For me it all depends on context. Strictly based on what I expect from the club in general (historically speaking), I go with C- When considering recent circumstance over the last few years, I go with B+ So for next season, nothing less than A- will do as far my expectations go - and that means serious contenders for a top 4 spot. Which I'm optimistic about!
Yeah, but so did every other team in the top 7 so that's no excuse. Also, had plenty of time after the Euro exit to get it right and the team still looked out of sorts against relegation clubs. He get's a C and will be on a short leash next season. Anything less than challenging for top 4 and the FA Cup is unacceptable.
The point is I am a fan in good times and bad. I just don't hold the same optimism you all seem to have with BR. I don't believe we have improved that much this year and I don't see the great finish that some have seen this year. I have hope for the future but I have little confidence in BR. I am realistic and hopeful. Just because I don't have an optimistic view on BR doesn't mean I am a pessimist about the team. I am there week in and week out screaming for my team. I didn't mention dread, or hand-wringing. I hope I am wrong about him and that he turns it around for the new season, I hope he turns into the best manager we have ever had, I hope he makes good decisions in the transfer window, I hope for a lot of things.
A win this weekend and we finish on 61 points, a 9 point increase over last season. We've already scored 23 more goals than last year and improved our GD by 21. We have 5 fewer losses. Our points per game in the second half of the season is almost 2, it was just over 1 in the first. We hadn't won back to back league games for almost a year, we did it several times. We hadn't won 3 in a row for several years, I believe we did it more than once. There has clearly been improvement. This doesn't make any sense. I'm not sure any of us have blind faith that Rodgers is the manager who is going to take us all the way to the top. He very well may not be. But on the evidence so far, he is clearly moving us in a positive direction and our situation entering this summer is an improvement on what it was last summer. That seemed to me to be the objective of this season, and for all intents and purposes, he achieved that minimum objective.
We've improved in some area's gone backwards in others, but anyone who thinks we had a better season this year than last just because we moved one place up in the league is kidding themselves. We won our first silverware in 6 years, got to the FA cup final and was actually challenging for a top 4 place before the capitulation after the LC win. I have almost compete faith in Rodgers and feel it would be a monumental mistake to sack him but he's been lucky that Suarez didn't have the same pressure affecting his goal scoring last year, a board who supported him in the January transfer window and a fully fit Gerrard and Lucas.
In what ways have we moved backwards? Is the 3 more goals we've given up a sign of a dramatic slide on the defensive side of the ball? We'd all take a season with a trophy over a season without, but the capitulation you reference at the end of last year was a downward trend that needed arresting, which Rodgers has done. In the context of the serious decline in league form, and the disjointed expensive and under performing squad we had at the end of last season, things have improved.
This season we beat Spurs and no else above us, last year we managed to beat Everton 3 times, Chelsea 3 times, United, City and Arsenal. We were actually a match for the teams above us, it's all well and good scoring 5/6 goals against teams fighting relegation , which unbelievably this year was 10 teams, but means little if you roll over against our true competitors. Defensively we are weaker and competitively we are as well. Despite what are players and managers have said at no point this season were we challenging for CL football(hell Europa football) last year we were 6th only a few points away up till March. Bad runs happen, Buck recovered from his and so would of Kenny. 48.65% win percentage vs Rodger's 45.28%, and Rodgers gets the benefit of playing Europa qualifiers against pretty poor opposition. With one game to go Villa, who have been fighting relegation all season, could finish 10th. It show's how poor the League has been this year and kind of explains us putting those teams to the sword. As entertaining as these games none are the same high as winning a cup, beating United, Chelsea, City, Arsenal or Everton and under Kenny we never went so low as to be humbled by the 19th best team in League One.
B Pluses: Jan window, PC and DS look really great. Didn't get raked over the coals on agent fees or pay above odds. Well done. Some really great attacking football. Stevie G has played really well. Carra was Carra and that was EXACTLY what we needed. Minuses: Not getting tactics sorted against Stoke, Soton, etc. leading to too many dropped points from winnable matches. The bite felt round the globe. WTF happened to our set pieces?
I love Kenny believe in Kenny and did not support his sacking last year simply because he is Kenny Daglish and if any man has earned the right to decide when he leaves it was him. But the capitulation started well before the LC final. We lost 9 of our last 15 league matches. The only thing comparable this season was at the start where we only won 3 of our first 14. but half of those matches we still drew. And the team has only improved since then, both in results and on the field. Now I am not trying to claim Rodgers is the next coming of Paisley or anything like that. I still have some genuine questions. In addition to the defensive lapses I am really worried about our toughness in midfield and our ability to handle teams who pressure us in midfield, you know like Oldham and Mansfield, (not to mention Stoke). But for me he has done what I hoped for at the start of the season, improve the team. Now the only question is can he keep it going?
Not sure it's accurate to say we rolled over for the teams above us. We beat spurs for the first time in a few years, had a winner against Everton ruled out and were 2 stupid mistakes from a double over city. Manu, City and Aresnal were 3 of our first 5 games when we were at our weakest. Draws against Chelsea and Arsenal also would suggest we were clearly competitive with them. All suggests we aren't all that far off their pace. ManU has won numerous titles with decidedly average records against the top teams.
No, it was the Arsenal game were we seemingly gave up. At that point we were on 39 points with 4th placed Arsenal on 43 points. Had we won that game, and we should of, we'd be a point behind Arsenal with a slightly easier run in.
How do hypothetical results only benefit Rodgers? Every manager has a whole list of games that should of went in their favor, if you are judging Kenny on the reality it's a bit rich you not doing the same for Rodgers.
I''m giving BR a B+ on this season as a whole. I didn't expect Champions League, I didn't care all that much about Europa League (though it woulda been nice). I expected an improvement in points (check) and an positional improvement, preferable in the top 6 and ahead of Everton (half-check). We got two really good young players that are both key to our immediate success and to our future, and things are looking their brightest since 08-09.
I'm simply saying that we were competitive against the sides above us and the lone win isn't full reflection of our performances against them.
And if my Aunt had a dick she would be my uncle. The reality is we didn't, we had already lost to Manure before that result and lost 6/7 in the league after that (part of losing 9/14 for the entire rest of the season). If you can't see that the team has improved last year to this (and more importantly to me from the start of this season to the end) I really don't know what else to say.
Have you checked under her skirt, maybe she is. If you don't want to discuss why you are right then why bother posting in the first place? I don't think any result last year was as bad as the Oldham game, I don't think any result this year matches us knocking United or Everton out of the FA cup or City and Chelsea out of the League cup. None of the results added to our history like the League Cup final win. The League in isolation we've improved, by a whole place, but the season is not just about the League and overall no I don't think we did better than last season.
Oh mate, why do you need everyone to agree with you? It is OK if I have a different opinion you know. Quoting the goal count from last year against this year is a red herring. Our improved goal count over last year really only counts if we are playing all the teams from last year - last year. But we're not. Great, so we scored 6 goals against Newcastle, you seem to forget the 3 ties before it. We've won 3 of the last 8 and two weren't exactly against top sides were they? We seem to win most convincingly when the other team doesn't show up. How many games this season have we scored 0, or 1 goal in? Seems like a lot, maybe it's less than it feels? All of a sudden you want me to believe that we - the team finishing 7th with no silverware, Suarez out for the first bunch of games of next season and a new defense in all likelihood - will somehow miraculously be catapulted into the top 4? You think we've improved that much? OK cool, I don't. Of course we can always hope they only count the games in the second half of the season. Whilst I am thrilled to see some of the squad doing better and certainly finding their feet as it were, I think I am going to wait until I see who is brought in before I can visualize us winners of the premier league 2014/15 and any higher than the 7th we see ourselves in right now. I do however, hope that we'll get some great new players in that fit perfectly and that the team will really perform very well, that BR will improve as well and that we'll all be here in a year with you saying 'told you so' to me.
C+ I like what Brendan Rodgers brings to the club. His enthusiasm, dedication and desire to put the club first before his own personal needs are a very respectable features about him. Rodgers faith in youth is also commendable as well as the fact that he wants the club to go back to the winning ways as seen under Shankly. The football which is the most critical aspect, has had its ups and downs. People feel that he is bringing a positive attacking mind set a modern day tiki taka. Others feel that he does not have a plan B or any plan at all as his signings have had an immediate impact. In my opinion I still do not see his way of football. Certainly he could be implementing his system slowly and he needs the right personnel for it but what I see is that we still play long balls, diagonal balls and all out counter attacking be it at home or away. Therefore the notion of possession, passing and moving is either in the preliminary stages or I am failing to see it. It is not a criticism of him; it’s more of awareness that under Dalglish we still played good football and I just cannot see a big comparison between the two in terms of football. I am a statistics man myself so to see that we have scored more and conceded 3 more goals is not a good comparison between Dalglish of last season and Rodgers of this season. To me it does not matter as I rather win several 1-0 to us compared to winning 6-0 one day and drawing a home game the next. We have to take into consideration that wins by large margins such as that against Newcastle and others are anomalies. Remember last season it was how many times we hit the post and how if all those had gone in Dalglish would still be here. This season it’s our failure to win (note that I say win not matching and giving a good game) to the superior opposition. Also the win against Tottenham was not out of us being great there was some luck in their as well. This season we still have moaned and groaned about how the decisions are not going our way and how Rodgers inherited mediocre talent from the previous squad. One thing that Benitez, Dalglish and Rodgers have constantly failed to address is being able win games that are winnable on paper. The stokes, west ham, west brom, sunderland etc etc. Teams whose squads are much more inferior then ours, lack of facilities, expertise etc etc. Teams that have pure hard work and sheer will, have and continue to be in our faces. This resulted in draws under Benitez (loads of them) and under Dalglish and Rodgers a mixed bag of results. It points to a lack of consistency, belief and poor attitude. I say this because I know for a fact that the team chosen on match day want to go out and win but when things don’t go our way to the physical side of Stoke we are resigned to the draw or loss throughout the game and this has been evident at anfield by the reaction of the fans. You can feel it in your gut that such games will have no positive outcome. Amongst the positive this season, 1. Suarez finding the net more and converting chances. I know there has been much praise for Daniel Sturridge and Coutinho but I firmly believe had Suarez not been here we would not be in the position we are at the moment. 2. The resurgence of Carragher. Yes I said it right we had a very shaky defense and when he came on I felt much more relaxed as the team and the manager began to work better. 3. Sturridge and Coutinho. It does not matter when we signed them or how much we paid for them. What matters is they have provided the club with much needed positivity for the future. Their play at times has been outstanding. For next season I want Coutinho to get more strong and for Sturridge to learn to be patient. At times I feel Sturridge tries too hard and ends up disappearing in games at the peak times for scoring goals. 4. The captain being fit. 5. Agger being fit. 6. Lucas being 80% back to his best. We all know he needs to improve a tad bit more. 7. The emergence of a shy Henderson. Not saying he should be a starter but he is playing much better now than in his first season. 8. Sterling doing an incredible job at such a young age. 9. The inclusion of Wisdom at RB- It is good to see a fresh face from the academy. 10. Some of the creative aspects in game play by Sturridge and Coutinho. I have not seen such skills at LFC in a long long while. Makes you enjoy the game. Negatives 1. Defense has been leaking goals that have eventually cost us points. I would like to add that in some games either the defense or the attack is at fault. If we are drawing games the attack needs to improve, and if we are losing games from a winning position the defense is at fault. Rodgers needs to get the balance right here. Its crucial for a top 4 position that for the majority of the games both the defense and attack needs to be at the top of their games. 2. Joe Allen- Not his biggest fan but not his worst critic either. If he plays well I give him credit for it but in my opinion he does not seem to have any attacking bite in him. His passes tend to be sideways and his stats of being the best possession footballer in the PL are flawed because his possession is not about in game intelligence, his possession is because of him being afraid to make those decisive passes. I rather we keep possession by having constant recycling of the ball in an attacking sense rather than receiving the ball holding onto it for long and passing it sideways or recycling it between only two or three players. Also the shoulder injury and him playing on-Lets just say both Allen and Rodgers are at fault for that. 3. The treatment of some players. Clearly Rodgers has his own philosophy and that is fine by all means. The Carroll fiasco to me was childish, the openly offering him to other clubs and making it known that we do not need him put us in the wrong position to make a good deal for him. If Rodgers did not want him there is a professional way of going about it. He is still a LFC player but I really wonder why we shot ourselves in the foot when we did not need to. 4. The constant talk of top 4. Just don’t none of us believed it. 5. Not having a plan B. 6. The unnecessary passing when we are chasing a game. Especially at the back. Launch the ball we have enough talented players who can deliver a crisp delivery into the feet of Sturridge and co. 7. Those damn corners in defense. 8. Those damn corners again in attack. 9. The failure to support Rodgers in the summer window. 10. The failure to make a positive push for the CL spot. We could have been fighting for it. I still believe we have the squad for it but it fizzled out. 11. Finishing below Everton for 2 years in a row.
Humm well that would explain why her nick name is Bruce . It's a message board that whole point is to prove to everyone else how much smarter we are. Completely agree the Oldham game was completely embarrassing, as was the Mansfield game for that matter. I am really concerned that even as we play better football we will be susceptible to teams upping the pace in midfield and bullying us around. And yes the League cup was nice as was knocking out the bitters in the semi-final, both added to our history. But they don't cover up the fact that we were a pretty dire team at the end of last season. And IMHO the league cup does not make up for the poor finish in the league. The FA Cup might have, but it didn't happen. (Again for the record not trying to justify Kenny's sacking.) I am not concerned about the positions at this point, when I talk about us improving in the leagues it's the point total and more importantly the eye test. Are we playing better then we were? And for me the answer is yes we are playing better then we have since spring of 2011.
I've come to understand that you like to express your frustrations and disappointments in an emotional way on this forum. I think you're entitled to that. However, if you post emotionally, you shouldn't be shocked (or offended) that people respond to you emotionally also.
Brendan Rodgers' son cleared of Rape charge! At least now this potential distraction is now over. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...allers-cleared-of-sexual-assault-8631244.html
seems a common thread in English courts/sports where any famous, influential, or vulnerable person/player will be charged of something, but then have the charges soon dropped. And occurs more commonly (with the charges being dropped for lack of evidence or plain innocence) than in the United States