Brendan Rodgers

[volpeazzurro]

5 hours ago, Ric Flair said:

It's all well and good saying when struggling you need a settled team and system but that's the complete opposite to what everyone else then says when questioning what's going on. Everyone is demanding changes, so basically what's needed is results, simple as.

 

We are one of the worst fanbases in recent years for supporting our team through horrid periods, rightly or wrong but whatever its a simple fact that he's got to sort it out by any means possible.

Whilst the latter part may well be true, this 'horrid period' has been going on since last Christmas effectively (that's ignoring the previous end of season problems). Whilst that in practice takes in a summer break between two seasons, the only real change has been that the manager has been afforded 5 new players to either improve or strengthen the depth of his side having trained together in some of the best facilities in Europe. 

 

However, he seems to be revisiting the same methods and flaws that led to our gradual demise last season. Players will of course have bad games but, the fact that so many seem to be playing so badly, so regularly, all at the same time tends to suggest that it's not all down to them now, which I suppose is why people get worried and start questioning the manager and his methods regardless of winning an FA cup. 

[MalletFox]

14 minutes ago, Babylon said:

Precisely, it absolutely baffles me a change of manager even crosses anyone’s mind at this stage. The club categorically will not be thinking about it.

To put that in context, we sacked our Premier League winning manager the next season halfway through a Champs League campaign. No one “earns the right” not to come under scrutiny and the hierarchy ABSOLUTELY will be looking (closer than ever before under Rodgers’ tenure so far) at how things develop. We are horribly out of form and I would suggest it’s not improving … yet …

[trabuch]

1 hour ago, Babylon said:

Precisely, it absolutely baffles me a change of manager even crosses anyone’s mind at this stage. The club categorically will not be thinking about it.

I suspect our manager has been thinking about it since he joined us. 

Edited 1 October 2021 by trabuch

[nnfox]

I get the impression that Brendan thinks that we are better than we are.  There's a certain arrogance and in games against mid-lower prem teams, it's as if we expect to win by just turning up and that simply isn't the case.  Our defence is a shambles at the moment.  New signings Vestergaard and Bertrand haven't brought anything to the team.  Vestergaard made some sense as centre back cover, but honestly, I thought Bertrand would be coming in as full back cover behind Castagne, Ricardo, Thomas and Justin (when fit), but he seems to be first name on the team sheet.  We do miss Fofana and Evans, that's without doubt, but our remaining defenders are still elite level professional footballers.  The fact is that whatever the tactics are, our defenders are made to look like they've never seen a football match before.

 

As for going forward, this is by far the most disappointing aspect of our play.  In some ways, the Legia game summed up about 85% of our games over the last 9 months or so.  At various points in the Legia game, we had Tielemans, Perez, Daka, Maddison, Vardy, Barnes and Lookman on the pitch - against a team that would struggle in the Premier League.  Yet their keeper made no outstanding saves, I don't really remember creating (or looking like creating) a real clear cut chance.  The closest we cam to scoring was when the ball hit Vestergaard's neck from a corner.  For the talent that we have, our attacking play is atrocious.  Our tactics are all about possession.  Retain possession of the ball at all costs.  Why play a risky forward pass when you can go safely sideways or backwards?  We have to take more risks and back ourselves to regain possession if the pass doesn't work out.  We have some serious talent going forward but we need to play to their strengths.

[Babylon]

1 hour ago, MalletFox said:

To put that in context, we sacked our Premier League winning manager the next season halfway through a Champs League campaign. No one “earns the right” not to come under scrutiny and the hierarchy ABSOLUTELY will be looking (closer than ever before under Rodgers’ tenure so far) at how things develop. We are horribly out of form and I would suggest it’s not improving … yet …

He was sacked at the end of February, a whole five months further on than we are now. 
 

Saying they wouldn’t even be thinking about it now, doesn’t mean they won’t be thinking about it in three months time. 
 

Also, nobody said he couldn’t come under scrutiny. That’s rather different than people literally suggesting he should be sacked right now.

[Dahnsouff]

It would not be a surprise if the next manager/coach list was already prepared though, after all the noise around Arsenal/Spurs jobs, etc.

[murphy]

8 hours ago, Adrian said:

I'm beginning to wonder where our next decent result is coming from...but some proper adversity might do us some good...well I hope so

Our fans cannot cope with even the merest hint of a whiff of adversity.

[kiwiturk]

3 hours ago, The_77 said:

That is such a reach about Cags and Youri, nobody else can possibly be making that suggestion. Cags was fine before Ünder ever showed up. And Youri was f***in’ class last season. 
 

Things are stale. We wanted Brendan to drop Madders, he did. Brendan’s got to find a rotation that works and get game time for a huge squad so we don’t fizzle out even worse than we’re playing at the moment. 
 

The football is dull, the side gets bullied, yeah, but we’ve also been unlucky and Rodgers is trying to mix things up. He got the formation completely wrong today, fine, that is definitely clear. 
 

Sometimes Rodgers needs to forget about the tactics board for a moment and get the side to start running through walls for him. 

You wanted the BR's to drop Madders but he started with the good for nothing Perez instead🤣🤣🤣.

A few people reacted that they were agreed with my assessment so it indicates I'm not alone think that way.

You win or lose and this is so not the problem here, my concern lays within players body language and somehow the sparks is not there this season so far.

 

Edited 1 October 2021 by kiwiturk

[CosbehFox]

Obviously I’m sure some didn’t see it compared to those of us who were there but Rodgers did come out to the fans about thirty minutes after the game. Seemed a genuine show of thanks. 
 

Last season they seemed to get what the Cup meant to the fans. You argue that this season it’s all about Europe and that last night hurt a lot. A similar situation developed between O Neill and Villa fans who for a couple of years were doing fine and then he throw out a reserve team away in Moscow, never recovered from there 

[gerblod]

45 minutes ago, murphy said:

Our fans cannot cope with even the merest hint of a whiff of adversity.

That's a very sweeping and dismissive statement - one which you're unable to truly substantiate. It demonstrates what you really believe about your fellow fans.

 

Has there been a fall off in attendance - which is the only objective factor which would substantiate your claim?

 

It's important to remember that people posting on here represent a small proportion of City fans, yet I doubt few of us would ever abandon following our club whichever position we were playing in.

 

As supporters we don't have to go through real adversity. Our lot is to watch the players and coaching staff experience it.

[roblcfc84]

5 minutes ago, Cardiff_Fox said:

Obviously I’m sure some didn’t see it compared to those of us who were there but Rodgers did come out to the fans about thirty minutes after the game. Seemed a genuine show of thanks. 
 

Last season they seemed to get what the Cup meant to the fans. You argue that this season it’s all about Europe and that last night hurt a lot. A similar situation developed between O Neill and Villa fans who for a couple of years were doing fine and then he throw out a reserve team away in Moscow, never recovered from there 

It was Rapid Vienna I’m sure, a mate had them in an accumulator and that game was the one that stopped him winning a decent payout. 

[Cadno'r Cymoedd]

Though I fully expect there is no internal club pressure on Rodgers by Top, for the first time there is some voluble discontent from fans and also some closer inspection by others outside the club and in the press.

 

He deserves time in light of what we've achieved over the two seasons despite the poor finishes to the league campaigns each time. And the FA Cup win of course gives him more credit in the bank. 

 

But for me the central defence injury issues with Fofana and Evans are being overused as the overriding excuse for our very poor start to the season. The football is negative and boring, the tactics often bewildering or at least unclear, and the lack of nous with almost rigid use substitutes frustrating. The players' confidence on the ball looks shot and the seeming lack of energy and drive is the thing that really gets me.

 

Rodgers needs to step up now. We have a squad he has shaped. Soumare arrived from Lille with a box to box reputation but looks deployed differently here to date. Daka is given little time and the issue with Iheanacho, apparently due to formation is depriving us of our best scorer last season. If BR does not know his best team (absentees aside), that's a real indictment. Claudio, the so called Tinkerman, never tinkered in the PL title season once he alighted on the best team. Brendan looks a little clueless to be honest. Still deserves time but pressure is building and patience is wearing thinner. 

Edited 1 October 2021 by Cadno'r Cymoedd

[Clever Fox]

He's under pressure now and he needs to find a solution fast. I know injuries haven't helped but that's part of the game.

No one is questioning his talent as a Coach but his talent as a Manager is questionable at the highest level. I fully understand him supporting players and that's important to his stature within the Squad. Equally important though is his abilty to lay down the law and make players aware of what is needed when they take the field. This is where  he struggles I feel along with the ability to lift the players like Ranieri and O'neill could..

There's no creativity in the team it's like it's like they are all afraid to play with instinct and s

o play the sideways or backwards pass slowing everything down.

He needs to get back to basics and start winning games soon, Otherwise it could all go wrong for him very quickly.

Though I personally think he should be given the time to sort it out. 

 

[Cadno'r Cymoedd]

2 minutes ago, Cadno'r Cymoedd said:

 

 

Edited 1 October 2021 by Cadno'r Cymoedd
Repeat post

[ScrumpyJack]

Blame isn’t on Rodgers, last night was down to players being lazy. Soyuncu’s lazy defending, Perez completely lacked effort.

 

Soyuncu caught ball-watching again, he is damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t at the moment. He’ll either go headfirst in with a brash tackle and wind up out of position, or he’ll watch the opposition glide past him and make a half-arsed effort to catch his man.
 

Perez should have buried that chance from the corner, any Premier League forward worth their salt and vinegar would finish that off. God knows where his head was at.

 

KDH had a good game though.

[Soar Fox]

40 minutes ago, roblcfc84 said:

It was Rapid Vienna I’m sure, a mate had them in an accumulator and that game was the one that stopped him winning a decent payout. 

It was definitely a Moscow team. One of my Villa supporting mates went and he never forgave MON for it. 
 

A couple of weeks later Aston Villa put on a three course meal for those that travelled to Moscow and had a meet & greet with O’Neil & a few players. Someone asked MON why he put the team out that he did, he basically said he didn’t have to answer to the fans and didn’t even want to do the meet & greet but the club made him. It turned quite nasty in there and the fans hated him pretty much after that. 

[5waller5]

2 hours ago, Babylon said:

He was sacked at the end of February, a whole five months further on than we are now. 
 

Saying they wouldn’t even be thinking about it now, doesn’t mean they won’t be thinking about it in three months time. 
 

Also, nobody said he couldn’t come under scrutiny. That’s rather different than people literally suggesting he should be sacked right now.

So five months after being unbeatable and by far the best side in the league the manager was sacked.

 

How many months ago do you think we looked that good under BR?? 

[HighPeakFox]

Well good morning - we're not great right now, but we're also right out of luck too.

 

It's the 1st of October though, just to remind you.

[5waller5]

4 hours ago, Babylon said:

Precisely, it absolutely baffles me a change of manager even crosses anyone’s mind at this stage. The club categorically will not be thinking about it.

The club will always be thinking about it, especially after one win in six, and losing to the equivalent of a championship side.

 

They won’t action those thoughts (yet), but they will certainly have them.

[Babylon]

19 minutes ago, 5waller5 said:

So five months after being unbeatable and by far the best side in the league the manager was sacked.

 

How many months ago do you think we looked that good under BR?? 

Not looking good and looking nailed on to get relegated are rather different things.

[Babylon]

2 minutes ago, 5waller5 said:

The club will always be thinking about it, especially after one win in six, and losing to the equivalent of a championship side.

 

They won’t action those thoughts (yet), but they will certainly have them.

The club will not be thinking of changing manager because they aren’t stupid and don’t act like they are playing football manager or fifa. 

[filbertway]

4 hours ago, Babylon said:

Precisely, it absolutely baffles me a change of manager even crosses anyone’s mind at this stage. The club categorically will not be thinking about it.

Are we not looking a bit higher than avoiding relegation now though?

 

Feels like you're stuck in a time where the club doesn't have a manager on 10 million a year and a squad thats been capable of 2 top 4 pushes on the trot.

 

Let's just say, unless we look like getting relegated from the football league, just give him chance to turn it around

[5waller5]

1 minute ago, Babylon said:

The club will not be thinking of changing manager because they aren’t stupid and don’t act like they are playing football manager or fifa. 

The club will always be thinking about changes in personnel that’s what drives success.

 

They won’t action those thoughts until they feel there is a clear advantage to doing so.

 

 

[lcfcsnow]

2 hours ago, nnfox said:

For the talent that we have, our attacking play is atrocious.  Our tactics are all about possession.  Retain possession of the ball at all costs.  Why play a risky forward pass when you can go safely sideways or backwards? 

Rodgers has instilled this mentality over the past year or so. Numerous games he couldn’t wait to lambast them for rushing or playing the forward pass too early, when we were playing much better than this.

 

I’m not sure what he’s looking for but it can’t be healthy to be this obsessed with something that doesn’t work.

[An Sionnach]

Really struggle on here every time we lose a close game. It is going to happen quite a lot this season ,so we had better get used to it. As long as we win more than we lose , that will be OK. It will be interesting to see how Rodgers sets us up to battle out victories because that looks like how it iwill be going forward.

Edited 1 October 2021 by An Sionnach