he started out on his career. He told him there were far more losers than winners,so he should learn pretty soon how to accept defeat. I only have a passing interest in golf,but Jack Nicklaus set the standard for sportsmanship,and that's why he is so universally loved and admired. Quietly,Mr. Michael Laudrup is going about his business and doing it his way,and long may he continue in that vein. He has a World wide reputation,and that wasn't only earned on the field of play. Swansea City F.C. are truly blessed to have this man as Manager,and I still don't how Mr. Huw Jenkins pulled off the coup of bringing him here. "What a dude",indeed.
I've always seen it as a sign of weakness when managers blame individuel players. It is a desperate move and says a lot more about the managers current situation than any given player. You praise in public and critisize in privat. Brodgers blaming hos youngsters like that was pathetic.
