http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/latest-news/rodgers-i-needed-that-experience Brendan Rodgers believes the 'learning curve' he’s experienced during his first season as Liverpool manager will stand him in good stead ahead of next term's top-four push. The Reds will end 2012-13 in seventh in the Barclays Premier League - one position higher than last term, though they head into this weekend's final-day clash with Queens Park Rangers 11 points off fourth place in the table and qualification for the Champions League. However, with a year of experience at Anfield under his belt, coupled with further additions to the squad in the summer, Rodgers is confident his side will continue to progress next season. "This year has provided a great learning curve for me and I look back and see that it was learning that I needed," he told the Liverpool Echo. "I knew the expectancy of the club but going into next season, I am a much better prepared manager for that. "We want to make significant improvements next year in the points total because the reality is we are 30 points behind the leaders and 11 points behind the top four. "But I've seen enough and if we improve our mentality in the summer - by signing players who have that consistent winning mentality - we can then improve again, like we have done in the second half of the season. "That's the job of the recruitment team and the club to identify those types of players. They might not always be the best players but what we need in the second year of this project is to find a great level of consistency. There is a process of getting into the top four and becoming champions and that is consistency. "This club didn't win two league games in a row for over a year. "That came earlier on in the season and when you step back and look at that, it is nowhere near good enough if you are going to succeed. "You build a mentality in your group and you get the types of players who can be on it every single game. "I've loved every minute of being here and the small steps of where we want to go. But now I want to make bigger steps."
sounds good to me. I said on another thread about winning home and away v the bottom half and got told that was fantasy. well this is mourinhos target and something rodger is alluding to here. "consistent winning mentality" and "find a great level of consistency" means to me not going to southampton with kids and thinking you can turn up and the win is there, it means each and every match = the reaosn you get paid, training is freebie, the game is for wages so go and win the thing and burst a gut for us. I hope he does what he's said here and adds what he's talking about.
it's a good speech, but actions speak louder than words. for me consistency is the number 1 problem closely followed by the defense. Sort them out and we could be challengers for top 4 next season, playing some nice football, just need to be more clinical in games and cut out silly mistakes at the back, but the footie is def entertaining, it's a start, onward and upwards
I agree mostly, I would just add that clinical should mean positivity and urgency as well as calmness to finish. Downing is a prime example of a guy who think passing it back is a good thing. Sometimes it is but downings first instinct is to go back not forward. contrast that to Gerrard's great asset which is positivity and looking for the incisive attacking ball the second the ball is coming his way. Defense is a big issue, set pieces and crosses are english league bread and butter for sure.
Second highest scorers in the prem is certainly something to build on. Well said by Rodgers, we won 3 EPL games in a row for the first time in years this season, but in reality that isn't good enough. The January window has given me a lot of confidence that we can go in to the Summer able to buy top players for a good price, he seems to have learnt from the travesty of last Summer. I've always said I like Rodgers, people say he's brent-like but you can just see by how he talks he loves his football and he's passionate about it, the sort of bloke you meet in a pub and he doesn't shut up about it. On top of that he's honest and a gent, he has all the qualities to succeed, whether or not he will is a different question (MFG will love that last paragraph). 58-61 points this season is a decent bench mark, especially when you take in to account our awful start. It's vital next season we start well and be in and around top four, maybe we can surprise a few people, I feel a lot of our rivals underestimate the quality we have in our squad, unfortunately that quality is mixed with mediocrity. And that's the job in the summer, get rid of the mediocrity and bring in talent and hunger. Overall I'm satisfied with our performance this season, but the same outcome will not be acceptable next season if we want to push on and get back fighting to the top, as we all know just being in the CL is vital, our club is built on European football and that's why in some ways I'm disappointed we're not in the EL next season. Let's win our last game and go in to next season full of confidence.
yeah the lesson has to be the start. If we ignore the grouping of top 4 games and say we lost to west brom first and really had a shocker start then starting well and building momentum will be key. i do hope he follows through on at least some early buys before preseason too.
Second highest scorers in the prem is certainly something to build on. Sort the defensive issues, add more strength in depth and we will be well on our way. Henderson, Allen, Wisdom, Borini, Sterling, Suarez, Coutinho, Sturridge and Enrique will have learnt valuable lessons this season to which will make them better players.
http://www1.skysports.com/football/...-Rodgers-happy-with-first-season-at-Liverpool ""That's the job of the recruitment team and the club to identify those types of players. They might not always be the best players but what we need in the second year of this project is to find a great level of consistency. There is a process of getting into the top four and becoming champions and that is consistency." We want a team who play for each other and not necessarily the best ones who your City and Chelsea's will just buy Its alright being individually good but I much prefer to see a team who work hard for each other and play well as units
"project" - eeek, I hate that term when applied to football. "That's the job of the recruitment team and the club to identify those types of players" - so he's saying to progress beyond where you are now, then you need new players, but that's not his responsibility............if any proof where needed of how a "recruitment team" could cause an issue for you, then he's given the first indication right there.
With me working in the community and voluntary sector, everything is a project so I have no problem with that wording
I think they would identify players and bring them to his attention and he would then choose whether that player would be worth trying to sign.
I only hate the word when applied to football. It's cringeworthy. Since when has Liverpool been a ****ing 'project'? If that was Everton's manager I'd fume & say exactly the same thing.
I don't ever remember Fergie calling the Yernited job a 'project to knock Liverpool off their ****in perch'. Paisley wasn't taking over the management of the 'Liverpool Project' And Shanks shurely never used or heard the word project when he was talking to Tom Williams about managing Liverpool... 'Project' is a management/political tool for a challenging task which the speaker depp down isn't sure they can complete. Everyone else simply talks about doing their job.
in this case even though i've been on the wind up with big bird I would agree with the sentiment. A "project" is something that is finite, a start beginning and end and by definition everyone moves on when its done, as a project manager this is the first definition of what you are trying to do... by extension all mourinho's jobs are projects to him with the aim to get a team ready for trophies to deliver while you are there. football is all about the here and now and results. Yuo are also right about the recruitment team as its fine to take credit for the good buys but no the bad then? He is part of said team and has veto on who's bought.
Wow - are we really having have a 'discussion' on the word 'project' and its application? I think some of us are reading far too much into it.
