Despite Christmas defeats to Chelsea and Manchester City, Liverpool are exactly where they need to be at this stage of the campaign: strongly challenging for a Champions League place, and well-equipped to consolidate that challenge in the second half of the season. Transfer business aside, Brendan Rodgers is doing a stellar job in the Anfield hot-seat, but old habits die hard, and the boss is still prone to making hyperbolic, overly dramatic statements that make very little sense in the real world.
Some of the stuff Rodgers comes out with is cringeworthy in the extreme. Take today's press conference, for example.
After heaping praise on his 'outstanding' players after two straight defeats, Rodgers further praised the squad for having the 'courage' to go and play football. When asked what he'd learned about his players over the last few games, Rodgers enthused:
"What's been reinforced is the courage of the players; their bravery to get on the ball, and the courage to take the game to the opponents. The squad has shown me they have great pride in their work, and they'll keep going to the very end"
Jeez - what is Rodgers talking about? Courage? Bravery?! This is not Iraq or Afghanistan. It's a group of men kicking a football around. What do 'courage' and 'bravery' have to do with it? Rodgers makes it sound like these grossly overpaid playboys are making some kind of personal sacrifice, when the reality is they're living the dream: playing football and getting paid.
I may be mistaken, but 'getting on the ball' and 'taking the game to the opponent' is a footballer's job, is it not?! What else are they supposed to do? The very least the players can do is actually get on the field and attempt to implement the manager's instructions. Why do LFC's players deserve fawning praise for doing the basics?
To his credit, Rodgers has toned down the mollycoddling glorification this season, but I'm sorry, I just can't stomach footballers being worshipped in this manner. Praise them when it's deserved; lionise when there's a reason, but don't laud players for carrying out the bare minimum of what's expected of a professional football (!)
What next? Drooling adoration for having the 'bravery' to take long-distance shots? Rampant exultation for having the 'courage' to tackle opposition players?
Author: Jaimie K
Some of the stuff Rodgers comes out with is cringeworthy in the extreme. Take today's press conference, for example.
After heaping praise on his 'outstanding' players after two straight defeats, Rodgers further praised the squad for having the 'courage' to go and play football. When asked what he'd learned about his players over the last few games, Rodgers enthused:
"What's been reinforced is the courage of the players; their bravery to get on the ball, and the courage to take the game to the opponents. The squad has shown me they have great pride in their work, and they'll keep going to the very end"
Jeez - what is Rodgers talking about? Courage? Bravery?! This is not Iraq or Afghanistan. It's a group of men kicking a football around. What do 'courage' and 'bravery' have to do with it? Rodgers makes it sound like these grossly overpaid playboys are making some kind of personal sacrifice, when the reality is they're living the dream: playing football and getting paid.
I may be mistaken, but 'getting on the ball' and 'taking the game to the opponent' is a footballer's job, is it not?! What else are they supposed to do? The very least the players can do is actually get on the field and attempt to implement the manager's instructions. Why do LFC's players deserve fawning praise for doing the basics?
To his credit, Rodgers has toned down the mollycoddling glorification this season, but I'm sorry, I just can't stomach footballers being worshipped in this manner. Praise them when it's deserved; lionise when there's a reason, but don't laud players for carrying out the bare minimum of what's expected of a professional football (!)
What next? Drooling adoration for having the 'bravery' to take long-distance shots? Rampant exultation for having the 'courage' to tackle opposition players?
Author: Jaimie K
BR knows they players are being played past their fitness, slamming
ReplyDeletethem now would almost work in opposite way.
jaimie sometimes you just argue for the sake of arguing.. by bravery and courage what rodgers meant is that just 2 days after they played a very intense at man city they went to chelsea and still played a good game and we could have got a better result on another day if the referees had done their job properly.. also courage and bravery come in many different forms not just going to war
ReplyDeleteLooool! BR makes me laugh, I read that I thought the same thing. Can you imagine if we make top four?
ReplyDeleteBR: I think these players should be knighted and given the key to the city, they showed a self sacrificing spirit, even though they could have died.
Lol!!!!
I'm actually flabbergasted at even your negativity with this article
ReplyDeleteto me he is praising them so they don't drop their heads and feel down which would be normal after losing two in a row and a lot of decisions not going their way, good team management to me
ReplyDeleteJaimie, try being positive. Try giving BR a go, he's taken a 7th place team far past where they should be - he had us top of the league. This team isn't that good but he's got us there with some great football along the way. I might not agree with every word he says but I'll support him and the team. You'll never walk alone? Well you will if with Jaimie as your supporter.
ReplyDeleteSorry mate but I truly despise you. Your the most negative red ive ever known and people should just should just by pass Jamie K
ReplyDeleteIt's harsh to tell someone you "truly despise" them but you have said you're sorry, so I'm sure he'll understand.
ReplyDeleteChrist almighty, Jack is really cranking these posts out.
ReplyDeleteI wasnt hoping for the title even before the city game, but now, I almost lost the CL hopes as well, its all about that squad depth we lacking in ages, losing almost every derby thats not the way you go to cl. The problem is the same, we dont spend and when we do we screw it totally, do fsg and rodgers think we will go to cl by getting on loan the rejected players? Seriously? Refs, played a massive part but still I blame first the fsg then rodgers for screwing the team, why do we always get owners who know nothing about football, its sick really, thats going on for ages, the people are tired, enough joking with this club, we have to be winning things every year or every two years at least, im afraid same will happen in jan. Rodgers to get some more rejects on loan and we gonna win the league, true sadness.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think BR praised the team when it was rightly due. A thin squad, missing two starters (& two of the best players in EPL this season), playing 2 back to back away matches in 72 hrs, against two richest clubs having couple of sets of reserves to alter, being robbed by referee but still keeping discipline & fighting till last minutes were indeed praise worthy. After what MCity had done to visitors at Ettihad & JM's league record at home, how many of us believed that we could have kept the scoreline to that competitive? Boys played really well (to me, they played better at Ettihad than WHLane) & unless Manager recognizes that, often oral goes down. It's not that, due to these words, players 'll be complacent in next match. Agree, a loss is still a loss, but there is not point demoralizing team before Hull match. At the start of the season, anytime I would have taken 2-1 defeat at MCity & Chelsea.
ReplyDeleteIDK JAMIE but have you actually balled in your life time cuz your sound like a total rookie not understanding what BR meant by stating that the team showed bravery and courage. And yes I do understand that it is a footballers job to get on the ball and take shots, and even though this isnt siria or egypt wars you still need some balls to get into a game, attack an opponent and defend vs one too. It takes mad confidence and great pair if you ask me to come out of a tunnel and face someone like david luiz or yaya toure. Especially knowing that our team is depleeted with out any support from the bench common you have to have some guts to do so especially in the EPL LFC YNWA TIA
ReplyDeleteYou do not need 'balls' to do the very easy job for which you're paid ridiculously well. A footballer's job is to 'get on the ball' and 'take the game to the opposition', and if they can't handle that, then there are plenty of players out there who can.
ReplyDeleteGee, I'm sorry. Next time I'll ask your permission to have an opinion. If you don't like this site, then please don't come back. Simple, no?
ReplyDeleteUsing words like 'courage' and 'bravery' to describe the bog-standard aspects of football diminished those who actually have to display real courage and bravery on a daily basis.
ReplyDeleteWe are talking about some of the most privileged individuals on the planet here, who have lackeys at their beck and call making life as comfortable as possible. This kind of mollycoddling is sickening (IMO)
No one said anything about 'slamming' the players, certainly not me.
ReplyDeleteHaha. Good one.
ReplyDeleteWe get it, you hate Rodgers.
ReplyDeleteI like your website and visit it everyday so dont get all emotional when I let you know that I am trully disappointed with your response and this proved to me that you probably never played footy at a competitive level in your life and what the hell does having big wages have anything to do with having confidence and balls when you play. Look at Fernando Torres mad wages yet no confidence and balls when he plays. So far i have only seen him go HAM on spurs a few match days back.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate you visiting the site, but do you often get 'disappointed' when people have the temerity to hold a different opinion to you? And why is my response 'emotional'? I just gave a simple response to your comment.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I have played football to a decent level, and continue to play to this day (well, until I broke my leg two months ago, but I'll be back!)
I appreciate that players need confidence, but in my view, this just goes too far. Praising players for doing what they should automatically be doing in every game is just silly.
well no really but i just felt you are not seeing the bigger picture in BR's mind, i just feel that hes a players manager that will ride for his players. alot of other managers would probably throw less confident players under the bus. but i think its his way of giving our squad a pat on the back. We just have no depth but YNWA.
ReplyDeleteWhen I made this post, there were a lot of posts by Jack.
ReplyDeleteI'm not mental.
you need zero courage to play football what a ludicrous suggestion..its a sport, sure going in for tackles can hurt and sometimes result in an injury but the 100 grand a week kinda compensates for it.they are living the dream i repeat living the dream
ReplyDeleteim sure your a soccer referee too haha. living a dream that comes with a mass amount of pressure to win so that does take courage to rep one of the biggest clubs in the uk. messing up on a dribble, shot or pass and having to execute that same action again after messing up on the one before does not need any courage.common dude up your game g.
ReplyDeletei think you are showing a real Dunkirk spirit writing this forum never have so many owed so much to so few...epic bravery on a biblical scale
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's a huge problem that BR is always encouraging and praising his team. However, i think BR needs to work on his balance. If he had said something along the lines of, "my players had courage to go to two difficult away rivals and be brave on the ball, and take the game to them. But we need to work some things out because we lost both games which is not good enough." I'd be okay with that. BR makes it seem as if losing is acceptable sometimes. Of course teams expect to make mistakes, and lose games, and there should be a 'let's move on' mentality, but let's be real about what happened, both good and bad.
ReplyDeleteits the kind of pressure i wouldn't mind having a punt at..you get a lottery win for being sacked ...listen i know there are aspects to being famous which id assume are tough but the actual playing of the game isn't ..your kicking a ball on a pitch you have to keep it in perspective
ReplyDeletewell if some one says someother view which is other than what the author here (jamie k) says then (jamie k)says stop coming to site . if this site is only for your views then delete the comments box . come on we people have views and you are not 100% right always . so take our views as well in your chin and move on .
ReplyDeletewell BR was right somewhat !! he meant those words not like a war basis , think it as this way . reds are not having players of city's squad so liverpool players must be brave enough to play in their home turf with so much of confidence though they know if they lose the ball then city can punish them ruthlessly like they did against arsenal and man u .
please dont be so so harsh on everything )) nobody likes if they be harsh on you . do you? :D
WELL WISHER ))
Nonsense. I only tell people to stop coming here when they make snide remarks like 'I despise you', or 'I hate this site'.
ReplyDeleteWhat is it with Brendon reporters have to tell him 24 hours later what Mourinho said bout Suarez and who swaped shirts at half time - has he o confidents at Anfield ?. he better wise p
ReplyDeleteActually, I won't wait for a response to my reply to your previous comment. I don't like this site (well, your negativity and stupid posts). How dare you tell a customer if they don't like it don't come back. Without us, your customers, you have no site. I don't care how to reply to my comments as I won't be around to read them. I also couldn't care less for your response after what I've just read. I pity you, I really do. Even if we win the treble next year you'll still find something to be negative about. Some fan you are. Goodbye troll.
ReplyDeleteWhat ever your chosen field is you put courage and bravery in to every performance. Whether you pic up a guitar or kick a ball. I don't think you can critisze because they play football and they get paid that much because they are offerend that. Everyone here would take it too. I don't have sympathy for footballers but I won't critisze them just because they earn more then I do.
ReplyDeleteMaybe BR has taken the roll of staying positive. Right or wrong, I would prefer this to seeing Kenny be so sharp and spiky in every interview.
True,they're grown men,well mostly.There's times BR comes across as a youth team coach just falling short of mentioning we're stopping the bus at Ronnie Mac's for a treat on the way home.Time to man-up.
ReplyDeleteWELL ok what about my rest of view on courage and confidence. did you have nothing to say about that??
ReplyDeleteI disagree with your view, but you're entitled to it.
ReplyDelete'Many comrades have fallen throughout this quest...and it gives light to the heroic sacrifices that these sons...fathers...brothers....and nephews made for one another. The contributions of our fallen brothers, D Studge, Stevie G and Enrique, were in vain, but forever cherished and never forgotten.'
ReplyDeleteWrong words to use from Rodgers, but to be fair to him, I highly doubt that he meant them on the comparative level to Soldiers in the middle east. The sporting and real life every day contexts of courage are 2 very different things. Sometimes, there is real courage in sport, when for example lunatics surf 80 ft waves, or when they do rock climbing without a harness. But in this instance, I think BR used those words in the place of sheer determination and perseverance.
ReplyDeleteyou will have to disagree because if you agree then your whole article will be pointless )) haha
ReplyDeletegood job anyway mate )) i cant say excellent..just good))
Interesting point. I wish Rodgers will develop at some point or i suspect that it wouldn't work eventually. Unfortunately. Then we can also dispose the sickbasterds FSG. They don't care. Only secret future business plans.
ReplyDeleteGive me a brake BR. Allen, Sterling and Coutinho wet themselves when they have a free shot at goal. If they were brave, and i'm series, those would have been goals. I really mean it.
ReplyDeleteSleep on that BR i hope you read this forum.
BR is not good enough for LFC. I like him though. Mark those words.
ReplyDeleteLook on the bright side... at least he didn't say... "They were brilliant. I cannot fault them".
ReplyDeleteCan't agree more!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you never allowed my comments to be uttered. It proved me right. You won't allow freedom of speech....unless its yourself of course.
ReplyDeleteI'll write them off as utter nonsense, that's all.
ReplyDeleteI think all he's saying is, they've began to start playing football the way he wants i.e attacking football. The fight Liverpool put up against two of strongest squads in the league is certainly admirable.
ReplyDeleteHahaha :-)
ReplyDeleteI was unaware the words courage and bravery are strictly off limits to those not in the military and/or doing some sort of dangerous work. He lauds them for putting in the maximum effort and then you go and write about how we should sign someone like Berbatov who most of the time could not care less about trying hard.
ReplyDeletephilkop
ReplyDeleteSorry Jamie, u are missing the point, playing in front of 40,000 people takes guts. Also the players are taking flak from every corner and our youngsters like sterling are playing against so called world class players and are giving them a real game. The fact they are pros doesn't mean they will automatically stand up against the tide which our boys have done. Rogers recognize s this as should you. We will make top 4, by beating them at anfield. Come on Jamie,believe!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI have been very impressed over the last two games how the team have taken the game to both City and Chelsea , There is an enthusiasm that is coming through the team which is bloody great to see which I haven't seen on a regular bases since the Roy Evens era (I compare the Evans team because this side has similar traits like very exacting attack poor defense and a bit naive in key moments of big games) . You could argue that the city game was our best performance of the season. It's good to see Rodgers praise the team for their effects as I still think we on the up despite a lot of fans that Ive heard on the radio almost calling for Rodgers head. This week could be turning point where Liverpool start to turn from a good team into a very good team via new signings and from learning from their mistakes which Evans team failed to achieve.
ReplyDeleteReally, haha good one! Why bother supporting them then!! If we get top 4 the players deserve total credit and adulation, its not easy wearing the Liverpool shirt, the history alone is a burden. You may think that earning the money makes it an easy job, but really, its an ego based business and these guys are expected to perform every week and if they don't they are slammed. Seeing it as a privilege is too simplistic, its their job, so they take the bad performances home. Of course its a dream job to us but tell that to aspas or borini or fellani , do you think they sit at home and think I don't care what the fans think, at least I'm loaded???
ReplyDeleteC'mon Jaimie, give BR a break, he is in a tight spot with a lack of good players. And before you mention Aspas, Borrini et al as a waste of cash, look at other clubs, it happens to them too. Even Wenger bought Chamakh and Sir Alex bought Obertan, it happens to the best of them. Courage and bravery is needed in a team, that is why United have won so many titles, because they never give up until the final whistle. How many times have they come back and tied/won in extra time in the last few seasons, so many, it pissed me off so much especially in 2008 when we finished 2nd, 4 points behind. Remember that Macheda goal to win it in extra time against Aston Villa? I almost threw my beer through the TV watching that. Anyway, I posted this on a previous article, but I believe with some 2/3 more buys we will be really strong (if we get Cole, Salah, and a 3rd AM)
ReplyDelete.............................Mignolet.............................
Flano/Glen.....Sakho/Kolo.....Skrtle/Agger.....Jose/A. Cole
.........................Gerrard/Lucas....................
Sterling/Coutinho.....Salah/Henderson.....Coutinho/????
..................Suarez..........Sturridge/Salah...............
I just had a thought? . . . amidst all the drama and the seething passion of the Chelsea game, should I spare a thought for the players on the subs bench? For, amongst those subs, was a raw 19-year-old Australian (remember Gallipoli, 1914-18 war) who was there to jump in and feel the atmosphere and enter the field of play. When I hear about courage, etc., I think that over-used word was part of Private Brad Smith, who, when ''General Hague'' put the musket in that young man's hand and sent him into battle at Stamford Bridge, Pvte Smith must have thought to himself ''this is life or death for me . . . it could be my first, or last game.'' It will probably be the latter, I'm afraid. R.I.P.
ReplyDeleteThe only other better coach for LFC is Benitez, he was loved by the fans and delivered trophies. We should have grabbed him again before Napoli.
ReplyDeleteAny Grobelaar 'big name coming in January' sightings yet?
ReplyDeleteI am still hanging on to that- it cant be Egyptian Messi(with all do respect)...
ReplyDeleteKanwar= phoney LFC Fan = phoney LFC Site = simples
ReplyDeletePar for the course as far as press conferences go. You gotta switch it up a bit, rather than they "fought for every ball, gave 110%". So you can forgive BR for his words.
ReplyDeleteNow for transfer business. Some interesting transfer odds, namely will hughes 4/11, Christian Tello 1/3, Ryan Bertrand 9/4, Pedro 5/1, Tom Ince 11/2. Mata, Reus, Koke, Alonso, etc. are all long shots. Doesn't mean any or all are coming, but tells you where the chatter is.
Maybe there is some secret target that they've kept on the down-lo that'll kick ass. Interestingly no odds for rakitic.
well said JK
ReplyDeleteExactly BR is like Henderson a work in progress. But I believe he will become a great manager. I hope for LFC's sake he can do that quickly. He needs to stop making naive mistakes such as sending on Smith in the last game when he had Alberto sitting there. We don't need a punter in charge we need a maestro. I like BR too hopefully he will fulfill his potential sooner rather than later.
ReplyDeleteOr Salah.
ReplyDeleteBeing brave in football is having the confidence and composure to get on the ball and play positive passing football despite being behind away from home against a superior side. Different from the bravery shown in war but brave in its own context.
ReplyDeleteTo me they showed some grit but to say courage and bravery is a bit over i suppose it could be used if they were 5 foot weaklings taking on Wigans front row in rugby.
ReplyDeleteLiverpool haven't played like this for a long time. Even during times when we had a stronger squad.
ReplyDeleteApart from Dalglish's initial 6 months.
It does take courage and belief to play a passing game, to play it out from the back, to play it into midfielders feet who then get turned on the ball and create opportunities.
We have just had a pretty cruel run of fixtures, away to two of the strongest squads in Europe in the space of 3 days, when they have had opportunities to rest players. City had us at home then Palace. Chelsea had Swansea at home then us...........
On another note, Mourinho showed what an utter hypocrite he is in his post match interview. Firstly he attempts to damage the reputation of the much redeemed Suarez, by claiming that Eto'o's idiotic foul was nothing and that Suarez dived. Suarez should sue him for defamation
Then he claims not to like these kinds of players, having built his career on the work of cheats. Porto back in the day v Celtic, then Drogba etc. This is from a manger that gouged an opponents eye. There doesn't seem to be one journalist willing to pull him up on his utter hypocrisy.
Even Ivanovic was injured off the field, but came back on and sat down to stop play. That should be a yellow card in my view.
australia was basically born in that battle.
ReplyDeleteBR is an Irishman. Storytelling is in his DNA. He could just say they're doing what I ask them to do but that would sound so much less poetic :-) To quote another honorary Irishman...let it be :-)
ReplyDeleteMourinho is the king at these type of mind games, the media fall for it every time.
ReplyDeleteNick you just made me burst out laughing in my office!!! People are all looking at me hahahaha! That is hilarious! Can you imagine if he said that lol!
ReplyDeleteBR is so passionate lol! Like when he said he would die for Liverpool. He tried though.
Perhaps the choice of words are not appropriate but I think the point being made is that in the light of so many teams being mauled by Man City, liverpool continued to play with their game plan. Also at no point did we hoof the ball up the field - hoping we nicked something. I think this is the point: we played our game in light of all the challenges. Perhaps the meaning to some of "courage & bravery" is of life/death situations. To others, it can mean a mental strength in the face of a seemingly daunting challenge. In footballing terms it was a daunting challenge for liverpool to go to city - they did it and dominated them (at times).
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't take much sophistication to blatantly misrepresent reality.
ReplyDeleteThese aren't mind games. It just highlights a dim witted media who are afraid to challenge Mourinho
Mark: D-.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone else hear that laughter!? Tell me!
ReplyDeleteCombined they don't have the venom of a bantam(bird not boxer).
ReplyDeleteI don't mind providing comic relief....
ReplyDeleteRodgers has taken Liverpool to where they are today and the way he speaks about players is part of his method. Man management is something fans talk about all the time and its obvious that Rodgers has a good handle on getting players to have the right attitude. He clearly has deliberate and well thought out methods. He uses a sport psychologist and has a number of players actively seeing the guy. He's brought about huge changes in Suarez and lifted a number of previously average players to new heights. The transformation in Sturridge is particularly outstanding and everything we hear points to Rodgers being the architect of this on both a personal and a professional level. Now clearly we all agree that Rodgers is doing a good job so I don't quite see where your specific personal view of how he speaks about players comes into it. It might make you cringe but perhaps you need to suck it up for the good of the team. Obviously it works well and it's something he does quite deliberately. Of course you're free to question if it's effective but I don't really think you can produce any evidence to back that up. The club are "exactly where they need to be" right? A week ago we were top of the league and we're still a good shot to fight for the title. So what's the actual problem? Your personal feelings and what makes you uncomfortable is all about you, not the club, so while I understand that you might not like the things he says it does seem a bit pointless to keep going on about it when it's obviously having a positive impact on the team.
ReplyDeletewhat are you talking about mate? i think i know somebody who could help you!
ReplyDeleteIs it Batman?
ReplyDelete