I think it's both manager and players, yes the manager has to give that extra motivation on match days but the players need to understand the importance of that shirt and be motivated themselves.
"Pascoe needs to be on every players case in training after releasing the ball, Ronnie Moran used to scream " move you f*cker" once a player had passed had the ball in the 80s, it drove them nuts but they learned to move, our movement after passing is ****e." This is the key. We're utterly woeful that after giving a player the ball we stand and watch them struggle from afar. Watched the game again in the early hours - painful. The number of times Henderson (a player I have great hopes for) runs his heart out to get the ball, wins it, passes itt five/ten yards to a colleague then stands still watching should be tearing the hair out of our coaching staff. And he's far from the only one: I only select him as he seems to be everywhere and is the most visible. Stirling's another - do you want the ball feller? MOVE THEN, FFS! We'll need at least four in the return leg, as Zenit WILL score at Anfield. I predicted 2-2, and I can see that happening. Just get this season over, accept that there's no European football of any description next year, pray we keep Suarez and, by some miracle, we can attract decent EXPERIENCED players (one goalscorer - Torres loan?-, one winger/wide midfielder and one centre back of the Hyypia type - I wish!). Got to give Brendan another year, but if, as Dalglish says, you can't re-invent football, develop a plan B feller, or hammer into these players that pass-and-move involves instant control (admittedly difficult on that pitch last night), short, firm passes and ****ING MOVING!
We have a dumb recruitment policy that has lead to an inexperienced squad that is struggling with the pressure and doesnt have the maturity, stamina and muscle it needs that experienced players can provide.
Motivation can work for some players but not others but players are paid a lot of money for what they do and should be prepared to play without the manager geeing them up. However, I was thinking more along the lines of if a player isn't right then play someone else.
would you not agree that yes you had moran or whomever up o nthe sideline scremaing at guys but in reality its the follow up threat of the drop etc that really motivates them. I think perosnally if you are a great manager you can deliver your tatcitcs and have your senior guys who are i nthe team then go to work and UNDERSTAND that this is their role. its that leaderhsip we really lack. oh gerrard is great for an inspirational moment and he can be there going the bit of hand clapping and back patting and both him and carra will hassle a ref but we're really talking about guys who boss the dressing room and set the whole tone. now hyypia i don't thin kwas that either and gerrard was given the arm bad but the only guy i think we have like it is pepe. you see the type of guy i'm getting at? you know with pepe reina he'll be up on his feet if he's cpatin in that dressing room... you want a team of carraghers sure thats the attitude to wrk but you need guys to drive them on and it can't be comeing form the management cos you will get flat days with the best will in the world. Its safe to say we hate jonh terry but there is a reason that guy was mourinho's captain and a reason why every manager since has got the sack. its a good exmaple of how under the right guy it works and how when out of control its a nightmare.... another example might be leeds and clough... if he'd got the senior leeds guys behind him they'd have dominated europe... I thnk we both lcak the right man and the leadersship players to really deliver. ie. you cannot do it from the bench and about to retire and gerrard not that type.
100% yes! When Gerrard was playing poor not so long ago, I kept saying it was the perfect opportunity for the manager to make a stance. what better way to tell the players that they need to play well to keep their place then to drop the captain and Mr Liverpool himself? Can't do it now because he has been one of a our best players again this season.
So you could argue BR was right to keep faith with him. I'm not sure fear of being dropped is always a benefit to players. Young players especially benefit from being filled with confidence not fear. I'd say BR was strong enough to drop Allen despite him being a player he bought and he dropped Skrtel after the Oldham game. Has it helped results? Not much no. Granted he doesn't seem like the toughest of characters that players fear outright but I'd be reluctant to accuse him of not making tough decisions. If anyone needs dropping at the moment it's Suarez (by the logic of striking fear into others) however we all know it'd be madness to do that. What I worry about is whether or not Rodgers can make players feel ten feet tall. Really good managers get the balance right between toughness and motivation. Yes they can rant and rave and kick arse when required but in the same breath they make players believe they are better than they are and can achieve anything. Many of the best managers have also been great psychologists. Does Rodgers have that in him? Time will tell I guess (if he's even given that time).
Having that level of command and respect only comes with time - I'll go back to the point I made about Fergie and his power/authority comes from the fact that he has been at the club for over 20 years and he is Mr Man Utd.
Yes he was right but I wasn't meaning this season I don't think it is a case of filling players with fear, it is showing them there is competition for places and that they need to perform to keep their place in the team at a club such as Liverpool. As you rightly pointed out, Rodgers does have the strength to drop players with the recent dropping of Allen and Skrtel. I never said Rodgers doesn't have this characteristic, I merely agreed that dropping under performing players is important. Downing is another one, he was playing poor and got dropped (either to the bench or LB) but now we are getting the benefit. At present, Sterling is in desperate need of this IMO, Agger rightly got chopped against Zenit too. young players are slightly different but then, I think they shouldn't be starting games unless they are good enough. If the are good enough then they are old enough and being dropped is part and parcel of being a professional footballer. It is not the downfall that establishes players, it is their reaction to the downfall
No mate I agree with all that. I think part of the problem is that a lot of players know they have no competition so even if they are dropped the player coming in is ****e and will be dropped soon enough anyway. This for me was part of the problem with being so quick to release so many players in the summer and not replacing them...and yes that does include Carroll.
Nail and head spring to mind Gerrard has been deemed 'undroppable' for years, both for Liverpool and England. Glen Johnson was the same for a while (you may have seen me mention this before ) and was performing **** as a result. I said earlier this season that I think that is part of the problem with Pepe too, he has no competition at Liverpool and perhaps looks at Spain as 'If I've not done it by now I never will' sort of attitude.
Just to complicate matters a little further. There's dropping people and then ther's resting people or withdrawing them from the firing line. Whilst they all amount to the same thing (ie you're not playing) it's the rationale that is used to make the decision that is important. Now Rodgers has been in and around dressing rooms for a long time now. He's seen how other managers go about that task and he knows from his own attempts what works and what does not. However, I seem to get the impression that he's losing a bit of confidence in himself and that could be catastrophic. If you come to a club projecting YOUR plan then it has to be your plan and nothing else. All of the players from Gerrard to Wisdon need to know and understand that they are merely tools within that plan.
This might have been mentioned before, but when sturidge plays the formation is 4 4 2 giving suarez licence to roam but we still have a presence in the box. With no sturidge, we revert back to 4 3 3. The obvious problem is that we do not have three attacking players. Downing and sterling are wide midfielders, they do not get into the box enough. If we still had Carroll or we played boreni up top with suarez behind we would be much more balanced. The insistence on playing a formation that does not suit the players is a major fault from Rogers.
You have too many ordinary players, playing for an ordinary manager. No surprise that you are ordinary then.
