Brendan Rodgers

[Dames]

7 hours ago, foxile5 said:

I've been down at Seagrave to boo the training. 

Nice try but we all know that they don’t have time to train… 

[SafewayFox]

12 minutes ago, BKLFox said:

Our recent success is partly to blame for being “found out” as you mention even Pep has been burnt when we are on it and a lot of clubs now sit a lot deeper, this then results in the Puel mk2 ball you mention because you have to work it side to side to shift the opposition and back to try and draw them out trouble is our players don’t do it quick enough he mentioned it after numerous games but it’s skimmed over as folk want to blame him and say he is deflecting from himself, reality is he’s right those players are not doing the side to side and back to front as quick as Man C players do simple as that, when it’s done correctly you can rip sides apart 

 

I totally get that and it’s about moving players around to the extent that they’re chasing shadows and through physical/mental fatigue, the opposition make lapses in concentration.

 

However, even the best football under Rodgers wasn’t that style (Pep’s mantra) but high press, high energy so not sure changing our style of football with our second string makes logical sense.

 

I like hearing your thoughts though but as Einstein’s famous quote states -

 

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

 

[ealingfox]

28 minutes ago, Tommy G said:

We could save a few million on a years salary and get Dyche in? Would that help?

 

Well should our expectations for him be commensurate with his salary, or are we overpaying him?

[BKLFox]

44 minutes ago, SafewayFox said:

I totally get that and it’s about moving players around to the extent that they’re chasing shadows and through physical/mental fatigue, the opposition make lapses in concentration.

 

However, even the best football under Rodgers wasn’t that style (Pep’s mantra) but high press, high energy so not sure changing our style of football with our second string makes logical sense.

 

I like hearing your thoughts though but as Einstein’s famous quote states -

 

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

 

I do get that but football is about drills and training drills by definition are repeating the same thing over and over until it clicks pretty much

You have to stick to your thing in the main because every week it’s a different opposition and different set of challenges if you can drill a system to almost muscle memory esq you have a better chance of tweaking a weekly approach if required otherwise you end up with a scattergun approach where your saying no that didn’t work try this etc on a weekly basis.

 

Im not saying you don’t try something else I’m saying you need a core foundation to which you bend as and when, sadly the team couldn’t settle due to players being in out in out

Edited 9 June 2022 by BKLFox

[SafewayFox]

31 minutes ago, BKLFox said:

I do get that but football is about drills and training drills by definition are repeating the same thing over and over until it clicks pretty much

You have to stick to your thing in the main because every week it’s a different opposition and different set of challenges if you can drill a system to almost muscle memory esq you have a better chance of tweaking a weekly approach if required otherwise you end up with a scattergun approach where your saying no that didn’t work try this etc on a weekly basis.

 

Im not saying you don’t try something else I’m saying you need a core foundation to which you bend as and when, sadly the team couldn’t settle due to players being in out in out

Again, I see that but it wasn’t that style of football that made us compete all year round the previous two seasons.

 

There has clearly been a shift since Puel (even Ranieri’s second season to be fair) of a possession style over counting attacking football but even under Rodgers we looked best when the intention was to quickly break the lines and high press - none of which happened this season.

 

The frustration of the 101st pass between your two CB’s (I obviously exaggerated) with little movement in front of them is down to clear instructions to keep the ball with very little evidence of an actual idea how to do so, hence the high possession but few xG’s/shots on target - that surely can’t be down to personnel but the tactics/instructions both pre/during the match as someone else posted earlier. 

[PAPA LAZAROU]

2 hours ago, BKLFox said:

Is it his tactic? as he states the fundamentals of his teams they have to run, press and be aggressive that doesn’t sound like no sense of urgency to me

So he's not the one who tells them to aimlessly pass it to and fro at the back even when we are losing with minutes to go? This goes on game after game , so if it's the players doing it  without his permission then there is a bigger problem than any of us imagined. Of course it's his tactics who else's then?

Edited 9 June 2022 by PAPA LAZAROU

[PAPA LAZAROU]

2 hours ago, pmcla26 said:

Our tactics didn't play into their hands at all. Playing into their hands would have been going full throttle, surrendering possession and creating opportunities for turnovers where Roma could break on us. It's quite a common theme in other sports as well, particularly Basketball, where you don't want a back and forth game if you have one side that it favours heavily (This was Roma in this case). I don't see how else we were meant to set up to play to be honest.

Hmm how about set out to score more than them? or is that and old fashioned out dated style of play like we did when we won the prem? If we in deed had to play that way it was down to the failure or the home leg  ( which also employed the same negative tactics). we did not even go down fighting it was painful to watch.

Edited 9 June 2022 by PAPA LAZAROU

[BKLFox]

5 minutes ago, PAPA LAZAROU said:

So he's not the one who tells them to aimlessly pass it to and fro at the back even when we are losing with minutes to go? This goes on game after game , so if it's the players doing it  without hids permission then there is a bigger problem than any of us imagined. Of course it's his tactics who else's then?

Maybe why there is to be a refresh 🤷‍♂️ 

 

All I know is it doesn’t happen when Wes and Evans are the CB pairing in the way you talk about 

[PAPA LAZAROU]

11 minutes ago, BKLFox said:

Maybe why there is to be a refresh 🤷‍♂️ 

 

All I know is it doesn’t happen when Wes and Evans are the CB pairing in the way you talk about 

Good points.

[BKLFox]

27 minutes ago, SafewayFox said:

Again, I see that but it wasn’t that style of football that made us compete all year round the previous two seasons.

 

There has clearly been a shift since Puel (even Ranieri’s second season to be fair) of a possession style over counting attacking football but even under Rodgers we looked best when the intention was to quickly break the lines and high press - none of which happened this season.

 

The frustration of the 101st pass between your two CB’s (I obviously exaggerated) with little movement in front of them is down to clear instructions to keep the ball with very little evidence of an actual idea how to do so, hence the high possession but few xG’s/shots on target - that surely can’t be down to personnel but the tactics/instructions both pre/during the match as someone else posted earlier. 

The ideology of possession based football is sound, the top 3 clubs all have the most possession in every match they play in the premiership give or take & I’d imagine probably 4th also.

The difference is they have the “muscle memory” I mentioned, they have the players that can come in and mirror the player they replace we are not there, but should we scrap it or continue to find pieces that fit the system which once mastered could have us playing like Liverpool or Man C or do we just laugh at the thought?

 

 

[Ric Flair]

3 hours ago, pmcla26 said:

Our tactics didn't play into their hands at all. Playing into their hands would have been going full throttle, surrendering possession and creating opportunities for turnovers where Roma could break on us. It's quite a common theme in other sports as well, particularly Basketball, where you don't want a back and forth game if you have one side that it favours heavily (This was Roma in this case). I don't see how else we were meant to set up to play to be honest.

Our intended tactics might not have played in to their hands as you describe but our actions most certainly did. We gifted them the lead in both legs and have proven just how hideous we are when going behind to teams who are strong defensively.

 

It was food and drink to them that 2nd leg as soon as they scored.

[PAPA LAZAROU]

17 minutes ago, pmcla26 said:

Right so there’s a couple issues with that. Firstly, that is exactly how Mourinho teams want you to play, and secondly, that’s not at all how we played when we won the league. 
 

Football is a lot more complex than just the ‘up and at em’ approach that you seem to have wanted us to employ. Roma would have beaten us comfortably if we had allowed them multiple turnovers whilst we had players in their half. (Like we did to teams when we won the league, if we’re going to start referencing the 15/16 side)
 

To say we ‘did not even go down fighting’ might be your opinion, but I’m sure the players would have a different point of view. They did their best, it just wasn’t to be. Sure, we all would have liked more shots on goal in an ideal world, but unfortunately the openings weren’t there and we didn’t have the tempo/quality within our play and team to create those openings on the night. 
 

Look, I understand aesthetics etc. might be frustrating, but believe me there are reasons as to why teams set up in certain ways. For the last time, leaving yourself exposed against this Roma team and against most Mourinho sides in the past usually only ends up going one way. 
 

Maybe they were just better than us over two legs and it is what it is? As I said in a previous post, there’s no shame in going out to a side like Roma. 

First of all they weren't better than us. They had a better manager . We went out with a whimper ( that was shameful ) still pissing about at the back for most of the game with hardly a shot on goal the whole match. Over thinking and negative tactics from our manager cost us the tie , nothing else. You omitted to reply about our home leg which was dreadfully negative  when we should have used home advantage to press them, but as usual the managers caution and over thinking gave the advantage to them. Both games were pitiful from us which ever way you dress it up. No pace  lots of possession with no attacking results and an all round gutless performance. Maybe you saw something that the vast majority of did not see , but it was shameful how we capitulated.

[4everfox]

1 hour ago, ealingfox said:

 

Well should our expectations for him be commensurate with his salary, or are we overpaying him?

It's a good point, but he isn't going anywhere so there is little point in spending the summer disappointed because Brendan Rodgers is still our manager. It's in the best interest of the club for us all to go into next season with a positive mindset, only then can we sort out our sh!te atmosphere. So let's all just give him another chance, support the team as vocally as possible and then review his performance in November.

[SafewayFox]

1 hour ago, BKLFox said:

The ideology of possession based football is sound, the top 3 clubs all have the most possession in every match they play in the premiership give or take & I’d imagine probably 4th also.

The difference is they have the “muscle memory” I mentioned, they have the players that can come in and mirror the player they replace we are not there, but should we scrap it or continue to find pieces that fit the system which once mastered could have us playing like Liverpool or Man C or do we just laugh at the thought?

 

 

Firstly, great debate and what I love about FoxesTalk as celery differing views but done in a balanced manner.

 

So, I was surprised at how much possession Liverpool had this season, was apparently in the 60% average - on the eye it appears they have a different model than move the ball side to side - I believe Klopp has said previously about moving the ball up the pitch as quickly as possible (why make 5 passes when can do it in 3 etc).

 

With our players not having the technical ability of the Man City’s of the world - playing the more direct/purposeful football is surely a greater happy medium than the slow, sideways possession football that we’ve not once executed masterfully IMO.

 

It does go to show the importance of Youri’s future - seems clear it’s best for all parties if he leaves this summer but that orchestra in the middle of the park picking eye of the needle passes is definitely needed regardless of what style we opt for, as without that it becomes that slow, ponderous football with little thrust.

[Ric Flair]

2 hours ago, pmcla26 said:

Actually, re reading what you said I do agree to be fair. Maybe not so much about playing into their hands with our actions but we didn’t make it difficult for them, but the other alternative was to make it easy for them in the way that I’ve described. We just didn’t possess the quality on the night to crack open that set up, which is fine - they’re a very good side. I just don’t think it was down to Rodgers’ tactics - I think he got them right on the night - more that we just didn’t have the intensity in our play to draw that low block out. 
 

Conceding from a set piece in the second leg and the second half struggle summed up the season really. 

I just think with our achilles heel of conceding set pieces or gifting teams at least 1 goal from absolutely nothing, I think we needed to be braver in games last season and especially that semi final. We did it in the 2nd half of the 1st leg and showed that Roma were vulnerable and we were most definitely fitter than them but by not setting the tempo and taking risks we made it far too easy for them overall and certainly in that 2nd leg.

 

I know there are just some teams or managers whom are a nightmare to play against but a team like Roma/Mourinho aren't only beaten by playing cautious football and being very disciplined in committing players forward, I'd also argue by trying to play them at their own game is just as much of a risk as they are much more comfortable at pragmatic and counter attacking football and they had us exactly where they wanted us.

[coolhandfox]

2 hours ago, PAPA LAZAROU said:

First of all they weren't better than us. They had a better manager . We went out with a whimper ( that was shameful ) still pissing about at the back for most of the game with hardly a shot on goal the whole match. Over thinking and negative tactics from our manager cost us the tie , nothing else. You omitted to reply about our home leg which was dreadfully negative  when we should have used home advantage to press them, but as usual the managers caution and over thinking gave the advantage to them. Both games were pitiful from us which ever way you dress it up. No pace  lots of possession with no attacking results and an all round gutless performance. Maybe you saw something that the vast majority of did not see , but it was shameful how we capitulated.

Jose is the king of negative tactics, there were just as negative as us home and away. 

 

Over the two legs they had 15 shots 6 on target, 23 shots 4 on target. 

 

Europe football is general pragmatic, look at Real vs Liverpool. 

 

[PAPA LAZAROU]

2 minutes ago, coolhandfox said:

Jose is the king of negative tactics, there were just as negative as us home and away. 

 

Over the two legs they had 15 shots 6 on target, 23 shots 4 on target. 

 

Europe football is general pragmatic, look at Real vs Liverpool. 

 

Yes but they won.

[coolhandfox]

Just now, PAPA LAZAROU said:

Yes but they won.

Yes, but thats football fine margins.

 

I'd agree with your previous statement if Roma had played us off the park.

 

But they didn't in both legs they took the lead and shut up shop.

 

 

 

[Jobyfox]

42 minutes ago, coolhandfox said:

Yes, but thats football fine margins.

 

I'd agree with your previous statement if Roma had played us off the park.

 

But they didn't in both legs they took the lead and shut up shop.

 

 

 

It's almost a contradiction in terms isn't it? 

 

Brendan's negative tactics lost us the game

Jose's negative tactics won them the game 

 

Personally I think it's a bit more complicated than that. Jose is the master of negative football. His style is unapologetically pragmatic, he's utterly ruthless in his application of it and he doesn't care what anybody thinks of him. 

 

I think BR is a nice bloke who wants to be liked. I don't actually think he's a negative manager, but a neither/nor manager. For me his biggest problem is he over manages. He'll go negative against a big side one week - then pick an attacking line up the next. He should stick to his convictions and style, but instead changes formations and tactics mid-game - usually with overly pragmatic substitutions that don't pay off. 

 

I'm nowhere near as anti-BR as many on here, but I just wish he'd keep it simple. He's not quite the genius he thinks he is and, going back to basics and surrounding yourself with good people who can fill the gaps, is part of what makes a good manager great. 

[ARM1968]

He’ll be gone by Christmas, or I’m a Turkey. 

[BKLFox]

5 hours ago, SafewayFox said:

Firstly, great debate and what I love about FoxesTalk as celery differing views but done in a balanced manner.

 

So, I was surprised at how much possession Liverpool had this season, was apparently in the 60% average - on the eye it appears they have a different model than move the ball side to side - I believe Klopp has said previously about moving the ball up the pitch as quickly as possible (why make 5 passes when can do it in 3 etc).

 

With our players not having the technical ability of the Man City’s of the world - playing the more direct/purposeful football is surely a greater happy medium than the slow, sideways possession football that we’ve not once executed masterfully IMO.

 

It does go to show the importance of Youri’s future - seems clear it’s best for all parties if he leaves this summer but that orchestra in the middle of the park picking eye of the needle passes is definitely needed regardless of what style we opt for, as without that it becomes that slow, ponderous football with little thrust.

Sorry been out for T just back 😋 

I agree I too enjoy the debates that don’t turn nasty 👍 

 

I honestly feel whilst I think Rodgers wants to mirror Man C he will settle for Liverpool hence the Sangare link to replace Youri (if true) as that would mean we have a high energy, break play, recycle lost ball and feed to the more creative players,

Liverpools midfield is there to break not to create!

 

We would then utilise our fullbacks ala TAA and Robinson to provide width hence why he has the fullbacks we have up/down types, it was said many times on this forum our fallbacks were 2nd only to those 2.

 

Wes and Evans play the Matip/VVD role watch how much VVD starts their attacks from deep or pinging those balls over /bypassing his midfield from the halfway line to those attacking players, then watch Evans in the halfway line position hitting the long ball or Wes driving into the opposition half.

Finally we have the front 3 roles which is where we struggle,on the left we have Barnes who is just not consist with his numbers Liverpool have Jota/Mane/Diaz all produce every time they play, on the right we have ?? currently Maddison with a free’ish role Liverpool have Salah say no more.

We then have Vardy at the tip but Liverpool have Firmino (Jota) with Firmino playing a different role to Vardy inverted tip picking up the ball from 1 of the midfield 3 after they recycle the ball and then feeding their 2 wide players (Jota plays a mix of Firmino and Vardy) 

 

We need that dedicated right forward for a start, we then have an issue with where Maddison or Vardy fit because on paper they are in the top 4 starters for us but in a “Liverpool” formation where do they fit for most games as they sort of fit the same Firmino/Jota roles. 
Liverpools formation doesn’t require a huge amount of players, their back 4 and midfield 3 are pretty much set subject to injury the only regular rotation comes from the front 3 with 4 of those front 3 scoring the majority of their goals only Diaz misses out with minamino getting more than him.

If we had a front 3 set that could compete with Liverpools numbers then Rodgers would also be saying why take 5 passes if you can get to them in 3, remember his calls from the side caught on camera shouting get it to Barnesy get it to barnesy because he knew at the time we would end up in the opposition box quicker than passing it through.

 

I think the ultimate dream for Rodgers is a Man C set up but we don’t have the resource to have 22 like for like quality players with all 22 willing to have spells on the bench, sadly we can’t keep 3 or 4 players happy to rotate as we are just not big enough.

Edited 9 June 2022 by BKLFox

[messerschmitt]

8 hours ago, BKLFox said:

Sorry been out for T just back 😋 

I agree I too enjoy the debates that don’t turn nasty 👍 

 

I honestly feel whilst I think Rodgers wants to mirror Man C he will settle for Liverpool hence the Sangare link to replace Youri (if true) as that would mean we have a high energy, break play, recycle lost ball and feed to the more creative players,

Liverpools midfield is there to break not to create!

 

We would then utilise our fullbacks ala TAA and Robinson to provide width hence why he has the fullbacks we have up/down types, it was said many times on this forum our fallbacks were 2nd only to those 2.

 

Wes and Evans play the Matip/VVD role watch how much VVD starts their attacks from deep or pinging those balls over /bypassing his midfield from the halfway line to those attacking players, then watch Evans in the halfway line position hitting the long ball or Wes driving into the opposition half.

Finally we have the front 3 roles which is where we struggle,on the left we have Barnes who is just not consist with his numbers Liverpool have Jota/Mane/Diaz all produce every time they play, on the right we have ?? currently Maddison with a free’ish role Liverpool have Salah say no more.

We then have Vardy at the tip but Liverpool have Firmino (Jota) with Firmino playing a different role to Vardy inverted tip picking up the ball from 1 of the midfield 3 after they recycle the ball and then feeding their 2 wide players (Jota plays a mix of Firmino and Vardy) 

 

We need that dedicated right forward for a start, we then have an issue with where Maddison or Vardy fit because on paper they are in the top 4 starters for us but in a “Liverpool” formation where do they fit for most games as they sort of fit the same Firmino/Jota roles. 
Liverpools formation doesn’t require a huge amount of players, their back 4 and midfield 3 are pretty much set subject to injury the only regular rotation comes from the front 3 with 4 of those front 3 scoring the majority of their goals only Diaz misses out with minamino getting more than him.

If we had a front 3 set that could compete with Liverpools numbers then Rodgers would also be saying why take 5 passes if you can get to them in 3, remember his calls from the side caught on camera shouting get it to Barnesy get it to barnesy because he knew at the time we would end up in the opposition box quicker than passing it through.

 

I think the ultimate dream for Rodgers is a Man C set up but we don’t have the resource to have 22 like for like quality players with all 22 willing to have spells on the bench, sadly we can’t keep 3 or 4 players happy to rotate as we are just not big enough.

When you talk about the front 3, we don't play it anything like Liverpool. Our front 3 is more of a front 1 with a left and right winger. I don't think that Barnes or who ever is on the right work as a front 3.

Barnes plays too wide in a front 3. I don't think there is much difference in his position to when we play 4.3.3 or 4.2.3.1.

With the current set of players I can't help thinking that Iheanacho would be better in the central position, the Firmino role, especially when you consider his link up play. Vardy would be better to the left, the side he seemed to be more natural on when Iheanacho and him successfully played together last season.

I'm not sure who would take the right position,  maybe try Daka or Maddison. It might suit Maddison to be able to play on the right but more central right, not as a winger. Recently he seemed to drift in more central and not be so wide.

[BKLFox]

5 minutes ago, messerschmitt said:

When you talk about the front 3, we don't play it anything like Liverpool. Our front 3 is more of a front 1 with a left and right winger. I don't think that Barnes or who ever is on the right work as a front 3.

Barnes plays too wide in a front 3. I don't think there is much difference in his position to when we play 4.3.3 or 4.2.3.1.

With the current set of players I can't help thinking that Iheanacho would be better in the central position, the Firmino role, especially when you consider his link up play. Vardy would be better to the left, the side he seemed to be more natural on when Iheanacho and him successfully played together last season.

I'm not sure who would take the right position,  maybe try Daka or Maddison. It might suit Maddison to be able to play on the right but more central right, not as a winger. Recently he seemed to drift in more central and not be so wide.

Agree we don’t play like a Liverpool front 3 as I mentioned because we don’t have that balance they have, this is where that formation falls over for us.

The signing of a player like Sangare mimics their midfield it’s then the issue of the 3 up top.

The con of playing that midfield is you miss the creativity someone like Youri brings but the pro is it’s highly affective in dominating the midfield as their role is to just shield the defence, it also means we don’t have to have the front 3 dropping or tracking back so much to aid with the graft meaning your front 3 are always higher up the pitch ready to receive it, which also means you’ve already started to peg the opposition back because they have to stay back to cover, if they stay on the halfway line they risk losing the foot race against Barnes, Vardy, Daka new fast RW/forward (Cornet?) or they drop deeper meaning we have opened up the pitch moving their players away from each other, it’s win-win.

 

We are not there this is my thinking into what he wants if he can’t have a Man C style, the 1st few signings will obviously give us a clue

[Stadt]

Rodgers isn't very introspective in my opinion, weaknesses are only addressed when they're acknowledged in the first place. He denied set pieces were a problem until December time and he seems to attribute blame on a lack of physicality rather than our coaching. It'd certainly help if we had bigger players but that's tackling a symptom rather than the root cause.

 

 

Quote

 

Leicester conceded another goal from a corner after struggling to defend set-pieces all season, with Rodgers saying his side’s Achilles’ heel “cost” them dearly.

“The corner… It’s been our problem all season,” he continued. “We have tried every structure in the box – man-marking and zonal – but clearly we lack physicality in the team to deal with certain situations consistently and that has cost us tonight.

“We really dominated the first leg and had opportunities so we always had it in the back of the mind that we might need to change it and get an extra body through the middle. The players responded really well second half.

“It’s been a great journey for us in Europe in the last couple of years. We have a lot of young players that are finding their way and this was a great experience for them. That will provide motivation for them next season. We just missed out so we’re disappointed but we need to finish the season strongly now and look to progress in the summer for next season.”

 

 

It's not just a case of man marking, zonal or a mixed system it's about discipline and devoting the time to work on set pieces. There's no silver bullet it takes more than just physicality. The Roma goal we conceded was from poor organisation, they are a more physical side but Abraham should have been more of a priority given he's 6'4 and strong aerially. Even Vardy (spare man at the front post) would have been a better option than Pereira to mark Abraham. Justin has consistently quite weak in the air so selecting Castagne instead was an option too.

 

I was listening to a podcast the other day from a former Brentford & Arsenal set piece coach, Andreas Georgson, he was essentially saying the manager decides how important set pieces are. Arsenal had a chronic problem but Arteta addressed it by bringing him in and allocated enough time to it training. Set pieces are boring and players hate it but teams become better at set pieces through mentality and discipline, they put the hard work in with a coach and reap the rewards rather than viewing it as an afterthought.

 

Whether it's Stowell, Davies, Toure, Sadler or Matthew Edge set pieces clearly isn't their strength so we should bring in a specialist (if we're sticking by Rodgers) to take over. Even if they're on £200k p/a (they're not) a PL goal is worth roughly £1m so even a an improvement of just 2 goals would be worth it.

 

Edited 10 June 2022 by Stadt

[volpeazzurro]

5 hours ago, Stadt said:

Rodgers isn't very introspective in my opinion, weaknesses are only addressed when they're acknowledged in the first place. He denied set pieces were a problem until December time and he seems to attribute blame on a lack of physicality rather than our coaching. It'd certainly help if we had bigger players but that's not a sliver bullet.

 

 

 

It's not just a case of man marking, zonal or a mixed system it's about discipline and devoting the time to work on set pieces. There's no silver bullet it takes more than just physicality. The Roma goal we conceded was poor organisation, they are a more physical side but Abraham should have been more of a priority given he's 6'4 and strong aerially. Even Vardy (spare man at the front post) would have been a better option than Pereira to mark Abraham. Justin has consistently quite weak in the air so selecting Castagne instead was an option too.

 

I was listening to a podcast the other day from a former Brentford & Arsenal set piece coach, Andreas Georgson, he was essentially saying the manager decides how important set pieces are. Arsenal had a chronic problem but Arteta addressed it by bringing him in and allocated enough time to it training. Set pieces are boring and players hate it but teams become better at set pieces through mentality and discipline, they put the hard work in with a coach and reap the rewards rather than viewing it as an afterthought.

 

Whether it's Stowell, Davies, Toure, Sadler or Matthew Edge set pieces clearly isn't their strength so we should bring in a specialist (if we're sticking by Rodgers) to take over. Even if they're on £200k p/a (they're not) a PL goal is worth roughly £1m so even a an improvement of just 2 goals would be worth it.

 

Totally agree with that. Purely blaming physicality is passing the book big style. Ultimately it's absolutely down to the manager to sort it and by disregarding and not owning the problem for such a long time it allowed the problem to perpetuate and become engrained. 

 

Yes, as you acknowledge, the addition of particular personnel may help the problem a bit but, sheer hard work is the only real way forward. A renowned specialist would be ideal but you've named 5 coaches above, what do they all do exactly? If one of them isn't capable then at least one needs to lose their job to pay for a new addition who can. The current crop of coaches should recognise that constant failure reflects on them and they are all capable of being replaced. It's a multimillion pounds business and they appear to have got too comfortable. 

 

Concentrate less on pretty little lethargic triangles at the back and add some aggression and dynamism. If they don't know how, time to move on!

Edited 10 June 2022 by volpeazzurro