Posted June 6, 2012 by Footie Crisis in Uncategorized. Leave a Comment

As you may have noticed, Liverpool FC has appointed a new manager: 39-year-old, Carnlough born Brendan Rodgers. But what do you need to know about him?

Rodgers was one of my ‘preferred three’, but I will admit that he was third in that list. Still, his appointment has given me much optimism for not only the following season, but also Liverpool’s future as a whole.

‘Buck’ appears to be FSG’s real first choice appointment. They never hired Hodgson, and the fans hired Dalglish.

Despite all the massively misconceived press surrounding FSG’s search for a manager, it seems Rodgers played hard to get, played his cards right and got the post.

His rise to prominence has centred mostly around his Swansea City reign. Under the Welsh side, Rodgers continued and progressed the dynasty of passing football at the club to a level of national praise.

Only Manchester City completed more passes than Swansea in the 2011-12 Premier League season, which is a commendable stat.

His team of relative unknowns had been drilled and crafted to be a group of unsung heroes; tireless, technically sound and tactically disciplined.

It is this notion that forms the basis of both Rodgers’ apparent philosophy and reputation. Comparisons to Barcelona’s ‘tiki-taka’ approach may be generous, but it is easy to see why they are earned.

While I fully support Rodgers, I was curious to learn of his management past. Rodgers has completed just three full seasons in his managerial career; two at Swansea, which were undoubted successes, and one at Watford in 2008.

Sandwiched between the two appointments was a stint at Reading. One that saw Rodgers last just six months in charge after the team failed to adapt to his approach.

Rodgers left Reading in 21st position when he was sacked, which is a Hodgson level crisis. Previously, Steve Coppell had managed Reading for 5 years, including two Premiership seasons, which makes Rodgers performance there seem particularly bad.

The former Chelsea coach said of his Reading troubles: “I went in thinking ’Right, the club want a new vision, a new philosophy’ and I felt if I stripped it down quickly and let it build then that would be okay.”

“But what I realised after that was you are still in the business of winning.”

After looking deeper into Rodgers troubles at Reading FC, it seems that he did indeed try to change too much too quickly and in doing so, alienated the fans.

Rodgers, at the very least seems to be aware of his own failings, which happens to be a good quality in managers. It says to me one main thing; adaptability.

He added to his statements by saying: “You talk about football, creativity and invention, but you have to win games – as simple as that.

“That was something very important to me on reflection when I came away from Reading.”

A couple of Royals’ blogs that can be found state how Rodgers’ media friendly attitude can actually get on the nerves of some. It’s hard to judge based on this alone, and I won’t use it as a stick to beat him with.

However, while Swansea City were a sensation in the Premier League, I don’t believe Rodgers had to overhaul them too much. Under Roberto Martinez and then Paulo Sousa, the Swans were pleasing on the eye.

Rodgers seems to have identified some of the issues he faced at Reading, moving swiftly with what he felt were the necessary changes to Swansea.

He said: “When I went in to Swansea I knew very well I could still work with the same philosophy and identity but I would have to get to the end point quicker.

“That allowed me to round off everything I do and how I work with players and it brought me success at Swansea”

I am impressed here again by his adaptability and having the confidence to bounce back from a dire situation at Reading. While Swansea were a good footballing team, Rodgers came to really define them and hone their key skills.

A lot will depend on how much Rodgers thinks Liverpool need overhauling. I don’t think we’re at a point where we need world class players to improve, just astute and shrewd signings. Swansea, ironically, seem to be a team put together using a (very loosely based) sabre-metrics approach; an approach that has been unfairly worn like a ball & chain around the ankle of Liverpool since the FSG takeover.

FSG can’t and won’t abide profligate spending like we saw under Dalglish and Comolli. This was probably a big factor in their decision to appoint Rodgers. He is developing a reputation for getting the best out of players and really maximising their value. One player currently on the radar and I’m glad to say it, is Gylfi Sigurdsson.

With a strong build, great touch and great vision, the Icelandicman is the type of player who turns draws into wins. Some of you may remember him looking particularly assured as a young lad during Reading’s win at Anfield a couple of years ago, particularly in regards to his set-piece delivery. Sigurdsson scored a last minute penalty to take that particular cup-tie to extra time. I don’t remember the final score…

With regards to what we witnessed at both Watford, Reading and Swansea, Rodgers track record in first team management is mixed, he does though appear to stay true to his footballing philosophies.

His performances at Reading were often lacklustre, due to a mix of players failing to gel quickly enough and plenty of players being shipped out (apparently under instruction).

After only 11 games of his doomed spell at Reading, Rodgers had used 24 players; something which wasn’t deemed wise at Championship level. Inconsistencies plagued Rodgers for the next two months until John Madejski decided to pull the plug on the Northern Irishman.

The kind of rotational approach Rodgers used is something that would now be considered the norm’ in the Premier League. Not only will Rodgers be getting his first taste of European football with Liverpool, he will have license to use the maximum of his squad, as more successful predecessors at Anfield before him have.

To summarize, while Rodgers has done well most of the time, he also knows failure, and this as he says could be a driving force for his career.

Rodgers said: “That six months at Reading over the course of a nearly 20-year period coaching and managing has been great learning for me.

“Hopefully that will be the defining moment of my career.”

I hope that fans see in him the future, and not just the present. At the moment on the pitch, we’re nobodies. A top eight team, but with so much potential we could achieve anything given the time and resources.

Under Rodgers, who FSG no doubt see as someone who can get the best out of so called ‘underdogs’, Liverpool fans should look forward to a sustained period of progression.

How many years until LFC could conceivably challenge for a league title? It’s hard to say. But I believe that Rodgers should be seeing out his current contract before we’re ready for a serious title tilt. I think we have solid foundations and some good young players. If Rodgers can cultivate and develop what we have, in line with his philosophies, then we may just be at the start of something sustainable and most importantly exciting

By Chris Severs.