Kenny Kan
Don't forget:
Rodgers has only just seen Lucas return to action too.
He has had to play 3 teenage kids almost as regulars this season (Wisdom, Suso, Sterling)
He also had to trim the wage bill down and let go of players.
He and his team have been on the end of some shocking officiating.
But he's topped a Europa league group, by and large with kids in his first season in Europe
And he's got the team 4 points off of 4th.
I do agree with you that we're perhaps not playing as well as we did earlier this season and yes we played some magnificent stuff under Kenny last season without always getting our just rewards but by and large Brendan has done a very good job. Sure there are things that need to be improved upon - transfers, final ball, finishing etc etc but he wasn't dealt the hand Kenny had either, he wasn't given 110 million pound to spunk, he's had one hand tied behind his back and considering, well, he hasn't done too badly.I think the team are crying out for more strength and depth. There are times this season we've looked fecking ordinary if not mid-table but Rodgers hasn't had the chance really to rectify that.
Note (back on topic): I don't think we'll get fourth this season. I don't think we'll be able to go the distance of the season even if we do get maximum points over the next four games, we just don't have the squad. Throw in the cup games and I reckon come mid feb next year we'll be looking a little worse for ware.
good post.
i agree rodgers hasnt had the money kenny had but he`s had over £30m to spend and he didnt have a director of football hovering over him like the proverbial sword of damocles waffling on about moneyball.
most of this money kenny supposedly spent went on suarez and carroll and they arrived when kenny was interim manager and had only been in the post 2 or 3 weeks. i`m not having it that a club would give a temporary manager the best part of £60m quid and say to him go nuts, especially when there was a `soccernomics` mad DoF in place who was recruited by the owners to specifically oversee transfers.
i accept that rodgers has had to see the squad size reduced dramatically and the wage bill too but that restructuring happened during kenny`s tenure too, comolli moved on something like 20 players when kenny was in charge plus kenny played a lot of young players himself (kelly, flanagan, robinson, sterling etc).
i just dont see this brave new dawn in terms of playing style that we were all promised, we are not a pressing team (our front 3 arent all over the opposition like a rash when they they play it out from the back which is what we were told would happen) and our passing is decent but not spectacular by any stretch of the imagination, if anything i think our passing has regressed since the start of the season.
when rodgers first arrived we were knocking it around in little barcelona-esque triangles in midfield but as the season has progressed our passing has got longer and longer not shorter, gerrard in particular hits a lot of long balls as does the likes of shelvey and even allen has started doing it now too.
ever since the derby game our keepers hoof it up the field as much as they`ve ever done as well.
we were told that we were going to keep the ball and not give it away cheaply but we are very sloppy in possession, often giving it away when under no pressure at all and the last time we saw any of this one touch football that we were all promised was away at west brom in the league cup and that was from a second string side.
rodgers seems to be getting caught between two stools and instead of the team changing to suit his philosophy he himself seems to be the one changing philosophy, we seem to be a lot more pragmatic in terms of playing style than we were at the start of the season.
thats not neccessarily a bad thing (infact i hoped it would happen) it just that that lean to a more pragmatic style wasnt written on the side of the tin when the club opted for rodgers as manager.
i`m not sure which direction we are heading tbh.