Let's say we finish 5th

Ok, we're a little more than a quarter of the way through the Gaffer's 3rd season. We've lost 4 games and some of our play has been appaling. I've seen some posts and read between a few lines and basically, some folk are getting very twitchy with the Gaffer.

I'm curious, if we finish 5th, does the Gaffer stay or is he shown the door in May 2015?

I'm not hiding, I've said openly enough; they are the Gaffer's tactics, this is the Gaffer's team selection, and they are the Gaffer's players, so it's primarily the Gaffer's fault. I said he would need to go.

Or do we give him a 4th season to get it right?

Just to clarify, I said gone at the end of the season, and 'if' we finish outside the Champions League. I'd even say if he manages to win a cup and finishes outside the top 4, he stays (a situation no doubt some will compare to the King's departure). I'm not saying he goes because we just lost to the Toon 0-1

So stay or gone for you?

EDIT: Also, and more importantly, what do you think John Henry will do?

EDIT 2: I'd do a poll but not sure it's possible

I think he will get the sack at the end of the season. Sooner if we drop to bottom half and linger there for a few weeks. FSG have shown before that they are ruthless.

What would sacking him achieve? He's only part of the problem. The transfer policy at the club is fundamentally broken so any new manager coming in to replace Brendan would face the same problems, i.e. an inability to sign world class players. Let's face it, we're not going to make a profit on any of the players we signed in the Summer and finishing outside the top four would reduce the transfer budget available to the new manager so there's little point in a managerial change at this point.

What would sacking him achieve? He's only part of the problem. The transfer policy at the club is fundamentally broken so any new manager coming in to replace Brendan would face the same problems, i.e. an inability to sign world class players. Let's face it, we're not going to make a profit on any of the players we signed in the Summer and finishing outside the top four would reduce the transfer budget available to the new manager so there's little point in a managerial change at this point.

Can't argue with that. There definitely seems to be too much messing about behind closed door. Perhaps we need a massive shake up in the board room too.

Can't argue with that. There definitely seems to be too much messing about behind closed door. Perhaps we need a massive shake up in the board room too.

If by the 'Boardroom' you mean the owners then I would agree. In a perfect world we'd have some rich Arab come in and make an offer they can't say no to. If you mean change Ayre as CEO (because I'm not entirely sure there's anyone else in the board room) then again that achieves nothing. The personnel aren't the problem, they're all working within too tightly confined transfer parameters. Those parameters need loosening and the way we budget for transfers changing. That doesn't mean more money (unless we're living in that perfect world), it just means a change to our approach which is currently too inflexible.

I always expected that this would be a difficult season, so even if we finish 6th or 7th I would be prepared to give him another season. What I am not prepared to do is back him if he continues to buy prospects and average players .... then I would be looking for a change of manager.

What would sacking him achieve? He's only part of the problem. The transfer policy at the club is fundamentally broken so any new manager coming in to replace Brendan would face the same problems, i.e. an inability to sign world class players. Let's face it, we're not going to make a profit on any of the players we signed in the Summer and finishing outside the top four would reduce the transfer budget available to the new manager so there's little point in a managerial change at this point.

True, the transfer policy is screwing things up for us but by the same token how many named or higher caliber players could we have attracted or missed out on due to Brendan being an unknown manager?

If we finish outside the top 5 and someone like Klopp becomes available I can see the owners getting rid.

5th?! At the moment we look like a bottom half team.

If we finished 5th and won a cup it would be almost comical to see Brendan keep his job when you think someone like Kenny didn't. Of course Brendan should keep his job if we finish 5th and win a cup but the problem is I don't see us finishing anywhere bloody near that at the moment and the longer he keeps persisting with something that isn't working is making it very hard to keep backing him.

True, the transfer policy is screwing things up for us but by the same token how many named or higher caliber players could we have attracted or missed out on due to Brendan being an unknown manager?

Probably none in all honesty. The whole concept of a 'big name manager' is overrated. You could stick a Donkey in a suit and put him in charge of Real Madrid and players are still going to be cueing up to sign for them.

If we finish 5th/6th/7th and don't win a cup, I hope Rodgers remains in charge. However it wouldn't surprise me if FSG pulled the plug on him sooner rather than later if we're still lingering about 12th.

I think Rodgers needs this season and next, however we really need for revamp our transfer policy, and our scouting systems.

top 6 would be flattering under brendan i have no F***ing clue rodgers

Looking at it from FSG's point of view, it's purely about getting into the Champions League again. If Brendan does that by finishing 4th, winning the CL or winning the Europa League he'll keep his job. Anything less than that and he's a goner just like Kenny was although if we miss out by a couple of points and grab a trophy he might have a small chance of staying.

For me, it's a lot about how we play and how we respond to this major slump. If we miss out but we are back playing good football with a couple of good January signings and a couple of good cup runs then yes I'd definitely give him another chance as we'll have some confidence and optimism back in the squad. If we keep playing like we are though and struggle our way to 6th-8th then I'm not so sure. A manager like Klopp (who'll surely be looking for a new challenge soon) would be very tempting if that happened.

Tickets will be booked for a trip to Boston.

As Luke mentioned earlier, Kenny won us a cup added with two more Wembley visits, finished 5th & was shown the door even after signing a new 3 year deal.

Difficult to defend Rodgers at the moment considering he has final say on player acquisitions & team selection.

I think FSG this time around will look for a experienced continental manager if ever Rodgers was shown the door.



 

Tickets will be booked for a trip to Boston.

As Luke mentioned earlier, Kenny won us a cup added with two more Wembley visits, finished 5th & was shown the door even after signing a new 3 year deal.

Difficult to defend Rodgers at the moment considering he has final say on player acquisitions & team selection.

I think FSG this time around will look for a experienced continental manager if ever Rodgers was shown the door.



 

My bet is Hyypia because he's young and has potential

Ok, sorry, but today I feel like being facetious

My bet is Hyypia because he's young and has potential

Ok, sorry, but today I feel like being facetious

we dont need anymore experiments, we need a proven manager to lead the team forward, the perfect fit would be Jürgen klopp, the second in line would be frank de boer

top 6 would be flattering under brendan i have no f**king clue rodgers

George, you're clearly the most vocal against Brendan Rodgers continuing as LFC manager so let me ask you, who would you put in his place and what players would you like to see this new manager bring in?

George, you're clearly the most vocal against Brendan Rodgers continuing as LFC manager so let me ask you, who would you put in his place and what players would you like to see this new manager bring in?

Jürgen klopp or frank de boer ... klopp could lure reus, hummels or gundogan to our team, everyone of them would be a huge improvement, different class than our current crop, bar sturridge, sterling and stevie, also klopp has proved that he can perform, except this season, which i think he'll sort out eventually, under very adverse conditions (losing top players, having alot of injured players), also he would be a breath of fresh air compared to dull rodgers, did you watched his interviews or the passion he shows throughout his team matches ?

Jürgen klopp or frank de boer ... klopp could lure reus, hummels or gundogan to our team, everyone of them would be a huge improvement, different class than our current crop, bar sturridge, sterling and stevie, also klopp has proved that he can perform, except this season, which i think he'll sort out eventually, under very adverse conditions (losing top players, having alot of injured players), also he would be a breath of fresh air compared to dull rodgers, did you watched his interviews or the passion he shows throughout his team matches ?

Have you checked bundesliga table this seasons? 

Have you checked bundesliga table this seasons? 

have you read my f**king comment ?

have you read my f**king comment ?

His point was that Dortmund is in the relegation zone. His point was that you want to replace our manager with a manager that's doing even worse than the one we have now, who will magically snap his fingers and attract top name talent that will be paid less money and have no Champions League football to play in but will jump at the chance to join us.

This is why you get so much flak, mate.

His point was that Dortmund is in the relegation zone. His point was that you want to replace our manager with a manager that's doing even worse than the one we have now, who will magically snap his fingers and attract top name talent that will be paid less money and have no Champions League football to play in but will jump at the chance to join us.

This is why you get so much flak, mate.

I said that before in my post, it's in there.

I highly doubt that Reus, Hummels or Gundogan are earning at Dortmund more than at us. Also he lured Mkhtaryan to them when we were also bidding for him, he promoted players like Kagawa, Gotze, Lewandowski, Bender, while playing free flowing football, he clearly knows what he is doing, it's just bad luck this season, have you all watched Dortmund's games, saw how many chances they waste in their games ?

I said that before in my post, it's in there.

I highly doubt that Reus, Hummels or Gundogan are earning at Dortmund more than at us. Also he lured Mkhtaryan to them when we were also bidding for him, he promoted players like Kagawa, Gotze, Lewandowski, Bender, while playing free flowing football, he clearly knows what he is doing, it's just bad luck this season, have you all watched Dortmund's games, saw how many chances they waste in their games ?

Those players could be signed by us if we relaxed the restrictions on the transfer system. There's no reason why Brendan Rodgers wouldn't want them or be unable to sign them but we can't sign them because FSG have set out a policy preventing that from happening. Even if they are signed, there's no guarantees they'll be a success no matter who is in charge. Today was a piss poor team selection by the manager, blindly and stubbornly sticking to the same failing system but at the same time, most of the players lacked desire. They have to take some measure of responsibility. The problems at the club are systemic and won't be fixed by changing the manager alone. Wholesale change is needed if we're to be successful once more.