Brendan Rodgers: a man at one stage I believed could take Liverpool back to the very top, and so nearly did. This was a man who was unique in his own right. For such an inexperienced manager, the man had guts. He did stuff that other managers wouldn’t dream of doing. Stuff that was perhaps thought of as stupid (Palace away comes to mind), but I didn’t mind that. These risks nearly won us a title and I’d take risks like that every single game we play in if it means we’ll win it. Think you’d be stupid not to.
Rodgers had serious guts. A man who wasn’t frightened to completely change formation and personnel in the biggest of games. Away to Arsenal we played Jon Flanagan in a 3-5-2. Granted we lost, but come on; he brought back and revolutionised the diamond formation. He even got the England national side playing it, it was so good. He put Steven Gerrard at the base of a diamond; playing like Andrea Pirlo. Rodgers got Gerrard having a huge impact in games, something Gerrard was unable to do for years before. With the likes of Coutinho and Henderson buzzing around Gerrard, this made his job that bit easier – they were the legs. People may think this is an obvious thing to do, but not every manager gets the best out of their more senior players.
Raheem Sterling’s career was massively benefitted by the tactical knowledge of Brendan. Sterling was often criticised for ‘only having pace’. Rodgers put him at the tip of the diamond and he was our best player in the second half of the 2013-14 season – a team that had Luis Suarez in it. He turned Sterling into a completely different footballer and you can see this was appreciated by the players. Sterling ran half the length of the pitch to acknowledge Rodgers against Norwich away, as did Sturridge earlier in the season against United. People say 13-14 was all Luis Suarez. Nah.
What Rodgers did with Suarez and Sturridge was sensational. Breathtaking. Having those two on the pitch was effectively giving us a goal headstart. Teams knew how good these two were and they’d spend the whole week preparing to come up against them and then Rodgers would let them free roam and just go wherever they want. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Takes guts. Genuine guts. Arsenal at home, both kept drifting off to the right. Imagine that, you just get used to marking Sturridge, he walks away, Suarez strolls over. That’s the game, there.
He’s often criticised for not settling for the draw against Chelsea when they came to Anfield and clearly weren’t fussed about getting the three points. I don’t get that at all. He’s got this bunch of lads, who weren’t all world-beaters like Suarez and he’s got them playing in a way that doesn’t settle for drawing. They want the win. Even if Rodgers had told them to be more cautious and perhaps tentative in their approach, they wouldn’t have. I can guarantee it. They’ve all bought into this way of playing that is all about the winning. I’ve got no problem with going for the win that day, even in hindsight with us obviously losing the game. He stuck by his guns and that’s why I respected him so highly and still do.
The criticism of Rodgers at times was unfair – but at times fair. I think it’s the right time for him to have gone. I respect him as a manager and especially as a man. One of the nicest blokes in football is Brendan. Some of the stories I’ve read and heard about him just makes me admire him even more. I was really sad when I found it he was sacked on Sunday, despite its inevitability and it probably being for the best. It will be weird to see him at another club, but I’m sure when he comes back on Merseyside, he’ll get the ovation he very much deserves.
