Brendan Rodgers, Our ex-Manager

[D.Boon]

 

Almost as bad as people still going on about 'Rafa's Rant' after which we collapsed to 41 points from our next 18 games.

 

I was unfortunate enough to stumble across an interview from American TV with that c*** Ferguson smugly going on about how brilliant it was by him and how he didn't have to say anything after that, it was all done and dusted - ignoring the fact that he did talk about it, at length and that we weren't so far gone that we couldn't smack them 4-1 on their own patch.

 

What a sad, insecure piece of s*** he is. The only reason he is so smug about it is because he knows everything Rafa said was true, and he got away with being called on it precisely because it was true. The devil's greatest trick was convincing the world he doesn't exist.

 

In the same interview, he said he hopes we get relegated. Still obsessed, after all these years. Bonfire Night 1980 must still haunt him. c***.

f***ing said. I had the misfortune of watching that recent BBC documentary on him. Think that baldy, speccy c*** thought he was interviewing Churchill.

[Hassony]

f***ing said. I had the misfortune of watching that recent BBC documentary on him. Think that baldy, speccy c*** thought he was interviewing Churchill.

Why the f*** would you watch that?

[D.Boon]

Why the f*** would you watch that?

I don't know

[Tommy Cockles]

There was clear progression from January the season before, there was a dip November ish but Rodgers had the team flying. For an 18 month spell we were a fantastic side. Labelling it a freak is ridiculous, it didn't happen by accident it was down to great players being managed by a coach who implemented an incredibly effective attacking style that suited them down to the ground.

 

Yep.

 

And took a title challenge to the last day.

 

It's a high bar Rodgers has set. Klopp has to win the League to surpass it.

[RBM]

 

Yep.

 

And took a title challenge to the last day.

 

It's a high bar Rodgers has set. Klopp has to win the League to surpass it.

He needs to win a trophy

[Tommy Cockles]

He needs to win a trophy

 

That would be lovely.

 

2nd in the league is a bigger achievement in the "modern game" than a League or FA Cup though.

 

We might not like it, I don't like it, but its true.

[Rory Fitzgerald]

 

That would be lovely.

 

2nd in the league is a bigger achievement in the "modern game" than a League or FA Cup though.

 

We might not like it, I don't like it, but its true.

 

Since last winning the league we have finished 2nd on three occasions - each time with a different manager and relatively early in their tenure without a kick on, it wasnt a case of getting 2nd after years of progression to that position. In that time we have 9 major trophies (1 European Cup, 1 UEFA Cup, 3 FA Cups, 4 League Cups).

[stressederic]

WBA away.

 

That's the one. Gerrard's slip killed us because of the situation at the time (it was gone when we played Palace)m but Kolo versus West Brom, and even Allen against Everton, both changed the scenario of those games and then the wider run in.

 

If Kolo doesn't play that ridiculous pass, and/or Allen scores against Everton, then we win the league regardless of Gerrard's slip.

[Red Yoda]

All what if's guys and girls, it's done unfortunately we can't change any it.

[Earl Hafler]

The further back you go, the more variables there are, the less impact these different suggested incidents have. Chelsea and Palace is where we lost it.

 

West Brom was February, ffs.

[muleskinner]

The further back you go, the more variables there are, the less impact these different suggested incidents have. Chelsea and Palace is where we lost it.

 

West Brom was February, ffs.

All the points count so you can just as easily dismiss your point by the fact we could have been 7,9 or 11 points clear.

We lost over the course of the season just as you win it the same.

[épieur]

 

Since last winning the league we have finished 2nd on three occasions - each time with a different manager and relatively early in their tenure without a kick on, it wasnt a case of getting 2nd after years of progression to that position. In that time we have 9 major trophies (1 European Cup, 1 UEFA Cup, 3 FA Cups, 4 League Cups).

 

Houllier did it in his fourth season, Rafa in his fifth.

 

That's not early. And there definitely was a progression to it in both cases, although Rafa stalled for a bit before kicking on again.

[_00_deathscar]

 

Houllier did it in his fourth season, Rafa in his fifth.

 

That's not early. And there definitely was a progression to it in both cases, although Rafa stalled for a bit before kicking on again.

 

I don't have the chart right now, but there was a chart from the 2005-2009 period showing the progression Rafa's team took - just league only - ignoring that we were competing in other competitions. Yes, we swapped places in the period in between (5th, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 2nd), but in terms of goals scored vs goals conceded, and racking up points, we were slowly but surely ramping it up into a 'crushing machine'.

 

In some ways, you could argue the 2005-2006 season was a bit of a red herring there (in the league).

I'm trying to find that chart, but couldn't - it's floating around somewhere though. I did find this however on Tomkin's page. Naturally, he wrote about 20,000 words to accompany it. But this says a lot more than any of his articles ever could. Not really relevant per se, just interesting reading.

 

Edited November 9, 2015 by _00_deathscar

[RP]

I have no idea of the relevance of that table. What does it tell us?

[épieur]

 

I don't have the chart right now, but there was a chart from the 2005-2009 period showing the progression Rafa's team took - just league only - ignoring that we were competing in other competitions. Yes, we swapped places in the period in between (5th, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 2nd), but in terms of goals scored vs goals conceded, and racking up points, we were slowly but surely ramping it up into a 'crushing machine'.

 

We finished 3rd in 06, not 2nd.

 

Either way, I don't see the point of trying to qualify the argument. The point is simply that Houllier and Rafa both took a handful of years of relatively steady progression (06 being a bit of an outlier) to get to second place and then crashed and burned afterwards. Whilst Rodgers got there pretty quickly before crashing and burning.

[PhilM]

 

That's the one. Gerrard's slip killed us because of the situation at the time (it was gone when we played Palace)m but Kolo versus West Brom, and even Allen against Everton, both changed the scenario of those games and then the wider run in.

 

If Kolo doesn't play that ridiculous pass, and/or Allen scores against Everton, then we win the league regardless of Gerrard's slip.

 

If Allen scored against Everton, we'd still have lost the league on goal difference.

[RP]

Glad he missed, that'd have been unbearable.

[_00_deathscar]

 

We finished 3rd in 06, not 2nd.

 

Either way, I don't see the point of trying to qualify the argument. The point is simply that Houllier and Rafa both took a handful of years of relatively steady progression (06 being a bit of an outlier) to get to second place and then crashed and burned afterwards. Whilst Rodgers got there pretty quickly before crashing and burning.

 

Yes, you're right, we finished 3rd - a point behind Man Utd, 9 behind Chelsea.

 

Extenuating circumstances for 'crashing and burning' following 2008-2009 though.

 

The point was that consistent progression SHOULD get you more leeway, as should winning a few tinpots along the way. Additionally, Rafa, at least, had a prior history - usurping Barca and Madrid TWICE in three years. In between, he finished a low 5th.

 

2013-2014 was an absolute freak of a season that came out of nowhere.

Edited November 10, 2015 by _00_deathscar

[Gravy]

 

If Allen scored against Everton, we'd still have lost the league on goal difference.

Nah, as we wouldn't have been so gung ho for more goals once 3-0 up against Palace

[Cheesecake]

I will always look back on that 2013/14 season with fond memories, it was the first season when my son was really into football and it was fantastic stuff, scoring for fun, 3, 4, 5, 6 goals scored on what seemed like a weekly basis. We watched pretty much every game together, I think we missed only 2 of the 38 league games.

 

We shared joys, high and lows and of course heartbreak but even now I look back on it and smile. Thank you Brendan Rodgers for giving us a fantastic experience, for that you will always have my gratitude. Good luck to the man in whatever he does in the future and thanks for some wonderful times.

Edited November 15, 2015 by DPD1973