Quite why this piece even needs writing is beyond me. Quite why I expect you to read on after me saying that is also beyond me. But please do. I’m enjoying this writing malarkey quite a bit. A writer without their readers is like football without its fans. Like the desert without sand. Like Brendan Rodgers with his haters.
I write this just over 24 hours after Liverpool oh-so-splendidly crashed out of the Europa League on penalties against Besiktas. The significance of that could be huge. I also write this less than 48 hours before Liverpool play Manchester City at Anfield. The significance of that could be huge, too. If Jordan Henderson and his band of well-groomed gentlemen pick up a point or more vs City, then the anti-Rodgers brigade will quite rightly stay bitterly in the woodwork. He rested his most important players and revitalised the team with a quick turn-around. Lose vs City, however, and out they will come, as quick as they can, like the people who tell you the floor is slippery right after you’ve fallen on your arse.
For some reason, Rodgers is a manager who will always have fans that dislike him. I for one don’t really see how you can. I understand how he can get a little tiresome. There was a point in time where me and the lads who live in our house (lovingly called the House of Trouser for any keen ‘Neighbours’ fans out there) would shout “feed me your bullshit” every time his presser came on the tele. He used to over-complicate everything he said during press conferences. Calling Joe Cole a great human-being while talking about him and his ability to play football was probably his worst line so far. Yet, if being nice about a fella who has both been down on his luck for what seems like an eternity, and has a head that looks like a scotch egg is your worst trait, I think you’re doing pretty well for yourself. Don’t you?
I do not see how you can dislike him because of his record of improvement. Improvement of his players, his teams and of himself professionally. I see the evolution of Brendan Rodgers the manager in a very similar light to Liverpool the team last season. He started off a little bit unsure. Just like we did. It was all going well, but it looked like the Red machine was stuck in third gear. Then we went over a bump in the road. A big, massive Hull City shaped bump. This bump, however, seemed to shift whatever was holding us into third gear, and fire us into a blistering fifth gear. And as we took off in this fifth-est of gears, so did Rodgers. The better we got, the happier, calmer and more confident he became. The more Suarez and Sturridge were taking the piss on the pitch, the more GIF’s we would see of Brendan laughing off it. That superbly loud and proud laugh. The type of laugh you would do if you had just had someone off in the pub. Maybe that’s what it was all about. The laugh got louder as he knew he was shutting up all of his haters. Probably not, but it’s nice to think that way.
There’s a lot of people who aren’t keen on Rodgers, but idolised Suarez last year. The loads of lads and lasses who can’t stand the site of our manager, but won’t stop waxing lyrical about the rise of Jordan Henderson. And even more recently, there have been people still unhappy with B-Rodgers despite the upturn in form of Sakho, Mignolet and Lucas amongst others.
Rodgers has vastly improved all of the above. Every one of them. They all had great talent before they met him. But now they’re all showing even greater performances after spending time under his wing. (The only possible exception there is Lucas; but even he didn’t look like he would ever be as influential again after his injury as he became before his..erm..injury.)
That’s all not easily quantifiable. But it doesn’t need to be. Because it is obvious. And if you can’t see it, then your eyes aren’t working properly, so go to the opticians. Take some time, read that weird pyramid of letters, because you need to be able to see that Brendan Rodgers is brilliant at improving what he has at his disposal. Absolutely brilliant.
I can almost hear the elephant in the room. Europe is that elephant in the room. I’m calling Rodgers great and he’s never won a trophy and he’s been by-and-large awful in Europe. That’s all true. And the Europe thing is not excusable. At all. I don’t think anyone expects him to have won a major European trophy just yet, I certainly don’t, but he needs to have done better. And this is where people will always take aim. And I will let them have this one. I will let them have this easy jab at a young manager who has improved each time it has been realistically achievable. So what’s to say he won’t improve more in Europe next year? If we get there that is.
Discussing the transfers Rodgers has conducted right now is quite a tough and somewhat confusing scenario to look at. At one time this was a huge weakness, but I reckon the tide is beginning to turn on his time as a whole in this area. I am edging more towards praise than disappointment. Can, Markovic, Moreno and Lallana have all come in this year and I’m not worried about any of them. They may not look like the finished article now, but I’m happy to forget about their development because I think it will come. I don’t need to worry there. However, as a realistic guy, for every Can I see there is a Lovren. Every Moreno, there is Balotelli. And here is where people’s personal feelings about each player comes into play. I think Lovren will stay with Liverpool, and I think he will become a first choice CB during next season. I also think it is well worth keeping Balotelli if he continues to show at least the level of enthusiasm he has shown in the last few weeks for the rest of the season. If that happens, I look at a lad whose game wasn’t about legging it about (for some reason) and hasn’t been for near his whole life, but who has started running around a bit, hunting down balls and I swear vs Besiktas he made a clever run; the type I had never seen before from him (OK, so he ended up offside, but beggars really can’t be choosers). I will admit though, these are all personal opinions that are only alive in my perception of the current reality. These have no huge basis of proof in the current club climate other than what I see doesn’t seem as totally horrific as what others see.
As a fan of football for all of the 26 years of my life, I have grown to realise that there is no pleasing some people. I wanted Rafa out during his final season, yet during the Hodgson era I was begging for his return. I was made up when Dalglish was given a full time contract, but in all honesty that probably put us back a little bit (in some ways though this could have been seen as a good signing – something that goaded united fans, gave us back our fun, a trophy and a final, and a Maxi Rodriguez that scored whenever he was anywhere near London town). I have been fickle too. But it’s the moaning buggers who complain even when we’re in with a chance of Champions League football, FA Cup glory and the most exciting squad in years that really wind me up.
I end as I started.
I write this just over 24 hours after Liverpool oh-so-splendidly crashed out of the Europa League on penalties against Besiktas. The significance of that could be huge. I also write this less than 48 hours before Liverpool play Manchester City at Anfield. The significance of that could be huge, too.
Come on Brendan, lad. Put these haters to bed. One big toothy grin at a time. Starting with City at home.
Up the Reds.
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