Don't really want to rehash some quotes to make couple of points ... but I saw an anti-BR quote from red legend Nuri Sahin, so all bets are off ...
Regarding what SG said, he clearly didn't just say what he 'needed' to, like he's an excellent manager, it's a privilege to work with him etc etc. He was EFFUSIVE in his praise. He was obviously massively impressed at the time of asking. Can't be sure he still thinks same way now ... BUT the point is, let's not pretend he was just toeing some line to keep in the good books.
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'He's a phenomenal man for his age (41). I think he's going to grow into one of the world's best managers and I hope he is here long after I am gone.
'I hope he is here for many, many years because this club is in great hands. Whatever happens now until the end of the season, it's safe.
'He's a winner, he's hungry for success, he does the right things, he treats players well, he doesn't try and control the football club, or get involved in stuff that has nothing to do with him.
'He just focuses on getting on the training pitch and coaching the team, improving individuals, improving the team and playing football the right way. That's what the supporters want here.'
'I wish I was 24, I wish I’d met Brendan when I was 24 because I think I’d be sitting here talking about a lot of titles that we’d won together. The reality is, Brendan came into this club when I was 32 years of age and it's a shame that relationship didn’t start 10 years ago.'
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Regarding Suarez, imo Rodgers DID get the very best out of him. Some of Luis's quotes are below, and it's clear he felt BR improved players. Last season Luis was absolutely unreal - he's a great player, but I really don't know how anyone could deny than BR got the very best out of him, and deserves huge credit for that. AND ... no reason why he can't get the best out of some *quality* players again.
W.r.t. Borini, Lambert etc and improving them, maybe he could've got a bit more out of them, but let's not pretend there is a wealth of untapped talent there that just needs to be nurtured. Borini is F***ing sh*te!!!!!!!!
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"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."
"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."
"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."
"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."
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