KopTalk.com Forums Football Liverpool FC Forum Has Brendan Rodgers made the Reds a better team?

i dont think he went on pitch and thought i cant be bothered so am not going to try but subconsciously wasnt giving it all but when br told him he wasnt needed he got the kick up the back side that he needed so when he did step onto the pitch he was thinking i have to go that extra mile to impress.

regardless of what ever job we do we always up our game when we feel we are in danger of losing that job ( if youlike/need that job) . it is just human nature

I think you're oversimplifying this a little. Reread the interview. It doesn't mean he was necessarily not trying before. But after that he was playing like he had nothing to lose. It changed his perception. It wasn't "If I [oops] this up, I'll get closer to lose my spot," it was "I've already pretty much failed, so every ball is a chance at redemption for my career. If I cock it up, oh well. I'm going to take every chance I can." Then he starts taking shots he might not have, chasing balls that looked long gone, and he creates goals like that one vs. Tottenham.

If you look at his performances last year, the effort he puts in isn't much of a difference from this year. He ran his arse of all the time. There's just a slight edge now. A daring. A purpose. I don't know if you've ever played organized sports before, but sometimes a coach can bring more out of you than you even thought you had. Saying that he tried to up his game after he was told that doesn't mean he wasn't trying before, but it inspired him to try more than he thought he could. As an athlete you always want to try more, even when you leave it all on the pitch. I think you've read too much into this. Downing tries as hard as anyone out there.

And you can't blame Downing completely for getting 0 assists last year. He put in plenty of crosses - it's not his fault if the strikers don't put them away. Suarez & Carroll can both take some of the blame for what some consider to be Downing's poor contributions. He's not necessarily playing any better this season either - it's just that Carroll has gone and Suarez is finishing off moves better than before.

He also hit the bar more than anyone last year. His season is much better this year, but the moments of good play are only better by inches. That was just all it took.

Also note his MOTM performance in the league cup final. I think Downing is a player for the big occasion in some ways. Maybe it comes from his age but he seems to up his game when its all on the line. Which I admire as some players may hide at times like this, Stevie G never did which is what makes him so special.

And no downing isn't half the player Gerrard is.

I guess you guys are probably right and I've misread the situation. Sorry about that. Guess I'll have to give him a chance.

The only way he's made us better in my honest opinion is Coutinho in and Adam out, i reckon that Carroll and Sturridge would get us in or around the same amount of goals each season, although complete opposites i reckon its fact. The passing and what not is also nice but lets not fool ourselves last season under Kenny we made alot more chances in games clear cut chances anyway but couldn't put them away, not that i want that clown back either.

People quickly forget about dalglish's reign. Most people last season were saying that the results were beyond poor but at least he had us playing attractive and attacking football. Apparently we were just unlucky and hit the woodwork 4 million times (a possible exaggeration!).
Under rodgers, people are saying to not worry too much about our league position because "at least we're playing good football again"!! Pardon me, but wasn't that last year's excuse/lame attempt to support a failing manager?

You can't judge a manager's success on what you deem to be entertaining football as it's highly subjective. You can only deal in facts. The following are facts:

BR: After 31 games we are in 7th place
KD: After 31 games we were in 8th place

BR: we performed very poorly in all cup competitions
KD: we reached 2 finals, winning one of them


When you weigh up last season compared to this one, there is very little between them. I was very anti-Dalglish but even I would have to say that last season was a bit better than this one. Granted, Brendan has us one place higher in the league (this could go up or down still), but that one place is only relevant if it's the difference between qualifying for europe or not....or getting relegated or not. Finishing 7th, 8th, 9th or 10th doesn't really make much difference.

Is 8th plus the League Cup better than 7th and no cups? Few could argue that if kenny deserved the sack than so does Brendan?

But you gotta look at the directions we are going in. Under Dalglish I didn't see much improvement but the future looks bright enough under Rodgers IMO

I think what did for kenny was his presentation of himself which was embarrassing the club to put it lightly how he handled the Suarez incident and the outbursts on sky etc. plus his utterly disasterous transfer policy and the club in apparent free fall.

You can't just compare league positioning