I've shown exactly how this came about and who was injured when and nobody denied it But they still need to say lucked out to make rodgers out to be a genius cos psychologically it's easier than admitting we've fallen into this system that works so well I am secure enough just to be grateful we did
We were terrible defensively. Rodgers may want to believe he's turned us around defensively and he doesn't need a defensive coach but yesterday was another example that personnel have been the main reason for our improvement - not down to his coaching.
True but my point is that if our improvement was down to coaching, then the defenders should know their roles and be able to slot in with little disruption. In fact, quality coaching would have meant that the existing players (Lovren and Skrtel) would have improved whilst playing in a back 4. Rodgers was doing a good job but is now starting to show that ego again - especially when he was asked about the defensive coach, and he genuinely believes he has improved the defence through quality coaching. He deserves credit for changing the system and playing 3 at the back, but that's where it stops.
Why bother even playing a GK if you think we shouldn't have to deal with even a single shot on target?
Who said that the opposition should haven't had chances? And conceding shots isn't an indicator to poor defending - Lovren stepped on at least 2-3 occassions and missed out, which meant the attackers were in behind. That's poor defending.
If you want to criticise last night's game then the defence who kept a clean sheet wouldn't be my first target, and the number of injuries wouldn't make me read too much into it. If for some reason we could and had to play our best defence then it would probably be: ---------------------------- Mignolet ------------Can ------- Skrtel -------- Sakho Markovic/Manquillo ----------------- Moreno Of those all but 1 was signed by Rodgers. So I also don't get the personnel vs tactics argument for why we are doing well defensively. Either way it's down to Rodgers.
Personnel vs tactics = Can and Sakho have made a bigger impact on our defence. The only reason they're playing is because Johnson and Lovren were injured.
I'm pretty sure I said a long time ago that picking the wrong players is what is hurting us at the back - the likes of Skrtel, Lovren and Johnson were playing week in week out. Amazing how playing Sakho and Can has helped? ... And this thread is on the defence - hence why I was criticising them and not the attack. But if people are happy to accept mediocrity, then be my guest.
How do you know Brod wouldn't have changed it without the injuries? Yes, he persisted with the wrong players for too long prior to those changes but he also made unforced changes too such as with Lambert and Balotelli. I think people need to start giving Brod some credit rather that following this #luckedout bandwagon bullshit. Even if he did only make the changes due to injuries, he still had to make those changes. He didn't have to put Can at RCB, he could have played Toure. Nobody forced him to put an attacking player like Marko at RWB (if that's what it is) and nothing forced him to change the formation either. I'm not a die hard Brendan Rodgers fan, far from it, but the criticism and disrespect he gets is ridiculous!
I agree - choosing to play Can and Markovic in unfamiliar roles deserves credit. But as I've said before, these two players should have been starting anyway. We should be a lot higher than 5th - truth is, Rodgers f*cked up in the first half. The criticism is definitely warranted because like it or not, he did persist with those players and there's little evidence to suggest he would have dropped them until they were forced up on him.
If you did have a crystall ball, you could look at what would have happened had he played Marko and Can from the start of the season. Maybe the fans would have got on their backs whilst they were still trying to settle like what happened with Lucas, Kuyt, Hendo and Allen? Maybe they wouldn't now be the players they appear to be as a result? Maybe we'd have lost more points too? Point is, no one knows, its all opinion based. We are were we are and Brod as managed us to this position.
