So what have we learnt so far?

We are 5 competetive games into the new gaffers tenure.. So what have we learnt so far? Are we happy with what we are seeing? Where do we see good and where needs more focus?


Lets start with the tactics and approach that BR seems to be trying to implement and is it working?

It seems he is trying to play a 4-3-3 high pressing game, pass and move, take the game to opponents... Tick.
Is this being taken on by the players?
Id say yes, they havent perfected it yet but signs are there, you can see that for example when Pepe has the ball, the CBs split very wide, almost out to where the full backs would be in a 4-4-2.. The full backs then push on to widen the pitch and take people away from the midfield 3 to create space.. That is obvious everytime Pepe gets the ball.. Then its pass-pass-pass-pass... Create space, move... The thing that needs to be worked on is how quickly we are moving the ball but from this example we can already see the managers system and beliefs are being forced onto the players..
He is also getting them to press high up the pitch and in bunches, id say that this is being done but not all the time as yet, there was one occassion today when Raheem didnt press and they created a two on one down Glen's side which wouldnt have happened had we done that.. Rodgers went spare..

Also we can see that Brendan wants everyone to be able to pass the ball and that has caught us out at the back a couple of times so far, Martin Skrtel has many qualitys but as yet a ball playing cb isnt one, he has cost us today and at West Brom with mistakes for dwelling and looking for passes rather than be safety first..
So you look at that two ways, or the manager does.. He either works and works and works everyday with those with lesser natural ball playing ability in training, and perfects them or he adapts himself as well, maybe if Martin cant adapt then Brendan adapts around him...
Or that as soon as Martin gets the ball then a midfielder drops to give him the easy pass, everytime.. Make it automatic for Skrts..

Linked to this is why we have spent 15 million on Joe Allen (well 12)... I said at the time he signed when people questioned it that we had signed him as BR knows that he is a very good player, and frankly a better one than i thought on todays performance, and that he wont need to tell him one thing about how he is expcted to play in the side, Brendan knows all he needs to tell him is play how you play i trust you.. Whereas the likes of Skrtel he will have to slog in training to adapt.. Allen on todays showing is a bargain at 12 or 15 or what the F**k ever...
Posters abroad such as Diego or Bier i feel will appreiciate Joe now for the way they are brought up with the game compared to some of us here.. The lad is a talent, he has a picture of the game in his head before he gets the ball and then doesnt need to look, just plays the ball..


Ok go with me on this one... or dont but tell me im wrong  
We potentially have a stronger squad this season than last...

Right.. 
We yes have lost the likes of Dirk, Bellers and Maxi but as they stood last season none really suited the formation in which Kenny had them playing... A 4-4-2.. Now Brendan has changed the formation and arguably they would suit his 4-3-3 more but lets forget that as they are gone..
This season right now we are going to set up 4-3-3 and we will have the likes of this going in..

The defence always looked covered to me, the only issue is if they can play the ball
Going further forward, midfield central 3..
We have a fit Lucas, a fit Stevie, a maturing Jonjo, a maturing Jordan, plus two cracking signings in Sahin and Allen.. That looks stronger and with depth that wouldnt leave us weak if one or two were injured.. I dont think we could say that last year..
Forwards.. We now need a central forward and two wide men.. So we now have..
Luis, Borini, Sterling, Downing (more affective higher up imo) Cole, Carroll ( as we stand) Assaidi...
Now ok, potentially Dirk and Maxi would be experienced options but how would they feel as last season not being first choice? Which i dont feel they would have been..

Our first chice 3 will be:

Borini/Gerrard              Sterling/Borini

                   Suarez

With the likes of Cole, Assaidi, Downing and Carroll more willing than the likes of Maxi and Dirk to sit and be squad options... In terms of hunger and adaptability it could make us stronger..
Ok the individuals may not be stronger but is the squad and the options? Are the sum of the parts stronger?


Which leads me onto the No.9... I was like others thinking Luis should maybe play as one of the wider men in BRs formation, but the more i watch it the more he looks like he will play the "False 9" role... Drifting, switching, making it hard to pick up.... This could be once we are all on the same wavelength brilliant..



Lets face it, we have a way to go but the signs are positive for me, but i honestly feel the future is bright and we need time and patience from all and we could be on the start of something magical here, savour it, tell your kids about this moment... When we came back from the brink to become the side that dominates again....

Ill put the wine away 

I do believ though if we perform like today in the rest of our games at home we will win most.. starting with the goons next week..

 I´ve learnt that Joe Allen is a top player, love the lad.

 What a fantastic opening post! Also really feel optimistic about the future.

On Brendan's philosophy and style of play it is pretty clear he is drumming it into the players to pass the ball as much as possible and pass it out from the back as in both our games the CB are almost always looking to pass it around which has led to giving the ball away which proved very costly today.

On the one hand this could be seen as a negative as we gave away a goal today but I think it's great that has the players trying so hard to implement his style and what he wants.

I think we have also learned, and this links into his philosophy, that he doesn't really want a 'plan b' as Carroll was brought on today with very little time left which I also admire in a way as he has confidence in his methods.

On the players we have also learned a couple of things over the course of these games.

Henderson seems further away from a regular start than he ever did last season with Jonjo seemingly the understudy midfield player and also it could be that Downing as played himself out of the side but it's a little early just yet to make that judgement as he could just as easily be back next week.

Joe Allen looks like he was born to play in a red shirt and will be one of the first names on the team sheet and may even put pressure on Lucas as after the signing of Sahin our midfield looks as good as any as far as I'm concerned.

Many positive signs especially today and I think that with a couple more additions we might just have a better season than many would have predicted.

After today's performance, I thought we looked like we were adapting to Brendan's style better than we have in previous games, especially the WBA game where we had the first team proper playing.  If we keep improving every game like we did today then we'll probably win the league  

The passing back to Pepe to keep shifting the ball around will occasionally fail, apart from Skrtel's back pass (which was avoidable as he had other options available and basically passed blind), Joe Allen also put Pepe under pressure at one point with a long high pass from out wide in the second half, but Pepe dealt with it well.  Hopefully, we will quickly become more comfortable with this get-out-of-danger phase of play but today showed we must keep our concentration levels up at all times.

As far as the squad goes, nothing much has changed defensively (touch wood nothing does before Friday), Seb Coates had a decent game today and under Brendan should probably be our 3rd choice CB.  Also, seeing Brendan's starting line-up today with Raheem picked over Downing, I would hope to see Jack Robinson given some starts if Enrique is injured again or his performances fall off like last season.  I wonder if he would have been given a chance today if we hadn't of been up against the league champions and already starting Raheem as left wing?

Our midfield is definitely stronger than last season.  Joe Allen is one quality addition and I can't wait to see what Sarin brings to us.

I think it's only the forwards where we may be weaker than last season, Maxi and Dirk did score some precious goals.  Although I think Borini is showing promise.  He seems to be growing confidence wise every game.  We can't expect to see Raheem every week, not at just 17 years old, but he's such a talent and I'm hoping he features in a fair few senior games.  Then we have Assaidi, who I know very little about, but sounds like he could be an exciting prospect.  God only knows what will happen with Andy Carroll!  And then there's our star, Luis.  None of them are guaranteed to bang in the goals regularly at this point in time.  Brendan said he would like to bring in one or two more players.  I would imagine that will be another forward, who knows who that might be, but the only area we are lacking in is a nailed on goalscorer.  Saying that, it takes a lot of luck to find them!

If we can show the energy, drive and passion we showed today in every single game, I will be one happy Red.

For me there are 2 things so far.  Firstly I agree that we have a better squad now than last year - the players on the bench yesterday were in fact players we relied on for large parts of last season.  It means that we do have a much better bench but also a more solid starting eleven.  A goalscorer would just complete the balance for me.  Secondly is that we will have a structure to our formation and play this year that we have not seen for a while.  I cannot see us changing the formation much at all and this will help us moving forward.  In years gone by when we played a certain way, a player coming in from the reserves slotted in to the system much easier because they knew the system and what was expected of them - I think we will see this more as the season goes on.

Yeah, the centre backs went way out to the lines to open up the pitch - don't think i've seen cb's doing that as much before. It did take Skrtel out of his comfort zone a bit haha.
I think Skrtel will adapt to it ok, he is good enough and I think got the right attitude. But it is pretty risky in general, no matter who the defenders are. If the play breaks down quickly then theres a big hole in front of the goalie. Obviously midfielders have to drop back and pick up runners, but its a tricky balancing act. Encouraging thing is that Swansea's defensive record under BR was good, so hopefully he can get it working.

Interesting point about Suarez playing as a "false" number 9. I was one of those wanting him moved out wider (or just deeper) with Borini tried up front, but yeah it could be that BR will have Suarez dropping deep and the wide men running beyond him. Rotating around each other, somewhat a la Barca, with Suarez as wee Lionel. Think I could live with that.

I quite like the look of Borini. He's missed a couple of chances but his movement looks good and he looks like a sharp, clever sort of player.
Still think we need another striker to be on the safe side, but some encouraging signs. Looking forward to seeing Assaidi soon n all.

Excellent OP by the way.

We have by far it would seem a better team than last season , although it's too early into the season to say where we'll  end up i'd be hoping that if we play the way we played against City we'll start climbing up the ladder nicely.

I have learnt that if we have patience and trust and give the manager plenty of time to grow the team through good times and bad then eventually we will be back at the top playing great football and feared by all of the clubs that cross our path. I really buy into his ideas and i hope that he gets the support of all reds even if things go wrong.
Also joe allen is a great signing.

This season, I've learnt that:

• New scissors often come in heat-sealed, rigid plastic packages that require scissors to open.
• The cardboard tray inside packs of Jammie Dodgers no longer smells like popcorn... it used to!
• Bush Dogs are pretty damn cute.
• I'm not very good at pronouncing the 'L' in French words such a 'possible' without doing a full-on 'L' sound.
• Pineapple juice and mayonnaise are used in the porn industry to make semen taste better, though probably not combined
• The Great Pyramids used to be white.
• If I have the front wipers turned on on my car and select reverse, the rear wiper operates. I've had the car for nearly a year.
• Cheddar cheese, honey and a light sprinkling of instant coffee tastes really nice.
• My 9 year old son is better than me at CoD

Good OP once again PD.

To be honest, I haven't been in anyway surprised by anything that I've seen on the pitch so far. Since Rodgers got the manager's job I think we all knew (or educated ourselves on) the style of play that Rodgers would strive to implement and that it would take time for players to adjust and learn how to implement Rodgers' methods.

What I'm not surprised about though, is how exciting and enjoyable it is to know we are trying to play in such a modern and exciting way and how interesting it is, and is going to be, watching the players learn and progress whilst playing in this way.

There will be mistakes on the way, we should all know that but I doubt that we will see a defensive error such as Skrtel's on Sunday for a while - we should take the positives out of that happening so early and it not costing us at the arse end of the season or in a knockout situation. Now that it has happened at this early stage it can be addressed and learnt from.

With no disrespect to the OP as this is an excellent thread that will be relevant for a good two years provided Rodgers is still here, I will have learnt a hell of a lot more after say, ten league games, when players have performed at peak fitness over a course of time. Around that time I imagine we'll be seeing some interesting comments on form, tactics, in-game management, new signings, fringe players, manager comments, etc.

So far, just as I suspected.

EDIT - What I have learnt is that Rep glorifies violence by allowing his 9 year old son to play CoD. Oh and that wiper thing, funny you should say that, my 11 year old nephew noticed my car doing that when he picked me up from the pub the other night. Couldn't of possibly walked could I? Far too pissed.

I've learnt that "Learnt" is actually a word.

Great opening post.  Agree with nearly everythang in it.

I've learnt that watching LFC play just after having teeth taken out is not the most enjoyable experience I've had in my life.

EDIT - What I have learnt is that Rep glorifies violence by allowing his 9 year old son to play CoD. Oh and that wiper thing, funny you should say that, my 11 year old nephew noticed my car doing that when he picked me up from the pub the other night. Couldn't of possibly walked could I? Far too pissed.

Your Nephew can drive?

Your Nephew can drive?

I think that was the joke 

I think that was the joke 

Ah...

Ok one more to the list of "What we have learnt"

PD is a thick pr**k.... 

Your Nephew can drive?

Holy sh*t.

We are 5 competetive games into the new gaffers tenure.. So what have we learnt so far? Are we happy with what we are seeing? Where do we see good and where needs more focus?

Nice thread this bud. So what have we learnt so far?

- We've learned that the biggest threat (in terms of conceding goals) in this system will come from the much more pressurised position our CBs are in (both with and without the ball) and that it will take some time to get it right.

- We've learned that Joe Allen is one hell of a football player (not my, i already figured it! Sorry)

- We've learned that BR has a very tough job ahead of him to get back into the top 4 with fairly limitied resources.

- We've learned that most of the money spent in the last 18 months has now been rendered to have been wasted given that BR doesn't seem keen on many of the players purchased by Kenny/Commoli.