KopTalk.com Forums Football Liverpool FC Forum My first little soapbox piece on our new Gaffer

So, how will new manager Brendan Rodgers cope with life at Anfield and the considerable pressure thats bound to come with it? One thing the club has been synonymous with in past years is having faith in its manager and allowing time to build a team which is reflective of the overall ethos of its creator. The surgical way in which Kenny Daglish was removed from the managerial seat must now call into question that policy of "the best things come to those who wait". The best things, it seems, come to those with the biggest pot of funds and the most ruthless owners.
Looking at Swansea during last season I thought they were a neat and tidy team. They passed the ball well, kept the ball very well and generally gave a great account of themselves. I enjoyed watching them very much, especially winger Nathan Dyer who I rated highly. An exciting player on the ball and long since, a player who I thought might just relish the opportunity of playing with Liverbird on his chest.
Anfield must be an intimidating place to walk into as your place of work. A club steeped in history, triumph, tradegy and incident. Rivalries with some of the Premier League's recent sucess stories and if Rodgers wasn't already nervous, a walk upstairs into the famous Anfield museum and trophy room will let him know the precise scale of the task that now awaits him.
Not only will he have to be sucessful, but he'll also have to "get us" as a football club. He'll have to relax those who firmly belived Kenny was the man. He'll have to curb the disappointment of those who wanted to see Rafa back. He'll have to convince those who don't believe he has the experience and presence to lead Liverpool back to glory. He has clear, recent history to look upon for guidance. It seems a League Cup win, an FA Cup Final and 8th in the Premier League is not acceptable for LFC. I agree, its not acceptable. The margins are fine though, but for a great save and 60 average minutes we'd probably have that FA Cup and but for the width of those posts and that crossbar we might even have made the Champions League this year. What of Kenny then? Presumably once more held aloft and hailed the King of the Kop. Fine margins indeed.
I hope Rodgers is given time. He'll need it, because everyone does. The owners now have to stand by their decision and allow him the time, space and money to flourish and have to accept that the road to victory will be likely littered with setbacks and the odd mistake too.
As fans, we have the benefits of having our club ethos and our rich traditions passed down to us by our mothers or fathers, sisters or brothers, aunties or uncles and any other family members or friends. Our owners don't have this luxury. They have chosen to invest their money in LFC and that buys them the ultimate say in how we do things from this day forwards. They want Rodgers, they go and get their man and it really doesn't matter if you or I agree with it, there wouldn't have been one of us that could have changed that decision.
Personally I think Rodgers does fit the Liverpool mould. A considered and well respected manager, with a good grounding and education in the game and I think, in time, someone who will fully embrace the traditions and heritage of our great club and someone who will love the fans and live for pleasing them.
I can't imagine what it might be like to walk out of the famous tunnel, deafened by the voices of 44,000 fans of one of the most famous of all football clubs singing together, one of the most famous anthems, which has rung out at every single one of our highs and been softly said with heartful meaning and compassion at each one of our lows. A unique, sobering and humbling experience which our new manager must take onboard and use to drive him each and every day. Live for that feeling Brendan. Be willing to die for it.
Welcome to Liverpool Football Club Brendan Rodgers. A unique place where even in the cold solace of the boardroom, faced with demanding owners and perhaps even unrealistic expectations, you can be safe in the knowledge You'll Never Walk Alone.
Respect our history but don't miss the opportunity to write some of your own.

Hi Ian... Welcome on board if I may say so.

Just to let you know, most of us have the attention span of a goldfish. so not too many of us will get past reading the first line of such a long, detailed post.

Not a problem at all. It was more a case of needing to get it off my chest!

Thanks for the welcome, a friendly place indeed

Hope you're right. I think all business owners are a little ruthless at heart, they have to be but BR will be given time.

He's a good manager who plays the sort of football that will bring the memories flooding back.

Looking forward to seeing who he brings in and how he gets us playing.

ever heard of paragraphs??

im not reading that f.off

Well I did Armi, and I enjoyed it, nice post there Ian and welcome to the bear pit!! The only thing I would have liked in addition to the above is your views on the squad Brendan Rodgers has to work with and what areas you would like him to improve on. Personally I want to see FSG now put their money where their scalpel is and give him a fighting chance with enough to buy at least 3 top class players. As I said in another post if they think taking the easy option of sacking managers will bring instant and cost free success then I fear we're back in Hicks and Gillett land.

Just watched the interview with BR, My first impresion is that he's a fella who under no illusion what a massive job he's taken on. He alludes to only brining in players that he thinks are good enough and not wasting money on just about anybody which will please FSG. I hope he can walk the talk coz what he says is very encouraging. The only thing that's is getting on my t!ts is Tom Werner talk about footbal like americans know what they talking about when it comes to football, somebody needs to tell him shut up coz hes making a [oops] of himself and do what he does best and bring us some money!!

YEAH Kenny's my friend and he did such a g reat job thats why we called him to fly over to the states so we could sack him

I hope they paid the air fare both ways!