Brendan Rodgers (Liverpool -> Celtic -> Leicester)

Cracking read this, gives some good insight into Brendan and how he operates. Interesting to read about the tactical work he does in the build up to games. Also throws up some questions with reagards to players like Balotelli and Mignolet in terms of them fitting (or really not fitting) the philosophy that Brendan was promoting when he first arrived at the club.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/oct/27/luis-suarez-brendan-rodgers-liverpool



Luis Suárez: ‘Brendan said I would like the way we were going to play’

In the final exclusive extract from his new book, Luis Suárez explains how the Liverpool manager’s tactical changes suited him
 
Luis Suárez
 
The Guardian, Monday 27 October 2014 22.29 GMT   





Brendan Rodgers Liverpool Luis SuárezLuis Suárez, right, shares a joke with the Liverpool manager, Brendan Rodgers, who ‘was keen to play to my strengths and my style suited his’. Photograph: Peter Cziborra/Action Images


There was a moment during the first real, in-depth conversation that I had with Brendan Rodgers when I looked at him and it hit me: “He’s right.” We had been talking for a little while, he was explaining the way that he wanted the team to play, and everything was falling into place. Everything he said made perfect sense. I was completely convinced.

When Kenny [Dalglish, the former Liverpool manager] left, the rumours about who would replace him started. That can be unsettling for a player because you don’t always know any more about what’s going on than anyone else does: you’re not so different from the fans, reading about it in the papers. Soon Brendan Rodgers emerged as the favourite. He wasn’t a “big-name” manager and I didn’t know much about him, but Swansea City were a team that stood out because of their attractive style of play; they were different and especially impressive for a team that had only been promoted to the Premier League the season before. One of our last games of the 2011-12 season had been away at Swansea.

I’d bumped into Brendan in a corridor afterwards and he said in Spanish: “You’re an excellent player, congratulations.” I remember thinking: “That’s interesting, the Swansea manager speaks Spanish.”

The first chat I had with him was at Melwood [Liverpool’s training ground], just after he was confirmed as Liverpool’s new manager. It wasn’t a long conversation, just the typical welcome to the club stuff, but he also wanted to talk to me because there had been suggestions there was a chance of me going to Juventus. Brendan spoke to me in Spanish and he told me to give him time, to give him a chance, and that I would like the way we were going to play. It would suit me. He said we would bring the ball out on the floor, keep possession and play attacking football. I remember him saying: “It’s not so hard to bring the ball out from the back on the floor, you know.”

I started to see that things were going to be different. In a nutshell, his philosophy was this: you’ve got four players in the defensive line and you’ve got the goalkeeper, who at the time was Pepe Reina, who is good with the ball at his feet. You’ve got the two central defenders outside the area and you’ve got one of the central midfielders who can come for the ball. And if he’s marked, the other one can come for it. If you have 30 metres from your goalkeeper to the midfield, if the players are good with the ball at their feet, at most the opposition are going to pressure you with two men.

No one else is going to come. If you can pass it well, if your positioning is good, it is impossible for them to take the ball off you. Why? Because you outnumber them and you will always have a line of pass open which allows you to progress up the pitch. A midfielder drops into the space which the central defenders open out, the goalkeeper becomes an “outfield” player and you carry the ball forward that way. I listened and I was sold. It seemed so simple that way but no one had ever walked me through it like that before. I thought: “He’s right, it is impossible in a 30-metre space, with the players Liverpool have got, with the ability that Pepe Reina has with the ball at his feet, for them to get the ball off us.” Unless we made a simple mistake, of course.

Over the first few weeks, that idea was the basis of the work we did with Brendan, the first of the building blocks in constructing a new approach. From the start, it convinced me. It made sense. And although the results weren’t good, I could see that we were playing better. I was excited. Brendan’s philosophy was to play on the floor, keep possession of the ball and, if we lost it, to pressure to get it back. Don’t panic, don’t play so fast as we had the previous season, look for the spaces at the right time.

If I was excited, others were worried. And no, not because of the famous envelopes that appeared during a TV documentary about the club. Mostly, we just joked about that particular episode, but the manager’s methods really worked for us.

For those who didn’t see the documentary, Brendan had got the entire squad together during pre-season soon after he had taken over and showed us three envelopes. He told us that inside each envelope was a piece of paper on which he had written the name of someone who would let the team down during the coming season. It was our duty, he said, to make sure that it wasn’t our name in there. At the end of the year, he would open the envelopes and reveal the names inside. I hadn’t seen a manager do that before and of course afterwards lots of the players were talking about it.


Luis Suárez talks exclusively with Simon Hattenstone.
There was a group of us sitting there, and Glen Johnson came over and said: “I know who’s in the envelopes. I know what’s written on all three pieces of paper.” Who? What?

‘“Number 3” . . . “José” . . . and “Enrique”. We fell about. José Enrique protested: “No, no, no, no, inglés – I’m not there, you are!”

We never did find out what was written in those envelopes. It was unusual and I must admit that for a moment I did think: “How can you think before the season has even started that there are three people who are going to let you down? And if there is a name in there and he plays well, and you doubted him, what are you going to do then?’’ I’m sure there were no names, it was just a way of motivating us; a tactic to make sure we gave everything. And in truth it got forgotten pretty quickly.

I was much more interested in the way we were going to play. Others were interested for different reasons. It can be frightening to play like that; it takes nerve. Some centre-backs prefer not to have the ball that often. They prefer not to risk being caught with it. You could see that sometimes the central defenders felt under pressure and wanted to hit it long, but Brendan kept insisting and, gradually, they got used to it.

Slowly they became more comfortable bringing the ball out. We adapted. Danny Agger and Martin Skrtel improved a lot. Technically, they’re fine and they’ve gained more confidence in their ability. They’ve become better players. Before it might be two passes and then hit it long but Brendan has changed that. For that to work, the goalkeeper has to act like another outfield player and right from the start they began to be coached differently too. Confidence came through repetition.

The new style suited me. Playing in England where all the centre-backs are tall and strong, the long punt up the pitch is no good to me, but a quick ball to release me either side of them works well. Mostly, I need the ball on the floor and Brendan knew that and he also worked with me on the movements I could make to isolate defenders. He was confident that if I could take them on one-on-one, I would be likely to beat them. He was keen to play to my strengths and my style suited his.

He knew that I’m a very instinctive player who plays on intuition. He knew that if he put me in as a static number nine, waiting for the wingers to put crosses in, I’d be no good.

Not no good, in fact, but worse than that – I’m not there. He knew that I’m a mobile striker and that a lot of the time you’ll find me outside the area, looking for space, moving. I won’t be there as a target for two wide men to aim crosses at.

Andy Carroll would be, of course. Every coach has his own taste in players and given the type of game that Andy offered, it was natural that Brendan didn’t include him in his plans.

Andy is tall, strong and good in the air. But I think people were wrong about him: he was also technically very good indeed. He can strike a ball very cleanly with his left foot and with so much power. The power he was able to produce always stood out to me in training sessions. It was a shame that injuries reduced the number of times we could play together in our first season at Liverpool.

Yet for a short, passing game in which you’re looking to release people into space with a lot of pace, he doesn’t fit. He wanted to play for England so it was important for him to get games, which meant looking for a way to move on and eventually he joined West Ham on loan. The coach was honest with him, which is always the best way: if you’re not going to select a player, tell him.

Something similar happened with Charlie Adam. Charlie’s passing was good, but it was suited to a longer passing type of game and Brendan wanted shorter, sharper passing and quicker movement.

That shift in style was symbolised by the arrival of Joe Allen from Swansea. Brendan described Joe as the “Welsh Xavi”; it didn’t quite work that way, and that’s some tag to have, but Joe was especially brilliant the first 10 games or so and I thought he was an excellent signing. Brendan knew him really well from their time at Swansea and Joe’s first few games were fantastic. He was very good with the ball, he fitted the philosophy perfectly and defensively he was exceptional; above all, he understood the movements Brendan wanted straight away, while Stevie [Gerrard] and Jordan Henderson began a process of adapting to his style.

With time, they adapted too. In Jordan’s case, the proof came last season. Jordan had changed so much. To start with, maybe he wanted to do too much at once, but he is intelligent and he learned with Brendan in the first year even if he didn’t play much. You watched him the following season and he was playing the passes when he saw them. He was taking his time, he was calmer, cleverer. He learned to understand the movements of Daniel [Sturridge] and me more too, while the shift to a one-touch game suited him. He also rebelled against the critics; maybe they brought out a part of his character that we didn’t know he had. Brendan changed him; he changed us all.

I remembered Rafa Benítez’s Liverpool, which was a team based on being very defensively strong and looking to break, so I didn’t necessarily see the new Liverpool as the recovery of historic values, but soon people were talking about that. I heard fans talking about “pass and move”, the way the great Liverpool sides of the Seventies and Eighties had played.

From my point of view, there was something in that idea of Joe as the Welsh Xavi. I wouldn’t say that we played like Barcelona because it was impossible to emulate the speed, touch and technique of their passing game at the time. But you could see a Spanish influence in the way that Brendan worked. He was interested in Spain, he had studied there, and what he’d learned there was at the heart of our style of play: passing, pressuring high, quick movement, arriving into the area rather than standing there waiting for it, coming inside from wide positions.

It’s not quite that simple, of course. You always have to adapt to your environment. For example, Barcelona wouldn’t be the same in the English league. In Spain they let you play more. The defenders and the midfielders can play but that’s partly because they’re allowed to play. The opponents will come and pressure in the middle of the pitch, but no higher. In England, they pressure you more aggressively, they’re much more on top of you. Barcelona would have to adapt to that. Equally, if you put Liverpool in the Spanish league they would not be the same. When you see a Spanish team play against an English team, you get a glimpse of that: the Spanish team pressures, sure, but it’s different. The English team runs much more, but they often run less intelligently.

Generally, English teams are less well-ordered. Brendan stood out: his tactical work was exceptional while some opponents seemed to do little in this area.

Brendan quickly showed he was adaptable too. Changes were made depending on the opposition. Sometimes, if they only had one up front he would leave three back rather than four and use the full-back to give width and depth to the attack. He also knows that he has to listen to the player, to know what he is comfortable doing, and he’s exceptional at that.

Liverpool are in very good hands with Brendan Rodgers. The way he coached us during my time there was impressive and I am sure that the methods I enjoyed and found so effective will continue to be employed. Everything Brendan does is built towards perfecting the mechanics of football and making adjustments for the next game or to fulfil a particular objective. Although there weren’t any specific instructions to begin with, I knew that as soon as I got into training on Tuesday all the exercises were conditioned by the game the following weekend. It might be a small exercise where we couldn’t yet see what he was working towards, but it was always building towards the match.

He doesn’t explicitly tell players the plans for the game all week long because that would just wear you down and you’d end up switching off. If you came into training on Tuesday and he was already telling us how the opposition’s left-back was going to play then by the Friday we’d all be going mad. So we worked slowly towards the game and then on the Thursday or the Friday, he might say, “they’re weak here” or “they’re vulnerable in this space”. The instructions became more explicit: “Look, if they step up here, you’re faster than them cutting inside”; “They always hold the line and you can run past them”; or “Watch the left-back – he’s the one who reacts slowly and doesn’t step up, playing you onside. He stands watching and doesn’t respond as quickly as the other defenders.”

Sometimes what we worked towards was even more explicitly focused on the opposition. When we faced Andy Carroll again, Brendan had seen that West Ham played the ball to the full-backs who then lofted diagonal balls looking for him. So in training we had Martin Kelly pretending to be Andy, playing like him. We were working against movements that were designed to mimic the way the opposition play.

Brendan didn’t obsess about telling us about opponents constantly, but through working on certain exercises the message seeped into our minds.

Great read eh? Gives an insight into how good BR is. Love hearing tactics like this, that you dont necessarily see on the pitch.

End of November was my estimate of when things would improve, and this was before a ball was kicked in the league.

Can't believe some are questioning him or arising some concerns when this situation was always going to happen. Massive influx of players, lost best player in the past 18 months, injuries to key players. It adds up.

Give the man time. If he doesn't get it, no one ever will. Not sure how many would of got us within a whisker of the league in their second season and gone from mid table battlers to top four contenders in essentially six months of signing up to the job.

We will get there. Give it time. We have good players, some great players, and a terrific coach.

100% agree. He will come good again and we will destroy teams again. All the early teething issues coupled without the rub of the green has us looking worse off than we actually are.

My only worry is the use of our midfielders. It's clear Gerrard is poor at defending although I doubt there are better players at starting counter-attacks from there. Allen who was supposed to be the dynamo of the midfield has not been used regularly and Hendo who was perfect in a more advanced CM role, is played much too deep. It is our weakness for sure and I haven't seen BR trying to change this, except when he payed Gerrard higher up the pitch(which I think can work IMO).

Just to clarify my position about Steven Gerrard, I think we'll miss him more than some believe we will. He's been such an icon figure since 1998. The guy's legs are going, but like Pirlo and Co., their very presence on the pitch cannot be underestimated.

Unless the Gaffer pulls a rabbit out of the hat soon, we'll feel the absence of Gerrard massively, if/when he goes.

Just to clarify my position about Steven Gerrard, I think we'll miss him more than some believe we will. He's been such an icon figure since 1998. The guy's legs are going, but like Pirlo and Co., their very presence on the pitch cannot be underestimated.

Unless the Gaffer pulls a rabbit out of the hat soon, we'll feel the absence of Gerrard massively, if/when he goes.

Brendan will no doubt be the last manager to dine out on the genius that is Gerrard.

Hope he is planning for that .......  as he has done for Suarez going ...........?

Brendan will no doubt be the last manager to dine out on the genius that is Gerrard.

Hope he is planning for that .......  as he has done for Suarez going ...........?

It's bloody scary is what it is

Brendan will no doubt be the last manager to dine out on the genius that is Gerrard.

Well if he doesn't get his act together soon, there may be one more !

Tight call tomorrow. Geordies on an upswing. Don't want to go there and F***ing loose though, given we usually give them a good spanking, leave them nice and quiet munching on their dodgy pie. Hopefully we play best team, though not 100% sure I know what that is Start Coutinho anyway, who's been my MOTM in last 2 outings. Possibly 2 strikers - tough pick BR, but it's your bed.
Looking forward to it all the same, have some good memories of games up there, we have it in our genes to F**k these up   COYRs!!!!

It will only take a couple of defeats for Brendan to feel the pressure. Its a terrible week coming up for him.If he wants to be thought of as a top top manager this would be a good time to get a couple of results.
He hasn't got Luis he hasn't got Daniel and Stevie is another year older but guess what he manages the team and the squad and he should have been prepared for this week after spending  more money than any other Liverpool manager ever has in one window.Its time for his new signings to show why he put so much faith in them.

It will only take a couple of defeats for Brendan to feel the pressure. Its a terrible week coming up for him.

It will probably either make or break our season. If we can get some good results in them games then I can see confidence really taking off and us going strong again like last season, especially when Sturridge returns. If we take another hammering by Madrid and a probable hammering by Chelsea if we perform like we have been as well as drop points against Newcastle then I think our season will be over, confidence will take a massive hit and up until we get Sturridge back there will be no self belief that we can compete with the best.

Personally think it will be a clear indication of exactly what got us the great season last time round as well. Was it Suarez' brilliance that got us that far or was it down to Rodgers and the way he was setting the team up?

This .....

It will only take a couple of defeats for Brendan to feel the pressure. Its a terrible week coming up for him.If he wants to be thought of as a top top manager this would be a good time to get a couple of results.
He hasn't got Luis he hasn't got Daniel and Stevie is another year older but guess what he manages the team and the squad and he should have been prepared for this week after spending  more money than any other Liverpool manager ever has in one window.Its time for his new signings to show why he put so much faith in them.

..... and this .....

It will probably either make or break our season. If we can get some good results in them games then I can see confidence really taking off and us going strong again like last season, especially when Sturridge returns. If we take another hammering by Madrid and a probable hammering by Chelsea if we perform like we have been as well as drop points against Newcastle then I think our season will be over, confidence will take a massive hit and up until we get Sturridge back there will be no self belief that we can compete with the best.

Personally think it will be a clear indication of exactly what got us the great season last time round as well. Was it Suarez' brilliance that got us that far or was it down to Rodgers and the way he was setting the team up?

What I find truly hilarious about the media in England is how they pick and choose who they go after. Brendan has not bee roundly criticised for poor buys in the market, nor indeed was Kenny but Rafa was. This opinion actually divdided some of this fanbase. Now I don't think any of these managers should be criticised for this; we don't know how much say they had etc etc. Also Roy Hodgson hasn't been mentioned here and he surely is the yardstick even though he was probably hamstrung too.

However out of these managers I would probably say Rafa was the best at choosing players yet this was seen as his major weakness by the media, why? Personally I think Ferguson was a crap buyer of players unless he bought established superstars that were on everyones radar.

Should be close game tomorrow, and really hoping moreso than expecting the couple of games following that will go OK. Still, not sure the next week will define the season, it's a long pile of months to next May, lot can happen/change in the meantime. Mario's had a much quieter start here than at AC or City, but things can change quickly - light the touchpaper, and form can tip the other way. Glass half full or what

24 months ago, when people were slagging Brendan to high heaven I honestly don't think even they would have believed where we are today. If you'd told them back then, when we were getting spanked 3-0 at West Brom that we'd almost win the league the following season they wouldn't have believed it.

If you'd then gone on to tell them that we'd be in the last eight of the Carling Cup now, a win away from being 4th/5th in the league despite our best striker being injured all season, they wouldn't have comprehended it. If you'd thrown in for good measure that we'd be ahead of the Mancs despite them spending bundles, but despite that it would be our manager not theirs who was feeling the heat off fans, people would have said you've gone bonkers.

Perhaps that's what's happened, some fans have gone bonkers.

24 months ago, when people were slagging Brendan to high heaven I honestly don't think even they would have believed where we are today. If you'd told them back then, when we were getting spanked 3-0 at West Brom that we'd almost win the league the following season they wouldn't have believed it.

If you'd then gone on to tell them that we'd be in the last eight of the Carling Cup now, a win away from being 4th/5th in the league despite our best striker being injured all season, they wouldn't have comprehended it. If you'd thrown in for good measure that we'd be ahead of the Mancs despite them spending bundles, but despite that it would be our manager not theirs who was feeling the heat off fans, people would have said you've gone bonkers.

Perhaps that's what's happened, some fans have gone bonkers.

Even 12 months ago after a string of 1-0 wins at the beginning of the season you could see the knives ready to be drawn out and in some cases I think they were already out.

It's funny really, because before the end of last season there was a thread that discussed this season and many people reasoned that is was going to be tougher for Rodgers. What with the CL and having to play more games, the need to have a bigger squad and challenge on all fronts. It seems all this 'reasoning' has pretty much disappeared and some folk have been talking like the end is nigh for Rodgers.

Now the latest one to damn Rodgers is the Gerrard talk, (which I don't think the captain needed to make public) he'll either offer Gerrard a contract and get lambasted for keeping the captain on in merit as he has now become a problem in the midfield with his 'old legs'. Or he'll get dragged from pillar to post if he were to let him go.... 'you can't do that to an iconic legend!'

Many of the people who have moaned about Gerrard and his form over the last couple of years are very quick now to question how Rodgers will replace him.

I think you're right, some fans are bonkers

It will only take a couple of defeats for Brendan to feel the pressure. Its a terrible week coming up for him.If he wants to be thought of as a top top manager this would be a good time to get a couple of results.
He hasn't got Luis he hasn't got Daniel and Stevie is another year older but guess what he manages the team and the squad and he should have been prepared for this week after spending  more money than any other Liverpool manager ever has in one window.Its time for his new signings to show why he put so much faith in them.

I agree. We could conceivably lose the next three games and that imo, would warrant a lot of stick. He's had big money to spend. Both he and the owners would deserve all the critism they get.

Tough couple of weeks for the the boss ahead,  we can't really expect to beat Madrid or Chelsea, but two draws in those games and a win at Newcastle, could be the start of a turn around in fortunes for Brendan.  It's definitely possible.

Tough couple of weeks for the the boss ahead,  we can't really expect to beat Madrid or Chelsea, but two draws in those games and a win at Newcastle, could be the start of a turn around in fortunes for Brendan.  It's definitely possible.

It is bloody sad when we are going into games not expecting to win, it should be the likes of Madrid and Chelsea worrying how they can beat us.

24 months ago, when people were slagging Brendan to high heaven I honestly don't think even they would have believed where we are today. If you'd told them back then, when we were getting spanked 3-0 at West Brom that we'd almost win the league the following season they wouldn't have believed it.

If you'd then gone on to tell them that we'd be in the last eight of the Carling Cup now, a win away from being 4th/5th in the league despite our best striker being injured all season, they wouldn't have comprehended it. If you'd thrown in for good measure that we'd be ahead of the Mancs despite them spending bundles, but despite that it would be our manager not theirs who was feeling the heat off fans, people would have said you've gone bonkers.

Perhaps that's what's happened, some fans have gone bonkers.

I agree for the most part Mick, but if you'd told me at the end of last season that I'd be shitting myself at the prospect of playing Newcastle away at this stage of the season then I'd also think you were bonkers.

Now the latest one to damn Rodgers is the Gerrard talk, (which I don't think the captain needed to make public)

Hypocrite!

Hypocrite!

Next post I'll be slating Gerrard for the car he drives and then you can call me a hypocrite.

Muelensteen applies for job. Sorry. Criticises Rodgers:

http://m.bbc.com/sport/football/29859691

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is paying the price for not strengthening his backroom staff, according to former Fulham boss Rene Meulensteen.
Liverpool are nine points off league leaders Chelsea and have lost their last two Champions League group games.
Meulensteen, first-team coach at Manchester United for five years, says Rodgers has made mistakes.
"Brendan Rodgers's biggest failure is that he's not invested in his staff," Meulensteen told BBC Radio 5 live.
Meulensteen, 50, was a key member of Sir Alex Ferguson's backroom team at Old Trafford.
He helped United win three Premier League titles, one Champions League, two League Cups and one Club World Cup while first-team coach between 2008-13.
The Dutchman, who was in charge of Fulham for just two months before he was replaced in February, believes Rodgers should have strengthened his backroom team after the Reds secured a Champions League return after finishing second in the Premier League last season.
Colin Pascoe is Rodgers's assistant while Mike Marsh is first-team coach.
Meulensteen said Rodgers should have appointed someone with Champions League experience before the start of the season.
"He has got there because of his philosophy and I rate him for that," he added.

"He has obviously got people around him who he obviously thinks are the right ones.
"But I think he could have done with someone who has been there, seen it and done it.
"Playing in the Premier League and the Champions League, it's a different rhythm that requires a different style of training and a different management strategy through the week. You need to know these things."
Former striker Robbie Fowler, who scored 171 goals in 330 games for Liverpool, told BBC Radio 5 live: "In Brendan's eyes he has the right people at the club.
"Brendan is comfortable with his staff. He has Mike Marsh, who was brought up at Liverpool and knows everything about the club.
"And he has Colin Pascoe, who he has worked with for years. He's comfortable with them."
Meanwhile, Fowler wants midfielder Steven Gerrard to see out his playing career at Anfield.
Skipper Gerrard, 34, said he could join another club next summer if Liverpool do not offer him a new contract.
"Speaking from a selfish point of view, I love Steven Gerrard and I'd love him to stay at Liverpool," said Fowler.
"It's like Ryan Giggs at Manchester United - players come into the club and are instantly lifted by seeing Gerrard.
"He might not be as good as he used to be but he's still a class act.
"The common consensus is that he will go abroad if he did leave Anfield, but if he did become available I think clubs in the Premier League would want him. He's still that good a player."

Brendan Rodgers: Liverpool boss criticised by Rene Meulensteen

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is paying the price for not strengthening his backroom staff, according to former Fulham boss Rene Meulensteen.

Liverpool are nine points off league leaders Chelsea and have lost their last two Champions League group games.

Meulensteen, first-team coach at Manchester United for five years, says Rodgers has made mistakes.

"Brendan Rodgers's biggest failure is that he's not invested in his staff," Meulensteen told BBC Radio 5 live.

Meulensteen, 50, was a key member of Sir Alex Ferguson's backroom team at Old Trafford.

He helped United win three Premier League titles, one Champions League, two League Cups and one Club World Cup while first-team coach between 2008-13.

The Dutchman, who was in charge of Fulham for just two months before he was replaced in February, believes Rodgers should have strengthened his backroom team after the Reds secured a Champions League return after finishing second in the Premier League last season.

Colin Pascoe is Rodgers's assistant while Mike Marsh is first-team coach.

Meulensteen said Rodgers should have appointed someone with Champions League experience before the start of the season.

"He has got there because of his philosophy and I rate him for that," he added.

"He has obviously got people around him who he obviously thinks are the right ones.

"But I think he could have done with someone who has been there, seen it and done it.

"Playing in the Premier League and the Champions League, it's a different rhythm that requires a different style of training and a different management strategy through the week. You need to know these things."

Former striker Robbie Fowler, who scored 171 goals in 330 games for Liverpool, told BBC Radio 5 live: "In Brendan's eyes he has the right people at the club.

"Brendan is comfortable with his staff. He has Mike Marsh, who was brought up at Liverpool and knows everything about the club.
"And he has Colin Pascoe, who he has worked with for years. He's comfortable with them."

Meanwhile, Fowler wants midfielder Steven Gerrard to see out his playing career at Anfield.

Skipper Gerrard, 34, said he could join another club next summer if Liverpool do not offer him a new contract.

"Speaking from a selfish point of view, I love Steven Gerrard and I'd love him to stay at Liverpool," said Fowler.

"It's like Ryan Giggs at Manchester United - players come into the club and are instantly lifted by seeing Gerrard.

"He might not be as good as he used to be but he's still a class act.

"The common consensus is that he will go abroad if he did leave Anfield, but if he did become available I think clubs in the Premier League would want him. He's still that good a player."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/29859691

I have no freeking idea why the BBC has this as a headline article.

I have no freeking idea who Rene Meulensteen is, except a lacky, and a failure.

 Rene Meulensteen

In June 2006, he signed a three-year contract with Danish club Brøndby IF to become manager of the club, but resigned after six months
Manchester United confirmed his departure from the club on 26 June 2013, after incoming manager "The Chosen One" decided to bring in his own coaching team.
After 16 days in charge, Meulensteen was sacked
On 14 February 2014, Fulham hired Felix Magath to replace Meulensteen as manager, cancelling Meulensteen's contract four days later.
René Meulensteen turned down for coaching role at Manchester United (6/2014)
His web page career seems to stop in 2013. http://www.renemeulensteen.co.uk/career/

The BBC obviously has it's pro ManU, anti Liverpool agenda back in vogue, and are dragging anyone to do their bidding.