What does Brendan have to do next season to convince his doubters?

F**k Colin Pascoe off and get a defence coach in. Our defence has been sh*te this Season. I don't give a F**k if we're in the top six for least goals conceded, i've watched most of our games this Season and had teams been more clinical we'd have had a few batterings.

With Carra gone i am getting very worried about our defence, very worried.

F**k Colin Pascoe off and get a defence coach in. Our defence has been sh*te this Season. I don't give a F**k if we're in the top six for least goals conceded, i've watched most of our games this Season and had teams been more clinical we'd have had a few batterings.

With Carra gone i am getting very worried about our defence, very worried.

Spot on HCS , that should be Rodgers #1task .  Trying to replace Carra is going to be near impossible .

F**k Colin Pascoe off and get a defence coach in. Our defence has been sh*te this Season. I don't give a F**k if we're in the top six for least goals conceded, i've watched most of our games this Season and had teams been more clinical we'd have had a few batterings.

With Carra gone i am getting very worried about our defence, very worried.

I have faith in Wisdom, he's a great all-round defender, and coming through the youth system he should have Liverpool in his heart.

Sacrifice Alex Ferguson in the centre circle at Anfield and shout 'there can be only one'

Would love that. Messy, but I guess the groundsman would not mind that much.

Sacrifice Alex Ferguson in the center circle at Anfield and shout 'there can be only one'

The " Only One " being the Spanish Peacock

Absolute minimum : European football qualification.
Ideal : Trophy & CL qualification
Unacceptable : 6th or below, no trophy

With 4 of the top 6 losing their manager, Arsenal, even with their incredible CL qualification record, having a split fanbase on Wenger's recent record, and Spurs possibly losing likes of Bale, we need to develop a ruthlessness when it comes to winning we have only shown glimpses of

Better cup run, more consistency, get better results against top 6 sides, sign a player to get the fans excited, top 5 minimum.

Im very much on the fence, and just to get it in on the first line so people are aware, this is my stance, i didnt think he was the right man last summer to get the job, i havent seen much to change my mind on that, however i want him to be given time to prove me wrong, and id love to be proven wrong... Im looking forward to seeing the work he does in the market this summer, January's work showed me he can pick a player, both Sturridge and Coutinho i was excited by and i have been impressed by both.. The one fear i have for the summer though is the obvious work that needs doing on the back 4, not just in terms of replacing Carra and possibly Coates and Skrtel but the whole way he is drilling and training them as a unit, he is by nature an attacking coach, see´s the game played on the front foot and in my opinion seems to pay less notice on the back four, often we concede one and then dont seem to have the pragmatism to sit and consolodate for 10 minutes and then go again, we seem to be so open trying to get level that we often concede again.. But another worry being his stock being attacking side of the game that im not expecting many "Coutinho´s" of a defensive nature being found, i think he will just go to what he knows and that is why we are being so linked to Williams etc...

So what does he need to convice me?
Nothing so obvious as lets say "He needs top 4".. For me he needs to show me, which he hasnt this season that he has the adaptablity and tactical awareness to win any type of game, to show me there is more to him than we have seen, to stop being so F***ing open and nice about the opposition, to close ranks and just fight for us, to show me im wrong and to have that bit of arrogance about him that we are who we are and that no matter what 2nd wont be good enough.. And im not saying with talking to the press about finishing wherever, but in everything he does, be strong with all decisions, if he thinks for example that Skrtel isnt good enough then move him on and improve on him, with any player in that squad.. I want him to be more pragmatic in his aproach to games at times, not to talk bollocks after games where his tactics have let us down and then telling us we were great after losing 2-0 or whatever..
Its not about where we finish, its about moving forward, and ive not seen what some have this season, that we have moved forward to any extent.. Its not really about cup runs, the owners have made it clear that domestic cups mean nothing anyway.
If he only has a plan A then he needs to improve plan A by 100% for me, because its not been good enough against teams who sit deep and give us no space and its not been good enough against the top sides in the league. Like i say i want to sit here in 3 years and people tell me that i know F**k all and look where Rodgers has taken us, but on the evidence in front of me of the last 9 months ive not seen it..

Stability is the key and for me Rodgers gets more time, ive not thought about wanting him sacked, as i said i dont feel he was the right man, but he is the man now so will get my support.. Ihope beyond hope the feeling i have is wrong.

Next season?

Better in every aspect

Qualify for Europe, mount a challenge for the top four, good cup runs

For me, if he plays young players regularly and brings through youth (Ibe, Sterling etc), wins us a cup, and gets us 70 + points, it will be a good season. Carragher will be a big miss, both on the pitch and around the training ground. If we manage to replace him and his organisational skills, either with current personnel playing to potential, or with new faces, it will go a long way to having a decent season.

Keep the progression of the last 6 months going, and he will be ok, and we will be challenging for trophies next season and beyond.

the foundations are  there.

To be considered to be on the right track with the team by those of us who are waiting to judge him fairly? Finish higher than this season, make a push for fourth place and find a level of consistency in our performances. It's great that we scored more goals in the second half of the season than any other team but that's neither use nor ornament if that's coming from 6-0 wins followed by three or four 0-0 Draws. We need to find a happy medium.

He also needs to spend wisely this Summer because reportedly (and yes I know to take it with a pinch of salt) Wenger will have £60 mill to spend on new players, Mourhinio (if he takes over at Chelsea) will have £100 mill to spend and you can be sure that Spurs and City will spend big as well. Our biggest failing this season has been silly, basic defensive errors that have cost us games. He needs to sort that out and take a leaf out of Rafa's book and make us a very difficult side to beat. Fluid, one-touch pass and move football with the ability to score lots of goals is worth nothing if your defence can't stop leaking goals.

He also needs to find a way for us to break down teams that play a defensive game. This season Liverpool have performed best when the opposing team has come out and attacked, we've played some great counter-attacking football, but when a team has shut up shop we've been unable to find a way through. We seem to perform best when we score an early goal but the longer a game goes on without one the more difficult it seems to become for us.

For me I want to go into every game thinking we can win, rather than hoping we'll win.  I want to be disappointed we didn't take 3 points, rather than being surprised we did.  I want to see more of a battling spirit in games, rather than rolling over and giving up.

My belief has been seriously knocked over the last few seasons and I want it back.  I want to look forward to the new season and be excited again about watching us play, rather than wishing the season was over, as I have done this season.

This bit is slightly off topic but reflects my feelings at this present time.  In January I asked my boss if I could change my working hours and not work Saturdays in the future.  I'm a hairdresser so in my line of work that's pretty unheard of.  My reasons were varied but one of those reasons was so I could get to some home games.  I intended to renew my membership, which I cancelled in 2010 due to our 'not a penny more campaign'.  It's taken till May to sort out my new hours, due to having to recruit another stylist to cover my Saturdays (I have a great boss) but I've still not decided yet if I'm going to renew. 

Hopefully our summer transfer dealings will help me get my enthusiasm back.

Surely it will all come down to how we start next season. A repeat of the first 10 games of this season will no doubt see Rodgers in all sorts of trouble with the fans. Start the way we've finished this season and the doubters will jump on board quickly I imagine. We've been playing catch-up all season this time around so it's all about coming out of the blocks quickly. If we can start the season with a couple of wins I fancy we will see some momentum build very quickly.

I have faith in Wisdom, he's a great all-round defender, and coming through the youth system he should have Liverpool in his heart.

I've said in the Johnson or Kelly thread that i see Wisdom and Kelly as future centre backs, players of the required pedigree and players with fight.

My post wasn't a slight at any player, it was more of request to Brendan to back them. Anyone who isn't worried about life after Carra needs to ask themselves this, who do we have capable of even partially replacing Carra?.

I feel Wisdom and Kelly can, the question is this though, does Brendan?. Is he prepared to take the risk?.

I think our biggest outlay this Summer will be on a centre back. I can't see us getting the money required to sign three or four top class players.

Personally i'd bring Coates, Kelly and Wisdom in to partner Skrtel and Agger. It all depends on whether Rodgers gets a defensive coach in or not.

I've said in the Johnson or Kelly thread that i see Wisdom and Kelly as future centre backs, players of the required pedigree and players with fight.

My post wasn't a slight at any player, it was more of request to Brendan to back them. Anyone who isn't worried about life after Carra needs to ask themselves this, who do we have capable of even partially replacing Carra?.

I feel Wisdom and Kelly can, the question is this though, does Brendan?. Is he prepared to take the risk?.

I think our biggest outlay this Summer will be on a centre back. I can't see us getting the money required to sign three or four top class players.

Personally i'd bring Coates, Kelly and Wisdom in to partner Skrtel and Agger. It all depends on whether Rodgers gets a defensive coach in or not.

I think we're gonna be ina bit of trouble if we simply stick with the same lads back there mate, in all sorts of trouble. I'm very interested to see how young Kelly and Wisdom get on at CB but they are so unproven. they could excel or they could have a nightmare. I don't think the manager has much confidence in Coates and Skrtel has gone from being arguably the best CB in the league last season (alongside Kompany) to having his worst ever season at the club. Agger was decent this season and managed to stay fit pretty much the whole year but who knows (touch wood) if he can maintain his fitness for the whole of next season.

We need to go out and get a dominant CB. Someone who can be dominant in the air, someone who will bark orders and also someone who is comfortable enough on the ball to play in space and in a high line (there is where Skrtel has struggled this past year).

I suspect that it will cost us a few quid.

I think Brendan's screwed no matter what in the eyes of some.

If you think that last season under Kenny we got 52 points, this season we got 61 points. An improvement of 9 points.

That's a 17% improvement in purely points terms.

Let's say now next season Brendan improves the points total by 10 points. Which if he does, by the way, will be a great achievement. That will leave us with 71 points. It's a 16% improvement on this years points total. And would definitely indicated progress.

However, with 71 points we'd miss out on the Champions League if the table is similar to this years and some people will have a f$cking coronary. However if we look at it logically if Rodgers can improve us approx 17% every year in points, then after the third year in charge, he'll have approximately 83 points, which for this season would be good enough for 2nd.

Seeing as FSG are stats guys, I think this is the level of improvement that will indicated progress and if after 3 years in charge Rodgers can get us into the top 3 I'll be a very happy man.

This all depends on him sticking to the 17% improvement on points total year on year.

Untill we are in the Champions League he is always going to have touble convincing his doubters but as you say steady progress is the only way for this to happen and ther is certainly encouraging signs.

I think Brendan's screwed no matter what in the eyes of some.

If you think that last season under Kenny we got 52 points, this season we got 61 points. An improvement of 9 points.

That's a 17% improvement in purely points terms.

Let's say now next season Brendan improves the points total by 10 points. Which if he does, by the way, will be a great achievement. That will leave us with 71 points. It's a 16% improvement on this years points total. And would definitely indicated progress.

However, with 71 points we'd miss out on the Champions League if the table is similar to this years and some people will have a f$cking coronary. However if we look at it logically if Rodgers can improve us approx 17% every year in points, then after the third year in charge, he'll have approximately 83 points, which for this season would be good enough for 2nd.

Seeing as FSG are stats guys, I think this is the level of improvement that will indicated progress and if after 3 years in charge Rodgers can get us into the top 3 I'll be a very happy man.

This all depends on him sticking to the 17% improvement on points total year on year.

Last season 71 points would have put us 3rd.
If we can make the same improvement as this season, or start as we finished, we'll be in the mix.

 I've just been crunching some numbers and in particular looking at some numbers to see if there is any correlation between "progress" and the league tables as the season went by. I particularly had a look at the defensive figures, are we as bad as people make out? Is it really true that "Rodgers needs to get a defensive coach" as some insist? Now, we all know we got off to a pretty horrific start, but how much have we improved since then, if at all?

 Here's the league table for the last 30 matches played. If I had done the last 33 the improvement would have been greater, but 30 is enough.


    Team    GF  GA  Points.
________________________ _______

 1. Man U   65  32  71

 2. Arse'     59  32  61

 3. Man C   49  25  60

 4. Tott'     51  34  58

 5. Chel'    56  33  53

 6. Livp'l    61  31  52

 7. Evtn     40  31  48 

 So you can see from the last 30 games that our defence isn't statistically THAT bad. Particularly given how many we've conceded (or seemed to concede anyway) from set pieces, other that we're pretty sound. Also, during the last 30 matches only Man Utd scored more than us. To do well in the Prem you need to win matches, then win again. The teams which score most usually finish highest, good signs.



 There's more to follow. But for now I'll leave you with this. We conceded 3 goals in our last 8 league matches. Terrible defence?   

 Anyway the next part of the puzzle is to look at the LAST 12 LEAGUE GAMES. I've just gone for a random number as we seemed to be hitting our straps more as the season went on. It may well be the case that it would have looked better if I'd done last 9 or something, but 12 it is. The only rider I would make is that Man U and arguably Man City had taken their foot off the gas a bit.


 Team     GF  GA  Points.
_____________________

1. Arsenal  22  8  29

2. Chelsea 20  11  26

3. Liv'pl    27   9   25

4. Man C   18  10  25

5. Man U  24  12  24

6. Tott'    22  16  24

7. Ever'   15   8   21


 Few thoughts here. Firstly, the goals were continuing to fly in, while we were becoming more and more frugal at the back. Is it really true that "Rodgers needs a defensive coach" and is it really true that there is "no progress"?

Who gives a F**k.

 There's more to follow. But for now I'll leave you with this. We conceded 3 goals in our last 8 league matches. Terrible defence?   

We conceded 5 in our last 8 matches Mick.