Brendan

[red_maradona]

Was last night a crucial moment in his LFC career?

Probably too early too tell, but he has demonstrated himself to be arguably the best tactician in the league.

He's come up with a new system in the face of adversity. The system is like no other in the league. It has performed incredibly well. He has coached players to play in new positions remarkably well - Can, Skrtel (as a back three), Ibe/Markovic as wing backs. He has made big calls, leaving gerrard on the bench, playing sterling ahead of studge and being tough on Ballo.

Last night his system was not working, but he adapted and changed things. He did what the statistics told him to do first half - play his best XI in the best formation. However, he was not stubborn and quickly adjusted.

Amazing turnaround to the season. Massive credit to Brendan.

 

[doctor_mac]

Yes, said this in the match thread. He has a real knack of changing it at HT when we're not playing well.

We've now faced a real run of testing fixtures in the league and he has to take credit for finding solutions, particularly with injuries to some key players along the way. Lucas particularly was a rock for us when we began this positive run but now Allen has come forward and looks undroppable.

 

[peterhague]

As much as the half time switch was effective, I was concerned there was seemingly no attempt to make any small adjustments actually during the first half, just to shore things up. They completely dominated the game for about half an hour. Basically he got lucky because we should have been at least 2 down by the time he actually stepped in to change things.

 

[rurikbird]

As much as the half time switch was effective, I was concerned there was seemingly no attempt to make any small adjustments actually during the first half, just to shore things up. They completely dominated the game for about half an hour. Basically he got lucky because we should have been at least 2 down by the time he actually stepped in to change things.

He did make an adjustment: Lallana and Sterling switched places after 20 minutes. It wasn't enough though, but to change the whole system you needed at least to wait until half-time.

 

[FoxForceFive]

He did make an adjustment: Lallana and Sterling switched places after 20 minutes. It wasn't enough though, but to change the whole system you needed at least to wait until half-time.

No, you don't.

You need to have made sure your players are drilled enough that if you tell two or three key players the system is changing to X from Y they will all know what to do following their lead & basic instructions.

Rafa & Houllier did this extremely well.

 

[peterhague]

He did make an adjustment: Lallana and Sterling switched places after 20 minutes. It wasn't enough though, but to change the whole system you needed at least to wait until half-time.

Lallana and Sterling switching isn't an adjustment to the system!!

But I'm not even necessarily talking about a complete formation change. Just a very limited firefighting exercise to dampen their dominance and stop them getting so much joy around our box. I didn't see anything like that. And IMO Rodgers was lucky the game wasn't beyond us by half time.

All credit to him for the reorganisation, though.

 

[gkmacca]

He did well. More generally, this laying out bare of the 'system' and tactics, practically every match interview, seems to be almost begging opposing managers to think more incisively about how to counter it all. The time to explain such things is after the season's over and you're sipping champagne with a trophy next to you. I'd rather we kept schtum about it. But he's undeniably working well.

 

[FoxForceFive]

He did well. More generally, this laying out bare of the 'system' and tactics, practically every match interview, seems to be almost begging opposing managers to think more incisively about how to counter it all. The time to explain such things is after the season's over and you're sipping champagne with a trophy next to you. I'd rather we kept schtum about it. But he's undeniably working well.

He does like congratulating himself in public way too much for my liking.

 

[cloggypop]

The time to explain it is if he ever writes a book after retiring.

 

[FoxForceFive]

I'd much prefer it if he said something like "you have all the experts & spend hours watching the footage, you work it out" whilst laughing, so basically answering more like Kenny would really.

 

[the count]

It will be a great day indeed for the club when Liverpool fans loves Brendan as much as he loves himself.

 

[FoxForceFive]

It will be a great day indeed for the club when Liverpool fans loves Brendan as much as he loves himself.

That'd make a boss banner.

 

[cloggypop]

It will be a great day indeed for the club when Liverpool fans loves Brendan as much as he loves himself.

I do like him but I am not yet at the stage of filling my house with big fuckoff portraits of him.

 

[Gary25]

I think he's great.

 

[Mystic]

He did well. More generally, this laying out bare of the 'system' and tactics, practically every match interview, seems to be almost begging opposing managers to think more incisively about how to counter it all. The time to explain such things is after the season's over and you're sipping champagne with a trophy next to you. I'd rather we kept schtum about it. But he's undeniably working well.

To be honest, whilst I do think a part of it is self congratulation, I think it's more that he's creating the impression across the league that we/he is tactically superior the other teams and managers. It's simple mind games, but it makes our players more confident because everyone talks about our super duper system and tactics, and it makes other players and managers worry because they're already thinking about our super duper tactics before the game begins. It may sound ridiculous, but I believe it gives us an edge going into games.

 

[Woland]

I think he wants to be bummed across global websites like Klopp. That's why he slips hipster football jargon into every interview and gives a tactical post mortem that bleacher report could copy and paste.

I was thinking last night that he should shut the fuck up, but then... all that shit might scare some other coaches, thinking they're out-thunked before they even get on the pitch. Or maybe all the other managers just think he's a twat. It's a fine balance I guess.

 

[iseered]

It hardly matters what he says in interviews. Surely most managers put in the time studying all their opponents regardless.

 

[Markeh]

He didn't say intensity in the post match interview I saw last night, that was pleasing.

 

[C/O]

I love him.

But I'm not *in* love with him.

 

[gkmacca]

To be honest, whilst I do think a part of it is self congratulation, I think it's more that he's creating the impression across the league that we/he is tactically superior the other teams and managers. It's simple mind games, but it makes our players more confident because everyone talks about our super duper system and tactics, and it makes other players and managers worry because they're already thinking about our super duper tactics before the game begins. It may sound ridiculous, but I believe it gives us an edge going into games.

I don't actually think most of it IS self-congratulation. I think he just loves talking about tactics and systems. But I was thinking about this a while ago: Rafa actually used to chat almost as much to hacks about tactics and formations, but they tended to only report it in very vague and general terms (e.g. 'Rafa moves the salt and pepper around excitedly as he explains Mascherano's role...'). Maybe Brendan is too trusting of the hacks, and/or maybe they have more of an agenda with him, but they tend to include far more specific details about his discussions.

 

[FoxForceFive]

Some of it is almost certainly at the owners behest, I'm sure they said that part of their mandate for a manager is to be more transparent & forthcoming to the press & potential 'customers' of the 'brand'.

 

[FoxForceFive]

It hardly matters what he says in interviews. Surely most managers put in the time studying all their opponents regardless.

You should watch Tim Sherwood during a match & listen to him afterwards if you genuinely think that's the case.

 

[Red Astaire]

You should watch Tim Sherwood during a match & listen to him afterwards if you genuinely think that's the case.

LOL - Tim Sherwood always sounds like a complete fuckwit. He has a hilarious inability to pronounce the phonic "Th" for starters.

"I fink I fought it was a good game" - I genuinely don't know how he's a premier league manager.

 

[FoxForceFive]

That's cos he IS a complete fuckwit.

 

[hamstrung_pigeon]

As much as the half time switch was effective, I was concerned there was seemingly no attempt to make any small adjustments actually during the first half, just to shore things up. They completely dominated the game for about half an hour. Basically he got lucky because we should have been at least 2 down by the time he actually stepped in to change things.

Actually, there was one - switching Lallana and Sterling after, I think, maybe 20 minutes? Lallana was rubbish at RWB and at least Rodgers corrected that, well somewhat.

Nothing he could do to address Can's frailties given the personnel on the pitch at that time though. Henderson picking up a quick yellow - no thanks to Lallana's and Can's dereliction of their defensive duties - also didn't help, as it meant he couldn't be as combative as usual from early on. I'm not sure he could've changed things much without a sub otherwise. I can understand the reluctance to burn one quickly in the first half, though in this case, it probably could've been warranted.

 

[peterhague]

Actually, there was one - switching Lallana and Sterling after, I think, maybe 20 minutes? Lallana was rubbish at RWB and at least Rodgers corrected that, well somewhat.

Nothing he could do to address Can's frailties given the personnel on the pitch at that time though. Henderson picking up a quick yellow - no thanks to Lallana's and Can's dereliction of their defensive duties - also didn't help, as it meant he couldn't be as combative as usual from early on. I'm not sure he could've changed things much without a sub otherwise. I can understand the reluctance to burn one quickly in the first half, though in this case, it probably could've been warranted.

We were being overrun by Swansea, they're not Barcelona. All we needed was to get through to half time, I simply don't believe there wasn't more we could do just to stem the flow of attacks. Coaches do that stuff all the time.

 

[cloggypop]

They are the Welsh Barcelona.

 

[Oncy]

Its Mr Rodgers.

 

[mark1975]

I don't actually think most of it IS self-congratulation. I think he just loves talking about tactics and systems. But I was thinking about this a while ago: Rafa actually used to chat almost as much to hacks about tactics and formations, but they tended to only report it in very vague and general terms (e.g. 'Rafa moves the salt and pepper around excitedly as he explains Mascherano's role...'). Maybe Brendan is too trusting of the hacks, and/or maybe they have more of an agenda with him, but they tend to include far more specific details about his discussions.

It's almost like he's egging teams on to try to combat what we put out there, it's cocky but I think he likes the tactical battle - the plus side is, he seems to nearly always have something up his sleeve and a willingness to try to adapt.

He was stubborn earlier in the season over the Gerrard role/issue, but I think by and large he's a quick learner and keen to not see his systems pigeon-holed. The defensive record away from home this season has all but put to bed the theory that we're a gung-ho side who don't know how to defend. Whereas Houllier and Rafa's pragmatic styles dogged their careers with us and eventually undid them, he seems a bit more willing to learn and not be stubborn and arrogant about his beliefs. That and he seems a bit more able to instill his methods but also be flexible around it.

 

[iseered]

You should watch Tim Sherwood during a match & listen to him afterwards if you genuinely think that's the case.

A few like Tim won't (and their minions deal with it). But then again, it hardly matters what Rodgers says, either they will study his tactics regardless or they won't regardless!