So no comment on Chelsea....

[HL]

...kicked out of the CapitalOne cup!!!

They have no chance in winning the EPL. Sorry.

Liverpool has even a lesser chance.

[Sir X]

Chelsea looked better under Benitez , and some here dont want to say it.

Mawning Gamma & Dunny.

[Gamma]

liverpool looks better under rodgers and what X have to say?

[Rockman]

True, and we will just have to wait on the CL results to make claims.

[Sir X]

Have you heard of Gareth Bale and AVB ? equate that to BR and Saurez .BR hasnt won a thing yet ,liverpool look exceptional because of one man,the midfield is still questionable, I watched that game over spurs twice , now keep in mind spurs has been anemic of late , so its the perfect time to face pool.Our midfield was exceptional but how much of that was spurs being poor ? ahmean even Joe Allen looked good.

We have two crucial games coming up City & Chelsea, I believe we have a good chance of winning them both to me that will be the learning curve for BR,if not both we will win one.But that midfield needs to be sorted out.Considering he gutted his midfield this summer by selling Aqualani, Spearing,Shelvey and Charlie Adam,leaves me to question his tactical acumen,he then laments he has a thin squad after Gerrad the fraud gets injured ? He didnt plan for this , for the record Aquallani the man he told Gerrad has his spot go find another club (Fiorentina wearing the # 10, 4th place in Sire A) and Shelvey another youth that could be molded as a utility player should have been kept for this predicatble scenario.

Gerrad was not going to give us a full season, i am surprised he lasted this long.

Br is learning and its the perfect time with Man U, City and Chelsea in transition and Arsenal in its predicatble position of about to implode.

He has no excuse not to give it a good title run.

[Lazie]

Have you heard of Gareth Bale and AVB ? equate that to BR and Saurez .BR hasnt won a thing yet ,liverpool look exceptional because of one man,the midfield is still questionable, I watched that game over spurs twice , now keep in mind spurs has been anemic of late , so its the perfect time to face pool.Our midfield was exceptional but how much of that was spurs being poor ? ahmean even Joe Allen looked good.

We have two crucial games coming up City & Chelsea, I believe we have a good chance of winning them both to me that will be the learning curve for BR,if not both we will win one.But that midfield needs to be sorted out.Considering he gutted his midfield this summer by selling Aqualani, Spearing,Shelvey and Charlie Adam,leaves me to question his tactical acumen,he then laments he has a thin squad after Gerrad the fraud gets injured ? He didnt plan for this , for the record Aquallani the man he told Gerrad has his spot go find another club (Fiorentina wearing the # 10, 4th place in Sire A) and Shelvey another youth that could be molded as a utility player should have been kept for this predicatble scenario.

Gerrad was not going to give us a full season, i am surprised he lasted this long.

Br is learning and its the perfect time with Man U, City and Chelsea in transition and Arsenal in its predicatble position of about to implode.

He has no excuse not to give it a good title run.

",liverpool look exceptional because of one man"

... and who is that one man? Brendan? I think you're going overboard now.

[Gamma]

mi just fling it out there and watch squirming and contortions ....

[Sir X]

Brendan Rodgers vs Andre Villas-Boas: A Stark Contrast In Management Approach

By Aditya Sharma on December 20, 2013 | 0 Comments














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Liverpool FC’s 5-0 dismantling of Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane has been followed promptly with the dismissal of the Spurs Head Coach, Andre Villas-Boas. The Liverpool team have picked up many plaudits for their attacking efficacy. And rightly so: Manager Brendan Rodgers would have been ecstatic to see on display exactly the kind of attacking football he was brought in to implement.

But even Rodgers would be vary of letting it all get to his players’ heads. Because while the LFC players performed brilliantly on the night, this was also a tremendous display of incompetence from the man managing the Lilywhites. This game greatly emphasised all the shortcomings of Villas-Boas; as a manager and as a tactician. As a result, it also ended up highlighting Rodgers’ aptitude for his job.

A Matter Of Branding

Why Rodgers is far superior to Andre Villas BoasBefore moving any further, it’s important to remember how the two managers were presented to the world after being signed on by Liverpool and Tottenham, respectively. Both have been described as young managers, though Villas-Boas (36-years old) is by far one of the youngest managers to ever grace the Premier League (the youngest was Chris Coleman, who managed Fulham at age 33). Rodgers turns 41 in January, which is roughly the same age as Everton’s Roberto Matinez, Southampton’s Mauricio Pochettino and Cardiff City’s Malky Mackay.

Other than the ‘young manager’ angle, Villas-Boas was repeatedly described as a master tactician, whereas Rodgers was supposed to be someone who would play only (ONLY!) a ‘death-by-football’ strategy (i.e. use superior possession play to tire out and eventually defeat the opponent). It is interesting to see how both these pieces of branding have been proven incorrect this season.

Shifting Tactics To Suit The Squad

Brendan Rodgers - Liverpool manager far superior to Tottenham's Andre Villas BoasThis season, Liverpool have not played with a consistent death-by-football strategy over the last year, which was supposed to be Rodgers’ forte. Injuries to key personnel have been a major reason. But Rodgers has coped supremely well with a squad that is not as strong in depth as some of the teams currently sitting below Liverpool in the League table. While people are quick to hand out credit to Luis Suarez for his individual contributions, they forget that Rodgers has had to change his style of play to suit an ever changing front line. He was able to extract goals from Sturridge when Suarez was suspended, got the two of them clicking together for the games after his return, and now has done equally well in managing the absence of Sturridge. Even an injury to captain Steven Gerrard has not broken the flow of results, as Rodgers had already managed to integrate Joe Allen back into the side in the preceding games.

The very definition of tactics is “an action or strategy carefully planned to achieve a specific end“. Rodgers is the embodiment of a tactically astute manager, as he has moulded the way he deploys his team (i.e. the action or strategy) to achieve the desired string of victories in the League (i.e. the specific end). To that end he had to move from a passing-oriented style to a high-pressing style in between, but so be it. Andre Villas-Boas on the other hand, has repeatedly shown that the ‘tactician’ label attached to him is perhaps an overestimation of his skills.

First at Chelsea, and now at Tottenham, he has tried to play with a high defensive line despite not having the personnel required for it. Both times, he has failed miserably. Trying to play your defence high up the pitch, when injuries have forced you to play a holding midfielder (Etienne Capoue) as a center half alongside the decidedly average Michael Dawson, neither of whom have any decent pace in them, is a move destined for failure. And when you do it against a side which has the in-form Luis Suarez and the intensely pacey Raheem Sterling at its disposal – well, let’s just say don’t look so surprised when it ends 5-0.

Integrating New Signings

Villas-Boas' should have been integrate Lamela by this time in the season
Villas-Boas’ should have been integrate Lamela by this time in the season

It’s not just his tactics that have lent Andre Villas-Boas an air of incompetence – it’s also the way he has handled the approximately £100 million worth of signings that were purchased to fill the gap left by the departing Gareth Bale. One can maybe give him the benefit of the doubt that the all the players that came in were perhaps not his first choice, but it would be hugely naive to imply that Tottenham’s Daniel Levy and Franco Baldini would have purchased a single player without getting a go ahead from Villas-Boas. In fact, coach Ler Ferdinand has clarified as much. Looking at the defeat to Rodgers’ Liverpool, it’s incredible just how deprived of creativity this Tottenham side was. While Christian Eriksen’s absence is down to injury, why has Erik Lamela been used so sparingly in the Premier League? Roberto Soldado was a dud, wasting the few chances that did come his way, while Paulinho managed to get himself sent off. One also wonders why AVB chose to go for both Paulinho and Capoue in the transfer window, when he already had Sandro and Mousa Dembele who play in a similar role?

Brendan Rodgers again serves up a strong contrast here. His list of incoming transfers in this window is substantially shorter than Villas-Boas’. But two of his summer signings – Simon Mignolet and Mamadou Sakho – put in very strong performances. Among the other signings, Kolo Toure was crucial to a strong run at the start of the season, while Luis Alberto already has an assist to his name. Tiago Ilori is one for the future, and the verdict is out on Iago Aspas (who is currently out with an injury), but all in all that is a good return-on-investment from the summer spending.

Managing Young Players

Jordan_Henderson_Liverpool (c)Wikimapia-dot-comBrendan Rodgers has done a brilliant job of handling some of the younger personnel of the Liverpool team. When you look at the performances put in by Jordan Henderson and Raheem Sterling in the Tottenham game, one has to give due credit to the role the man at the helm has played. He has made sure that both are well aware that they need to earn their places in the team. Both have been benched by him after spells of indifferent performances, and both have returned with a new edge to their game. It is telling that, despite running their socks off, both played the entire 90 minutes. And both of them deservedly got a goal each to their names. Speaking of goals, one also has to commend Rodgers tutoring of young Jon Flanagan, who has done massively well to cover for Jose Enrique’s injury absence. Even the decision to loan out young Suso to Spanish club Almeria is proving to be a great move.

Villas-Boas has failed to stand out in this department as well. With the exception of Andros Townsend, AVB’s reign has hardly been conducive in bringing any Tottenham youngster to the fore. Even in his time at Chelsea, he did not make any notable contribution in bringing a youth player into the limelight.

Public Tantrums

Andre Villas-Boas often has an air of perpetual dissatisfaction. While it is normal for managers to complain about referee decisions or congested fixture lists. But AVB tended to take it to another level. In his time as a Premier League manager, he has managed to be unhappy about everything from the Chelsea senior players’ clout at the club, his inability to have complete control over the signings made at Tottenham (despite knowing he had been brought on as a Head Coach, not a Manager), and even the fans perceived lack of support. It all lends to an aura of a ‘it’s always someone else’s fault’ aura.

Brendan Rodgers, mid-way into his second season at the helm, has not once had a single public tantrum. Despite somewhat difficult phases, like the Suarez transfer saga, he has conducted himself with utmost professionalism. He has a great relationship with the club owners, and is gracious in sharing credit for all the good things happening at the cub. Case in point – he has recently acknowledged Kenny Dalglish for his signing of Jordan Henderson.

Conclusion

The point of this piece is two-fold. Firstly, it is to remind the Liverpool fans that after the post-Rafa Benitez managerial roller-coaster, they have a good manager leading the club who has been steadily moving Liverpool FC in the right direction. Secondly, fans should not let this 5-0 drubbing get to their heads. While it was an impressive display of attacking prowess by the Liverpool side, it was also down to idiotic tactics from a coach who has rightly been sacked.





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[Peter R]

The writer has rightly bigged up BR... what do you say X? it's your post after all. Do you agree with his comments on BR?

I didn't need reminding that the 5-0 was not to go to the heads of the fans. I actually did not expect such a scoreline (which truthfully could have been 7-0 if the goalposts were a little narrower ). LFC does not have the depth it needs to go all the way to the CL IMO. I hope I'm wrong but unless the club gets more productivity from the mid-field it will be rough.

I foresaw for this month a rough road and actually didn't expect to get out on such a positive note... of the remaining 12 points before the TH game, I optimistically was hoping LFC could pick up six of them... Now, I am raising that to 8. However, the EPL this season is proving more unpredictable than in the last however many seasons, as it seems that it is giving veracity to the old adage , " any team can win on any given day".

I am optimistically hoping LFC beat Cardiff and hold Chelsea and MC to a draw. To be very optimistic, I am hoping for a win over Chelsea too, beating MC at home I don't see happening... but as the old saying goes:" any team can win on any given day"

[Peter R]

How are your team's chances? Are you gonna drop the ball like you did last year??

[Sir X]

Too many variables to give a good assesment,competitive teams in transition, no european football, Saurez(The best player in the world) at least EPL,too much smoke.

He has made the most of it and that I must give him credit for,check mi end of febuary.

[Paul Marin]

...kicked out of the CapitalOne cup!!!

They have no chance in winning the EPL. Sorry.

Liverpool has even a lesser chance.

All teams still have a mathematical chance, and the way unu play away from home ...still I agree, Liverpool has a lesser chance than Chelsea, but not "no chance...at least at this point though, I think we have a better chance than Manu**(I will thank the lord for small victories...the res' a unu can gwan wid unu craveniss).

[Sir X]

'I'm so lucky I said no to Tottenham' Liverpool boss Rodgers grateful he didn't join White Hart Lane managerial merry-go-round


By Dominic King and Neil Ashton
PUBLISHED: 17:31 EST, 19 December 2013 | UPDATED: 17:31 EST, 19 December 2013 65 shares
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Brendan Rodgers has admitted he had a 'lucky escape' when he rejected Tottenham to become Liverpool manager.

When Rodgers was Swansea manager, he was firmly in the frame to succeed Harry Redknapp and had a number of admirers at White Hart Lane.

But instead he went with his gut feeling to accept an offer from Fenway Sports Group to take over from Kenny Dalglish at Anfield in June 2012, leaving Tottenham to land Andre Villas-Boas.

VIDEO Scroll down to hear Brendan Rodgers defend Cardiff boss Malky Mackay

Near miss: Brendan Rodgers (right) is relieved that he didn't take the Tottenham job



Condemned: Rodgers' Liverpool team defeated Spurs 5-0 at White Hart Lane before Villas-Boas was sacked


Villas-Boas, with whom Rodgers worked at Chelsea, was sacked earlier this week and the Northern Irishman feels that has once again vindicated his decision.

When asked how he felt after Villas-Boas’ sacking, Rodgers said: 'A close shave. They are a great club and one of the things I looked at was the history.

'They’d had 11 managers in 18 years there so for someone like myself, I needed to create something; I needed to go to a club that was going to give us that opportunity.

'It’s difficult...they have had a good couple of years, they were up there under Harry Redknapp.

‘Obviously there have been difficulties from Bale leaving. There are many good players but very few who perform week in week out to that level.

'I am more than happy with the choice I made to come here and hopefully in time it will prove to be the right one.’


Tormented: Luis Suarez grabbed two goals and two assists against Spurs at White Hart Lane



Blow: Andros Townsend (left) will be missing from the Spurs team for a month with a hamstring tear


Rodgers has the complete backing of Liverpool’s owners Fenway Sports Group and is thankful he is not in a position like Malky Mackay. He was scathing yesterday over the way Cardiff’s manager has been treated by the club’s owner, Vincent Tam.

'I find it incredible, all the talk about Malky,’ said Rodgers, whose side face Cardiff at Anfield tomorrow.

‘I know Malky well from having worked with him at Watford and I am probably privy to things even more because I worked in South Wales for a couple of years.

'I find it astonishing what he has had to go through and that is just looking at it from a distance.

'My only conclusion is that you have a business guy, who is operating the club and knows absolutely nothing about football.




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