http://anfieldindex.com/11451/brendan-rodgers-at-crossroads.html As I am writing this piece, I admit there is a surge of anger within me, and that it is not advisable to write under such duress. But I also want to make sure that I do not lose the perspective, so I am going against the grain and penning this down. Liverpool now officially seem to be in crisis. Our beloved club has gradually nudged towards the tub of incompetency in the last couple of weeks, and the game against Chelsea ensured that Liverpool sailed into the incompetency tub rather than being nudged into it. The points tally now is officially in Roy Hodgson territory. What this week has also shown is some incompetent decision-making aided by some muddled thought process behind it. If there is some long term thought behind it, then it is unfortunate that common supporters like us are unable to see it. Defence This was one of the initial things stressed by Brendan during his first season at the club. What is not sure is whether this is any more valid now. The ball seems to be treated like a ticking time bomb, and no one wants to keep it. The passing seems to be in a hurry and lacking thought. The Chelsea game saw possession repeatedly being gifted to the opposition on a plate. It was our good luck that Eden Hazard was kind enough to repay our debt in equal measure. As for our defenders, especially the centre-backs, they somehow are becoming more or less ‘ball-magnets’. They seemingly enjoy a huge share of touches of the ball, and somehow do not make good use of it. Lovren especially seems to be enjoying this hazardous game of putting his keeper and fellow centre-back under pressure by passing to them in high risk conditions, rather than explore other options. The good performance from Mignolet at Madrid, in the absence of Lovren, should not be looked at as a coincidence. Midfield Well Brendan, the thing is this, all that is said above is fair, but it does not look like we are playing with 11 men, and it is imperative that Brendan starts realising that Gerrard need not play every game. By playing Gerrard every week as the sole ‘controller’, you are taking out his usable strengths, also compromising the fellow passengers (well that’s how it looks!) in midfield. Therefore it almost looks like we are playing with 9 1/2 men. So with his actions, Brendan has started disproving what he himself stated. Again, Lucas at Madrid, at the base of the midfield, assisted by mobile midfielders, in absence of Gerrard surely looked to be working better and is an option which we could have stuck with. Attack Well, then Balotelli is definitely not a player, as he never seems to have the football, thanks to our midfield. When there is an insistence on playing a lone forward upfront, ahead of a midfield which prefers to keep the ball on the floor and look for through balls or ‘raking’ passes (cliché alert!), what you would ideally want is a roving, mobile striker, which Balotelli is not. There are 2 ways to overcome this issue: 1. Partner him with an option upfront 2. Play Borini upfront (the only fit, mobile striker currently) To do the same things over and over again and to expect different results has been daft since Einstein’s days, so not sure why there is a need to play Balotelli upfront on his own and ensure that he gets crucified every game. Other Pressing Issues (Not the on-field pressing which seems to be in absentia) 1. Who has decided the good meal on the menu? – Rodgers 2. Who has decided the ingredients which make up the good meal? – Maybe Rodgers, maybe the committee, maybe a compromise between both, in a nutshell – no one knows for sure. 3. What is an agreeable ‘wee bit of time’ ? These are some of the questions fans would like to know more on. Our costliest signing this season is Adam Lallana, who has played 127 minutes out of the last 360 minutes in the Premier League,and none in the last two games. Games where we were flat, and deservedly lost. The last two games were perfect scenarios to use someone like Lallana. When he was bought, it was said that his movement off the ball and clever turns and flicks would enable Liverpool to break open teams who defend in low blocks. Well, Newcastle and Chelsea games were a perfect recipe to bring on Adam Lallana. The question is, if we are not going to bring him on in such games, then what was the purpose of signing a player who is expected to start performing right away? Another problem to be pondered over is the reluctance to play Coutinho and Lallana together. It is not that we are seemingly blessed with too much creativity that we can play only one of the two. The latter half of last season clearly showed that Coutinho was beginning to relish, and more importantly shine in a deeper role, so there is no reason we cannot use both of them in specific roles. Baffling does not even begin to explain this. Rodgers put out a strongly worded argument for picking the team he did against Madrid midweek. In doing so, he put his reputation on the line thereby also putting the legacy of the club’s past tradition on the line. Though Liverpool lost, there was a glimmer of hope and satisfaction to see the manager mincing no words to suggest that no one can take their places for granted and that selections are based on ‘Form, rather than fame’ Fast forward 4 days, the team sheet against Chelsea had one change from the team which played against Newcastle, with Can coming in for Allen. What the team sheet also said (without actually saying it) is that the above quote is a pile of rubbish and that the players were indeed ‘rested’ for Madrid. Kolo Toure showed he was an outstanding professional by stepping up his performance level to put in a man of the match performance, though he has played very fleetingly. He was rewarded with a place on the bench. Lucas showed he could play the lone controller role aptly, against a plethora of stars. Benched again. Lallana. Benched. Manquillo. Solid defensive performance. Not in match-day squad (though there were rumors he was not fit). In came Lovren, Gerrard, Henderson, Sterling and the rest of the team. In came another flat performance which now is beginning to suggest being par for the course. More worryingly it also seems to suggest that the ‘meritocracy’ buzzword is no longer part of the course manual, and that mediocrity has superseded it. All these point to a clear case of crisis and turmoil. Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren, Rickie Lambert were signed as Premier League proven players and were expected to create an immediate impact. But either players are not being provided enough time to provide impact (as in the case of Lallana), or are being provided too much time (in the case of Lovren). Gerrard has been shown up. Sterling has stagnated. So has Henderson. Brendan, you are chipping away at the edges of that hole.
What upsets me most with BR's tactics is the turtle-shell performance of his midfield. Especially for someone who professes to be an attack-minded coach. Our midfielders and fullbacks are always late to move into the danger spaces without the ball. Now that he has succeeded with Gerrard, BR is quickly turning Henderson into an unsung villain too. FFS, Ancelotti plays with just Kroos and Modric ahead of the defence. Barca never fielded more than one defensive-minded midfielder. City, neither. Neither did Ferguson, tbh. If BR cannot even claim to be an attack-minded manager, what the f*ck is he?
Bit OTT there methinks. Some good points but the author should have followed his own advice and wrote when he'd calmed down. 'A club in crisis' - hardly.
This. If we're in crisis then so are all of our rivals so **** it. We've had a crap start, there are certain excuses I could use but they could also be countered by some **** decisions as well. January onwards under Rodgers we have been very good so who knows? Fact is we've started **** along with everyone else vying for a CL place next year (chavs apart of course). Just need to string a few wins together and getting Sturride, Sterling, Coutinho and Lallana on the pitch together will see us outplay a lot of teams imo.
He threatened to lamp me at Crewe station some years back, that Paul Henry. I was on my way to weekend college on my MBA course with a colleague, and he came up behind us in the taxi rank. My colleague spotted him and said 'Isn't he off the telly on something?". He smiled when he heard her and looked away. "Yeah, he's hard to place without his woolly hat" I responded. "Ah, he was Benny!" she squealed.... With that he dropped his bag, snarled at me (he's a big bloke, you know) and growled "Do you want some? You can f**ing have some if you're having a go..." In that instant I remembered an interview in something with him years before about how he'd fallen on hard times when Crossroads ended, a serious actor who'd played Falstaff and Caliban and all that, typecasted as a country bumpkin..... Much profuse apologising for the 'misunderstanding, no offence meant, would he like to move ahead of us in the taxi rank, and so forth ensued. But contrast that with Geoffery Hughes, a b/s who played Eddie yates in Corrie. In the 80's I was in the Lamb drinking with my then fiancée and another couple from work. He was sitting with his back to us, and my fiancée's mate chirped "Isn't he Benny from Crossroads?" , to which he turned around and said "people don't normally recognise me without the woolly hat" (which is where I got my ill-advised line from. Sound guy and came back with us to a party in Rathbone Rd. Derail over except to say stop the comparisons with Roy - we're having a bad time, but Brendan's problems are more to do with being unable to grind out dull, workmanlike results during this spell, as opposed to that being Woy's only approach to football.
I think you'll find, barring Everton, your other rivals are in crisis. They are all getting laid into by the media. Tottenham Arsenal United and even City are seeing board meltdowns.
It's a strange old season to be sure! We have played rubbish football but all of our nearest rivals have also managed to shoot themselves in the foot whilst we were doing it. The sad thing is that, on paper at least, we now have a big enough squad to cope with both injuries and loss of form. The fact that results show we are not doing so does call into question the team selection and Rodger's decisions.
Rodgers is lost, but he's still at crossroads, therefore he is still in time to pick the right path forward. Be attacking! Flog Henderson forward! Use Coutinho at the 8. Balotelli as a false 9. ---undroppable--- --Hendo----Couts- -Sterling-Balo-Lallana
All managers are 10 games max from the sack. It's a fact of life So crossroads sure, but when you are winning you never get questioned and can spout any old rubbish (ferguson and wenger in the day and mourinho) and when you are losing everything is a stick to beat you with Rodgers needs to focus on the basics and fundamentals and work very very hard on them but IMO unless he drops Gerrard or Gerrard stops bottling it then he's in trouble January will be key one feels
You're right about the 10 games thing, with 1 or 2 notable exceptions over recent years, it's the modern reality of football management I think people pay less attention to managers waffle when their sides are winning, and in Rodgers case this was a real boon, as his propensity to make the game sound like he's just invested it, is definitely best forgotten in the fog of victory. Now he's under pressure again, people are pawing over his words more and more, and they're starting to actually pick apart what he says, and question wtf he's on about
If Rodgers is at the crossroads, maybe he will meet go all " Faustian" and sell his soul for success, just like Robert Johnson was supposed to have done. Although Johnson did die at 27 so enjoy it while you can BR!
Agreed! Mito was spot on, spout what you like and look like a genius when putting 4/5 past arsenal, spurs, Everton etc. but when things aren't working out you start to break the speech down and think 'what?'
