First Impressions

Frustration for Herr Klopp

After a couple of weeks in charge of the team, and with three games now under his belt, how are the team faring under our new manager? My impression so far is that things could be better—but they could also be a lot worse.
The teams that we've played so far, Spurs (away), Rubin Kazan and Southampton (both home) have provided reasonable opposition, and perhaps three draws, all things considered, isn't the end of the world.
Here's why I have optimism going forward...

Klopp A Load of This

Herr Klopp has arrived at Anfield

To the surprise, it seems, of just about no-one, Jürgen Klopp has been appointed as Liverpool's new manager.
In my last post, I was hopeful that we might choose to appoint a British manager to the position. That Herr Klopp has been installed is not the worst decision ever made. In fact, I like what I've seen of him so far. In particular, he seems to be a no nonsense kind of guy, with a good sense of humour and a motivational approach vaguely reminiscent of the great Bill Shankly.
For example, in his press conference, he was at pains to point out that fans and players "have to change from doubter to believer" if he's to achieve his goals. I agree with that 100%—belief, particularly the squad's self-belief, in my humble opinion, is the foundation upon which success is built. If you lower your expectations and talk down your abilities, you will never win a thing. As a fan, I will certainly give him the benefit of the doubt and believe in him and his approach.

Farewell, and Good Luck, Brendan

Rodgers in Happier Times

After the United game, I finally came down on the side of those who recognised that Brendan Rodgers wasn't the man to lead the club to success.
That wasn't the first time I felt frustrated by Rodgers management. The way we went out of last year's Champion's League group stage also left a sour taste in the mouth. Don't forget that before last season, we had beaten Real Madrid in every single European match we had played against them—and that included the 1981 European Cup final. How many teams can make that claim? Yet, after a 0-3 opening home drubbing, Rodgers threw in the towel for the return leg (although, it has to be said, the second string he selected for that match performed a lot better than expected, but still lost 1-0). He then followed that game up by having the first string lose to Chelsea that weekend. A total failure of both strategy and tactics. And let's not even mention our pathetic performances against Basel and Ludogorets, neither of whom should have presented any problems whatsoever. As Jamie Carragher observed:
It baffles me when teams are more interested in qualifying for the competition next season than doing their best in the competition they are already in. The reason players love the Champions League so much is the thought of playing in an arena such as the Bernabeu.

Come in Mr Rodgers. Your Time is Up...

Rodgers: Absolutely No Clue What Liverpool Means

Five games into the new season, millions more spent in the transfer market, and already we're wallowing in mid-table mediocrity.
Today, United fielded a starting team with no recognized striker and with the same makeshift central defence that has looked so vulnerable all season. Here was an opportunity to take the game to United, play the high pressing game, run them ragged and put them under some pressure. So how does Rodgers approach the game? He parked the bus! Absolutely pathetic!
Today, Rodgers demonstrated a number of characteristics that, to me, put his future as Liverpool manager under serious doubt.

Another Daft New Offside Rule

Simplicity itself

It seems that there is to be a new Offside Rule coming into effect for the Premier League this season. Apparently, a player in an offside position is only to be ruled offside if he:

1. Clearly attempts to play a ball which is close to him when this action impacts on an opponent or;
2. Makes an obvious action which clearly impacts on the ability of an opponent to play the ball.

Benteke? Are you serious?

A perfect fit for Rodger's style of play. Not.

I just don't get this.
Apparently, we're about to splash the vast majority of our Sterling windfall on Villa's Christian Benteke.
Not that he's a bad player, because he's a great player. Is he worth the £32.5M required to release him from his current contract? Well, possibly not when you consider the calibre of player that kind of money buys you.
More to the point, how would he benefit the side?
When Rodgers took over at Anfield, the first thing he did was to end the Liverpool career of a very similar player: one Andy Carroll. Both Carroll and Benteke thrive in aerial combat, winning headers, beating-up centre-backs and hitting pile-drivers towards goal. Neither of them fit into Rodgers' system of quick-passing interplay in the final third. So if Andy Carroll was the wrong kind of player for us, how is Benteke the right player?

Sterling Out, Pounds Sterling In

Bye-bye Raheem...

Thankfully, the long-running Raheem Sterling saga is over. On the whole, I'm happy with the outcome.
In fact, it seems to have been a win-win all around: Sterling gets to increase his salary from a miserly £30K/week to £200K/week (I don't know how he made ends meet!), his agent gets well rewarded for what must be the most unprofessional player representation in the history of the club, QPR even get to make a few quid on the deal, and Liverpool gets a hefty chunk of change to splash on some more professional players.

Fabio Borini Wants Out

According to his agent, Fabio Borini wants to leave the club.
That's interesting, because last year, when no-one except Sunderland and QPR wanted to buy him, Borini was telling us that he wanted to, er, stay and fight for his place. That after his agent was bleating how Liverpool blocked his loan move to Inter, yet prior to that was claiming Fabio was not looking to leave.

Fabio demonstrating his prowess in front of goal...

Call me a cynic, but at the end of last season, Liverpool had just finished second in the League and he was on a nice contract, so why would he want to move? Now we've finished in 6th place, with Borini contributing practically nothing all year, and suddenly he wants out.
(Strangely, Alberto Aquilani was another Italian player with a schizophrenic agent. One minute he was telling the World that Alberto was totally committed to the club—and surely it was just a coincidence that no-one else wanted to sign him at the time—only to turn around and tout him to the world as soon as any interest was shown.)
Borini was Rodgers' first Liverpool signing, and not a particularly auspicious one: a sign of things to come with a price tag of £11M. I very much doubt that anyone will be crazy enough to offer the £14M that Sunderland were prepared to cough up last year, so that will be more transfer kitty money down the toilet.
Time to cut our losses and get rid of this important player.

Squad Rotation Considered Harmful

Bill Shankly famously used to quip, when asked what his side was for a forthcoming game: "It's the same as last season." Indeed, when Liverpool won the league in 1965/66—Shankly's second title—he used only 14 players. Even more remarkably, one of them played in only 1 game, while another made only 5 appearances.
Of course, back then, teams could name only a single substitute, who might or might not be used. (In fact, prior to the 1965/66 season, no substitutes were allowed!) Also, the top division contained 22 teams, instead of today's 20, so that a full league season was 42 games, not 38. That season, Liverpool also competed in the FA Cup, the UEFA Cup Winner's Cup and the FA Charity Shield (they were FA Cup winners for the first time in the 1964/65 season). That season, they also reached the final of the now defunct Cup Winner's Cup where they lost in the final to Borussia Dortmund. (They did not participate in the Football League Cup that year.) I mention this because the pro-squad rotation brigade love to point out how many fixtures teams play each year, and how tired players get. What a load of, er, poppycock!
Fact: Shankly's 1965/66 championship-winning team played 53 games that season, compared to Rodger's 2014/15 7th placed side playing 58. Not a huge difference, particularly when you bear in mind that Rodgers is able to play 3 substitutes each game, while Shanks was limited to just the one.
It must be accepted that injuries and disciplinary suspensions play a big part in team selection. Shankly was lucky that injuries didn't play too big a role in his season, but he probably made sure that his players' discipline—historically, always a Liverpool strong-point—wasn't too big a factor. But why didn't he use more players anyway? It wasn't as if Liverpool had a small squad. The simple answer is that, back then, the Liverpool management's philosophy, as it was just about everywhere else at the time, was summed-up by the old adage that you never change a winning team.
Like many football clichés, there's an amazing amount of wisdom contained in those few words.

That Stoke Game...

I've held off from writing anything about the 6-1 trashing at the hands of Stoke City for a while. I was hoping to be able to calm down and put things into some kind of perspective, but, well, I guess time may not be such a great healer after all.

Charlie Adam and Peter Crouch, celebrate a win over their former side.

Talking of time, this was the worst Liverpool defeat in my lifetime, which goes back rather longer than I would care to admit. All of which makes it particularly unfortunate that it should be Stevie G's last game for us. He deserved far, far better.
Aside from the score, there were a number of elements to this match that left me perplexed.

Ibe & Flanno Sign New Contracts!

Liverpool have announced that Jordon Ibe and Jon Flanagan have both signed new contracts. I'm delighted for the club and both players!
Jordon Ibe is an exciting, pacy winger with outstanding technical skills. Definitely a star in the making, and I'm particularly glad to see that he's not following the lead of his chum, Sterling.

Flanno being shy and retiring...

As for Flanno, well he is the kind of player I really admire: a fighter! Despite originally being far down on the pecking order for Right Back, he has kept his head down and worked his way into sides under both Kenny Dalglish and Brendan Rodgers. He has struggled with injury since his breakthrough season when he almost helped us to win the league in 2013/14, and his recovery can't come too soon. Aside from his composure on the ball, another element to his personality that has impressed me is his leadership; I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him making the captain's armband his own.

You Must Believe You Are The Best

Would you argue with this man? I wouldn't...

Legendary Liverpool manager, Bill Shankly once famously declared:

A lot of football success is in the mind. You must believe you are the best and then make sure that you are.

As with many of the great man's words of wisdom, this is an outwardly simple, yet deceptively powerful, statement. It applies to many other aspects of life too, not just the football field.

Rodgers: Should He Stay, or Should He Go?

I can't make up my mind about Brendan Rodgers.
I think there's little doubt that he's been a positive influence on the younger players in the Liverpool squad, and I loved watching the team towards the end of the 2013/14 season putting the ball in the back of the net with almost boring regularity.
But the magic seems to have worn off pretty quickly. OK, so Luis Suárez has moved on, and Rodgers wasn't helped by the prolonged injuries suffered by Daniel Sturridge, but the poor performance this year is surely more than just the lack of a potent striker.
Here, I try to analyse the Pro's and Con's of Rodgers' reign, and whether it's time for someone new to lead the team.

Time to Make a Sterling Deposit

Raheem Sterling is a precocious talent: confident on the ball, physically strong (particularly surprising given his slight physique), fast and intelligent. Or, at least, he has a lot of football intelligence.
However, he still has a long way to go. His finishing is poor for a player plying his trade in the final third, his passing isn't as accurate as it could be, there's certainly room for improvement in his defensive capabilities, and his on-field decision-making could be better.
His off-field decision-making could hardly be worse. I don't think he appreciates how lucky he is. He is playing for one of the top clubs in the UK, cheered on by the most passionate supporters in the world, and he has a manager in Brendan Rodgers who believes in him and who has overlooked his many off-field indiscretions, shaping him into a potential world-class footballer. At Liverpool, he has a role to play as a key member of the squad. At any other big club, he's just another wannabe who'll likely spend more time warming the bench than worrying defenders.