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Originally Posted By: Donut


There are mixed messages coming from Brendan Rodgers at the moment but the Liverpool boss is trying to quietly change Liverpool's style of play, writes Matt Briggs.

"If Plan A doesn't work, Plan B is to make a change to make Plan A more effective," said Brendan Rodgers soon after he was appointed Liverpool boss in August 2012.

And with a short-passing game inspired by Pep Guardiola's Barcelona as a Plan A, it was what every Liverpool fan wanted to hear, but three years down the line and no silverware to his name it looks as though Rodgers has tinkered with his philosophy, but don't let him know you know.

Ahead of Monday's fascinating goalless draw with Arsenal, Rodgers insisted Liverpool's style, even with the addition of £32.5million frontman Christian Benteke, would not change.

"It's not like we were smashing it into the box and playing off the second ball. But we're not against that," said Rodgers, whose side almost opening the scoring through Philippe Coutinho in the third minute after winning a second ball.

"That's not a compromise. Our notion in the game is always to dominate the ball. I've been in football a long time and my emphasis has always been possession, but dangerous position," he added.

They certainly did not dominate possession at The Emirates and depending on which stat outlet you rely on they had only between 34% to 38% possession - the lowest under Rodgers in the Premier League. That in itself is no crime because they carved out numerous chances and should have been home and dry in a first-half which saw Philippe Coutinho rattle the woodwork twice.

But there was a noticeable change in their style of play on Monday and in Rodgers' ideology, which he convinced us three years ago he would never change. Liverpool were more direct and their aerial stats prove it.

Last season the Reds averaged just 15 aerial duels won per game and were 19th of the 20 top-flight clubs, however this term their average is 24.3 and sees them top of the pile.

Rodgers did in fact admit as much before Monday night in a quote which has mostly gone under the radar and the only admission yet from Rodgers that his early blinkered approach needed changing.

"As you evolve as a manager and a coach you understand and recognise that at times there are different ways to win a game of football," Rodgers said.

There were only three minutes on the clock when Benteke had been slipped in down the side of Gabriel before pulling the ball back for Coutinho to fire against the underside of the bar. That chance originated from a long ball forward to Benteke with Liverpool pouncing on the second ball in Arsenal's final third.

It was an early example of Rodgers' idea of dominating dangerous space, rather than possession, and they maintained that approach for much of the first half before being pushed back in the second period after the Gunners' half-time rollicking.

"You don't need to dominate the ball but you can dominate the space. That is important in the away games," Rodgers said ahead of Monday's game.

Three years ago Rodgers would never have advocated "smashing it into the box and playing off the second ball", but that's what they did against Arsenal, not solely, and why not?

It is certainly not a negative attack on Rodgers, who has been bold enough to consider that plan A, regardless of the changes cannot work in every game.

The summer arrival of Benteke, who undoubtedly is more than just a target man, signalled Rodgers' intentions. It's just a shame the Liverpool boss has not been able to come totally clean and admit that his Plan A, Plan A, Plan A ideology was not the correct approach for every game.

"I think the purist element comes from other people," claimed Rodgers over the weekend. "Ultimately it's about results but, for me, it's also how we play. I worry that we play good football."

But "good football" can only last for so long without trophies and now the pressure on Rodgers is well and truly on because another trophyless season - with an evolved style of play - could see the manager with nowhere else to turn and heading for the scrapheap.




http://www.teamtalk.com/news/2483/9965105/Rodgers-quietly-changing-Liverpool-s-style
good read that

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I found it quite interesting myself - the website I read it on has a comment section and I was quite surprised at how many people just went straight into slagging Rodgers, makes me wonder if they even read it.

I'm by no means a Rodgers fan, but that's because I'm fickle and our form has been on the pisss. Got to give him full credit for how we played the other night, was the right way to set up the team imo.

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I'm not so sure, Donut.

We rode our look way too much in the second half, they were inches away from scoring more than once & had a good goal disallowed. Granted we were much better in the first half but their second choice defenders assisted us by giving the ball away constantly.

Don't get me wrong, I'm made up with the draw. I'm just not sure Rodgers deserves much praise over it, but then I'm rather biased so who knows.

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Jermain Defoe and his plant-watering job advert

What is not germane to the job of being Jermain Defoe’s personal assistant? Very little, is the answer. Global marketing, plant watering, organising Black History Month events, fridge stocking – all these are areas relevant to the matter in hand, which is sourcing a personal assistant to the Sunderland striker.

August being the month for game-changing employment moves in the world of football, Jermain has placed an enticing ad for the “24/7” position on a secretarial website, in which he detailed the many requirements of the role. In excess of 50, these featured running his various houses, liaising with gardeners and interior designers and gentlemen’s outfitters called things like Zap, and producing his iPhone apps. I get the feeling you’d need to be as at home picking up discarded clothing from the floor as you would project managing the construction of a frescoed basement theme bar – and getting it done, like, yesterday. Jermain doesn’t specifically mention running him up anything from steamed fish with vegetables to a prepared media reaction to unfolding events in the Chinese markets but I think we ought to take that as a given.


Jermain Defoe advertises for 24/7 assistant to grow global brand … and stock fridge
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There are those who have chuntered about how completely unacceptable this all is but there is something about the £50,000 to £60,000 salary that makes this pretty much of a victimless crime – if not a future Anne Hathaway movie.

Indeed, almost the only duty the personal assistant will be spared is giving us a much-needed August laugh. Jermain has that one all sewn up – and the lucky applicant will not have to make time for it in their three-dimensional hellscape of a calendar. Having said that, Jermain has also relieved the incoming employee of the stated aim of “gaining further recognition within the media”, with this job advert having garnered him more attention than he has been afforded for quite some time.

In fact, this is the best piece of Defoe-related merriment since Jermain’s erstwhile fiancee, one Charlotte Mears, was paid actual money by the actual Foreign Office to collaborate on travel advice. “It might sound trivial,” advised Charlotte, “but you never know when you might break a nail or your extensions turn green in the pool. To stay looking your best, even if you are not taking a personal stylist with you, get a number of good local beauticians or check if the hotel has one before you go!” (That Jermain and Charlotte had been denied a trip to a certain German spa town one year previously went thoughtfully unmentioned by the FCO.) “Get your jabs,” ran another invaluable tip, “not just your Botox.” Arguably the standout was her sharing of the so-called Wag’s technique for looking “in the know” when you arrive somewhere. “Wear something the locals would but with a unique twist. Think henna’d hands in India.”

Secretly, of course, many of us wish for footballers to behave in these amusing ways – or at least some of them. While we all appreciate the glitz-free dedication of a Paul Scholes, many also crave the baroque silliness of Raheem Sterling’s in-home barber’s salon. Blue mosaic tiles in swimming pools are all very well but there is a time and a place for lining yours with a vast depiction of the club crest (usually about six months before you do one to a bitter rival). For every 10 low-key labourers, there must be at least one Louis Quatorze, with a missing self-awareness lobe and slightly more ambitious plans for their “brand” than Apple.

So bravo to Jermain for doing his bit to shore up the ranks of the latter. How else to classify a man who – inter alia – is effectively seeking a master perfumer? Yes, one of the successful candidate’s responsibilities will be to create Defoe’s signature fragrance line, upon which we must hereby slap the working title Gaiety of the Nation. Gaiety of the Nation By Jermain Defoe. Smell ya later, haters!

No football input over Labour leadership contest?
How is it possible that no footballer has yet broken their silence on the Labour leadership contest, which has electrified the entire nation like a toaster in the bath? On Monday Andy Burnham appeared anxious to dog whistle at what Liz Kendall might refer to as football’s stakeholders, with another gossamer reminder that he is not from Westminster parts. “I’ll be like Brian Clough with my shadow health secretary,” he declared Cloughily at a rally. “I’ll have a very beady eye on whoever does that job.”

Meanwhile, with so many unions having declared their preferences, the Professional Footballers’ Association still remains tight-lipped, as their firebrand chief executive, Gordon Taylor OBE declines to surrender to the inevitable and become Labour affiliated.

As for the leadership frontrunner, Jeremy Corbyn, there is believed to be fevered speculation in dressing rooms up and down the land as to what his widely predicted victory will bring. At the Emirates, they could be feeling pretty positive, given that in 2004 Corbyn signed an early day motion demanding that the Commons recognised Arsenal as “the best football team in the world”. (For those who may wonder, all early day motions – however facetious – cost the taxpayer £290. Then again, never underestimate the joy these pieces of parliamentary business bring to ordinary people. People outside the Westminster bubble.)

But with the Corbyn camp floating the idea of a maximum wage – which some have pegged at £1m – and the average Premier League salary standing at £1.6m, an intervention from the top flight would seem timely. Could someone – anyone – oblige?

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rumours are that spurs are on the brink of buying HEUNG-MING SON. should we be worried?

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I dunno but something tells me that G's verdict will be that he's "quality".

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Crackin' post match there from Rozza!

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who is rozza?

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Rossiter.

I've decided his new name is Rozza grin

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