Crunch time.

What ever happens BR stays. It would be absolutely ridiculous to sack him in my opinion.

I loved the players he was after 18 months ago i.e Costa and Willian. Yes the players he bought last summer have not performed, but he has still kind of kept us in and around the action.

You never know, it might just all click into place next year, he has to be given that chance.

What ever happens BR stays. It would be absolutely ridiculous to sack him in my opinion.

I loved the players he was after 18 months ago i.e Costa and Willian. Yes the players he bought last summer have not performed, but he has still kind of kept us in and around the action.

You never know, it might just all click into place next year, he has to be given that chance.

Agreed.  He must be given another season at least. 

Simply chopping and changing managers, is no recipe for success. I think most fans recognise Brendan deserves to be in charge next season. After coming so close to winning the title last season with some of the best football the team has played for years.

Employing Klopp, who is one of the top managers in Europe would now represent the most ambitious move for the club

So F***ing what lad?

Do you have any idea how F***ing embarrassing it is to see Liverpool "fans" discussing our next manager before the one we currently have is even sacked? (or as far as any of us know, close to being sacked?) Brendan Rodgers is the Liverpool manager if you didn't know and F***ing wanking at the prospect of some other c**t taking over goes against what Liverpool Football Club is about.

If Brendan was sacked tomorrow, discuss his replacement. While Brendan is in the job you do not start begging for somebody else to replace him, you back that man to the halt. His success means success for Liverpool and that's what all "fans" should want.

This topic shouldn't even be F***ing open, talking about replacing a man who's job is under no real pressure to begin with.

I think "Crunch time" is a little sensationalist, even if it is meant to stir up good debate; it circumvents broader issues here and using a snapshot of games to determine the longevity of Rodgers' management is a little naive IMO.

We're in a position where we are hanging on by a wing-and-a-prayer to somehow improbably scrap 4th place, with an FA cup semi-final looming. Nobody should scoff their noses up the most prestigious domestic trophy in football (the FA cup) but the position we find ourselves in now with regards to our league position should be on the overall picture of the campaign, and not off the back of defeats to Arsenal and Manchester United.

We've been playing catch-up pretty much since the season started and that a pattern has emerged where fellow Reds say to each other Brendan Rodgers' sides usually come good in the second half of the season. Like it's a given, that we're expected to start sluggishly and someway ramble back into proceedings with the expectation of better form in the latter part of the season. Well, guess what, that is a load of bollocks! As seen recently and stretching back further than the Mancs and Arse's games our form has been waning and we've had no buffer in this marathon of a race to wane, as it seems we've put all our eggs in one basket expecting ourselves to romp the second half of the season. It's failed miserably up until this point, and coincided with pinning our hopes on "Crunch time" to see how Rodgers reacts is almost folly, the horse has already bolted!

For me, the season needs to play out in whatever fashion it does. It would be fantastic to win the FA cup and it is something we should be striving for now to bring some positivity, confidence, morale and togetherness back among players and fans alike. It will be the perfect tonic to an average season and should stand everyone in good stead for next season.

Rodgers has to address our sluggish starts. For me this is are our 'Crunch time' issue that will pave the way to this point next season.

I'll give a manager of my club the benefit of the doubt, be it Rafa, Dalglish or for my sins Hodgson - my patience doesn't wear thin quickly on managers whom of which I recognise are burdened by the history and expectations of this great club, added for ominous measure that they don't have the means of  wealth, that clubs like Citeh & Chelsea have. Realism and pragmatism has to be used these days when supporting our club in its current climate. Realistically, we can ask why Rodgers and the team have performed under-whelmingly at the beginning of each? season. It's something he can control and take responsibility for especially if we know we can more often than not reverse first half season trends in the second half of seasons. We have got to fight in the league for 10 months of a season, it's no good only being able to do that in 5 months. That's the crux of our issue and it's that reason we're questioning things now, not because of recent defeats in the league to the Mancs and Arsenal.

I will say, I share very similar sentiments to dunlop liddell shankly as well, that I find it quite unpalatable that fellow Reds are talking up the prospect of other would-be managers. For me, and the reason why my patience can be stretched for Liverpool managers; is because it feels like turning my back on the manager admits defeat for my club. Using him (Dalglish or whomever) as the sacrificial lamb to undo everything that has been done feels treacherous. That's not to say that the next manager who comes along will have a hard-time winning me over because of the way the last manager was 'treated'. I didn't want Dalglish to go, he should have been given more time, but I'll be fu**ed if I'm going to blame that at the feet of Brendan Rodgers. Like DLS, I'll move on when the time comes for Rodgers but I won't condone or participate in eye-lid pashing for another manager while there is already one in the hot-seat. I support the manager because supporting him supports my club. It isn't blind support either, Rodgers has shown he has the capability to be one of the most modern young managers on the continent. What he has achieved isn't Paisley-esque but as the story goes 'from little things big things grow' and hopefully it becomes more Shankly-esque. There has been enough little pieces here and there to suggest something can possibly grow, and for something to grow, time is needed and patience afforded. Winning the FA cup would be a very advantageous building block for Rodgers, but again I wouldn't burden him with the expectation that he has to win it like some sort of ultimatum. It would be nice though.

My requirement for him would be, go and try to win the FA cup and make sure our form from August to December has us sniffing around 2nd or 3rd place come next season, in that time stay in as many cups as you can - and from that, see where we go.

Rodgers has to address our sluggish starts.

How was he supposed to address it last season when he lost the 3rd best player in the world to a transfer, the 2nd leading scorer in the PL to injury and had to integrate 1/2 dozen new players into the system?

Season before last we got off to a decent start going 11-3-5 in our first 19 and the year before that we were starting a whole new system, people are making it sound like every season we start off sh*t but don't quantify the circumstances of which they occurred.

The one season we did not have massive turnover we started off with a bang....the other two season our squad turnover was like a merry-go-round.

How was he supposed to address it last season when he lost the 3rd best player in the world to a transfer, the 2nd leading scorer in the PL to injury and had to integrate 1/2 dozen new players into the system?

Season before last we got off to a decent start going 11-3-5 in our first 19 and the year before that we were starting a whole new system, people are making it sound like every season we start off sh*t but don't quantify the circumstances of which they occurred.

The one season we did not have massive turnover we started off with a bang....the other two season our squad turnover was like a merry-go-round.

You don't need the third best player in the world to beat teams like Stoke, Hull, West Ham etc...

And as such, "circumstances" that arise through no fault of his own have to be addressed by the manager as best they can. Unfortunately, those circumstances got the better of him.

Possibly but there are examples of elite-level modern teams frequently changing their manager and winning - Chelsea and, far more pertinently, City who have progressed with this method.

The question to ask is whether the replacement has driven the club onto the next level or not. Looking back was it right to move on Hodgson and Kenny when we did? Should they be trusted to make the right decision on when to move on the current manager, whenever that day would be?

Throw Real Madrid and Barcelona in there.

Throw Real Madrid and Barcelona in there.

Yeah because they're the same as Liverpool! They spend the kind of money that demands almost instant success. We don't!

Maybe we need to change our ways to actually win something.

Maybe we need to change our ways to actually win something.

Change to/what/how/who/when?

But when we win something without the proposed changes do we still change or would it be best to stick, seeing as those methods you think we should change will have actually worked??

So f**king what lad?

Do you have any idea how f**king embarrassing it is to see Liverpool "fans" discussing our next manager before the one we currently have is even sacked? (or as far as any of us know, close to being sacked?) Brendan Rodgers is the Liverpool manager if you didn't know and f**king wanking at the prospect of some other c**t taking over goes against what Liverpool Football Club is about.

If Brendan was sacked tomorrow, discuss his replacement. While Brendan is in the job you do not start begging for somebody else to replace him, you back that man to the halt. His success means success for Liverpool and that's what all "fans" should want.

This topic shouldn't even be f**king open, talking about replacing a man who's job is under no real pressure to begin with.

Funny to read a post like this - you're obviously still hungover.

On this forum I have taken more stick than most other posters for being "too" pro-Brendan/FSG.

Currently I would like to see the manager given another season at least however that would be in order to stick with the plan we have enacted so far and because we have a strong tradition of backing the manager at this club.

What it would not be though is the ambitious move.

The ambitious move would be to hire Klopp and no matter how much you want to stick your fingers in your ears the owners will be aware of that. For me, the crucial factor which will decide things is how we approach the remaining games, starting with today, rather than the results we get. It is about time we were able to demonstrate we can win clutch matches to get ourselves over the line.

Whichever way we go, the owner, manager and players deserve full support at Anfield, absolutely no doubt about it. This though, is a forum to discuss the issues surrounding our club. It would be pretty boring if every thread was just banging on about how brilliant everyone connected to the club was.


It's surprising how many still seem to miss this point. Klopp being on the market puts Brendan's position under pressure, whether you like it or not is an entirely separate issue.

Funny to read a post like this - you're obviously still hungover.

On this forum I have taken more stick than most other posters for being "too" pro-Brendan/FSG.

Currently I would like to see the manager given another season at least however that would be in order to stick with the plan we have enacted so far and because we have a strong tradition of backing the manager at this club.

What it would not be though is the ambitious move.

The ambitious move would be to hire Klopp and no matter how much you want to stick your fingers in your ears the owners will be aware of that. For me, the crucial factor which will decide things is how we approach the remaining games, starting with today, rather than the results we get. It is about time we were able to demonstrate we can win clutch matches to get ourselves over the line.

Whichever way we go, the owner, manager and players deserve full support at Anfield, absolutely no doubt about it. This though, is a forum to discuss the issues surrounding our club. It would be pretty boring if every thread was just banging on about how brilliant everyone connected to the club was.


It's surprising how many still seem to miss this point. Klopp being on the market puts Brendan's position under pressure, whether you like it or not is an entirely separate issue.

Can't agree mate, it's not the LFC way to discuss who we bring in when we have a manager currently taking this club forward and although no where near the level we want to be at the simple fact is we are progressing albeit slower than we all want,
Klopp being available shouldn't have any of us getting hardons despite him supposedly being a better manager,
Imho I'm not convinced he would fair any better than BR in the epl, yes he has done a brilliant job in the Bundeslige but that doesn't mean to say he would do the same here,

If say Klopp wasn't leaving BD and Brendan failed to get us CL or win the cup would you advocate Ancelotti as our next gaffer or is it because Klopp and LFC are deemed the perfect fit, do you consider also that Ancelotti is a better manager than Klopp ?

Like others have mentioned I think it's pathetic this is even being debated, we have a manager already, we don't need another, Brendan has done enough for me to earn at least another season, he's under enough pressure as it is without adding anymore,

Imo it's not the manager who we should be putting under pressure, our owners deserve all the sh*t with their bullshit wage restrictions, do you seriously think Klopp would work under the same restrictions ?


YNWA

Can't agree mate, it's not the LFC way to discuss who we bring in when we have a manager currently taking this club forward

To be fair to Hollywood he has stated, more than once, that he wants Brendan here next season mate.

Can't agree mate, it's not the LFC way to discuss who we bring in when we have a manager currently taking this club forward and although no where near the level we want to be at the simple fact is we are progressing albeit slower than we all want,
Klopp being available shouldn't have any of us getting hardons despite him supposedly being a better manager,
Imho I'm not convinced he would fair any better than BR in the epl, yes he has done a brilliant job in the Bundeslige but that doesn't mean to say he would do the same here,

If say Klopp wasn't leaving BD and Brendan failed to get us CL or win the cup would you advocate Ancelotti as our next gaffer or is it because Klopp and LFC are deemed the perfect fit, do you consider also that Ancelotti is a better manager than Klopp ?

Like others have mentioned I think it's pathetic this is even being debated, we have a manager already, we don't need another, Brendan has done enough for me to earn at least another season, he's under enough pressure as it is without adding anymore,

Imo it's not the manager who we should be putting under pressure, our owners deserve all the sh*t with their bullshit wage restrictions, do you seriously think Klopp would work under the same restrictions ?


YNWA

The point I was making mate was that whatever we think the owners see Klopp as a top level manager and perfect fit for their plans - that's why they have tried to bring him here twice and have apparently met his representatives last year.


Like you I think we should keep Brendan for another season however, there are questions to be asked about our ability to win crucial matches and sustain a european campaign at the same time as we are competing in the league.

This forum should be the place to discuss such things - just as you would at the pub or round you mates' houses. However. whether or not we discuss it the fact remain that Klopp being available puts Brendan's position under more pressure.

And I think the chance of the manager being replaced if we have a poor end to the season is real.

It would require the owners to be ambitious, bold and ruthless but that is the pattern they have used to make their managerial decisions thus far.

If you think that not talking about it will make an ounce of difference to the decision either way I would say you are mistaken.

The point I was making mate was that whatever we think the owners see Klopp as a top level manager and perfect fit for their plans - that's why they have tried to bring him here twice and have apparently met his representatives last year.


Like you I think we should keep Brendan for another season however, there are questions to be asked about our ability to win crucial matches and sustain a european campaign at the same time as we are competing in the league.

This forum should be the place to discuss such things - just as you would at the pub or round you mates' houses. However. whether or not we discuss it the fact remain that Klopp being available puts Brendan's position under more pressure.

And I think the chance of the manager being replaced if we have a poor end to the season is real.

It would require the owners to be ambitious, bold and ruthless but that is the pattern they have used to make their managerial decisions thus far.

If you think that not talking about it will make an ounce of difference to the decision either way I would say you are mistaken.

I can see where your coming from fella however I still don't think Klopp would fair any better than what Brendan is currently, he Klopp would still have the same restrictions to work under irrespective if he is seen as the perfect fit by our owners, if so why then did they not go all out to instill him before appointing BR,

You say they FSG have approached klopps reps twice in the past, I can't remember that happening if I'm
Honest and had they I can't see such a story escaping our wonderful media,

Again I think we should stick with BR for another season at least, and let him build and learn at the same time, we are moving forward no doubt about it, bringing in someone else at this juncture would and could set us back and possibly further behind our rivals.


YNWA

And as such, "circumstances" that arise through no fault of his own have to be addressed by the manager as best they can. Unfortunately, those circumstances got the better of him.

That is true, Klopp certainly has handled his injury problems with a certain flair to keep Dortmund in the chase.

Oh wait....

Klopp is an improvement from every angle you look when compared to Brendan, end of.

Funny to read a post like this - you're obviously still hungover.

Given I don't suffer from them, let alone at one o'clock in the F***ing morning - you're obviously wrong. As per F***ing usual.

And I can't be arsed getting dragged into another of your pointless debates. I've proven you wrong, accept it and move on. Neither you, nor I, know what Johnny H, Tommy W or Ayre Head are saying in the boardroom so neither you, nor I, know what they consider the ambitious decision to be.

Paul Lambert is on the market, that puts Brendan's job under pressure. I'm on the market, I bet Brendan is shaking in his F***ing boots. You're on the market...nah even our owners aren't that F***ing daft. Brendan is the manager of Liverpool Football Club, discussing his replacement is disrespectful to the man himself, the club I love and Liverpool fans everywhere.

You carry on though lad. You've shown you haven't got the Liverpool education in the past, this is just another F***ing example.

Brendan is the manager of Liverpool Football Club, discussing his replacement is disrespectful to the man himself, the club I love and Liverpool fans everywhere.

You're not going to like it on here tonight Billy lad.

You're not going to like it on here tonight Billy lad.

I know mate, I'm F***ing off from here for the night. Can't be arsed getting into any ding-dongs with the F***ing prats who only use the forum when we lose.

Given I don't suffer from them, let alone at one o'clock in the f**king morning - you're obviously wrong. As per f**king usual.

And I can't be arsed getting dragged into another of your pointless debates. I've proven you wrong, accept it and move on. Neither you, nor I, know what Johnny H, Tommy W or Ayre Head are saying in the boardroom so neither you, nor I, know what they consider the ambitious decision to be.

Paul Lambert is on the market, that puts Brendan's job under pressure. I'm on the market, I bet Brendan is shaking in his f**king boots. You're on the market...nah even our owners aren't that f**king daft. Brendan is the manager of Liverpool Football Club, discussing his replacement is disrespectful to the man himself, the club I love and Liverpool fans everywhere.

You carry on though lad. You've shown you haven't got the Liverpool education in the past, this is just another f**king example.

Let's see.

The manager of the club has to be suited to the task that the team faces.

Rafa, for example, would probably be a failure managing at an English 4th division club. The players at that level simply don't have the intelligence or skill to integrate his ideas. In a similar vein, Hodgson would fail at Barcelona for the opposite reason.

When the owners first came to the club, Hodgson was regarded as a "safe" pair of hands on his previous record and, on that basis, FSG kept hold of him whilst making their alternate plans. As soon as his competency began to be exposed he was dismissed and a manager brought in to bring the club together.

Kenny did precisely that and performed so well as the caretaker that they were forced to keep him on. Unfortunately his style of football was not going to be the right choice for the long term as it could never compete with the better financed clubs in the league - which is where our ambitions should lie.

When the wheels fell off FSG were able to bring "their" man in for the first time. Plan - to use tactical flexibility and youth to play attacking football and make the whole greater tthan the sum of its parts. The aim was to put the foundations in place to bring the team together cohesively so that it would mature in three to fours years time to compete for the league. In the event, Suarez was almost the magic ingredient that pushed us over the finishing line years ahead of schedule but ultimately we failed.

Currently, we are a team with a reasonable vision of how we want to play. Once Gerrard leaves we have a squad that is very young and, by next season, will have had a reasonable time managing to learn each other's games.


Our main problems now are that:

1. we are failing to punch above our weight in terms of performance (5th position is what we can reasonably expect)

2. we do not have a big game mentality

3. we are failing to attract big name players to the squad (this migt have been different if we had a big name manager / had won the league / were regularly qualifying for champions league)

4. we are failing to achieve value for money in the signings we have made so far

5. are losing our best players to other teams (a process that has been ongoing since Mcmanaman and Owen were here)

6. in a number of "pinch" matches we have failed to do whatever is necessary to drag us over the winning line


My point is, whether we like it or not, Brendan will be under pressure because Klopp, a man the owners have already tried to bring in twice,  has a proven track record in reversing five of those six shortfalls.

Could he have been the right man to bring in after Kenny? Possibly not - he didn't have the right credentials or experience in the English game to understand the market, the youth set-up or the philosophy of the premiership to put the right building blocks into place.

But in a position where we finally have an idea of how we want to play and an ambitious young squad that needs a final injection of nous or quality the owners will be stupid to ignore his qualities.

And, whatever you think of them, the owners are far from stupid.