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Always likely marriage of convenience was going to end in divorce Tony Barrett Published 22 minutes ago Brendan Rodgers was heading for a collision because of the club’s transfer committee, writes Tony Barrett In hindsight, Brendan Rodgers’ relationship with Liverpool was doomed to fail because it was founded, if not on a lie, then certainly on an accommodation that suited neither party. Rodgers would have turned the manager’s job down had Fenway Sports Group (FSG) also appointed a director of football so Liverpool’s owner acquiesced. Instead, it formed a transfer committee with the Northern Irishman as a member but not as its head. A marriage of convenience had begun. “I wanted to make sure that I would be in charge of football matters; that I would control the team,” Rodgers said at the time. In one sense, he had that control. He was given, by his own admission, “final say” over the players that Liverpool recruited and spending was heavy during his reign with almost £300 million spent on signings. The compromise, though, was that he would not always be able to sign his first choices, the likes of Ashley Williams and Ryan Bertrand being prime examples, if they were not rated by the rest of the committee. What was intended to be a system that provided checks and balances ended up being a dysfunctional fudge that suited neither manager nor club. The tension it caused between them was apparent almost immediately. A move for Daniel Sturridge shortly after his appointment collapsed because Rodgers preferred Clint Dempsey but Liverpool made a derisory offer to Fulham for the USA international and that deal also perished. John W Henry, Liverpool’s principal owner, penned an open letter to the club’s fans explaining what had gone wrong and backing Rodgers but privately he was seething at his manager for “killing” the Sturridge transfer. For his part, Rodgers was incandescent when Liverpool dithered over the signing of Joe Allen and at one point threatened to resign if his new club failed to meet Swansea City’s £15 million valuation of the midfield player. This was in Rodgers’s first months as manager but already it was clear that the committee system was not working smoothly. Hope that this was just a case of teething trouble and that common ground would be found was to prove unfounded. The same problems continued with Rodgers reluctantly accepting players that were not his first choices — Mamadou Sakho, Emre Can, Alberto Moreno, Lazar Markovic and Roberto Firmino all fall into this category — in the hope that such willingness to co-operate would give him the bargaining power to sign at least some of his preferred targets. That strategy was successful in that FSG reciprocated by signing Adam Lallana and Christian Benteke at Rodgers’s request, even though the fees they had to pay for both players exceeded Liverpool’s valuations. Increasingly, though, the compromise began to show on the pitch as Liverpool became as disjointed as one would expect a team put together on the basis of the manager having one pick and the committee having another. A style of play became difficult to identify. Basically, it was a mess. C***-up by committee indeed. By terminating Rodgers’s contract and retaining the services of his fellow committee members, Ian Ayre, the chief executive, Michael Edwards, the director of performance, and Dave Fallows, the head of recruitment, FSG has clearly decided that the manager is not capable of operating within its preferred system; something that Rodgers would probably agree on. More tellingly, it has also come to the conclusion that another manager will be able to get more from the players than Rodgers has, hence the assertion that replacing him as manager gives the “the best opportunity to deliver” success in the statement confirming his sacking. The belief is that Liverpool’s squad is better than the sum of its parts, that Rodgers has been given ample opportunity to prove that he can work productively within a collegiate setting but has failed to deliver both on and off the pitch. Having given him a final chance at the end of last season when it would have been wiser to make a change rather than allow Rodgers to limp on, FSG finally ran out of patience after Liverpool’s 3-0 defeat to West Ham United on August 29 and he has been on borrowed time ever since. The irony of all this is that had FSG listened to Rodgers when he was first appointed, they would have seen all of this coming. “One of the things you need to do is to know yourself, and I know myself. I know what makes me work well and that wouldn’t have been a model I would have succeeded in,” Rodgers said of his refusal to work under a director of football. “It’s absolute madness if you are the manager of the club and someone else tells you to have that player. It doesn’t work.” While FSG would contend, with some legitimacy, that no players were ever forced on Rodgers, by opting for a committee they put in place a system in which he felt the need to compromise and he ended up accepting players as a result. An unravelling in Rodgers’s relationship with his employers was all but inevitable. Now FSG must ensure that his successor is not only willing to work with a committee, he is also capable of thriving within one. Rodgers’ Anfield timeline June 2012: Presents Fenway Sports Group with a 180-page document entitled “One Vision, One Club,” that maps out his blueprint for making Liverpool a force again. They are so convinced they not only give him the job but abandon their plans to appoint a technical director to work with him. July 2012: The Being: Liverpool documentary commissioned by the club turns Rodgers into a figure of fun, not least for the portrait of himself that hangs in his hallway and the “envelopes” he presents to his players, warning them that they contain the names of three members of the squad who will let him down. May 2013: Liverpool finish seventh at the end of Rodgers’ first season in charge. August 2013: After Liverpool refuse to allow Luis Suárez to move to Arsenal — despite an offer triggering a clause in his contract — his relationship with his manager threatens to disintegrate. February 2014: Liverpool, inspired by Suárez, produce arguably the finest performance of Rodgers’s reign, sweeping past Arsenal 5-1 at Anfield. They also beat Manchester United and Manchester City in convincing style as they sweep to the top of the table. May 2014: Liverpool come within a whisker of winning the Premier League for the first time in 25 years. Steven Gerrard’s slip at home to Chelsea, though, gives Manchester City the advantage, and a dramatic draw away to Crystal Palace ends their hopes for good. Rodgers is rewarded with a new contract. July 2014: Suárez is sold to Barcelona for £75 million. A spending spree of more than £100 million follows, but the likes of Mario Balotelli and Lazar Markovic fail to fire. December 2014: Liverpool exit the Champions League at the group stage, after waiting five years to return to the competition. Rodgers draws criticism for fielding a team of reserves against Real Madrid. May 2015: In Liverpool’s last game of the season — and Gerrard’s emotional final match for them — they are beaten 6-1 at Stoke, having already lost to Aston Villa in the FA Cup semi-final. FSG insist he retains their faith. August 2015: Rodgers spends heavily, signing Christian Benteke, Nathaniel Clyne and James Milner, and Liverpool briefly return to form. October 2015: Following abject defeats by West Ham and Manchester United, and a draw in the derby with Everton, Rodgers is sacked. http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/sport/football/article4576261.ece FSG need to f*** off this transfer committee s***e

Always likely marriage of convenience was going to end in divorce Tony Barrett Published 22 minutes ago Brendan Rodgers was heading for a collision because of the club’s transfer committee, writes Tony Barrett In hindsight, Brendan Rodgers’ relationship with Liverpool was doomed to fail because it was founded, if not on a lie, then certainly on an accommodation that suited neither party. Rodgers would have turned the manager’s job down had Fenway Sports Group (FSG) also appointed a director of football so Liverpool’s owner acquiesced. Instead, it formed a transfer committee with the Northern Irishman as a member but not as its head. A marriage of convenience had begun. “I wanted to make sure that I would be in charge of football matters; that I would control the team,” Rodgers said at the time. In one sense, he had that control. He was given, by his own admission, “final say” over the players that Liverpool recruited and spending was heavy during his reign with almost £300 million spent on signings. The compromise, though, was that he would not always be able to sign his first choices, the likes of Ashley Williams and Ryan Bertrand being prime examples, if they were not rated by the rest of the committee. What was intended to be a system that provided checks and balances ended up being a dysfunctional fudge that suited neither manager nor club. The tension it caused between them was apparent almost immediately. A move for Daniel Sturridge shortly after his appointment collapsed because Rodgers preferred Clint Dempsey but Liverpool made a derisory offer to Fulham for the USA international and that deal also perished. John W Henry, Liverpool’s principal owner, penned an open letter to the club’s fans explaining what had gone wrong and backing Rodgers but privately he was seething at his manager for “killing” the Sturridge transfer. For his part, Rodgers was incandescent when Liverpool dithered over the signing of Joe Allen and at one point threatened to resign if his new club failed to meet Swansea City’s £15 million valuation of the midfield player. This was in Rodgers’s first months as manager but already it was clear that the committee system was not working smoothly. Hope that this was just a case of teething trouble and that common ground would be found was to prove unfounded. The same problems continued with Rodgers reluctantly accepting players that were not his first choices — Mamadou Sakho, Emre Can, Alberto Moreno, Lazar Markovic and Roberto Firmino all fall into this category — in the hope that such willingness to co-operate would give him the bargaining power to sign at least some of his preferred targets. That strategy was successful in that FSG reciprocated by signing Adam Lallana and Christian Benteke at Rodgers’s request, even though the fees they had to pay for both players exceeded Liverpool’s valuations. Increasingly, though, the compromise began to show on the pitch as Liverpool became as disjointed as one would expect a team put together on the basis of the manager having one pick and the committee having another. A style of play became difficult to identify. Basically, it was a mess. C***-up by committee indeed. By terminating Rodgers’s contract and retaining the services of his fellow committee members, Ian Ayre, the chief executive, Michael Edwards, the director of performance, and Dave Fallows, the head of recruitment, FSG has clearly decided that the manager is not capable of operating within its preferred system; something that Rodgers would probably agree on. More tellingly, it has also come to the conclusion that another manager will be able to get more from the players than Rodgers has, hence the assertion that replacing him as manager gives the “the best opportunity to deliver” success in the statement confirming his sacking. The belief is that Liverpool’s squad is better than the sum of its parts, that Rodgers has been given ample opportunity to prove that he can work productively within a collegiate setting but has failed to deliver both on and off the pitch. Having given him a final chance at the end of last season when it would have been wiser to make a change rather than allow Rodgers to limp on, FSG finally ran out of patience after Liverpool’s 3-0 defeat to West Ham United on August 29 and he has been on borrowed time ever since. The irony of all this is that had FSG listened to Rodgers when he was first appointed, they would have seen all of this coming. “One of the things you need to do is to know yourself, and I know myself. I know what makes me work well and that wouldn’t have been a model I would have succeeded in,” Rodgers said of his refusal to work under a director of football. “It’s absolute madness if you are the manager of the club and someone else tells you to have that player. It doesn’t work.” While FSG would contend, with some legitimacy, that no players were ever forced on Rodgers, by opting for a committee they put in place a system in which he felt the need to compromise and he ended up accepting players as a result. An unravelling in Rodgers’s relationship with his employers was all but inevitable. Now FSG must ensure that his successor is not only willing to work with a committee, he is also capable of thriving within one. Rodgers’ Anfield timeline June 2012: Presents Fenway Sports Group with a 180-page document entitled “One Vision, One Club,” that maps out his blueprint for making Liverpool a force again. They are so convinced they not only give him the job but abandon their plans to appoint a technical director to work with him. July 2012: The Being: Liverpool documentary commissioned by the club turns Rodgers into a figure of fun, not least for the portrait of himself that hangs in his hallway and the “envelopes” he presents to his players, warning them that they contain the names of three members of the squad who will let him down. May 2013: Liverpool finish seventh at the end of Rodgers’ first season in charge. August 2013: After Liverpool refuse to allow Luis Suárez to move to Arsenal — despite an offer triggering a clause in his contract — his relationship with his manager threatens to disintegrate. February 2014: Liverpool, inspired by Suárez, produce arguably the finest performance of Rodgers’s reign, sweeping past Arsenal 5-1 at Anfield. They also beat Manchester United and Manchester City in convincing style as they sweep to the top of the table. May 2014: Liverpool come within a whisker of winning the Premier League for the first time in 25 years. Steven Gerrard’s slip at home to Chelsea, though, gives Manchester City the advantage, and a dramatic draw away to Crystal Palace ends their hopes for good. Rodgers is rewarded with a new contract. July 2014: Suárez is sold to Barcelona for £75 million. A spending spree of more than £100 million follows, but the likes of Mario Balotelli and Lazar Markovic fail to fire. December 2014: Liverpool exit the Champions League at the group stage, after waiting five years to return to the competition. Rodgers draws criticism for fielding a team of reserves against Real Madrid. May 2015: In Liverpool’s last game of the season — and Gerrard’s emotional final match for them — they are beaten 6-1 at Stoke, having already lost to Aston Villa in the FA Cup semi-final. FSG insist he retains their faith. August 2015: Rodgers spends heavily, signing Christian Benteke, Nathaniel Clyne and James Milner, and Liverpool briefly return to form. October 2015: Following abject defeats by West Ham and Manchester United, and a draw in the derby with Everton, Rodgers is sacked. http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/sport/football/article4576261.ece FSG need to f*** of this transfer committee s***e

Monk was also mentioned in the article

“There are two points: the first is I don’t feel any pressure, I can honestly say that,” he said. “There is pressure to sell newspapers and make stories and I understand and respect that. My job is to worry about the team, that is the only pressure I will feel. “People will want to put pressure on for different reasons. I don’t feel it, I don’t want it but anything externally, there is no drama. “I have never felt anything other than secure. That is not being complacent. I was brought here to do a job, I signed a new deal (in May 2014) and the owners know it takes time.” Despite spending almost £300million in just over three years in charge, Rodgers stresses there is plenty of work still to do having seen pivotal players like Luis Suarez and Steven Gerrard leave in recent seasons. And he claims owners Fenway Sports Group have never stipulated he has to regain Champions League football with a top-four finish. “In all my time it has been an internal ambition but it has never been said by the club,” he added. “We did that against the odds a couple of years ago (almost winning the title with a Suarez-inspired side). We lost quality and will have to rebuild. “I have never been asked or told to deliver that (a top-four finish) by anyone at the club since I came in. “If we are to replicate what we did two years ago we will have to build something. That will take time. That is frustrating for supporters but there are new players to come in. “It will take time, whether that is me or someone else. While it is me, I will continue to devote every ounce to the club.” http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co....t-feeling-any-pressure-at-liverpool-1-7495918

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Liverpool's under-fire Brendan Rodgers 'facing sack if he loses to Everton in the derby' 22:30, 3 OCT 2015 BY STEVE BATES Owners FSG have shown no sign of firing the manager but Anfield sources suggest demoralising defeat at Goodison WOULD have an impact on their thinking Brendan Rodgers is facing D-Day in the Merseyside derby, with Liverpool’s owners ready to pull the trigger if they lose at Everton, writes Steve Bates in the Sunday People. So far, the Boston-based Fenway Sports Group who own the Reds have shown no appetite to sack Rodgers, who ended last season with a 6-1 hammering at Stoke and has had an erratic start to the new campaign. The poor 1-1 draw with Swiss minnows Sion in the Europa League in midweek did little to lift the pressure on 42-year-old Rodgers. And Anfield sources have suggested a demoralising defeat in the 225th Mersey derby at Goodison Park on Sunday will shift FSG’s thinking. Former Real Madrid and Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti and former Borussia Dortmund chief Jurgen Klopp head a list of available managers who would jump at the Kop job if FSG do dump Rodgers. Ajax boss Frank de Boer has also expressed interest in work in the Premier League and would also be a candidate if the club’s American owners decide to make a change during the international break which begins on Monday. Senior Liverpool figures believe that 12-day period to be a key window of opportunity for FSG if Rodgers and his stars suffer defeat against their neighbours. Owner John Henry and his management team in Boston are not prone to knee-jerk reactions, especially concerning one game. But informed sources close to FSG point out that while the owners have always been strategic planners with a long-term view over the direction of the club, the game at Everton is a major moment for Rodgers. Henry and chairman Tom Werner backed their manager in the transfer market during the summer with a slew of arrivals which will amount to around £85million once a compensation tribunal sets a fee for ex-Burnley striker Danny Ings. That will take Rodgers' gross spending in his three years at Anfield to £300m, and FSG are concerned Liverpool are no closer to winning major titles. But club officials are also keen to point out that a Liverpool win at Goodison could change the picture entirely — even though Rodgers faces another tricky game away to Tottenham in the first fixture back after the international break. http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/liverpools-under-fire-brendan-rodgers-6565960

Has Frank de Boer run out of ideas at Ajax? Oct 2, 2015 12:30:00 The former Netherlands international was once seen as a future Barcelona coach but, after making history with the Dutch side, his reputation is in danger after a terrible year By Peter McVitie Despite becoming the first coach to lead Ajax to four consecutive league titles in his first spell as a senior manager, Frank de Boer is scrambling to save his reputation. Taking over from Martin Jol in the Dutch capital in December 2010 and immediately leading his side from fourth place to first to secure their first Eredivisie title in seven years, the former Netherlands international was immediately seen as one of the continent's most promising coaches. Labelled a future Barcelona boss, a potential successor to Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, offered the job at Liverpool before Brendan Rodgers and narrowly beaten to Tottenham by Mauricio Pochettino, De Boer's stock has risen a great deal over the years. However, over the last 12 months or so, his limitations have become evident and it is becoming clear that this is a man who still has a lot to prove if he is to fulfil his earlier promise. Put in charge of Ajax's first team amid Johan Cruyff's 'Velvet Revolution' after impressing with the Under-19s side, De Boer immediately instilled in the Eredivisie giants a more attractive style of football, taking them back to something more resembling the club's Total Football philosophy. With his flexible formation allowing for a fluent transition in play, Ajax were a joy to watch as they stormed through the second half of the season, beating league leaders Twente on the final day to overtake them and secure the title. Over the years, his belief in youth, the way in which he helped to develop his young players and his new tactical ideas coupled with his constant demand for perfection showed him to be an all-round impressive boss with a very bright future. The Amsterdam side have lost a whole host of key players during his near five year spell there, including Luis Suarez, Christian Eriksen, Siem de Jong, Gregory van der Wiel, Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld, Vurnon Anita and Daley Blind, yet De Boer has been able to get the best out of his side through his understanding of Ajax's youth system and scouting network. Ajax had some luck in their march to the four league titles, having capitalised on the inefficiencies of PSV and Feyenoord at certain times, but not many coaches would have been able to deal with the constant changes of the club and make history in the way that he has done. The problem is, though, that football is constantly evolving and developing. While De Boer's methods and execution showed signs that this was a precocious coaching talent, the last two years of his career have shown his limitations, or at least that he has stagnated in his development. It has become evident that he is still relying on the same ideas which saw him emerge as a future coaching star, regardless of how unsuited to it are the players at his disposal. For instance, using Eriksen and De Jong as central strikers to force open space in key areas against big opposition was quite an innovative, daring and intelligent move which proved effective. However, last season, with his team slow, lacking creativity and any effectiveness whatsoever, his solution was to simply thrust the underperforming Lasse Schone into that role, leaving summer signing Richairo Zivkovic out of the squad despite impressing for Groningen the previous year. It was a decision which never looked like working and it never did. He soon went back to throwing on central defender Mike van der Hoorn to play up front towards the end of matches as Ajax scrambled for points. They completely crumbled under the challenge of Phillip Cocu's PSV, who, although lucky in the opening half of the season, developed into an excellent team led by their star players and eventually won the league with a 17-point lead over Ajax. The runners-up failed to develop in the same way and remained a flat and turgid group who would have struggled even more without Davy Klaassen and player of the year Jasper Cillessen. This season, again De Boer has already indicated that he will end up relying on similar tactics. Against Celtic in the Europa League, he started with Klaassen up front, even though the 22-year-old is the absolute star of the midfield. Lining up against a very defensive Scottish side in the Amsterdam Arena, they were severely lacking direction in the middle of the park and relied heavily on crosses, making 33 of them in 90 minutes. Ajax trailed 2-0 to Celtic and, although they came back to earn a point after Emilio Izaguirre's red card, there was luck in their equaliser as goalkeeper Craig Gordon misjudged a Schone free-kick. When it was put to him after the game, De Boer would not acknowledge that his team failed to create any intricacy in central areas during that game and insisted that their wing-heavy gameplan was fine. "We were waiting for the equaliser," he said. "It's not the cross that you have to finish but sometimes the ball drops well for you. I'm satisfied with how things went." When Ajax are 2-1 down in their stadium against 10 men, having completely dominated possession, it is hard to believe that they should feel happy about "waiting" on a lucky goal, especially when they have relied upon one futile attacking style throughout the game. Things have continued for Ajax in this way throughout the season. While they sit top of the table and have dropped points in only one of their seven games, they have been underwhelming in attack and completely one-dimensional. Only three teams have made more crosses in open play than them this season and smart sides will sit deep and restrict the space in the centre and force them wide. Such a strategy could be a weakened PSV outfit's main hope of taking points from them on Sunday. Overall, De Boer has done remarkably well with Ajax and no one could possibly argue that he is a failure, even if he fails to win the league this term. He is a talented coach for sure but, if he is to fulfil his early promise, he simply must move away from the Ajax philosophy which consumes him and the club. He has to develop a new dimension to his gameplan to ensure that he continues to develop. That could be the difference between going on to become a great coach or just an average one. It's down to De Boer to make sure that the former is the case. http://www.goal.com/en/news/1686/eredivisie/2015/10/02/15921732/has-frank-de-boer-run-out-of-ideas-at-ajax I really don't want Frank De Boer. This article reminds me of Rodgers big time.

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers insists pressure is off after Ajax's Frank De Boer reveals interest in Anfield job Ajax manager is latest to make availability known before Liverpool owners discuss club’s long-term strategy By Chris Bascombe 10:30PM BST 02 Oct 2015 Brendan Rodgers, the Liverpool manager, insists he does not fear the consequences of a Merseyside derby defeat this weekend, despite the growing threat to his job after a series of poor performances. As Ajax manager Frank De Boer became the latest high-profile coach to alert Liverpool to his availability – Carlo Ancelotti and Jürgen Klopp are frontrunners if the manager’s tenure comes to an end – Rodgers says he is not worried about the repercussions of another serious setback. Liverpool’s trip across Stanley Park comes amid a period of intense scrutiny on Rodgers and his side, with the international break seen as a time when the club’s owners will reflect on the team’s start to the season and determine if the current direction has longevity. Rodgers’s side sit five points off the top and within two points of a Champions League place, but have been booed off in three of their last five home games. “I am not worried. Not at all,” said Rodgers. “That is not being arrogant or having been given any assurances. It’s not something I look for or that I am worried about. I am not looking for reassurances or seeking any. I enjoy being here and enjoy the challenge of working with these players. It’s a long season and we will make progress as we go along. Once we get everyone fit we have the squad to challenge. “You lose games at a club like this and there is an investigation that is deep and the analysis is huge, but that is part of being at a prestigious club. “Every game here has been like that. There is no more or less pressure than before. It’s very simple – we have drawn a number of games we should have won but the reality is we are a couple of points off the top four and five off the top. We are calm and enjoying our work.” Rodgers has spent recent weeks re-emphasising the idea of another rebuilding job at Anfield following another summer of recruitment. Winning over the hearts and minds of a Liverpool fan-base increasingly fatigued by the idea of being in perpetual transition is a battle for both the manager and the Anfield board. “It is rebuilding a group again, new players and going again,” said Rodgers. “In the first couple of years we did well and over the last 12 months we’ve had to manage change and a lot of disruption in the squad. “When you win games you have the support and when you lose there is disappointment. My worry is the club and for it to be the best it can be but as manager you will always have critics and if you don’t win the level can increase. “I also know there is great support and those who want us to do well are behind the team. It is also about perspective. There is a lot of pressure on the players and they are dealing with it very well. Perspective keeps us calm.” In recent weeks Rodgers has robustly defended his performance at Anfield and noted the 'hysteria’ surrounding the manager’s position. That will only intensify if he fails to get a positive result at Goodison Park. A week after Ancelotti was linked with Rodgers’s job and Klopp made it known he would be keen to move to Anfield should a vacancy arise, De Boer went public with his interest. The Dutchman has stated previously he rejected an approach from Fenway Sports Group in 2012 – when Rodgers was appointed. At that time, De Boer was committed to Ajax but now he is open to offers. Asked specifically about Liverpool and Newcastle United, where Rodgers and Steve McClaren have had early-season problems, De Boer said: “They are fantastic clubs. Liverpool and Newcastle, with supporters behind them it is a fantastic environment to coach but this year it is important for me to do well at Ajax and then we will see.” De Boer’s remarks in an interview with BBC’s World Service are significant given their timing. He says he will take a Premier League position in the near future. “Yes I think every year it comes closer, of course,” said De Boer. “I’m looking maybe for another adventure. If there is an interesting club that I think with my quality I can make that team better – if I can, than I will take that chance.” Meanwhile, Liverpool will be without Christian Benteke, who has not recovered from a hamstring problem, for the Everton game. Daniel Sturridge returns to the squad. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/11908823/Liverpool-manager-Brendan-Rodgers-insists-pressure-is-off-after-Ajaxs-Frank-De-Boer-reveals-interest-in-Anfield-job.html

Brendan Rodgers reveals he is not worried about his job if Liverpool lose to Everton BRENDAN RODGERS faces Everton on the brink, but insists he is not worried about the personal repercussions from the fall-out of tomorrow's Merseyside derby. By PAUL JOYCE PUBLISHED: 00:02, Sat, Oct 3, 2015 | UPDATED: 00:10, Sat, Oct 3, 2015 The Liverpool manager’s embattled position is set to be scrutinised by owners Fenway Sports Group at the start of the next week's international break with Jurgen Klopp and Carlo Ancelotti alternative options for the hot-seat. A defeat at Goodison Park at the hands of their rivals will further heighten the pressure on the Liverpool manager, who heard more fans' dissent against his reign with boos following Thursday's Europa League draw with FC Sion. Rodgers has acknowledged the threat to his job, but does not fear the sack primarily because his faith in his methods has not been affected by a downturn in results and he feels his stock is such that he would find work again. Asked if he was worried how the hysteria around a derby could manifest itself, Rodgers said: "No, no, not at all, not at all. "We will go into the game with every notion to perform and win well. If we get a wee bit of luck, if we earn a bit of good fortune, we can win the game. "I am not worried and that is not being arrogant, or having been given any assurances. I will do my best with what I am working with and our notion is to win the game. "It is about rebuilding a group again, new players and going again." His comments come with Ajax boss Frank de Boer also indicating a desire to move into management in England after being asked about Liverpool and Newcastle. "They are fantastic clubs," said De Boer. "Liverpool and Newcastle, with supporters behind them, it is a fantastic environment to coach but this year it is important for me to do well at Ajax and then we will see." Everton are a point above their neighbours in the Premier League, but manager Roberto Martinez said Rodgers' lavish £290m spending spree meant Liverpool went into the game at Goodison Park as favourites and added the pressure his counterpart is under was "normal". "If you look at the amount of money that Liverpool have spent in the last three seasons, then clearly they need to be favourites and carry the expectation," said Martinez. Rodgers responded, saying: "We will always take the favourite tag. It just shows you're a big club." http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/609574/Brendan-Rodgers-not-worried-about-job-Liverpool-lose-Everton

BRENDAN RODGERS: MORE RABBIT THAN SAINSBURY’S by Gareth Roberts // 28 September 2015 // 57 Comments A WIN at last. Two fantastic finishes from the much-missed Daniel Sturridge. Impressive midfield performances from the going now staying Lucas Leiva and stand-in skipper James Milner. Tireless running from Danny Ings. More magic from Phil Coutinho. It might have ‘only been Aston Villa’ — a team in the bottom three with one win in seven that sold its best players in the summer — but Liverpool were desperate for a victory after more than a month without one. We got one. There were reasons to be cheerful on Saturday. And two of Liverpool’s top performers on the pitch were doing their bit off it as well. Milner and Lucas both tried to tell the media that the players are behind Brendan Rodgers. That morale is good. That he hasn’t lost the dressing room and they’re fighting for him because they think he’s a good manager. Job done then, on the field and with the media. Let’s all go home and have a bevvy. And then he goes and spoils it all by saying something stupid like “hysteria”… It was a brainless line to take by the manager. A mouth in overdrive. “More rabbit than Sainsbury’s,” as Chas and Dave once sang. A home win against a team Liverpool should be beating at home; a team that finished three points above the relegation zone last season and are tipped to be embroiled in another scrap this, is not the time to go all big b******s. Not when that same team knocked a gutless Liverpool out of the FA Cup at the semi-final stage not so long ago. Because, you know, accusations of “short memories” and all that. Let’s have it straight again. Rodgers is extremely lucky to still be the manager of Liverpool. Approaching lottery winner standards. He was lucky to start the season still in position after last season and after results and performances that have failed to convince this, most think he is a dead man walking; a manager sure to get the bullet the next time a bad result comes along. With a defence still playing like strangers, there’s no denying that it remains a possibility whenever the Reds take to the field right now. At Anfield, boos have punctuated poor performances. For all the criticism of modern football, that’s not something we’re used to. The criticism that Rodgers told the world is “outside” is inside. Online, the vitriol directed his way is daily and endless. It’s from Liverpool fans. For many, he isn’t a great manager or a great man. And seemingly anything goes until the day he is told to pack his bags. Coming out swinging when you’re top of the league is one thing. Trying to float a boat on a sea of s***e is quite another. On Friday, Rodgers seemed to recognise all this. Knew he was in trouble. Understood why. Respected the owners if they said ‘enough is enough’. He seemed humble. Discussing how he could get the fans back onside in that press conference, he nailed it in one: “You do that by winning games and performing.” Exactly right. This. This all day. So do that. All that has come since is a win against a below average Premier League side. One that without any real inclination to attack scored two goals and could have had more. The ego should have stayed in its box, the inner chimp still in chains. A 3-2 win over Aston Villa is not the time to be taking on all-comers, particularly with a trip to Goodison, a fixture that went a long way to pushing Hodgson over the cliff and a venue where Rodgers is yet to taste victory as Liverpool manager, just days away. When Rodgers was appointed, plenty of Reds held reservations about his pedigree to manage Liverpool. His CV didn’t impress, showing only a promotion to the Premier League as evidence of being a winner of sorts. Then he started speaking. And he was slated for being a salesman, football’s answer to David Brent — full of management-speak and the rest, to put it mildly. The dreadful Being Liverpool didn’t help matters, evidenced by the fact that it is still referenced to this day, more than three years later. The envelopes. The touchy-feely stuff. The picture of himself in his house. All that. Ultimately, though, when Liverpool started winning games and performing, nobody gave a flying one. All the stuff that leaves a bitter taste in the mouth now — the abuse, getting personal, the online baiting of anyone seeking the smallest bit of balance in the debate about his performance as Liverpool manager — none of that existed when Liverpool scored goals left, right and centre and won games. There was nothing to get in a “frenzy” about. There was no need for “hysteria”. Not of the negative kind, anyway. The Kop sang his name. Said he built a team like Shankly did. The fans held banners aloft. T-shirts appeared in shops and Rodgers was named manager of the year. “Who cares about Being Liverpool and CVs now?”, Rodgers could have rightly asked while flicking the Vs at the world. Then it all went t*** up. Liverpool stopped winning and stopped performing. The bulls*** came to the fore again. When the Reds did find a period of form, Rodgers was too quick to blow his own trumpet. The press was full of the genius of his formation change and how it was discovered — briefed by the manager — only for Manchester United to slap the egg on his face the following weekend. The rest of the season was a write off. Liverpool were an awful watch and Rodgers looked like he had ran out of ideas. Stoke was the horse’s head in the bed moment. Only a matter of time. And so the summer. The support staff were whacked instead. And keeping Rodgers in charge wasn’t the only obvious decision made during the close season. The manager made one himself. Basically, he decided to shut up for a bit. To wind his neck in and say little more than was necessary. And not before time. All the Balotelli stuff. The tales of pacing kitchens. It didn’t really wash when you’re going up and down the country watching Liverpool lie down for piss-poor sides that should be put to the sword no matter what stage of development the club is supposedly at. It felt that during pre-season, and early into the new campaign, that there was a humble approach; a new focus. A recognition from Rodgers that things had gone wrong, that he’d been lucky to remain in position at Anfield, and that now it was time for getting things right on the pitch and worrying a bit less about public perception. So there was less of the Talk Sport matey b******s. Less of the cosy Sky chats. Fewer cringeworthy ‘jokes’. Press conferences seemed shorter and straighter. Answers played with a straight bat. More business-like. Then came the important bit — the results and performances bit. An away win at Stoke courtesy of a world-class Coutinho goal. A fortunate 1-0 home win courtesy of an offside goal against promoted Bournemouth. A battling draw at Arsenal before a dreadful 0-3 capitulation to West Ham and a feeble failure at Old Trafford. Three 1-1 draws with Bordeaux, Norwich and League Two Carlisle and finally the win over Villa. Liverpool haven’t convinced at either end of the pitch in the season so far. Formations have switched. The Lovren experiment failed. An identifiable pattern of play — an ‘identity’ — is yet to truly emerge. If there is “hysteria” by Brendan Rodgers’ standards it is because Liverpool have been poor. There’s been nothing to convince. Nothing to get excited about. Aston Villa was the first Liverpool win over 90 minutes in seven matches. And while it was better, it wasn’t a signal for popping champagne corks. It was a start. A Saturday night with a smile on your face. A step in the right direction. A sign that Liverpool — maybe, just maybe — can turn all this around. So why didn’t the manager just say all that? Say it was a good win. Say it was great to have Sturridge back. Say Lucas and Milner were great and Ings’ work-rate is fantastic. And then go home. Leave the rest. Forget the other. Early in the season it may be, but the “frenzy” that Rodgers referred to was born from frustration that this season very quickly felt like another campaign disappearing around the u-bend. And we’ve had quite enough of those for one lifetime, thanks very much. It’s also on the back of a season that ended in a way that Liverpool are unaccustomed to. Most Liverpool fans know where the club is financially. Most Liverpool fans know that other clubs have better resources available to them — in terms of money, in terms of facilities, in terms of youth systems, in terms of stadiums. Most Liverpool fans are also more than aware that the club finished 7th, 6th, 8th and 7th before the run to second place that no-one predicted under Rodgers. But then there was last season and the idea of par. We’re not after par. We’re not after OK. We’re not happy for Liverpool to roll over and die in Europe. We want Liverpool to fight. And we want Liverpool to be angry, to be pissed off, to be annoyed when they lose at home to Crystal Palace, or away to Stoke, or to West Ham at Anfield. When that happens, we expect our ex players to say that’s not good enough in the media. Because we don’t think it’s good enough either. And as much as it saddens me to say, we expect boos from some if what they’re seeing in front of them doesn’t meet expectations. That’s the way it is. Brendan Rodgers is already walking a tightrope, and he’s a strong wind from falling out of a job. He should fight Liverpool’s corner when he’s up there representing the club by all means. But his own fight for recognition isn’t going to be won via the media. It’s not politics. It’s not an election campaign. It’s not a sales pitch. We don’t want to hear that Rodgers is a better manager than the guy who almost won the league when we’re eighth in the league having scored only seven goals in seven matches. We don’t want to hear insinuation about the players the club have bought, or their quality, either. Whoever signs the cheques has done so on £200million-plus in two summers. And by common consensus, the latest batch was of the manager’s choosing. So whatever “tools” Rodgers has, he should try to do the work and make less noise while doing so. Results and performances. Results and performances. The team that come so close in 2013-4 is a long time ago now, ancient history. Luis Suarez is long gone. Steven Gerrard and Raheem Sterling are no longer. And who that team excited and when and where is now irrelevant. Liverpool fans, Liverpool ex players, whoever Rodgers is pointing the finger at regarding the ‘campaign’ to get him out, all will be silenced if he can do it again. We all want Liverpool to win. That’s it. Just win. In the meantime, seven defeats in 16 league games and only 16 goals scored is grim reading. Not being able to beat League Two Carlisle United is embarrassing. Suggesting another manager could do a better job with the same resources is not hysteria. It’s not a frenzy. It’s yearning for standards the club has traditionally set itself that we expect Liverpool to try to return to. When it goes wrong, the manager carries the can. Rodgers wants that to end? “You do that by winning games and performing.” http://www.theanfieldwrap.com/2015/09/brendan-rodgers-more-rabbit-than-sainsburys/

Comment From Mike, Aintree So after one victory, Liverpool manager Rodgers thinks it's okay to have a go at his critics and forget about being humble? Or is this surely the voice of a broken man who knows he's a gonner? Tony Barrett: Afternoon Mike, I have no problem with managers saying what they think, although I do think Rodgers would have been better waiting for a winning run before going on the offensive rather than doing it after a 3-2 win over Aston Villa. It suggested to me that he is feeling the pressure, which he is entitled to do, and I also got the impression that he was trying to create a siege mentality. When you do that, though, you have to win your next big game or else your critics will just up the ante so it ws a big gamble/mad risk considering Liverpool's next big game is the Merseyside derby.

Liverpool news: Under-pressure Brendan Rodgers hits out at 'hysteria' over his Liverpool future Rodgers has blasted the “frenzied” campaign to undermine him, as stand-in captain James Milner rallies behind his "top-class manager" By Chris Bascombe 10:30PM BST 27 Sep 2015 Brendan Rodgers, the Liverpool manager, has claimed that he is the victim of a “frenzied” campaign to force him out of Anfield. Rodgers refused to identify those whom he felt were campaigning against him but James Milner, Liverpool’s acting captain, suggested that the rise of social media was a contributor to the “hysteria”surrounding the manager. There have been hints that Rodgers believes that former Liverpool players working in the media have not been supportive enough during his troubled spell. “There has been a frenzy to get me out of here. There is no question about that,” Rodgers said. “Whether that’s a Liverpool hysteria or big-club hysteria, I am not so sure. “The scrutiny here is obviously greater, for me, than any club. But it is a huge club and as a manager you know that and deal with it. “It’s not about proving people wrong. I think I have shown in the early stages of my management – without being arrogant – that with a talented group of players I can compete at the top end of the league. There are very short memories in football. “The team was eighth when I got here and we built and produced a team to excite people throughout European football that should have won the league. It didn’t but nobody even expected us to be near the top four. “I know how to manage top players and manage the group, but when you lose that or those players are not available and you have to piece it together, that takes time. Then all the good work gets forgotten. That’s how it works. “It seems the focus has not been on what’s gone on and what we’ve been missing, but more about getting me out of the club. That’s sad. I am the same man who nearly won us the league, but better. If you give me the tools I’ll do the work. “I know last season and this, there have been a lot of things going against us, but we’ve always managed to stick together. The players are very much fighting and with players returning we can have a great season.” Milner, who scored the first in Liverpool’s 3-2 win against Aston Villa, argued that the possible consequence of every poor run gets magnified due to changing nature of football coverage. “That is the way football is now – social media and Sky Sports apps, and everything like that,” Milner said. “There is so much scrutiny. It is important we pay no intention and focus on the work. “A lot of things that have been said are disappointing and frustrating really because you see how close they went to winning the league a couple of years ago and then with the players that have left the club it is going to take time to get back to that point. But with patience he [Rodgers] has shown he is a top-class manager and with the players we have we can get to where we want to be.” Milner believes that the scrutiny at Anfield is comparable to that at Manchester City. “I would say it is as big. They are both big clubs,” he said. “There is always going to be that pressure when things aren't going well. That comes when you play for big clubs, as I’ve been fortunate to do for the last few years. There is going to be scrutiny. “When things aren’t going well there are going to be things said but it is important that we stick together. When things are going well it gets blown out of context and the same when it is bad. “Someone has told us we are five points off the top so things change so fast in football. If we can put a couple of good wins together then it will different. I think things are starting to click. “There are people giving criticism from outside the club but I think Manchester City have lost more games than us this season so you know it is so early.” Working with Rodgers was one of the factors behind Milner’s decision to join Liverpool. “I’ve been really impressed with him,” the England international said. “Preparation is second to none. We go into every game with a game plan. Training is very good and any problems as a player you can see on the pitch, he has seen them as well rather than him not knowing what the problem is. “I’ve talked with him after a game and whatever I’ve thought he has already said ahead of me so I think he is well on top.” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/11894708/Liverpool-news-Under-pressure-Brendan-Rodgers-hits-out-at-hysteria-over-his-Liverpool-future.html

Who was the target of Brendan Rodgers' anger after crucial Liverpool win over Villa? 15:47, 27 SEP 2015 BY JAMES PEARCE Criticism from former Kop stars has wounded the Reds boss Brendan Rodgers went on the offensive after Liverpool stopped the rot with a 3-2 victory over Aston Villa on Saturday. The Reds boss bemoaned the “hysteria” over his future and claimed there is “a group” who are trying to force him out of Anfield. The ECHO takes a look at who the Northern Irishman’s ire may have been directed at. Former Kop stars turned TV pundits? It’s no secret that Rodgers has been stung by some of the criticism that’s come his way from a number of the club’s legends so far this season and we’ve been here before. Gerard Houllier used to regularly bemoan the flak he got from the army of ex-Liverpool stars working in the media. “There are some players who get upset about what is said,” said the Frenchman, who managed the club from 1998 to 2004. “They just can’t understand how a former player can be so critical of his own club. It always seems to be Liverpool under fire because, of course, so many former Liverpool players are employed by TV and radio. “Sometimes I envy Everton because they seem to get support from their ex-players even through the hard times.” Jamie Carragher and Graeme Souness are among the most high-profile current pundits in their roles for Sky Sports. Neither pulled any punches after Liverpool’s limp defeat at Old Trafford earlier this month. “I said before the game it must be two up front with a diamond formation but he still played 4-3-3,” Carragher said. “I don’t understand what the point was in playing Danny Ings in that wide position. I don’t understand this obsession with playing 4-3-3.” Souness added: “It was square pegs in round holes. It just didn’t work. Liverpool had players who didn’t look like they were enjoying their football.” BBC Sport analyst and ECHO columnist Mark Lawrenson has also been outspoken in recent weeks. Prior to Saturday’s game against Villa, he told the BBC that Rodgers was “in danger” and that his team “lacked character”. “I don’t like managers getting the sack because I think it is a really difficult job but he’s not won for six games - apart from on penalties against a League Two side,” Lawrenson said. “I don’t think Rodgers can afford to lose any of his next three games. It’s a massive 10 days for him. Absolutely massive.” Talking about the midweek performance against Carlisle in the Capital One Cup, he said: “Liverpool played like a collection of people who’d just met each other in the car park before the game.” The written press? BBC commentator John Motson claimed on Five Live last week that there is a media conspiracy against Rodgers. “Every time I read an article about Liverpool, there’s somebody digging away at him,” he said. “If we can put things in perspective, two years ago he nearly won the league. “What do Liverpool seriously expect? They haven’t won the league for over 20 years. I think there’s an agenda there, and I think there’s certain people driving it.” Motson was barking up the wrong tree. There is no media conspiracy. No Merseyside correspondent has written that Rodgers should pay the price for the recent slump with his job. Most of the coverage has merely reflected the growing sense of unrest among a fanbase worried about the direction the club are going in and the increasing uncertainty over Rodgers’ future, something the manager admitted himself at Melwood on Friday after speculation linking both Carlo Ancelotti and Jurgen Klopp with his job. The fact that Rodgers happily conducted a separate breakout for Monday’s newspapers after the main press conference had finished following Saturday’s match suggests his anger was being directed elsewhere. Supporters? The fiercest criticism of Rodgers has undoubtedly been on social media with Reds fans from across the globe badgering principal owner John W Henry via Twitter and demanding change. Many wanted him to be sacked at the end of last season and the slow start to the new campaign meant it was never going to take much for supporters to turn on him once again. Inside Anfield, the treatment of the manager has been very different. There were boos and howls of derision at the end of the recent home games against Norwich and Carlisle. However, Rodgers hasn’t been subjected to the same levels of dissent that accompanied the end of Roy Hodgson’s dismal reign five years ago. He issued a plea on Friday for fans to get behind a team suffering from a lack of confidence and Anfield did that for the game against Villa to help drag the Reds over the finish line. Rodgers knows he must win back the trust of the Kop if he is to remain at Anfield for the long-term and his comments on Saturday wouldn’t have been aimed at supporters. Outsiders? Asked to explain who he was referring to, Rodgers would only say: “I am talking about people outside of here.” Inadvertently, Rodgers’ comments kept the spotlight on himself when it could and should have been shifted to the match-winning performance of Daniel Sturridge. There is no witch-hunt, no sinister campaign being waged against the Liverpool manager. But his bullish response to victory over Villa showed how much he cares and how much he has been wounded by the words of his critics, especially from those who have served the club previously with distinction. That show of fight bodes well for the battle ahead. http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/who-target-brendan-rodgers-anger-10143535

Jurgen Klopp will only take Liverpool job if transfer committee is scrapped Jurgen Klopp could end his sabbatical to take over the reins at Liverpool However he would only take job if club ditch transfer committee system He also wants to be given assurances that he is wanted by whole club Carlo Ancelotti is also being considered to replace Brendan Rodgers Brendan Rodgers blasts WITCH HUNT trying to force him out of Liverpool By JOE BERNSTEIN FOR MAILONLINE PUBLISHED: 09:36, 27 September 2015 | UPDATED: 12:43, 27 September 2015 Jurgen Klopp would demand the end of Liverpool's transfer committee if he is to succeed Brendan Rodgers as Liverpool manager. And the German tactician has also made it clear he would only be interested in ending his sabbatical by taking a job at Anfield if he is a unanimous choice rather than just elements within the club. Klopp, 48, is regarded alongside Carlo Ancelotti as prime candidates to replace Rodgers should owner John W Henry and the Fenway Sports Group decide to make a change. The former Borussia Dortmund manager is open to the idea of managing one of Europe's traditional big clubs but only on his terms. Rodgers has not been able to dictate transfer policy during his time at Merseyside, having some players like Mario Balotelli pressed upon him and denied other targets like Swansea City and Wales international Ashley Williams because they were deemed too old and not glamorous enough. Having taken Dortmund to two Bundesliga titles and a Champions League final, Klopp is in a strong negotiating position and could prolong his time out of the game until the summer when the Bayern Munich job should become available. He is also concerned about splits among the hierarchy some of whom are more favourable towards Rodgers than others. The key decision-makers at Liverpool are Henry, chairman Tom Werner, Merseyside-based American director Mike Gordon and managing director Ian Ayre. Liverpool have denied making contact with any other potential manager to succeed Rodgers and Klopp, who left Dortmund this summer, has said: 'I have nothing to do with the Liverpool rumours.' Having finished second two seasons ago, Rodgers has lost star players Luis Suarez, Raheem Sterling and Steven Gerrard and been hampered this season by injuries at various times to Christian Benteke, Jordan Henderson, Roberto Firmino, Joe Allen and Daniel Sturridge. After beating Aston Villa on Saturday, he faces a crucial week with Liverpool's Europa League clash against Sion on Thursday followed by a Merseyside derby against Everton on Sunday. Rodgers said last week about speculation surrounding his job: 'What I'll always do is give my best to the club and if they decide they need to change, I' ll totally respect that.' http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3250749/Jurgen-Klopp-Liverpool-job-transfer-committee-scrapped.html

Brendan Rodgers: I know Liverpool could axe me Tony Barrett Last updated at 12:01AM, September 26 2015 Brendan Rodgers insists that he will respect the decision of the Liverpool owners should they opt to replace him as manager, but he has ruled out resigning despite the mounting pressure he is facing. In a frank assessment of his situation, Rodgers accepted that recent poor results have made his position vulnerable despite retaining confidence in his ability to revive Liverpool and regain the backing of supporters who have turned against him. Rodgers was also relaxed about Carlo Ancelotti and Jürgen Klopp being linked with the job, even though their availability is likely to make them an even more attractive proposition to Fenway Sports Group (FSG), the club’s owner, should Liverpool fail to defeat Aston Villa at Anfield today. Tellingly, Rodgers repeated an assertion that he made last season, saying he had proved himself capable of delivering during the previous campaign when he had “the tools” to work with, the clear inference being that he no longer believes he is blessed with the kind of quality needed to make Liverpool title challengers. “It [people being linked with your job] is something that happens, and it happens through every level, but you can never be too worried about it,” the Liverpool manager said. “Sixteen months ago we nearly won the league, I was manager of the year, and 16 months later you are not so good at your job when you are actually better at your job. “I don’t like to go on too much about it, but I think I have shown what I can do when I have the tools to work, what I can deliver. I don’t lose confidence in that. What I will always do is give my best to the club and if they decide they need to change, I totally respect that. “I know I have given it everything and I would walk away and hopefully walk into another job where I would get a chance to create something special. But my focus is still very much on the now, and the now is making us the best we can be.” Asked whether he would consider resigning if results fail to improve, Rodgers said that is not even under consideration. “No. No chance, no,” he replied. “My target in my own mind is to get to 1,000 games as a manager, and I know that over the course of that you are looking at the next 20-odd years.” Having signed 31 players and sold 33 in the three years since he became manager, Rodgers believes that one of the reasons why Liverpool are struggling is that they are “constantly rebuilding”. “There has been a lot of change and we have lost some big, big players here in terms of both character and quality,” he said. “You have to manage that change and do the best that you can.” http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/sport/football/clubs/liverpool/article4568256.ece

System failure has left the American dream in tatters[/b] Tony Barrett Last updated at 12:01AM, September 25 2015 Fenway Sports Group had an ambitious vision for Liverpool, but its policy is stuttering ‘The model” as it became known was non-negotiable. A director of football was an absolute requirement. In the transfer market, “short-term, quick fixes” and overpaying for players were out of the question. A “talented young manager” was appointed to “instil a philosophy”. Almost five years on from the purchase of Liverpool by Fenway Sports Group (FSG), all that remains of that blueprint is Brendan Rodgers. Given what was the model, it is not looking good. Perhaps partly because he represents the last vestiges of the vision that they arrived with, Rodgers is yet to be dispensed with by FSG in the same manner as Damien Comolli, the director of football that they appointed, although there is no question that his position is subject to heightened consideration. Presiding over a run of form that has seen Liverpool win five matches out of their past 15 means that Rodgers can have few complaints about the mounting pressure that he is coming under, particularly with Jürgen Klopp and Carlo Ancelotti being available. Having his tactics criticised, his signings rubbished and his approach questioned has become as much a part of the Liverpool manager’s daily routine as taking training at Melwood. There is no escape from the spotlight. But for all the scrutiny Rodgers is coming under, much of it as justified as it is inevitable, the question of whether the club he manages are giving him, or his potential replacements, the best possible chance to succeed is in danger of being lost in the clamour for change. The focus on FSG and the decisions that it has made has become minimal. There is, though, a sense that Liverpool, on the pitch at least, are back to square one under their ownership. The league position they occupy, 13th, is only five places and two points better than it was in October 2010 when the American investment vehicle bought one of world football’s most famous clubs. Then, their arrival came after an ignominious exit from the League Cup at the hands of League Two opposition, Northampton Town, a repeat of which was narrowly averted on Wednesday when Liverpool scraped past Carlisle United on penalties. Just as Roy Hodgson, the manager FSG inherited, was beleaguered in 2010, Rodgers is under pressure in 2015. What took place in the intervening five years, save for a remarkable and wholly unexpected title challenge in 2013-14 has been wholly underwhelming: a single trophy - the Carling Cup in 2012 - and Champions League qualification achieved once. Financial stability off the pitch, something that should not be underestimated, has not been followed by success on it. “Most of all, we want to win,” John W Henry, Liverpool’s principal owner, once stated. “That ambition drives every decision. It is the Liverpool Way.” It may have been once but whether that is still the case is a moot point. Recently, Liverpool enlisted Ask Ten, an international leadership consultancy, whose website presents a case study of how a global football brand can “obtain commercial success off the pitch when the team is not performing on the pitch”. As an indication of where Liverpool are, it is compelling. Were it not for the implications it would have for his job security, Rodgers would be entitled to cite the restrictions that he works under in mitigation. In the recent past, he has claimed that “fifth is par” for Liverpool, an argument that does hold weight when one considers that they have the Premier League’s fifth biggest wage bill, its fifth largest revenue and, when the redevelopment of Anfield is complete, they will have the country’s fifth biggest stadium. The problem for Rodgers is that last season Liverpool did not achieve that limited objective and they are several shots over par this season. That is why his job is in jeopardy. Regardless of Rodgers’s failings, FSG needs to ask itself whether or not it has given him the best possible opportunity to deliver. If it is as honest as it was when Henry used an open letter to Liverpool fans to admit that mistakes had been made, it will acknowledge that its shortcomings, revolving primarily around an inconsistent approach with numerous deviations away from the course that it intended to follow, has not created the ideal conditions for any manager, particularly a relatively inexperienced one, to thrive in. Five factors in Liverpool’s fall from grace 1 Losing Luis Suárez His move to Barcelona will go down as the turning point if this downturn under FSG continues. In the 38 league games before Suárez left, Liverpool scored 101 goals; in the 44 games since, they have scored only 56. Suárez’s infectious will to win has also been lost. 2 Failing to replace Suárez Armed with £75million from the sale, Liverpool went on a spree. Instead of replacing Suárez with one player of similar talent, such as Alexis Sánchez, they went for quantity. Of the nine players recruited, four, including Mario Balotelli, aren’t at the club this season. 3 Playing an understrength team away to Real Madrid In terms of dressing-room morale and supporter confidence, the damage done by Rodgers’s decision not to pick his first-choice team for the Champions League tie cannot be understated. Steven Gerrard admitted later that the episode played a key role in his decision to leave. 4 Allowing Gerrard to leave By his own admission, Gerrard, at 35, is not the player he was at 25. But given the lack of leaders, his departure should have been avoided. The brain drain that has seen Jamie Carragher, Pepe Reina and Daniel Agger leave has had a profound effect on Liverpool’s stature within the game. Allowing Gerrard to follow Carragher, Reina and Agger out of Anfield was a mistake. 5 Too many symbolic defeats It isn’t just losing games, but the manner in which they lose. A pitiful performance in the FA Cup semi-final against Aston Villa; capitulation to Crystal Palace in Gerrard’s Anfield farewell; surrender at Stoke on the final day of last season, left; West Ham winning at Anfield for the first time since 1963. Each one has caused significant collateral damage. Words by Tony Barrett The transfer committee system that replaced the director of football template that was initially implemented has misfired. The idea of sharing votes on potential new signings between the manager, recruitment staff and executives may be democratic and reflect a desire to provide checks and balances, but its implementation has resulted in no one involved getting exactly what they want. While Rodgers has been able to sign players such as Christian Benteke and Nathaniel Clyne as his first-choices, he has previously been prevented from pursuing interest in Ashley Williams and Ryan Bertrand. For their part, the committee, and particularly the owners, have been frustrated at the way that Rodgers has deployed signings that they have prioritised, with Lazar Markovic and Mamadou Sakho being two of the most obvious examples. That disconnect has been apparent from the summer that Rodgers took over as manager when he blocked a move to sign Daniel Sturridge from Chelsea only to backtrack the following January in the wake of pressure from FSG. It is that dysfunction in their relationship that is at the heart of everything that is going wrong at Liverpool. Rodgers has long harboured doubts about whether he can succeed given the conditions that he works under, while FSG has had its own concerns about the Northern Irishman’s willingness to work collaboratively. Those mutual misgivings coupled with Liverpool’s slump mean that Rodgers is at growing risk of being replaced. Should either Klopp or Ancelotti succeed him, “the model” will be gone for good. Next five fixtures facing Rodgers Tomorrow Aston Villa (h), Premier League Oct 1 Sion (h), Europa League Oct 4 Everton (a), Premier League Oct 17 Tottenham (a), Premier League Oct 22 Rubin Kazan (h), Europa League http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/sport/football/premierleague/article4567112.ece[/url

Jurgen Klopp waits in Liverpool wings as Brendan Rodgers fights for his job Liverpool have been alerted to the German's availability with the next three games deciding Brendan Rodgers's future By Chris Bascombe 2:51PM BST 24 Sep 2015 Jürgen Klopp, the former Borussia Dortmund coach, has increased the pressure on Liverpool’s Brendan Rodgers by making it known he would prematurely end his year-long sabbatical for the right Premier League club. A day after former AC Milan, Real Madrid and Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti’s name was heavily linked with a move to Merseyside, those close to Klopp further alerted Anfield officials to the possibility of recruiting a high-calibre replacement should they end Rodgers’s tenure. Liverpool are adamant no discussions have been held with any managers as Rodgers prepares to face Aston Villa tomorrow – and despite Klopp’s ambitions to manage in England, he has made no specific reference to Liverpool and confirms there has been no contact – but the timing is significant. There is no doubt Rodgers is clinging to his job. Klopp has spoken previously about the attraction of working in the Premier League, where he has been linked with Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United. Last July he said: “It is important to make the next step. And I think England is the only country where I should work next to Germany because it’s the only country where I know the language.” Liverpool are one of the few English clubs with the clout to attract a manager of Klopp’s pedigree. Wednesday’s penalty shoot-out victory over League Two side Carlisle United in the Capital One Cup served only to raise further doubts about Rodgers’ future. The standard of results and performances this season has left the manager’s most ardent boardroom supporters uncertain how much longer he can survive. Those disgruntled within Fenway Sports Group want change, which leaves all eyes on principal owner and majority shareholder John W Henry. Should a change follow, Klopp has long been considered the most likely fit for FSG. Indeed, when they were assessing managers ahead of appointing Rodgers in 2012, it was Klopp’s work in Germany – overcoming the financial muscle of Bayern Munich to win two Bundesliga titles – that became a blueprint for how FSG wanted to operate. Klopp’s availability, allied to that of out-of-work Ancelotti, offers a ready-made alternative for Henry should he decide Rodgers is unable to reverse a decline that began with the sale of Luis Suárez in the summer of 2014. However, there is no guarantee that Klopp would be as attractive to FSG now as he was during his most successful spell in Dortmund and, if Rodgers went, Liverpool would explore numerous options. Klopp won the Bundesliga in 2011 and 2012, a year in which he completed the ‘double’ in German football. He lost the 2013 Champions League final to Bayern at Wembley, and opted for a break from football at the end of last season after a difficult final year. Ancelotti, meanwhile, is a multiple title and Champions League winner across Europe. If Liverpool seek a safe pair of hands having earlier favoured an up-and-coming coach, there is no doubt the Italian will have his boardroom supporters. Liverpool are seeking immediate results with the existing squad rather than another long-term project involving another era of rebuilding. The fact that two highly respected managers are available and seemingly open to the prospect of moving to Anfield is leaving Rodgers even more vulnerable. In 2012, Liverpool were also interested in Ajax’s Frank De Boer, who won four consecutive league titles in Holland. Should the club change their coaching structure, former club captain Steven Gerrard’s name is sure to be a topic of conversation as Liverpool seek to establish how soon he is reintegrated back into the club. After facing Villa tomorrow, Liverpool play Sion in the Europa League and then travel to Everton for the Merseyside derby on Oct 4. That fixture already has a defining look about it, coming before a two-week international break. Many will be circling the first week of October as a pivotal period. The unequivocal boardroom backing that was offered after the most sobering defeats last season – specifically the FA Cup semi-final defeat to Villa and 6-1 loss to Stoke City – has evaporated. FSG always said they would make sound judgments based on results and performances, but more studiously with an eye on the longer-term. As a Liverpool team valued at £130 million toiled to get beyond the centre-halves of Carlisle, the here and now was so wretched few dared to think how much worse it could get. Henry is not in the business of making knee-jerk decisions, but any judgment made in the coming weeks cannot be assumed to be such. Rodgers remained in post midway through last season – and he also survived the miserable end to the last campaign – because the club did not want to act based on a poor run or one disappointing campaign given how well the manager and team performed a year earlier. Should Rodgers pay the price in the next few weeks, it will not be a direct consequence of what has happened at the start of this season but a culmination of the last 14 months. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/11888272/Jurgen-Klopp-wants-Premier-League-job-as-Liverpool-speculation-intensifies.html

Gut feeling or something you heard?

Sky Sports News HQ ‏@SkySportsNewsHQ 5m5 minutes ago BREAKING: Sky sources: Jurgen Klopp interested in working in @premierleague and would cut short sabbatical for the right job. #SSNHQ Sky Sports News HQ ‏@SkySportsNewsHQ 5m5 minutes ago BREAKING: Sky sources: Klopp has not received any contact or interest from @LFC. #SSNHQ

Liverpool FC season preview: Why Brendan Rodgers is at the crossroads 05:00, 6 AUGUST 2015 BY JAMES PEARCE James Pearce on why Reds boss now has the tools he asked for to deliver - and it's sink or swim time Brendan Rodgers’ Anfield reign is at a crossroads. The 2015-16 campaign is sink or swim time. After the wheels came off so spectacularly in the closing months of last season, the Northern Irishman has been given the opportunity to put things right. The decision by owners Fenway Sports Group to keep faith with Rodgers divided opinion among a fanbase whose patience had been stretched to the limit by the events of the spring. Many were calling for change after a campaign when Liverpool trailed home sixth in the Premier League - their tally of 62 points was 22 less than 2013-14 and their haul of 52 goals was 49 fewer. Not since the 1993-94 season, which saw the club part company with Graeme Souness, had the Reds’ goal difference been as low as plus four. Their return to the Champions League proved painfully shortlived and two promising domestic cup runs faded into insignificance when Rodgers’ side delivered such a woeful display in the FA Cup semi-final against Aston Villa at Wembley. A spirited mid-season revival had long since been forgotten when Stoke City provided the final humiliating chapter with a 6-1 thrashing - Liverpool's worst defeat for 52 years. In the bowels of the Britannia Stadium, Rodgers looked a broken man and admitted that his job was in jeopardy following such a spineless capitulation. Few managers of elite clubs come back from a body blow like that but FSG duo Mike Gordon and Tom Werner refused to reach for the panic button. The belief in Boston was that while under-achieving in 2014-15, Rodgers had been hampered by circumstances beyond his control. The owners accepted that Liverpool made mistakes in the transfer market last summer that Rodgers couldn’t be held solely responsible for. They failed to adequately replace the world class talents of Luis Suarez and that glaring error was compounded by Daniel Sturridge’s injury woes. When a team implodes like Liverpool did during the run-in serious questions will be asked about the man at the helm but the 42-year-old still had credit in the bank with the owners. Just 12 months earlier he had been crowned Manager of the Year by his peers and handed a new four-year contract after masterminding a thrilling title challenge. Can Rodgers get back to those heights? That’s the challenge facing him as he enters his fourth season at Liverpool. He has to silence his critics by recapturing that exhilarating brand of attacking football and prove that 2013-14 wasn’t just a Suarez-inspired one off. Liverpool lost their identity throughout the struggles of 2014/15 and they need it back and fast. When Rodgers arrived from Swansea City in 2012 many fans doubted his credentials to bring success to Anfield and in truth little has changed. Yet his bid to win over the army of doubters and put his reign back on track has been bolstered by a summer of sweeping changes. This time around Rodgers can have no complaints about either the backing of the owners or the work of Liverpool’s transfer committee. Where last year they dallied, this time around targets were secured quickly and decisively. Areas of glaring weakness have been addressed. Trying to replace Steven Gerrard was always going to be a fruitless task but the Reds have taken steps towards filling that gaping void by buying both experience and goals. Securing the services of James Milner on a free transfer from Manchester City was a major coup. The England international was lured to Anfield by the promise of the central midfield role denied him by Manuel Pellegrini. A model professional, Milner is underrated and exactly what Liverpool require. His work rate and athleticism are ideally suited to Rodgers’ pressing game and he will be a leader on and off the field. When Liverpool flopped on the big stage last season, they stood accused of lacking character and mental strength. Milner will strengthen that backbone. The lion’s share of the Reds’ £84million summer spending spree went on Christian Benteke and Roberto Firmino. Benteke was always Rodgers’ No 1 target and the fact that FSG agreed to trigger his £32.5million release clause was another demonstration of their unwavering support for the manager. How Rodgers must hope the Belgium international repays that faith by firing Liverpool’s into the Champions League spots. Kopites know all about Benteke having watched him torment the Reds for Aston Villa but Firmino, who arrived from Hoffenheim in a £29million deal, is more of an unknown quantity. The prospect of watching the versatile Brazilian attacker link up with fellow countryman Philippe Coutinho is mouthwatering. With Danny Ings and Divock Origi also on board, Liverpool’s striking department is well stocked for the campaign ahead. The squad looks deep enough to cope with the added demands of the Europa League. Nathaniel Clyne, a £12million buy from Southampton, is the perfect replacement for Glen Johnson at right-back, while teenage defender Joe Gomez has already shown his class after moving from Charlton. Wisely, the focus in transfer policy has shifted from trying to find value in rookies from overseas to buying more proven players who know what it takes to succeed in the Premier League. That should enable the new boys to hit the ground running. It hasn’t all been plain sailing with the departure of captain Steven Gerrard to LA Galaxy followed by the sale of Raheem Sterling to Manchester City. The disgraceful antics of Sterling and his camp – coupled with the eye-watering fee of £49million – meant that most supporters were simply glad to see the back of him. However, the reality is that Liverpool have lost their most gifted youngster to a domestic rival. The hope is that Jordon Ibe will realise his rich potential and prove to be the perfect replacement. The armband which belonged to Gerrard for more than a decade has been passed to Jordan Henderson. It’s a tough act to follow but the England international has already embraced the extra responsibility and commands the respect of everyone in the dressing room. Rodgers ruthlessly showed assistant boss Colin Pascoe and coach Mike Marsh the door and installed a new backroom staff of Sean O’Driscoll, Pep Lijnders and former Kop favourite Gary McAllister amid talk of moving in a “new technical direction”. As well as the influx of new faces, much will hinge on Rodgers’ ability to get more out of those who remain from last term. How he needs the likes of Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren, Alberto Moreno and Lazar Markovic to belatedly live up to their price tags. The fixture list is laced with danger – with Stoke and a trip to the scene of May’s debacle first up. The importance of a flying start to the campaign can’t be over-stated. All eyes will be on the Britannia to see whether this really is a ‘new’ Liverpool. This season there will be no room for excuses. Rodgers has the tools he asked for. Now he has to deliver. http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/liverpool-fc-season-preview-brendan-9798613

Adama Traore: Liverpool FC not in the race to sign Barcelona winger 09:31, 4 AUGUST 2015 BY JAMES PEARCE Reports in Spain the winger is flying for a medical are understood to be wide of the mark Liverpool are not in the race to sign Barcelona winger Adama Traore. Reports in Spain suggested that the 19-year-old was on the brink of flying to Merseyside to undergo a medical with the Reds. However, the ECHO understands that Liverpool aren’t interested in a deal for the teenager. Traore, who has represented Spain at under-19 level, is likely to move to the Premier League over the coming days, but either Stoke City or Aston Villa is likely to be destination. Spanish clubs Villarreal and Celta Vigo are also keen on him but Traore has indicated he wants to play in England. Barcelona are prepared to agree a permanent deal but only on the basis they secure a buyback option – similar to the one they negotiated with Everton for Gerard Deulofeu this summer. Traore has made four first-team appearances for Barcelona. He has been a regular for Barcelona B over the past two seasons – scoring eight goals in 63 outings. http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/adama-traore-liverpool-fc-not-9786047

Does anyone have a link to the irish podcast with Tony Barrett?

THERE’S NO SENSE IN SENSIBLE FOR LIVERPOOL’S TRANSFERS by Melissa Reddy // 13 June 2015 // 23 Comments LIVERPOOL FC, please buy some belief. Sensible. That’s what Liverpool’s transfer business has been termed thus far. Sensible. Let me get this out the way: I’m a James Milner disciple and thoroughly looking forward to following his ‘whatever it takes’ ethos. He is intelligent in and out of position, a winner, a worker and a game changer. You may snigger at that last description, but it’s accurate. He can be as boring as he likes because he’s a tick-all-of-the-boxes boss. I’d do cartwheels if Danny Ings and Divock Origi hit the heights they both have the potential to. I hope they’re not undone by being relied upon too heavily, because the expectation and scrutiny will be unlike anything they’ve encountered so far. I’ll be honest, I would have preferred more goalkeeping competition and greater distribution skills than Adam Bogdan represents, but he’s a decent deputy. Deals done early, little to no fuss or fight, the absence of ‘HOW MUCH?’ anger over fees and small nip-tucks to the squad. Sensible. As I understand it, and unless there is some seismic shift, there will be minimal further business. A certified goal-getter is the priority (again) and the recruitment of a right-back is on the agenda. So then ‘sensible’… What that word should entail for Liverpool — a club whose owners have continuously stated has designs on Premier League glory but are in danger of dropping further away — is business that recreates the buzz the players had during their song and dance in Dubai. A celebration. That’s sensible. It should be transfer business that uncreases Steven Gerrard’s frown lines, turns Raheem Sterling’s head, inspires Phil Coutinho, reinvigorates Brendan Rodgers and surprises and enlivens us all. Truly sensible business sends a message to everyone that playtime is over and it’s win, win, win, no matter what. A transfer is never a guarantee, no matter the status of the star or the millions involved, but it can make a statement, change the mood, set the pace… Rewind with me. The Puma store in Carnaby Square is circled by a swarm of supporters outside, and press folk swimming in champagne within its walls. It is July 10, 2o14 and Arsenal are unveiling their ‘Future, Forever, Victorious’ trilogy of kits. Mikel Arteta, Santi Cazorla and Mathieu Flamini are on the roster to swoon about their new shirts, but are surprised with a much sweeter prospect to salivate over. A club official takes to the stage to announce that Alexis Sanchez is now an Arsenal player, and the trio — all seated — get off their chairs, high-five and fist pump. The reaction was a duplication of the supporters pressed up against the windows outside. Triumph was thick in the air. The Gunners had made a statement in capital letters, with the font bolded: we’re not messing here — Mesut Ozil the summer before, the Chile superstar now. Next? Well, that’s anyone’s guess, but whoever they target will look at those two purchases and put them atop the ‘Pros’ section on their why-should-I-make-this-move? list. Seems like Petr Cech is doing just that right now. Anyway, a return to the throwback: I’m stood to the left of the stage as Arsenal just casually dust the dirt off their shoulder, and the whole place is painted with swatches of swagger. Cazorla’s teeth are on full show, serving his ‘Ronaldinho’ nickname earned at Villarreal well. Arteta is locked in an ‘I told you so’ tussle with Flamini and all of it may as well be a scene in Dirty Dancing, because they’re having the time of their lives. Today, like most days, I revisit this vignette. I do it so often, it feels like the night is on repeat. I get stuck on the laugh lines; the way the Arsenal players, supporters and club officials were one. And the same. If there was any shred of doubt over how much of an impact an exciting, significant signing can make, it was tombstoned on 10 July last year. RIP. Cazorla, who said he “felt like a little kid, like a fan again” when Ozil joined, was in no doubt that the signing of Sanchez would also galvanise the Gunners. “We were all talking about it and reading everywhere that we were linked with such a great player like Alexis and we were hoping it would happen so we could celebrate,” he explained to me. “I spoke to a couple of players about him — I spoke to Arteta and Nacho Monreal [the latter turned out against Sanchez while at Malaga], who told me a lot about his way of playing. How special he is and how he will fit in. He’s the type of player everyone wants to have in his team. So we are really thrilled to have him with us. Like Ozil, he will uplift us.” He was right. German genius: £42.4m. Fiery forward: £35m. Show of ambition, revitalisation of the squad, a unified sense of belief: you can’t put any amount of zeroes on that — the stuff MasterCard can’t buy. It’s two trophies in two seasons for Arsenal, with shiny FA Cup winner’s medals around the necks of their shiny acquisitions, and the players are now all following the same script: it’s time to win the Premier League. Knock knock. Who’s there? Hopefully a Liverpool suit who realises that in order to close in on the title, the club needs to close in on more quality. To convince current players that they’re at exactly the right place if they want to be winners. To advertise to future prospects that the football club is an attraction that can’t be missed and one they should be queuing up to experience. To show the manager and the rest of the staff at Melwood that the tools to deliver the title and other successes won’t always have to be about quantity, sourced from the bargain bin or the absolute opposites of the ones needed. To convince a fan base, which is surrounded by toxicity to rival hydrogen cyanide, that they need not worry about their club falling any further away, that there are big forward strides to be made. Luis Suarez packed his bags for Barcelona and folded in it was much of the belief, impetus and force which characterised Liverpool’s charismatic title charge. #BringBackOurBite When everyone is looking at the dressing room, is there enough to look to? There is a lot of industry, artistry and bucket loads of potential — accede to Stevie’s plea and sprinkle in some genuine quality to energise them. Ditto the appointments in the coaching staff: there’s a chance to be better, to do better. To speak in a language the suits understand, Liverpool’s sponsors and potential partners need to be excited too. Remember Ian Ayre gloating that Mario Balotelli — who parts the support base like Moses did the Red Sea — sold £50,000 worth of shirts on the day he joined the club? (He did not even make the top 10 of kits sold at the end of the season, only Steven Gerrard featured from Liverpool). Yeah, great stuff that guys. But next time, instead of settling on a gamble at odds with the collective that you were actually dead set against and then don’t play to his strengths, sort a star who’s a headliner because of what he does *on* the pitch. Such a player sparks his teammates, gets all the fans onside, continues to sell kits throughout campaigns, and will have the likes of Nivea moisturising themselves to no end. Success where it matters most will roll out the welcome mat for profit margins and if you want to pocket more of the megabucks from sponsorships, bring in players who will bring more of them in. Everybody loves a winner, and everyone wants to be associated with them. All that effort that goes into selling the club to brands — how about using some of it to give prospective personnel any and every reason to join Liverpool? ‘Can’t get him’, ‘he won’t come here’, ‘no point even trying’, ‘he won’t go for it, ‘isn’t there anyone easier to recruit?’ — be realistic, we’re told. What if Arsenal had thought that these past two summers? When the Gunners did the absolute un-Arsenal thing of putting in a ballsy bid for Suarez in the summer of 2013, we were all sucked into the ‘what are they smoking over at the Emirates?’ smog. It was a strong, welcome stance from John Henry and Liverpool that the Uruguayan was not for sale — especially not to a direct rival. But whatever was in Arsene Wenger’s pipe needs to be passed and puffed around; such audaciousness would be welcome on Merseyside right now. FSG have repeatedly insisted they’re willing to compete with the very best in the market and that they “have only one driving ambition at Liverpool and that is the quest to win the Premier League playing the kind of football our supporters want to see.” We dared to dream in 2013-2014, but that was anomaly of recent history, not the norm. There were several factors behind the club’s tra-la-la-la-la-ing, but it’s no coincidence that a player, who in the form he was in courted company with Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, was central to it. Pardon the oversimplicity, but you can do great things with great players. This is not some manic mouthing off about football’s version of unicorns — the ‘marquee signing’ who comes along and magically fixes all things. This is merely a request to reconsider the aim of making money go as far as possible, and instead to make sure it has as much impact as possible. The signings of Daniel Sturridge and Phil Coutinho being a case in point — you don’t always have to spend blow-everyone-out-of-the-water sums in order to galvanise a club. Yet for all the talk of Liverpool not being able to compete with the pull and purchasing power of those above them, this is an institution that has spent £42million on three centre-backs (Mamadou Sakho, Tiago Illori, Dejan Lovren) in the past two summer windows. One of them has not officially kicked a ball in the red shirt while the most expensive of the lot saw the football version of Freddie Kruger before his eyes repeatedly throughout his debut season. The undoubted quality and class of the other is hampered by the fact he has missed 43 games through injury in his two campaigns. Money has been available, but too often its use has been dictated by a ‘strategy’, which undergoes more cosmetic changes than a Kardashian and aims to be overly smart instead of surgical. Transfers are already tricky enough to navigate without extra how, buts, whys, and a nagging need to complicate them further with buzzwords and whatever is on today’s agenda for “building the right way.” Moneyball, buying British, buying like Swansea, buying young and foreign, buying Southampton, buying a circus, buying Premier League proven, buying free agents… FSG may have some good intentions and some good ideas, but the inability to stick with anything or execute it effectively enough is problematic. The club were willing to beat Arsenal’s £35million fee for Sanchez last summer, but then turned to £8m Loic Remy, before eventually pinning the tail on Balotelli for £16m. Same priority position, but three completely different players, price ranges and markets. The uncertainty of that business means a striker is again Liverpool’s focal point in the window, yet the only formidable link has been to Christian Benteke — a player that is the antithesis of Suarez or Sanchez, one theoretically at odds with the club’s best player, one that has recent injury concerns and represents a very big risk at £32million — an amount the Reds are quite shy to meet. At the moment, the strike force for next season reads: Daniel Sturridge, Ings, Origi, Balotelli, Rickie Lambert, Fabio Borini. The club are desperate to shift the last three, but have already seen how difficult that can be. Mino Raiola has insisted Super Mario is staying put, and while his word is not gospel, it indicates it will be a mission to shift the Italian. If Liverpool can’t move enough bodies out, my concern is no more ammunition up front is sourced. Do we then spend next summer working on the same priority again? It’s everywhere and nowhere. After splashing out last summer, Liverpool are looking to save every penny in this one. Hit it out the park, play it safe. Target the long game, quick fix, quick fix. In September 2012, John Henry declared: “We have no fear of spending and competing with the very best but we will not overpay for players.” I think you’re a lovely fella JWH, and a incredibly intelligent businessman, so I hate to break this to you: we’ve not really seen much proof of the first part of that statement, but have plenty evidence to contradict the second bit. We need to stop thirsting after some secret formula, which exists in the same universe where Victor Moses scores 20 league goals for Liverpool, and get the business that needs to be done, done. A quick, tricky forward with intelligent movement, neat positioning, strong finishing and rabid pressing is required. Must compliment the technicians. Needs to spend minimal time on the treatment table and social media. Who is the best option? What will it take to convince him? Do everything it takes, and then some. After a Spanish talent? Get Xabi Alonso to do Liverpool poetic justice. Targeting someone on Barcelona’s books? Ring up Luis Suarez and get him on the case. Whatever it takes, and then some. Sell the s*** out of the club. Spray its attractiveness everywhere. Spin so hard you make Sepp Blatter blush. Sell dreams, sell to egos, SELL SELL SELL. Because if you don’t bring top talent in, you’ll be selling yours. This season’s Sterling saga could be next year’s Coutinho debacle. And so on and so forth. Liverpool have waved farewell to far too many premier players in recent years because they feel they have to go elsewhere to win things. That should chokeslam every single person connected to the club and those with the power to change that perception need to eat, breathe, shower, and sleep solutions. “We firmly believe that the direction the club is heading in will lead to Premier League championships.” It’s either the above, and we do everything to ensure that happens. Or ‘be realistic’ and accept that fifth is par and perhaps once in a while something more magical may happen. It can’t be both though. If we can’t be completely sure of what the end game is, and conclusive on what it takes to achieve it, we’ll continue to be nutmegged by those above us. And by the likes of Tottenham. All while being ridiculed by Lyon. LYON! http://www.theanfieldwrap.com/2015/06/theres-no-sense-in-sensible-for-liverpools-transfers/

Delegation Liverpool arrived in Split conclude business with the young star! Author: Portal Jutarnji.hr Posted: 1 hours 33 minutes As reported by Italian media, Liverpool delegation also followed the qualifying match Croatian and Italian at Poljud stadium , but the main point of interest was not I meet but Mateo Kovacic. The Reds remain only to the young 21-year-old team member perform Fiery talk , who allegedly had already sent an offer to Inter in the amount of 22.6 million euros, plus an additional two million euros bonus. The club from Anfield just to see Kovacic ideal replacement for Steven Gerrard who is at the end of the season farewell to the red jersey and will continue his career in the LA Galaxy. Inter last season did not play picnic, but a Croat in 35 games enrolled five goals and three assists and was a major player Roberto Mancini. Although Liverpool have already brought several new players, like James Milner, Danny Ings and Adam Bogdan, the fans would have been happier if from next season Anfield rage quality player like Mateo Kovacic in which to get a fine and a pledge for the future. http://sportske.jutarnji.hr/gosti-na-poljudu-delegacija--liverpoola-u-splitu-dovrsava--posao-s-mladom-zvijezdom-/1365624/

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers favourite for next Premier League managerial departure 20:01, 10 JUNE 2015 BY AARON FLANAGAN Rodgers' position at Anfield is under threat after a disappointing campaign which saw them under-perform both domestically and in Europe Brendan Rodgers is expected to be the next manager to leave the Premier League, according to bookmakers. The Liverpool manager is the overwhelming favourite to depart their club as teams begin their preparations for the new campaign. Rodgers' future is in doubt after the Reds failed to follow up their 2013/14 title challenge with a similarly successful season, slumping to fifth place. Jurgen Klopp is one of the names reportedly ready to take over at Anfield, as pressure continues to grow Rodgers. Ladbrokes have priced Rodgers as the 3/1 favourite to be the next manager to leave their post in the Premier League, with new Watford manager Sanchez Flores following. Meanwhile, his top four rivals, Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho, Louis van Gaal and Manuel Pellegrini are the least likely bosses to leave their job in the near future. James Curtis of Ladbrokes said: “As you’d expect, last year’s top four look safe for the time being but the betting suggests Brendan Rodgers is on borrowed time at Anfield. “The Liverpool boss in under immense pressure to perform and with Jurgen Klopp waiting in the wings we’re not even sure he’ll make it to day one.” Next Premier League manager to leave odds Brendan Rodgers 3/1 'Quique' Sanchez Flores 6/1 Gary Monk 10/1 Tim Sherwood 10/1 Nigel Pearson 12/1 Dick Advocaat 14/1 Tony Pulis 14/1 Roberto Martinez 14/1 Mauricio Pochettino 16/1 Alan Pardew 16/1 http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/liverpool-boss-brendan-rodgers-favourite-5859651