Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Brendan's round table cheerio.

Posted by Hinesy on October 4, 2015, 08:04:01 pm

Sang The Who: We won't get fooled again.
Or will we.

The manager is gone, long live the manager.

Brendan Rodgers, by luck or design or a mixture of both, made us dream and made us shudder. He wasn't the messiah nor was he a very naughty boy. I think he presided over a massive era of transition, and change. The beauty of Suarez, the parting of Carra, Gerrard, Pepe Reina even.
He arrived very much his own boss. Almost arrogantly telling FSG this is how it was to be. But he was to told to fit, expected to fit, into FSG's weird and wonderful world of soccer, committees of that, directors of this, transfers by ballot, moneyball was all. Personally I think he did his best. And when it was best, it was beautiful. Waltzing past Utd at Trafford, we go again at City. But when it wasn't, it was bereft. Of wit, of plan B, of the CIA. Central Intelligence at Anfield. The loss of Gerrard was most keenly felt psychologically: no-one was prepared or used to, being a midfield lieutenant, never mind general. The very notion of grabbing a game by its teeth and forcing a result was long lost with Stevie. And we had a team of young attacking individuals.

the new manager must link the front and back, the midfield must dominate and strut, and there must be a continuous link from Sakho to Sturridge, from Mignolet to Milner.

We are not yet a team, we are a set of potentials. Brendan made us dream again, but he fell for the dream instead of being the weaver.
Plaudits have to go to anyone who can manage the arrival and leaving of Luis, the demise of Gerrard, the defence without Carragher, the expectation of "Value for money" from FSG.

The Liverpool Way is much discussed. At times Brendan was too 'himself' to allow sentimentality to creep in, and didn't fully become adopted by the fans. But we loved the panache and attack of that season.

However, most telling was that it wasn't the Stevie slip that lost us the league, it was Hull in midwinter. There was no plan B from Brendan. There was no solutions beyond moving Sterling about a bit when Daniel was ill.

He wasn't the worst Liverpool manager, he wasn't the best. He was a sign of the times we live in. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Good luck Brendan. You made us dream, you made us cry. You almost reminded us above was only Lennon's not Murdoch's sky.

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