Paul is this you !Brendan Rodgers is banishing the Liverpool

[Sir X]

Brendan Rodgers is banishing the Liverpool ghost of Rafa Benitez

There are many superlatives with which to describe Liverpool's recent form - and let's face it, we are quickly running out of them.

But perhaps his greatest achievement - in just under two seasons at the club, is how the ghosts of Rafa Benitez' recent achievements are being laid to rest.

The Spaniard is still held in high regard on Merseyside, and the football his side played in 2008/09 seen as the benchmark for the club to try to emulate ever since.

http://hereisthecity.com/en-gb/2014/...-rafa-benitez/

[Sir X]

No This Is Not Me .

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Yokohama Liverpool Fan • 6 hours ago
I think jumping the gun comes to mind. As great as our form has been of late we have not won anything yet and Brendan will not really be challenged the way Rafa was until we are playing in Europe and fighting on two fronts.
We beat a Man United side on the decline so we shouldn't compare the 2 games Carragher mentioned. Ferguson's title winning side had Ronaldo and Rooney back then.
We are a very entertaining to watch, consistently getting points against the lower positioned teams in the League with our attacking style although our porous defense is bad for the heart and infuriating at times.
Liverpool have the best striking partnership in the League (maybe even the World) and a great winger on the rise in Sterling. Defensively Liverpool have been poor or average at best. It will be interesting to see if our barnstorming, swashbuckling tactics will work against tougher more disciplined sides in the Champions League next season. Under Rafa we not only won it in 2005 miraculously but regularly got to the quarters, semis and a final where we really should have beaten AC Milan who won by a lucky deflection off Inzaghi.
We are still unproven against top European sides and I will include Chelsea and Man City into that equation. We are a team in progress still and players like Allen are no Alonso or Mascherano and will not have gotten near our team the last time we were in the CL.
If we can address our weaknesses or areas where we are a little thin in depth in the summer there will be plenty to be hopeful about.
A commanding CB, Internatoinal class LB, 2 MFs: one creative/clinical and the other a solid powerhouse DMF (Mascherano type) then we can really start to dominate. A long term replacement for Gerrard, another goal scoring winger, backup striker to replace Aspas if we choose to loan Borini out for another year will also be useful. Strength to fight on two fronts and rotate will be a new challenge next season in the evolution of Brendan's Liverpool side.
2 big wins against Man City and Chelsea at home and a near perfect finish to the season to bring home the title and then we can really start to dream!! For now I am just content to enjoy the ride.
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rubyrm Yokohama Liverpool Fan • 5 hours ago
Enjoy the Ride we must. It's been way too long a wait for this ride
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Alan • 2 hours ago
Brendan is doing superb this season. However, Rafa won trophies and was runner up in another Champions League final and league cup final. Brendan's style is nice on the eye, but in the end at a club like Liverpool it comes down to winning things. Let's hope Brendan can take the club to that level.

[Peter R]

I agree with some of those sentiments... he has to win something to be in that elite class of managers. Having said that he (BR) may have become a victim of his own success; I don't think many expected this position and so soon after taking over, now the expectations have quickly ramped up and so BR will be under greater pressure from the fans and acolytes than was to be expected at this stage of his tenure.

[Sir X]

I hope he wins the Prem ,give him some breathing room.He has potential...ahhh mean Rafa tie up,suh wi stuck wid im.If we dont win ,next season will be a pressure cooker.

Granted we will stick with him ,but he has to win something tangebile,FA cup at least.

[Paul Marin]

No This Is Not Me .

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Yokohama Liverpool Fan • 6 hours ago
I think jumping the gun comes to mind. As great as our form has been of late we have not won anything yet and Brendan will not really be challenged the way Rafa was until we are playing in Europe and fighting on two fronts.
We beat a Man United side on the decline so we shouldn't compare the 2 games Carragher mentioned. Ferguson's title winning side had Ronaldo and Rooney back then.
We are a very entertaining to watch, consistently getting points against the lower positioned teams in the League with our attacking style although our porous defense is bad for the heart and infuriating at times.
Liverpool have the best striking partnership in the League (maybe even the World) and a great winger on the rise in Sterling. Defensively Liverpool have been poor or average at best. It will be interesting to see if our barnstorming, swashbuckling tactics will work against tougher more disciplined sides in the Champions League next season. Under Rafa we not only won it in 2005 miraculously but regularly got to the quarters, semis and a final where we really should have beaten AC Milan who won by a lucky deflection off Inzaghi.
We are still unproven against top European sides and I will include Chelsea and Man City into that equation. We are a team in progress still and players like Allen are no Alonso or Mascherano and will not have gotten near our team the last time we were in the CL.
If we can address our weaknesses or areas where we are a little thin in depth in the summer there will be plenty to be hopeful about.
A commanding CB, Internatoinal class LB, 2 MFs: one creative/clinical and the other a solid powerhouse DMF (Mascherano type) then we can really start to dominate. A long term replacement for Gerrard, another goal scoring winger, backup striker to replace Aspas if we choose to loan Borini out for another year will also be useful. Strength to fight on two fronts and rotate will be a new challenge next season in the evolution of Brendan's Liverpool side.
2 big wins against Man City and Chelsea at home and a near perfect finish to the season to bring home the title and then we can really start to dream!! For now I am just content to enjoy the ride.
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rubyrm Yokohama Liverpool Fan • 5 hours ago
Enjoy the Ride we must. It's been way too long a wait for this ride
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Alan • 2 hours ago
Brendan is doing superb this season. However, Rafa won trophies and was runner up in another Champions League final and league cup final. Brendan's style is nice on the eye, but in the end at a club like Liverpool it comes down to winning things. Let's hope Brendan can take the club to that level.

In the year that Rafa won the UCL, we finished 5th with a paltry 58 points. UEFA had to change the rules to let us defend our trophy. Rodgers didn't do much better in his first season either, finishing with 61 points, but he also did not have the team Rafa had - which while not great, was better than what Rodgers inherited.

Another important difference is that Rafa and Rodgers have two VERY DIFFERENT philosophies that make it IMPERATIVE to give Rodgers even more time as he is transforming a deeply rooted system across the entire club. Rodgers's style is attacking. Rafa's was defensive. Rafa was very stingy on giving up goals, Rodgers takes the approach that if you score, we'll score more.

The kinds of players he found at Anfield when he showed up were totally incapable of playing this style, so the transformation will take time, especially because he can't afford the players he wants. Had Willian come to Anfield, we'd have had the title locked up already.

Anyway, I am still AMAZED that he is able to do what he's done with the team we have. Said another way, this team is punching WAY above it's weight. We have 3, maybe 4 world class players and that's it. The fact that we have to put Jon Flanagan on the field is mind blowing example of how bare the kitchen cupboard really is.

So to put this in perspective. The odds of Liverpool winning the title this year is slim, despite recent great form. First of all, JM has never lost a title from a leading position with 7 games to go. Second, we'd have to RUN THE TABLE (meaning that we'd have to win all our remaining games translating to finishing the last half of the season with a record of 17 WINS and 2 DRAWS!!!! Are you kidding me? This includes by the way, having to have victories over Chelsea, City AND Spurs. And third, City has to draw with someone in addition to losing to us.

If that can all come together. Rodgers could die the next day and would be considered one of our GREATEST MANAGERS OF ALL TIME. Even if he didn't win, what he has done with such "meager" resources (our squad is worth a full £100m less than Arsenal and Chelsea, and £170m less than City) is nothing short of phenomenal.

So when we talk of him winning something, I accept that is a measure, but winning anything with a small squad with only a handful of bonafide stars, that's just plain and simple unfair. Give him City or Chelsea money and he would destroy the prem and maybe even Europe after a season or two. This dude appears to be the real deal. But don't tell that to the turncoat fifth columnists among us who cyan stand fi see anybody but Rafa in our dugout. Rafa did his thing, now it's Rodgers time!

[Paul Marin]

I hope he wins the Prem ,give him some breathing room.He has potential...ahhh mean Rafa tie up,suh wi stuck wid im.If we dont win ,next season will be a pressure cooker.

Granted we will stick with him ,but he has to win something tangebile,FA cup at least.

X - FSG will stick with him as long as he keeps us in the UCL - there is zero cup or title requirement from the business side of things. The owners priority is financing a stadium renovation for the long term health of the club. For Rodgers, his legacy has to be in winning trophies, but that's his problem (and certain fans problem), FSG could give a sh*t as long as the cashflow stays strong, which means UCL. It's that simple. Rodgers could be here for 20 more years and not win one dyam ting and FSG would be okay with that. Chuss me...dem want gold, not silver.

[Karl]

Can beat both Chelsea and ManCity. Should if bold attacking play. ...and other way and you lose to Chelsea. Chelsea is great defensively and the only way to take them apart is to attack relentlessly...give then time to only catch their breaths.

ManCity easier to defeat they always give opponents many chances at goal in each of their matches.

[Sir X]

I keep telling u were are not Arsenal,if you have FSG ambitions of not winning anything,you will have a revolt on your hands,you see MAN U, CHELSEA ,MAN CITY ,standards ,every year dem expect fi win something.

If yuh come wid yuh 5th columist arguements again....I have to label yuh as hostile protaganoist.

We are into trophys, top 4 or no top 4 ,financially stable or bankrupt..yuh see mi !....ask Moyes.

YUh ave FSG/Your standrads then yuh ave di Liverpool standard ,Gwaamn wid yuh 5th or (fist) columiniust reasoning.

[Sir X]

Yuh miss the perspective even alluding to it ,the year we won the CL we finished 5th ?...so we competed on two fronts with a squad you admit was a little better than Rodgers squad ,won the C.L and barely missed 4th spot.

Rodgers 1st season was a disaster,this 2nd one alot better after having a holday schedule to begin with no CL and then a early summer knocked out of the all cups.

Rodgers have alot of question marks to answer,this season and next...YNWA youth coach.

[Paul Marin]

I keep telling u were are not Arsenal,if you have FSG ambitions of not winning anything,you will have a revolt on your hands,you see MAN U, CHELSEA ,MAN CITY ,standards ,every year dem expect fi win something.

If yuh come wid yuh 5th columist arguements again....I have to label yuh as hostile protaganoist.

We are into trophys, to 4 or no top 4 ,financially stable or bankrupt..yuh see mi !....ask Moyes.

YUh ave FSG/Your standrads then yuh ave di Liverpool standard ,Gwaamn wid yuh 5th or (fist) columiniust reasoning.

You are so out of touch with reality, it's a wonder you can even turn on your computer. Let me ask you a question, what circumstances led to City "expecting to win something every year"? Where were they before the Sheikh? With your thinking, we will end up like Leeds, another former great club destroyed by delusional pursuits of silver with a blindness that would make Stevie Wonder look like a owl.

You need fi rub the last two remaining brain cell enna u dundo head and THINK!! Drop the emotion and realise what is going on. FFP once it kicks in will be our saving grace...educate yourself and stop call big man names more appropriate fi fi u mirra!

And by the way...don't u is a City man? So why u a bodda trouble uself ova Liverpool? KMT.

[Sir X]

Poor yuh ....try bring dat Arsenal mentality to pool,who yuh tink a guh siddung 8 years and wait fi a trophy ?

You !...5th columnist

[Paul Marin]

Poor yuh ....try bring dat Arsenal mentality to pool,who yuh tink a guh siddung 8 years and wait fi a trophy ?

You !...5th columnist

Run galang a City dyam traita a call proper red man 5th columnis!!! Dyam facety. Dem have nuff money an can afford to dash whey gold fi buy silva. Unu fool so til... Me nah go mek u tear down mi club wid u madniss.

[Paul Marin]

Yuh miss the perspective even alluding to it ,the year we won the CL we finished 5th ?...so we competed on two fronts with a squad you admit was a little better than Rodgers squad ,won the C.L and barely missed 4th spot.

Rodgers 1st season was a disaster,this 2nd one alot better after having a holday schedule to begin with no CL and then a early summer knocked out of the all cups.

Rodgers have alot of question marks to answer,this season and next...YNWA youth coach.

See you jersey yahso - lef we an gwaaan.

[Paul Marin]

See fi mi own yahso

[Sir X]

OK Hodgson ....Truth coming from a Man U man ,im know standards,listen.I understand di standard.IF YOU/ FSG cant handle it get out.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy8LdGQt_6Y