An Irish Lad with a Spanish vision for football will be the best phrase which will suit Brendan Rodgers.
Appointed as the new Liverpool manager, Brendan Rodgers was unveiled as Liverpool’s new boss On 1 June 2012.
Brendan Rodgers – A Closer Look.
Brendan Rodgers took over then, Championship side Swansea on July 2010 and managed to take the club to Premier league football within one season at the Welsh club. Despite many predicting that Swansea will struggle at the Premier league, Rodgers established himself with a string of impressive performances and made everyone to notice the style of play he employed. Only Arsenal and Manchester United had more possession percentage than Swansea last season. His free flowing style of football was appreciated by everyone and Rodgers guided the Swans to an impressive 11th place finish in their first season at the Premier league.
Can Rodgers be the next Bill Shankly?
Remember Bill Shankly?? the Liverpool legend who brought in the concept of “Total Football” to England. In a was he was responsible for the modern game’s Tiki Taka passing followed by Barcelona. It is simple but effective philosophy – “find the nearest player, pass to him, move into space, get the ball back and keep pressing the opponents if you lose the ball”.
At a time when, even the free flowing Arsenal team have started to use other ways to win the game, Rodgers made Premier league newcomers to play a brand of football that any new comer to the league would dare to play. Rodgers’ game is very similar to Bill Shankly, the same “pass the ball, move to open space and get it back” concept. We saw it at Swansea and if Rodgers can get time and support we will see it at Liverpool as well. His way of football needs time to get going as both the players and the manager have to settle down and understand each other. Every player should know the movement of his team mate and the manager should sense what can he expect out of each player before, which there wont be any sort of improvement at Anfield.
The new Liverpool manager has presented a 180-page manifesto to the club’s owners (FSG) detailing his vision for the future of the club. The document, it’s reported, went into fine detail on issues such as players’ positioning, the passing options that should be available at any given time. This has given some confidence and morale amongst the board members and fans.
Secondly, accessing about the transfer made, the manager have understood the major problem and have brought in attacking players, who can give the club the much needed balance in the midfield. Downing and Henderson could not make any sort of impact at the club and Downing, who is still to open his account in front of the goal is a real liability to the club. With captain Gerrard not at his best, Liverpool had a serious problem at the centre of the park. With the signature of Nuri Sahin, Joe Allen and Borini Rodgers has shown his statement on intent. The only part in the summer where Rodgers has failed is in the Striking department. Only Suaraz and Borini are available as Carroll also has left the club to West Ham on a season long loan. His failure to capture the much talked about American forward Dempsey would cost him dear, if either, Suarez or Borini gets injured.
Can Brendan Rodgers Re-Create The Magic He Did At Swansea ??But one main thing the manager had done is, he has quickly settled in the club understanding its rich history and tradition. His decision to revive the historical “This is Anfield” sign at the dressing room tunnel might look like a small gesture but apparently it is not, as he has shown his sign on intent, his attitude towards the club and the willingness to take the club forward.
A Final Verdict:
Rodgers has to start from the scratch and from his transfer activities one can understand that he plans to do the same, changing the look of the entire midfield by bringing in players who will suit his type of game. one season may not be enough to achieve the ultimate dream of a place in Champions league and to challenge to the title. Rodgers is undoubtedly the best man for the job and not many will argue about that.
However, things are not going according to plans at the start of the campaign as Liverpool have only managed to secure one point after 3 games. With International break coming up this weekend the Irish manager has to sort out his plan and get ready for the challenge ahead. He is a man who refuses to back down from any challenge; rather he accepts it with open arms. And that is the greatest hope to the Merseyside club, as currently, reviving them is one of the biggest challenges in the Premier League.
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