The RedBrothersUnited collective presents a look at Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers’ managerial history to look for clues as to whether he can be the man to deliver a Premier League title.
Liverpool have always been known to be a tough team competing in Europe, winning a British record of 5 European Cups, and have been dominant domestically, winning 18 League titles. However, they have failed to win the Premier League since it’s inception in 1992. After a successful period under Rafa Bentiez ended with a 7th place finish and loss of Champions League football, Roy Hodgson and Kenny Dalglish have each had failed periods in charge and the club span in to a malaise, unable to challenge for the top four, never mind a league title. 8th place in 2011/12 saw them change philosophy and appoint a man they believe can win them the league and return to the glory days.
Liverpool needed to fight back and stop the downfall. They turned to Brendan Rodgers whose Swansea had beaten them on route to a well deserved 11th position in their first season after promotion from the Championship and played some lovely football in doing so. Liverpool confirmed that they would give Rodgers ample time to prove his worth. Although Liverpool are still considered a very prestigious club, it’s going to be a mammoth task for Rodgers to sustain this position. Does his past offer any clues as to his potential future?
Rodgers started his stint in football coaching under Jose Mourinho as the youth team football coach at Chelsea. In 2008 he was appointed the manager of the Championship team Watford. He got the team playing a nice brand of football and pulled them out of relegation battle before finishing 13th. These performances caught the eye of Reading who, after relegation from the Premier League and a defeat in the play-offs, saw manager Steve Coppell resign after a very successful run. Brendan Rodgers was quick to act and was appointed their new manger. Having stated long time commitment at Watford, Rodgers apologised to the fans for seeking opportunity at a club which had brighter chances of competing in the Premier League. With Reading having a talented pool of players Rodgers started off well, but his tactical philosophy didn’t yield results and he was sacked after just 6 months at the club. Somewhat damningly for Rodgers, his failure was exacerbated as his successor Brian McDermott achieved promotion to the Premier League in 2012 with pretty much the same set of players.
Before Rodgers was appointed at Swansea, it was Roberto Martínez who was the manager of the Welsh side. With his Spanish influence he brought in many Iberian players that set the tone towards the ‘tiki-taka’ playing style. Martínez emphasised possession play and playing in this manner he led Swansea to win League One and promotion to the Championship. He soon left Swansea for Wigan, but the culture and system evolved by him was maintained by the club.
Brendan Rodgers was appointed at Swansea following the exit of Paulo Sousa. Using his good relations with Chelsea he brought in Scott Sinclair and Fabio Borini. He worked on the possession based system introduced by Martínez which proved fruitful as Swansea finished the season 3rd in the Championship. A hat-trick by Scott Sinclair against Rodgers’ former team Reading in the playoff final won Swansea promotion to the top flight. Rodgers added to his squad impressively as the likes of Vorm and Sigurdsson proved decisive in an impressive first season. However, the bulk of the squad remained from what he inherited from Sousa so there could be questions about how much of the success was really his doing, and how much was done to Swansea’s good building before he arrived.
Both at Reading and Swansea, his style of play was developed from the work of the previous managers Steve Coppell and Roberto Martinez. The philosophical ideas were in place and he only need to tweak them. Is it perhaps telling that after leaving Reading and Swansea his successors McDermott and Laurdup went on to achieve greater success than he managed?
So this begs the question as to how far Liverpool can go under Rodgers. A decent but unspectacular first season saw a negative spend of £52m. The problem for Rodgers is that what he did didn’t seem to make too much difference. His signings of Allen and Borini haven’t worked so far although the capture of Daniel Sturridge and to a much greater extent, Philippe Coutinho are steps in the right direction. 8th place became 7th place and although there was a notable upswing in quality, the improvement overall was marginal. This is a big season for Rodgers to show that he can make Liverpool win more, not just look more pretty.
With the transfer window still open and Liverpool already adding the likes of Simon Mignolet, Iago Aspas and Luis Alberto, Rodgers has a big year ahead. This Liverpool team is undergoing a fresh start and all principles will be influenced by him. The success of his methodology will be key to the fans and the club. His footballing vision will be in the limelight. Rodgers firmly believes in it, but if there are no signs of improvement where does it leave him?
Liverpool’s squad looks strong and the club’s objectives will include qualification for the Champions League and once again playing against the elite group of teams, and then in future a push to win the Premier League. Winning the league is ultimately what Brendan Rodger’s job is. His system, his signings, his players and his ability to win will be under the microscope. Rodgers career so far has shown that he can improve upon the work of previous managers but can he be the man to win Liverpool that elusive league title?
RedBrothersUnited are Anand Sindhu, Pawan Sharma and Akshay Agarwal.
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