http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/spor.../liverpool-fc-manager-brendan-rodgers-6325520 Liverpool FC boss Brendan Rodgers believes dealing with Luis Suarez has made him a better manager. The Uruguay striker has rarely been far from controversy during Rodgersâ reign â confessing to diving to try to win a penalty and earning a 10-game ban for biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic back in April. Suarez then tried to secure a transfer away from Anfield in the summer when he publicly accused Rodgers of breaking a promise to let him leave. However, Liverpool stood firm and Suarez belatedly accepted he was going nowhere. âSome of the things (Suarez) has done, he knows was wrong,â Rodgers said speaking to ESPNFC.com. âSome of them have been really testing situations as a manager...thereâs been some challenging moments. Seventeen months on as I sit here, Iâm a much better manager for that experience. âOver time Luis is maturing. Heâs a more responsible player since heâs come back onto the field. That wonât stop his desire or his will to win. Itâs something that if we have more throughout the squad, weâll continue to do very well.â Since returning from suspension the frontman has been sensational form, netting eight goals in six league games. Rodgers is confident Suarez will remain at Anfield beyond the January transfer window. âI believe so,â he said. âThereâs no club that is bigger than Liverpool. I think Luis now respects that decision because heâs very happy here, and improving all the time. âHe is very important but itâs the team that will get us there, not one player. âFor me, Luis Suarez is as important as maybe the guy who is 13th or 14th man because heâs the guy that pushes every day to be the best he can and that helps everyone else. âLuis is very important but the most important thing for me is to protect the team ethos.â Liverpool go into Saturdayâs derby with Everton flying high in second place with 23 points from their opening 11 games. Rodgers is on track to end the Redsâ Champions League exile. âFor us to be up there in that top four with improvements still to made can be classed as a good start,â he said. âYou donât set out to finish fourth or third. You always set out to win. You have to be realistic as well. Itâs unprecedented for any team to go from eighth or seventh to go and win the league. That doesnât stop us fighting to arrive there. âI think itâs an exciting thought that we havenât got near our full potential yet but weâve collected the points. âI signed a contract here for three years and the plan was for Liverpool to break into the Champions League in that time. Last year we finished seventh. I would expect this year to be better.â
The good thing about BR is he is a young manager, he's not set in his ways yet, so he will only get better (one hopes) and he will already have learnt a massive amount just in his time managing us.
I dunno... this seems totally unnecessary self inflation. I think he should have done a lot better to deflect anything off suarez and kept it quite general. why dredge up stuff yet again? "It’s unprecedented for any team to go from eighth or seventh to go and win the league. That doesn’t stop us fighting to arrive there." this is not true. There are MANY examples in the past of sides rising from nowhere to win leagues, now ok in the recent past no but there are many examples and even freshly promoted sides doing it.
Poor bloke can't say a thing without people criticising. Read it again MITO without shaking your head and just realise that there is nothing wrong with it! We have one of the most controversial and best football players on earth and therefore any interview with BR will always get on to Suarez.
This^ I don't think he's said too much wrong for quite a while now. He's the manager of a high profile club and he's going to get asked loaded questions all the time. Whatever he says there'll be somebody waiting to gleefully pull it apart (in the media, I mean-I'm not referring to posters on here). As for handling Suarez , well that's either going to make you a better manager or send you gibbering to the looney bin. The man is challenging, to say the least.
he doesn't really have to get onto suarez, he should just deflect the question skillfully by talking in general and about all players. Some of the things (Suarez) has done, he knows was wrong,” Rodgers said speaking to ESPNFC.com. could have simply said, sure players go do the wrong thing from time to time, they all do. then if the media make out he's brushing it off they have the agenda but he's not fed a line that can be used as a criticism of suarez directly. I'm just pointing out that he cna improve on this. in the end all that matters is results... if he delivers result he can say what he likes like whiskey nose. if he doesn't deliver he will be lampooned like wenger has been getting.
“He is very important but it’s the team that will get us there, not one player. “For me, Luis Suarez is as important as maybe the guy who is 13th or 14th man because he’s the guy that pushes every day to be the best he can and that helps everyone else. “Luis is very important but the most important thing for me is to protect the team ethos.” I feel that he does do that in the above. Agree that all that matters is results, just don't like to see him jumped on all the time - he is our manager and sometimes it comes across as if he is a rival or outsider.
Some didn't agree with his appointment and it's taking some time to win them over, some just don't like his style in interviews. Personally I think he does ok apart from the modern business-style gobbledegook he comes out with occasionally, which I find irritating. I fully agree that he's our manager and we should be supportive of him. As mentioned, it's results that matter, and we all want him to do well while he's with us. Apart from MFG, of course.
A bloke in the office has just asked me if it's true we've offered Suarez to Madrid for 40 mill. He says that's what the press are saying. Anyone seen any of this utter bollocks?
You just have to wonder why Rodgers do interviews. Things he say are just weird or funny or both. They do seem to be self promotional... So Suarez doin things he shouldn't have done has made him a better manager. So does that mean he welcome those actions ? What sort of manager need some awful deeds to improve?
you miss my point. he said that AFTER he was very specific about the player. Just pointing out he could do better. You can get away with this stuff when winning like ferguson can write dross in a book now but in 1989 before his cup win? if he'd said robson was a drunk he'd have been sacked... Really my only point is he needs to be more careful with the press while still charming them. the best say nothing and have the press on tender hooks. he always gives them something and sometimes that something comes back to bite.
That's my point. He says things which people reflect on and ask themselves; "why did he say that? what did he mean by that?". Same with the envelopes fiasco. Did he want to do that and be filmed to do that? May be he regrets it now but he should just focus on managing. PR is not his strength..
How can Suarez be as important as the 13th or 14th man? he is the main striker. What a weird thing to say...
If you are on the outside looking in ( 13th or 14th player) then you are working as hard as you can to break into the starting 11. You are pushing everyone around you and Suarez has that drive, even though he is the top player at the club.
