Brendan Rodgers

[shailen]

No way was the league title a fluke or that all the big boys were in transition. The way Liverpool and Man City have destroyed the league since makes us forget how good we were that season. We got 81 points which wasn't even the lowest of any previous title winner by a fair margin. The great Man Utd treble winning team of 98/99 finished on 79 points but no one calls them out for it or says the other teams must have been in transition. 

[Guest454545]

5 minutes ago, The_77 said:

I got news for ya, each season doesn’t have the same variables. We also got further in Champions League than any other English side and would have done much better concentrating on one competition like we did the prior season.  
 

Imagine thinking any Leicester fan is making excuses here. Who do you support? 

Celtic.

 

So you would agree, then, that your title was both unlikely before that season started, and hasn't been repeated since

[The_77]

Just now, Guest454545 said:

Celtic.

 

So you would agree, then, that your title was both unlikely before that season started, and hasn't been repeated since

I don’t care about that and neither should you. 

[The_77]

4 minutes ago, Guest454545 said:

Celtic.

 

So you would agree, then, that your title was both unlikely before that season started, and hasn't been repeated since

You never know, though, maybe we’re all millionaires here. 5000/1 was a helluva return. 

[chapero82]

Does sound familiar tbh 

 

[Guest SO1]

1 hour ago, chapero82 said:

Does sound familiar tbh 

 

What a fxxking disgrace that is. Like shitting on a JMW Turner. To take what is the best season of football I've ever seen(so far) and reduce it to that. To watch Rodgers build a club that was lost at sea and turn them into an attacking machine that was exhilarating to watch in their end to end football. A jerry rigged absolute masterpiece in two years. You can all say all the shit you want about Rodgers but without a doubt he and his players have given me ten years of exceptional entertainment at every club he has managed.

[turlo]

2 hours ago, chapero82 said:

Does sound familiar tbh 

 

Liverpool were predicted to finish 7th that season after 4 seasons of finishing 7-8th. take away a few star players and they had a mid table squad. Yes they had a crap defence

[volpeazzurro]

3 hours ago, Guest454545 said:

Why didn't you perform the feat the year before?

Firstly, the year before on promotion we struggled under Pearson until the end. Losing by the odd goal, we were never really thrashed but all was not great. In the Championship, we were quite a free flowing attacking side but Pearson went ultra conservative imo. Our striker was in the main Leonardo Ulloa with a new boy called Vardy who Pearson played mainly on the behind him.

 

Two players turned it round really, Estoban Cambiasso (who gets a lot of credit for the great escape) and also Huth who signed in the January window. 

 

Note that Kante did not arrive until the season ended!

 

The team ended on a very confident high following the Great Escape! Ranieri was put in charge who changed things dramatically for me. He set up an almost old Italian flat back 4 with Huth and Morgan centrally and dumped the wing backs (DeLaet) for Simpson and Fuchs. Fuchs covered Marhez. Vardy was promoted to main striker to use his pace and Kante became the absolute beast of a player behind he is today allowing Drinkwater (who hadn't been a mainstay previously to ping long accurate balls to Vardy and Marhez. 

 

That's why we didn't win it the year before, different team, manager and most importantly, tactics.

[Guest454545]

7 minutes ago, volpeazzurro said:

Firstly, the year before on promotion we struggled under Pearson until the end. Losing by the odd goal, we were never really thrashed but all was not great. In the Championship, we were quite a free flowing attacking side but Pearson went ultra conservative imo. Our striker was in the main Leonardo Ulloa with a new boy called Vardy who Pearson played mainly on the behind him.

 

Two players turned it round really, Estoban Cambiasso (who gets a lot of credit for the great escape) and also Huth who signed in the January window. 

 

Note that Kante did not arrive until the season ended!

 

The team ended on a very confident high following the Great Escape! Ranieri was put in charge who changed things dramatically for me. He set up an almost old Italian flat back 4 with Huth and Morgan centrally and dumped the wing backs (DeLaet) for Simpson and Fuchs. Fuchs covered Marhez. Vardy was promoted to main striker to use his pace and Kante became the absolute beast of a player behind he is today allowing Drinkwater (who hadn't been a mainstay previously to ping long accurate balls to Vardy and Marhez. 

 

That's why we didn't win it the year before, different team, manager and most importantly, tactics.

So again, you agree that it was a once-off achievement, right? 

[Webbo]

Not 1 person on here seriously thought we'd win the league at the start of that season, most of us were more worried about staying up. 

 

To read some the stuff on here you'd think we all knew it was obvious. So major rewriting of history on here. 

[Dan LCFC]

Nobody thought we'd win the league but 5000/1 was obviously a mistake - as you'll never see odds like those again as a result.

 

Given the way we'd finished the season before I don't think it's ridiculous to suggest we'd be top half rather than bottom 3. Helps of course when you add a genuine world class player without knowing it mind.

Edited 11 November 2021 by Dan LCFC

[volpeazzurro]

Just now, Guest454545 said:

So again, you agree that it was a once-off achievement, right? 

Yes, as the odds suggested, it was highly unusual to say the least but, had Kante and Drinkwater stayed, with a couple of additions, who knows because although all the teams had sussed our style out, they couldn't stop us.

 

But:

 

It gave the footballing world hope for me and went right against the grain that the richest team always wins when actually, it's the best TEAM that wins, not the money or individuals,  like Lille did in France last season and not moneybags PSG. 

 

Agreed in as much as it's very rare but the pundits and others always back a cert don't they, but, it is still doable. West Ham are looking good with momentum at the moment but, if they remain relatively injury free, why not? If they did, they will have been the best team, not because of another freak one off year or one of those excuses the miffed pundits try and appoint to Leicester City. 

 

As for us now, and back to the point I suppose with us, just because we don't have the money of certainly the top 4 (and many below) with the players we have in our squad now, it was perfectly possible at the start of the season for Rodgers to attain 5th again imo. That's not a demanding to or from a sense of entitlement to have it, it's more that we have a very decent squad of players now compared to yesteryear. Nobody likes losing but can easily forgive it (or I can) if you think your team had played to the best of it's ability and have just been unlucky or merely come up against a better team on the day. Currently however, quite a few supporters think that Rodgers style of tactics for a long time now has produced very poor on field performances which have contributed to poor results or previously, some of the results gained, due to individual player talent, has papered over the cracks. Those tactics for two years running also helped to scupper a 4th place spot when he twice seemed to resort to them halfway through both seasons when initially doing well but when the pressure was on. Agreed, there were injuries, but some of what he did and decisions he made seemed absolutely bizarre. 

[volpeazzurro]

28 minutes ago, Webbo said:

Not 1 person on here seriously thought we'd win the league at the start of that season, most of us were more worried about staying up. 

 

To read some the stuff on here you'd think we all knew it was obvious. So major rewriting of history on here. 

Agreed, I wouldn't have put a fiver on at 5000/1 😅

[Guest454545]

14 minutes ago, volpeazzurro said:

Yes, as the odds suggested, it was highly unusual to say the least but, had Kante and Drinkwater stayed, with a couple of additions, who knows because although all the teams had sussed our style out, they couldn't stop us.

 

But:

 

It gave the footballing world hope for me and went right against the grain that the richest team always wins when actually, it's the best TEAM that wins, not the money or individuals,  like Lille did in France last season and not moneybags PSG. 

 

Agreed in as much as it's very rare but the pundits and others always back a cert don't they, but, it is still doable. West Ham are looking good with momentum at the moment but, if they remain relatively injury free, why not? If they did, they will have been the best team, not because of another freak one off year or one of those excuses the miffed pundits try and appoint to Leicester City. 

 

As for us now, and back to the point I suppose with us, just because we don't have the money of certainly the top 4 (and many below) with the players we have in our squad now, it was perfectly possible at the start of the season for Rodgers to attain 5th again imo. That's not a demanding to or from a sense of entitlement to have it, it's more that we have a very decent squad of players now compared to yesteryear. Nobody likes losing but can easily forgive it (or I can) if you think your team had played to the best of it's ability and have just been unlucky or merely come up against a better team on the day. Currently however, quite a few supporters think that Rodgers style of tactics for a long time now has produced very poor on field performances which have contributed to poor results or previously, some of the results gained, due to individual player talent, has papered over the cracks. Those tactics for two years running also helped to scupper a 4th place spot when he twice seemed to resort to them halfway through both seasons when initially doing well but when the pressure was on. Agreed, there were injuries, but some of what he did and decisions he made seemed absolutely bizarre. 

But the season isn't over. Or even halfway through. And it's not like you're miles away. You're a two game swing from being right in the mix for top four. It seems to me though, that a number of Leicester fans here want to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Some of the conversations - and I will say they are all very intelligent, will made points - seen way too premature for this point in the season. Assuming Rodgers stays, I don't think any conclusions can be drawn on your season until the 2nd or 3rd week of January. That's when things will even themselves out for everyone

[Duquesne Whistle]

29 minutes ago, Guest454545 said:

But the season isn't over. Or even halfway through. And it's not like you're miles away. You're a two game swing from being right in the mix for top four. It seems to me though, that a number of Leicester fans here want to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Some of the conversations - and I will say they are all very intelligent, will made points - seen way too premature for this point in the season. Assuming Rodgers stays, I don't think any conclusions can be drawn on your season until the 2nd or 3rd week of January. That's when things will even themselves out for everyone

Not sure I've ever seen such a sustained defence of another teams manager. Are you Brendan's wife by any chance 

 

For what it's worth, I agree with you for the most part. Presuming he is still committed, he's earned at least the rest of this season to straighten things out and final judgement on this season should be delayed until he has his first choice defence back. Bertrand and Vestergaard have severely weakened the starting XI when playing, I'm not sure anyone truly foresaw how difficult they would find it. I said not long after the Fofana injury that a top ten finish and a good go at the cups wouldn't be a bad outcome this season and I'd still stick by that. We're still in the league cup but we're hanging by a thread in the Europa and it takes an optimist to see us going to Naples and winning on current form. Not impossible though.

 

He does make it difficult to believe in his methods at times though. The recurring themes of slow starts, ugly, slow, laborious possession football, appalling set pieces (both for and against) and some of the drivel he spouts after matches can be pushed to one side whilst results are good, but they become an itch that needs scratching when those results tail off, hence some of the harsher opinions from supporters.

[Guest454545]

38 minutes ago, Duquesne Whistle said:

Not sure I've ever seen such a sustained defence of another teams manager. Are you Brendan's wife by any chance 

 

For what it's worth, I agree with you for the most part. Presuming he is still committed, he's earned at least the rest of this season to straighten things out and final judgement on this season should be delayed until he has his first choice defence back. Bertrand and Vestergaard have severely weakened the starting XI when playing, I'm not sure anyone truly foresaw how difficult they would find it. I said not long after the Fofana injury that a top ten finish and a good go at the cups wouldn't be a bad outcome this season and I'd still stick by that. We're still in the league cup but we're hanging by a thread in the Europa and it takes an optimist to see us going to Naples and winning on current form. Not impossible though.

 

He does make it difficult to believe in his methods at times though. The recurring themes of slow starts, ugly, slow, laborious possession football, appalling set pieces (both for and against) and some of the drivel he spouts after matches can be pushed to one side whilst results are good, but they become an itch that needs scratching when those results tail off, hence some of the harsher opinions from supporters.

If I was Brendan's wife, he'd never have left Glasgow. At least not until the 10 was complete!

[Ric Flair]

6 hours ago, Guest454545 said:

Why didn't you perform the feat the year before?

Didn't have Kante, didn't have Huth, didn't have Okazaki, didn't have Fuchs. Won 7 of our last 9 games though so you could point to the signs being there. Momentum. 

[Ric Flair]

2 hours ago, SO1 said:

What a fxxking disgrace that is. Like shitting on a JMW Turner. To take what is the best season of football I've ever seen(so far) and reduce it to that. To watch Rodgers build a club that was lost at sea and turn them into an attacking machine that was exhilarating to watch in their end to end football. A jerry rigged absolute masterpiece in two years. You can all say all the shit you want about Rodgers but without a doubt he and his players have given me ten years of exceptional entertainment at every club he has managed.

Yeah that is pretty outrageous. They won 11 on the spin didn't they to get to the front. You can't then pick a few results that didn't go their way vs dross from earlier in the season. The only result I thought was naive and possibly because pressure got to them was letting a 3 goal lead slip away at Palace, that was hideous. They were unreal that season though, arguably the precursor in verve and style in attack thst we've then gone on to see from Klopp's Liverpool and Pep's Man City team. Suarez, Storrington, Sterling and Coutinho were lethal.

[Dahnsouff]

10 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

Didn't have Kante, didn't have Huth, didn't have Okazaki, didn't have Fuchs. Won 7 of our last 9 games though so you could point to the signs being there. Momentum. 

That’s quite a loose justification  Nobody could have known what a pint sized monster Ngolo was to become, what a hilarious rock Huth would be or even quite how crucial Shinji would be. Don’t even start with Fuchs!

 

You could argue it was the best scouting we have ever done though

Edited 11 November 2021 by Dahnsouff

[Ric Flair]

39 minutes ago, Dahnsouff said:

That’s quite a loose justification  Nobody could have known what a pint sized monster Ngolo was to become, what a hilarious rock Huth would be or even quite how crucial Shinji would be. Don’t even start with Fuchs!

 

You could argue it was the best scouting we have ever done though

I still scratch my head with it all haha. It can't be put down as a fluke as you don't do what we did over 38 games and be completely oblivious to the magnitude of what was happening or the pressure. But it also baffles me just how bad we were the following season but perhaps that adds to the beauty and equally perplexes and irks the powerhouses around us who managed to get taken apart by us the season before.

 

It was the perfect storm, we evidently recruited obscenely well and we had the most finely balanced XI I think the PL has ever witnessed. Defensively colossal, a midfield duo that left most opposition in places they didn't want to be and then an attacking duo of Mahrez and Vardy that couldn't be contained. It was massively about momentum and seige mentality and history suggests that the underdog succumbs to pressure eventually, but we didn't give a flying fcuk. I put that down to the chalk and cheese approach of Pearson and then Ranieri and the constant of Craig Shakespeare and Steve Walsh. It just took us to a place that nobody thought possible and then we just stepped it up level after level and were relentless. 

 

Ranieri handled it all remarkably, I often try to plant my flag in situations where success or failure happen in football and was it the players who ultimately prosper or flop in those crunch moments or the manager. I think the manager takes the ultimate outcome because quite often their decisions in games are enough to be the difference between success or failure and Ranieri was faultless down the stretch, absolutely god earthly perfect. A machine of a man with the heart of a loveable Grandpa.

 

So bollocks was it a fluke or a freak, it was the single biggest sporting achievement that has ever happened in the modern era, if not sporting history.

 

[Sly]

You can fluke a cup to a degree, much harder to fluke a league. 
 

Out of interest, has anyone ever run the points etc, including the last 10 games of the 14/15 season, when we pulled off the great escape?

[volpeazzurro]

2 hours ago, Guest454545 said:

But the season isn't over. Or even halfway through. And it's not like you're miles away. You're a two game swing from being right in the mix for top four. It seems to me though, that a number of Leicester fans here want to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Some of the conversations - and I will say they are all very intelligent, will made points - seen way too premature for this point in the season. Assuming Rodgers stays, I don't think any conclusions can be drawn on your season until the 2nd or 3rd week of January. That's when things will even themselves out for everyone

I personally am not calling for him to be sacked because if one thing, I'm a realist and don't see anyone better out there available to replace him mid season. Also, yes, January time will tell us quite a bit more. I would be absolutely surprised and bewildered if our squad of talented players can't pick up a few wins before then with or without Rodgers.

 

However, long term, if he doesn't alter/adjust his apparent obsession with the overly cautious possession before everything football with our current squad of players, then I don't see him being successful or popular. This would be a shame because aside of that he's got some great attributes. He also needs to take a look at his coaching staff. I certainly wouldn't want to see a summer where he and possibly Congerton had much say in recruitment because I would suggest our record has been far better than there's. Neither would I want to see recruitment for the servicing of Rodgers footballing philosophy as time has moved on. If he can't make a good fist of it with this current crop of players and play round pegs in round holes, I would suggest he's nowhere near as talented as the media love in promotes him to be. 

[filbertway]

7 hours ago, Guest454545 said:

Why didn't you perform the feat the year before?

No Kante

 

The bloke is the most under rated footballer I have ever known. I dont think you can truly appreciate him until you see him play. He never once had an off game for us. Absolute freak of player who should be playing for a proper giant

[volpeazzurro]

12 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

I still scratch my head with it all haha. It can't be put down as a fluke as you don't do what we did over 38 games and be completely oblivious to the magnitude of what was happening or the pressure. But it also baffles me just how bad we were the following season but perhaps that adds to the beauty and equally perplexes and irks the powerhouses around us who managed to get taken apart by us the season before.

 

It was the perfect storm, we evidently recruited obscenely well and we had the most finely balanced XI I think the PL has ever witnessed. Defensively colossal, a midfield duo that left most opposition in places they didn't want to be and then an attacking duo of Mahrez and Vardy that couldn't be contained. It was massively about momentum and seige mentality and history suggests that the underdog succumbs to pressure eventually, but we didn't give a flying fcuk. I put that down to the chalk and cheese approach of Pearson and then Ranieri and the constant of Craig Shakespeare and Steve Walsh. It just took us to a place that nobody thought possible and then we just stepped it up level after level and were relentless. 

 

Ranieri handled it all remarkably, I often try to plant my flag in situations where success or failure happen in football and was it the players who ultimately prosper or flop in those crunch moments or the manager. I think the manager takes the ultimate outcome because quite often their decisions in games are enough to be the difference between success or failure and Ranieri was faultless down the stretch, absolutely god earthly perfect. A machine of a man with the heart of a loveable Grandpa.

 

So bollocks was it a fluke or a freak, it was the single biggest sporting achievement that has ever happened in the modern era, if not sporting history.

 

Absolutely well said, exactly as I see it 👏.  All this nonsense by ego damaged pundit revisionist nobbers really irks me. We won it and won it well by 10 clear points. We were simply the best!

[Dahnsouff]

14 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

I still scratch my head with it all haha. It can't be put down as a fluke as you don't do what we did over 38 games and be completely oblivious to the magnitude of what was happening or the pressure. But it also baffles me just how bad we were the following season but perhaps that adds to the beauty and equally perplexes and irks the powerhouses around us who managed to get taken apart by us the season before.

 

It was the perfect storm, we evidently recruited obscenely well and we had the most finely balanced XI I think the PL has ever witnessed. Defensively colossal, a midfield duo that left most opposition in places they didn't want to be and then an attacking duo of Mahrez and Vardy that couldn't be contained. It was massively about momentum and seige mentality and history suggests that the underdog succumbs to pressure eventually, but we didn't give a flying fcuk. I put that down to the chalk and cheese approach of Pearson and then Ranieri and the constant of Craig Shakespeare and Steve Walsh. It just took us to a place that nobody thought possible and then we just stepped it up level after level and were relentless. 

 

Ranieri handled it all remarkably, I often try to plant my flag in situations where success or failure happen in football and was it the players who ultimately prosper or flop in those crunch moments or the manager. I think the manager takes the ultimate outcome because quite often their decisions in games are enough to be the difference between success or failure and Ranieri was faultless down the stretch, absolutely god earthly perfect. A machine of a man with the heart of a loveable Grandpa.

 

So bollocks was it a fluke or a freak, it was the single biggest sporting achievement that has ever happened in the modern era, if not sporting history.

 

Defo was not a fluke I totally agree, you cannot fluke a league, but perfect storm as mentioned sums it up about right