Well, BR has kindly asked for us to present him with his report card for the first half. Be sure to be honest and professional with your grades, as if he does well then his family will take him out for ice cream and will maybe even post his report card on the fridge! Here's a little template I worked on. Using your opinion, fill it out to the best of your judgement and try to be as fair and reasonable as possible. Leave comments and give an overall grade if that floats your boat. Remember...ice cream and fridge!!! Using the traditional elementary school style A-F grades, grade the following categories. (+ and - grades can be included as well.) Offence (Forwards, General Offence): Midfield (Midfielders, Possession, Flow): Defence (Defenders, Goalkeepers, General Defence): Tactics (Attractiveness, Effectiveness, Consistency, General Tactics): Leadership (Team Management, Team Morale, Media Management, Press Conferences): In-Game Decisions (Substitutions, Tactical Changes): Fan Backing: Transfers: EPL Performance: League Cup Performance: Europa League Performance: Overall Grade: Feel free to add/subtract whatever you want. Please remain civil in discussions and debates about his performance thus far, as we don't need this thread to turn into a UFC Main Event like so many of our other threads . I'll fill mine out tomorrow when I get the chance. The rest of this thread will be a continuation of the August to December thread, where we can continue to discuss and evaluate his performances throughout the second half of the season .
Offence (Forwards, General Offence): B+ ...I feel like he's getting the best from a thin group. Midfield (Midfielders, Possession, Flow): ...B+ see above. Defence (Defenders, Goalkeepers, General Defence): B- ...The pressing system we're trying to implement saves this from being a C. We need to improve more here, but I understand that other things may need to be changed first. Tactics (Attractiveness, Effectiveness, Consistency, General Tactics): A ...The "system" is already reaping dividends. We play faster, more attractive, attacking soccer than we have in a long, long time. Leadership (Team Management, Team Morale, Media Management, Press Conferences): A+ ...He's done a great job so far, ok? I'm sold on the man, ok? In-Game Decisions (Substitutions, Tactical Changes): B+ ...I don't think he's had much to work with, but he's done an OK job. Stoke City (3 CBs?) was puzzling, but we don't know all the details. Fan Backing: B+ ...I think the true fans like it. Transfers: Incomplete EPL Performance: B ...Results could be better. League Cup Performance: Incomplete Europa League Performance: Incomplete Overall Grade: B+ I am clearly grading on the curve verus the rest of the class (Benitez, Dalglish, Hodgson, Houllier, Evans) and I like what I see. The team is improving. We look to be a much more invigorated side when attacking, and youngsters look confident and composed on the ball. Possession stats are great, and everything else is falling into line. He's doing a great job with a relatively weak squad compared to the other big clubs. If he can fix the defensive issues and show an ability to lure young talent to the club, the sky is the limit.
Good one, Coady. Offence (Forwards, General Offence): B- Still inconsistent, and work on decision-making in the final third still required. This is one of the reasons why results are not what they could have been. Work in progress and dictated to by a "relatively" poor squad. Midfield (Midfielders, Possession, Flow):B+ Much better than last year and the beginnings of a definitive style. Still not enough movement off the ball to break disciplined teams. Defence (Defenders, Goalkeepers, General Defence):C+ Much, much work needs doing. Far too prone to the counter-attack and easily bullied by anybody who drops his shoulder and runs at them. Opponents seem to be able to score against us with their only attack. Need to stand and be counted in the defensive midfield by closing down ball-carriers and keeping up with runners. Tactics (Attractiveness, Effectiveness, Consistency, General Tactics):B+ Would have been an A- but for "consistency". The template is there, and maybe Rodgers is working with square pegs in round holes in some instances. Still baffling decisions regarding selections but without knowing what happens in training can only furrow my brow. Leadership (Team Management, Team Morale, Media Management, Press Conferences):B+ I used to think he talked far too much but he's been quite good with the fan clubs and is subtly using this to send a message to his players, too. Seems to have got the best out a pedestrian Downing and a risk-free Henderson. Ballsed up the Carroll transfer, though. In-Game Decisions (Substitutions, Tactical Changes):B+ Largely good but can look clueless in some matches. Look at Aston Villa at home and Stoke away, and contrast with Everton away. But able to cope without Suarez at West Ham. Fan Backing: A An indulgent set of fans who will back a manager if they can see be sold on his vision. He's been good at keeping them on his side. Transfers: B- Sitting on the fence on this one and this was a throw dart at the board grade. Still some cause for concern but optimistic that he has learned from the summer imbroglio. Worried about the effectiveness of the scouting network, though. EPL Performance: C+ Hampered to a certain extent by an expensively-built squad in free-fall but could have made better use of it. I think this category has been a disappointment as he had earlier shown guts by dropping ineffective but older and expensive players and selected youth in their places. Got a bit set in his ways as the season wore on and not so innovative. League Cup Performance: C- Completely threw it at home against Swansea. Could have been creative with his squad which had done well up to that point. Europa League Performance: B+ Still in it. Some positive results and some slothful ones, too. Overall Grade:B
Offence (Forwards, General Offence): B- I think it's clear that we're undermanned, and that isn't his fault. Suarez has been going above and beyond to keep this team competitive, and I think BR is utilizing him properly. The low-ish grade is due to the lack of production we're getting from the wingers. Whether it be the youngsters, Cole, or Downing, there just wasn't enough productivity on the flanks, and we've often seen BR stick with them throughout games regardless, and as a result essentially bring us down to 9 men, in a 4-3-1 sort of thing. I'd expect this grade to go up with the arrival of Sturridge and the soon-to-be return of Borini Midfield (Midfielders, Possession, Flow): B+ It's been a tad inconsistent but the improvement we're starting to see and the end of his over-reliance on Allen due to the return of Lucas and the emergence of Hendo and Shelvey have left me rather satisfied in this category. The midfielders for the most part are doing what he's been asking and have been adapting quite nicely. What's kept this from an A grade is the early over-reliance on Allen, which may be gone now but still impacted most of the first half, along with the often misuse of Gerrard. Like I said though everything is improving so I expect this grade to go up. Defence (Defenders, Goalkeepers, General Defence): B- I'm a bit generous here, but mostly due to the fact that we've seen considerable improvement here since the start of the season. He's also made a quality backup keeper out of Brad Jones, which was worth bumping this grade up from C+ to B-. Skrtel and Agger need to become a bit more consistent and that's on BR to work with them to achieve that. Reina finally seems to have picked up the philosophy and is improving too Tactics (Attractiveness, Effectiveness, Consistency, General Tactics): A- As mentioned by Red Bird, the "consistency" portion keeps him from receiving full marks here. The system is awesome, fun to watch, it's becoming more effective as the season goes on, and the players are buying into it. Good job here. Leadership (Team Management, Team Morale, Media Management, Press Conferences): A- I'm a big fan of how he's managed this team away from game action, highlighted by his work with the team in the documentary. The team seems happier recently now that we're winning more, and as I mentioned in the Sunderland game thread, they're starting to actually look like a serious team. As for the media, I love how he talks about his players. In-Game Decisions (Substitutions, Tactical Changes): B+ Given his lack of resources, I think he's done a good job. As 26 said, we haven't adapted much in the Stoke games for example, but given our lack of resources I'll refrain from docking too many marks. Fan Backing: A No one's calling for his head (as far as I know) and the fans for the most part seem to believe in him. Transfers: C I'm not counting the Sturridge signing as that's a January one, and will be apart of the end of season report card. Allen started off hot but has been exhausted and hasn't been nearly as effective of late. Borini struggled until his injury (No reason to give up on him yet though). Assaidi has barely been used at all. The loss of the older guys hurts but none as much as Maxi, who I believe would have excelled in this system beside Suarez. The deadline day fiasco doesn't help, either. EPL Performance: B- I thought we'd be 6th right now at the start of the year, but all things considered, not bad. League Cup Performance: D+ Only one win and we were the defending champs. Quite disappointing Europa League Performance: A- Winning the group is worthy of an A+ considering the quality of the group, but I brought it down to an A for the two losses, which were awful, then down again to A- for the home draws to YB in the group stage and Hearts in the playoff round. Overall Grade: B (F = 1, A+ =13, added up all the values and divided by 11 total grades) Pretty good job so far. I'm liking the work he's doing, but there's lots of room for improvement too. YNWA.
reading a lot of articles that say that we've turned the corner etc etc - we have manure, arse and citeh away 3 of the next 4 games - we could be right back in angry land after those games.
It'll be a real test of character, that's for sure. If we lose all 3 but play our hearts out I honestly won't give a sh1t. I have full convidence that we can get at least 2, possibly 4 points from them.
I'm giving an all around A+, right across the board for innovation and effort. I'd give more but we've been held back by injuries and not having a regular striker.
It's almost a total middle of the road C... but I'm bumping it a bit due to injuries and degree of difficulty, regarding the implementation of his system. C+/B- from me. Showing potential.
Offence (Forwards, General Offence): Just can't get enough. We have a world class striker leading the line and BR is getting a lot out of him. The only knock here is the front office flubbed the last transfer window by not getting in some support. Young Sterling was a bit over used in the first half. A- Midfield (Midfielders, Possession, Flow): Buck has been experimenting a lot with the midfield to find the best line up and it has shown at times as has the fact that players have been adjusting to the new system. B- Defence (Defenders, Goalkeepers, General Defence): Growing pains have been truly evident here. Nice to have gotten the two first choice CBs signed to new deals. Some real brain farts at the back have cost us a lot this season. Pepe seems to be coming back into form and Jones played decently when called upon. C+ Tactics (Attractiveness, Effectiveness, Consistency, General Tactics): It's so pretty to watch when it's clicking. The problem of inconsistency and not taking chances at times (the Villa match just chaps my hide) has been the achilles heal thus far. When it's on the "death by football" is there for all to see. B Leadership (Team Management, Team Morale, Media Management, Press Conferences): In-Game Decisions (Substitutions, Tactical Changes): There have been some weird moments early on, like the handling of Carroll's loan, and that envelope thing. Overall though I like BR's positive thinking approach and feel that it works well. He could improve upon making tactical changes in game so we don't get bludgeoned by the Stoke Cities of the world. B Fan Backing: Seems to have the fans in a positive frame of mind whilst also maintaining a realistic set of expectations. A Transfers: C- The first transfer window was mishandled pretty badly and left the team in the lurch. EPL Performance: Within a hair's breadth of being where we all want to be. Inconsistency and the inability to overcome some truly atrocious officiating at times has prevented an early return to the top four. The signs are there though. B League Cup Performance: D I know he didn't prioritize this competition and it showed against Swansea. Would have been nice to defend that cup a bit more. Europa League Performance: A, finished top of the group while blooding some youngsters. Overall Grade: Solid B.
I forgot how pissed i was at those shane long and Valencia pens. But the disallowed goal from the Everton game is still what kills me the most. I still think about it and stew.
I put these grades in the context of how effectively the players have implemented his techniques. I weigh the results since November more heavily than the results from July-October, when we were in hardcore transition. Offence (Forwards, General Offence): A: where once we had only Suarez and occasionally Gerrard/Johnson providing the cutting edge we now also have Sterling, Sturridge, Downing, Henderson, and Enrique chipping in. Goal tally has significantly improved since November. Midfield (Midfielders, Possession, Flow): B: mixed bag. In attacking and moving the ball well, the team looks very good against bottom half teams. When pressured and when the midfield needs to win the ball back, the midfielders don't do well. What earns him a B over a B-/C is we're scoring more goals than we're considering and the midfielders have a huge impact on that. Defence (Defenders, Goalkeepers, General Defence): B-: Wisdom's development is significant but we need more. Coates needs to do what other young players have done and make the jump to the first team. Agger/Skrtel aren't good enough that they should be locked in every match. More/better coaching/management is needed in this area if we're to earn a Top4 spot. Tactics (Attractiveness, Effectiveness, Consistency, General Tactics): A-: attractiveness, effectiveness, consistency have made us favorites against all bottom half teams. There's still areas that need improvement when playing top teams and Stokes. You can't be so tactically limited that you can't adjust when it's needed. Leadership (Team Management, Team Morale, Media Management, Press Conferences): A+: says the right things at the right times and the players react well. In-Game Decisions (Substitutions, Tactical Changes): A: hasn't had much to work with but isn't afraid to make first half or half-time substitutions when things aren't going well. In the first Man Utd game when Shelvey was sent off the team was still able to dominate possession despite not winning. Fan Backing: A: this is so important. Transfers: A: not necessarily sure how to grade him on transfers because I don't know what his role is. I gave him an A because instead of dumping Kenny's expensive transfers he is getting good juice out of what we thought was overpriced and rotten fruit (Downing, Henderson, Enrique). I guess I like that he doesn't publicly comment much or bicker about not being backed the way Rafa did. Joe Allen could be his signature signing. The fact he's been less than stellar in recent months has more to do with other players matching his experience level in BR's system and playing so many games rather than his ability as a player. EPL Performance: B+: we beat bottom half teams and our PL stats since November are impressive. Recently we've answered every loss with a win. League Cup Performance: A: we're in the Europa League and didn't need any more matches with a small squad. Europa League Performance: A: we qualified from a challenging group. Shelvey was our top scorer, which says a lot about how the type of squad we played to qualify. Overall Grade: A
Not a bad assessment except for the constant harping on how we can't play against clubs above us in the league. You sounding like that fool Rob Stone and other tv pundits. We've discussed how we've done against clubs with more points, Everton for example. The worst offside call ever change that match as did Valencia's dive. Other than that a pretty fair round up. We've got a long way to go but we seem to be on the right track. Right now I'm wondering if we can keep it up or will we get to watch another match were we get beaten 3-1 just when we're starting to feel cocky.
Aye. People-- I exclude those critters on TV-- have obviously forgotten the draws against teams below us which ultimately derailed the 08/09 season, a season in the eventual winners didn't do particularly well against teams in the top half of the table but absolutely hammered the bottom ones.
I think I only mentioned how we perform against better teams once and I said "there's room for improvement" when talking about tactical adjustments. How you drew "constant harping on how we can't play against clubs above us" is beyond me. But thanks for what I guess is a compliment on my roundup.
Now remember this is lighthearted but we could improve how we play against lower division teams as well.