The Normal One

For most of his time at Liverpool I fully supported Rodgers, I wasn't against his appointment and liked what he did and the style of play he implemented and then of course there was that season and we all owe him a huge thanks for making us dream, we were so close, and he lifted us all.  But then things started to go wrong, one or two strange transfer decisions, some bad team selections and formations and some poor tactics led to some embarrassing results and then for me the worst thing was he refused to change and couldn't stop the slide.  So in the end it was time to go, perhaps even past the time but Rodgers leafs with my thanks and best wishes I really do hope he goes on and achieves.

Then Klopp arrived.  When we were linked I couldn't believe it he seemed the perfect man for the job but he wouldn't consider us, would he?  I wanted him everybody in the world can see that Klopp and Liverpool are a perfect match, but there was no way our owners would get Klopp.  Then the news was breaking that we had approached, that we were in talks and all of a sudden I'm looking at Twitter every two seconds I'm plotting planes from Germany on my computer and he's here, he's our manager.  Almost before we knew it Liverpool have appointed a world class manager but on top of that we have one with personality and charm the man who is a perfect fit for Liverpool.

I not only wanted a good manager, I wanted one who understands our club, one who shares the passion with our supporters, who can walk the walk and go toe to toe with the other big managers in the country, who will fight for Liverpool, they need to have a proven track record , they need to be able to develop players, to buy players in he transfer market who can reach the very top, to attract those players to a club who has fallen from grace a little and to do all this whilst under pressure to win not just games but the biggest trophies available.  Is there a manager in the world who can do all this, yes, just one Jurgen Klopp he certainly has the passion and the charm we have seen that in his time in Germany and already in his first interview and press conference for Liverpool.  Proven track record, check, the man has achieved in Germany whilst taking on Munich one of the world giants.  Can he develop players and work in the transfer market, of course he can look at the players he took to Dortmund and then coached to become some of the bigger names in world football, if I was a Liverpool player I would be very excited at what he can do for me.  It's a big job at Liverpool, no doubt, but it was at Dortmund we a very similar clubs and they were in a very similar position anybody want to bet he can't do it again.

Klopp has spoken about a restart at Liverpool, the passion he will I still into players and the team, promising full throttle football 

again that's what we wanted to hear a very impressive man who has spoken so much sense in his first press conference that if there were any doubters surely their minds have been changed already.  He has asked the supporters to turn from doubters into believers.  I believe, just watch us go, they are all looking over their shoulders and they are scared, Anfield will soon be rocking again under "the normal one"

@lfclumo

Bad Timing Stevie

I love Steven Gerrard, he has been the best thing to happen to Liverpool football club for decades at least since 1977 and I must admit that he has done enough in his time at Liverpool to have earned the right to say what he wants but with all this publicity around his latest book I find myself wishing he wouldn't.

It's the wrong time from the clubs point of view to be releasing a book, there is far to much negativity around , things are not going well on or off the field, we can't put together a string of results and things are certainly not all pulling in the same direction off the field, the manager is under real threat, pressure from all angles, yet Gerrard chooses now to release the book, OK, he may have had no choice these things are planned in advance but we have had these problems for months now I'm just saying it could have come at a better time for the clubs point of view, however, from the publishers point of view, now, with all the turmoil at the club could perhaps be the bigger money making opportunity, I would expect our former Captain to put the club before a few extra quid.

I don't see why Gerrard has done this book at all, especially now.  He doesn't need the money I'm sure, he has done two books already surely a few more years is the correct time for another book when his playing career is over.  Things at Liverpool are to fresh, comments, stories and gossip can only hurt the club and despite our constant need for this type of gossip it can only cause more negativity amongst the fan base.

The press find enough reasons to slag Liverpool, our manager, our players and us the supporters without somebody of the standing Gerrard giving them the bullets to fire.  Gerrard has expressed a desire to one day return to the club and I'm more than happy with this idea, but he needs to keep the club at the centre of everything not hang us out to dry for a few bits of gossip in the Daily Mail and for a few quid from a book that will, let's face it, be only read by Liverpool Fans and journalists.

@lfclumo  

Rodgers -Time To Go

I've been pro Rodgers, incredibly so, when he first signed a I thought he as a good appointment, through his first season I wanted to give him time, I was to put up with some of the embarrassing comments, if I'm honest I quite liked them, it kept us in the news and in general he was positive. Through the Suarez era I gave Rodgers credit for developing the team, after all finishing second in the league couldn't be down to just one exceptional player.  That summer I remember some of the papers just starting to hint that Rodgers himself may have got the attention of some of The biggest clubs in Europe and I didn't want him to leave, I was gutted at just the thought.  I like the majority of his signings, still do, I also liked the players who we didn't get, at least we tried or were linked to some of the better players around.  Even last season despite starting to get frustrated I was still prepared to give him a chance, the question is now, has he used that chance up.

In my opinion that chance had gone at the end of last season, we threw away a cup semi against Villa and then gave up on the season, culminating in an embarrassing run of results that itself culminated in that humiliating afternoon in Stoke, a day no Liverpool supporter can forget no matter how much we try.  I wanted him to go over the summer but he didn't and then this season started and ŵe found ourselves making the same old mistakes, no improvement, no change apart from our club appears to have declined even further as we face yet another season in transition.

The biggest crime in my eyes is Rodgers refusal to change, learn or adapt, we are playing formations that simply don't work for us, I don't know why they don't work, I suspect it's a combination between the players don't suite the particular formation and the manager doesn't really understand them, but whatever the reason they work on occasion for other clubs but not for us, not at the moment, not with these players, we need two strikers it seems obvious but Rodgers will hardly ever change.  Every time we play two up we seem to be more exciting, more fluent, more creative, score more goals and get better results but then despite this we almost always switch back to one up and create less (usually nothing) play less creatively, quickly lose confidence, start to panic at the back and quickly start to concede goals, stop scoring and inevitably start to lose games.  Everybody would then revert to the more positive approach, there is nothing wrong with trying something, it didn't work so go back to then method that works, not Rodgers we play the same formation that doesn't work, or a variation of it for over a year, dropping points and loosing confidence as we go.  Through the summer we buy players, more players who suite a formation with to up, we are all excited up to the point the games start and we are unbelievably still trying the same flawed formation and tactics.

Rodgers again show stubbornness over individual players, Lovren as bought by Rodgers and at the time I didn't think he was a bad signing, but since he has been playing he has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is not good enough for Liverpool with weekly performances that are at time laughable and individual errors that have cost us points almost on a weekly basis yet all the time we have Sakho sitting on the bench, definitely the best defender at the club and one of the best in the country, but week after week Lovren is preferred.  He should have been moved on not entrusted as our starting centre half, yes we paid a lot of money, just admit we got it wrong and move on.

Rodgers third mistake is to continuously play players out of position normally in an attempt to force everybody into his flawed formation but he has destroyed the confidence of some excellent young players Moreno, Markovic, Can, Sterling, Ibe, Milner and Henderson are all first team players who have regularly been played out of position so much that it has effected their confidence, badly, again costing the team points.

I don't know what goes on behind closed doors but almost everybody who does mentions how badly Rodgers handles some players, again in my opinion destroying confidence and costing the team.

It has now got to the point where, in my opinion, it has gone to far, even if he can turn things around we will always be waiting for the next change of formation the players will never getback that confidence whilst playing under him the damage has been done and it s nobodies fault but Rodgers, he has failed to learn, adapt or change and it has cost us, big time, we have m to dropped to become a mid table club and Rodgers appears happy with this, it's time for a change, we need somebody who will allow our squad to play or even help them to perform rather than appearing to hinder them.

@lfclumo

 

   

Rodgers Man Management !

Is Brendan Rodgers correct with the way he is handling certain players.  Many people have expressed an opinion that he has thrown players under the bus, almost for no reason, but possibly to cover for his and the teams own shortcomings, I disagree and I'm going to look at four players who have at various times suffered under Rodgers, Balotelli, Borini, Enrique and Mignolet.

Firstly Mignolet who is different to the others he is currently in favour but  he was dropped from the team and told he would be playing no part for a considerable time, looking for all the world like a scapegoat for the terrible results that the team had shown up to that point.  Brad Jones was his replacement who despite being a lovely bloke just isn't a capable goalkeeper he showed us this in that first game at Manchester comically diving out of the way of shots, but still Rodgers kept his word Jones was in, Mignolet out.  Was this bad man management, I don't think so, thinking back Mignolet was seriously out of form, there were huge in takes of breath from the whole of Anfield any time the ball went anywhere near him, constantly criticised by fans, commentators and media he looked a broken man, many were shouting for him to be replaced in the January.  A few weeks out the team and if the press are to be believed after a talking to from the wife he returned to the team with a string of good performances a far better and more confident keeper than ever before.  So good, in fact, that some were telling us that he was our player of the year by the end of the season.  With hindsight granted, but this has been proven as good man management a player who looked broken has been taken away from the limelight and come back stronger and better, but this is partly at least down to Mignolet himself a bad attitude or a petulant strop and I'm sure he wouldn't have made it back in to the first team.

Borini is different again he really wants to make it at Liverpool, he works hard displays a good attitude, says all the right things, the top and bottom of it is he is just not good enough.  I think he will be a perfectly decent forward for somebody just in my opinion not a team with top four ambitions, I believe that the manager has told him this. Last year we were offered around £14 million pounds by Sunderland and he basically refused to go, this has cost us as we will not get that sort of offer again, I know he has a contract but as the manager of the club what options does Rodgers have he is not going to make the bench we have numerous forwards higher than him in the pecking order, the club need him off the wage bill and anything we can get for him in the bank, Rodgers needs to get rid, hopefully in an amicable manner but if not, we still need to get rid.

Enrique is almost the opposite of Borini poor attitude, doesn't appear to have the intelligence to say anything right and appears to spend all his time on social media making inane comments and as far as I can see has no interest in playing football, why would we want to keep him.  He also is refusing to leave appearing to wanting to see out his contract claiming his huge wages for doing very little.  Again what options does the manager have. For me he has made the correct decision.

Balotelli, what can I say, so many seem to think he should be given another chance and I just can't see it, yes he is a Liverpool player and when he is on the pitch I will support him but in my opinion he shouldn't get anywhere near a Liverpool shirt again.  Firstly despite him being a risk worth taking it has turned out that he simply isn't good enough his record not only at Livrpool but at is other clubs and in the international arena show that, he can take a penalty and score an occasional spectacular goal but for me that's it.  Reports from Melwood tell us that he is poor in training, worse is a bad influence on others, talking over coaches, refusing to listen or take instructions, bringing friends who also disrupt sessions, continuously missing sessions due to "colds" all unacceptable.  Again I can't see that Rodgers has any other option than to keep him away from the first team players and try to get him out of the club.

Many people feel that Rodgers should treat the above players differently but I just can't see how, if Rodgers had been replaced in the summer and many peoples favourite Klopp was now the manager I can't imagine for one second that he would reward this type of behaviour and give Balotelli a place in the first team, especially with his goal scoring record at the club, or that Enrique would be rewarded for his time on social media with a place on the bench or that he would pick players who are just not good enough because they say the right things, what he would possibly do is reward players who having been dropped go away, improve and come back stronger and better, in fact you could say he would do just what Rodgers has done.

@lfclumo

That's A Big Big Win

That's a big win, that was my thought on the final whistle and still is now for so many reasons.

We finished last season in chaos and had to face the humiliation of that final day result and when the fixtures computer sent us back there for the very first fixture of the new season, I was concerned.  Stoke is a hard enough place to get anything from, our record there is terrible and they well, really well at their ground against everybody, add to this the extra pressure from that result last year, the worries, the concerns that the players must of had and you can see why I think we were all concerned.

Stoke are simply a horrible team to play.  I hear people tell me how they have changed styles, "that's not them anymore", "they like to get the ball down and play", " under Hughes they are different" but I saw different very physical all over the pitch, dirty even, huge long balls to the head of Walters throughout the game who played on Gomez trying to intimidate him throughout the match.  A big reliance on set plays that were again pumped into the box and so on for me not much has changed.  Not a criticism, all legitimate tactics to win a Premier League game, but horrible to play against and not the new Stoke we have been fed by the media.  Liverpool had to stand up to the physicality, win individual battles, stay organised and strong at the back and hope the extra class would tell, they achieved all this and that is a credit to all the players.

Our manager, and players were under huge pressure to get a result following last seasons result at Stoke, the general failure to perform last year in particular in the run in, the pressure on the manager due to this failure last season and many fans belief that he should have been replaced, I'm certain that the manager has been put under extra pressure from the owners  they have spent money they have given him the support in every way and I believe that they will expect a better level of performance for everybody.

The fixtures computer has given us a tough start to the season with a string of very difficult away games, to pick up points and stay in the race is going to be very difficult, extra pressure on everybody, again I'm not sure the manager will survive a poor start to the season with the expectations the owners must now have.

All the above combined made this fixture in my eyes before the game almost impossible, probably the worst possible opening day fixture we could have had and I think if before the game we were offered a draw we would have taken it, beyond any doubt. But we did better far better than that.

if we are honest it was a dog of a game it had to be we had to dog it out it's Stoke and they are horrible, we had to try and be strong, solid, compact we couldn't take another defeat like last year and we had to get something from the game to keep fans and owners happy or jobs may be at stake even this early,mother pressure would certainly been added to my media and the support, but we dodged it out well defenders did ok when last year they would have crumbled new full backs did very well under pressure midfield players covered huge amounts of ground and forwards battled and tried to find space with little quality service and then our quality told one moment of pure magic and we had the three points.  We have players who can do that.

            

      

  

  

Because of the reasons listed above this game was hugely difficult and Liverpool overcame them all and won they got the three points and that could be huge, we will gain confidence, we will get belief the support will remain optimistic and positive, at least for one more week, a little of the pressure on the manager has been lifted, new players get more time to settle, to show us what they can do and perhaps most importantly we have a start, just a hint of momentum.  

      

 

It meant a lot to everybody players, supporters, management and I sure owners you could tell by the players passion on scoring the goal and the away end went off, but let's keep our feet on the ground Bournmouth next and  three more points badly needed.

@lfclumo