The Brendan Rodgers Experiment.
Brendan Rodgers Swansea side of the 2011-12 season received praise from many football followers across England for their style of play. Many had written off their chances of Premier League survival but the defied the odds and survived comfortably playing a very eye catching style of passing football which some would say was quite similar to that of Barcelona and the Spanish National team. It was his achievements with Swansea which impressed the Liverpool owners enough to offer him the job at Anfield but there are some who question whether or not his style of play can be applied to Liverpool of indeed if it can bring long term success to the club.
Therefore my challenge is this, I will be taking charge of Liverpool and will manage it as if I am indeed Brendan Rodgers (under a different name of course) aiming to see if he can be a success at Anfield.
Taken from the Telegraph website the following explains the Rodgers philosophy and how I will set up my Liverpool side, the Rodgers way:
In the simplest terms, Rodgers wants his team to get hold of the ball as quickly as possible and then keep it.
One of the key points he made is that your initial formation — say 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 — matters less than what that translates to on the pitch. When going forward, the best way to move the ball up the field is to create angles of diagonal pass. If you have two banks of four across defence and midfield there are no diagonal passes on. The system needs to be more fluid.
So Rodgers seeks to create as many ‘lines’ across the field as possible. In his system you have a minimum of seven lines. He wants his goalkeeper to be part of the play, then the centre backs, then what he calls the ‘controller’ (a deep-lying playmaker), then the full-backs pushed on, the two attacking midfielders, the wingers and then the centre-forward. That allows you to draw seven horizontal lines across the pitch.
Through coaching, Rodgers ensures that every player knows his place in this system. When a player receives the ball he should always have at least two options for an ‘out’ pass. He gives the players confidence to make those passes by taking the blame on himself when it does not come off.
When the ball is lost, his players seek to win it back quickly by pressing high up the field. This means reacting as a unit and nobody shirking their duty. Winning the ball back quickly creates openings in a disorganised opponent, especially when it happens near their goal. The team as a whole need to know when to press like this, and hold a high line, and when to drop deep and absorb the opponents’ efforts to break them down.
So now that I understand how the philosophy of Brendan Rodgers works I can now begin to build shape my Liverpool Team.
Formation
4-2-3-1 will be my chosen formation which I will hopefully start most of our games with the option of changing to a 4-3-3 for more attacking options or a 4-1-2-2-1 to allow me to deploy a more defensive minded player in a kind of an anchor man role should we need to. By playing the 4-2-3-1 I should therefore be able to create those diagonal passing angles and open teams up.
Team selection
Goalkeepers. No doubt about it Pepe Reina is the best goalkeeper currently on the books so he will be the No.1 deployed in a sweeper keeper role which isn’t his preferred role but one I feel he can adapt to quite easily with the attributes that he has. Doni prefers to play as the sweeper keeper so but is nowhere near the class of Reina however should still be able to cover for him should he need to with Brad Jones a third choice keeper should things get a bit desperate. To be honest I hope I never get to the stage where I need to rely on Jones between the sticks.
Full Backs: Glen Johnson and Jose Enrique will be first choice right and left full backs respectively, both of who like to push forward and support the attack and so will fit in with Rodgers Style of play as he like his full backs to push on. Martin Kelly a centre back who can also fill in on the right and Fabio Aurelio will provide cover for injuries. With John Flanagan and Jack Robinson, two potentially very good full backs, both sat in the reserves I have plenty of cover in this department so it is likely that they will be both loaned out for this season and they should hopefully be better for the experience.
Centre Backs: Although not noted previously Rodgers is also a fan of the ball playing centre back as he prefers to see his players bring the ball out of defence rather that launch it up field. Agger, Coates and Kelly are all players who prefer to play as a ball playing defender where as with Skrtel and Carragher your more traditional no-nonsense central defenders who will add that bit of steel to the defence. With assistant manager stave Clarke indicating that Agger and Skrtel are the two best Central defenders it is likely that they will become first choice as the two should pair up well together. Also in reserve we have another youngster in Danny Wilson who again will probably go out on loan for experience.
Central Midfield: In a 4-2-3-1 formation Rodgers prefers the two to be a controller (which I define as being the ball winner) and a playmaker. The Playmaker role isn’t a problem as Adam, Henderson and Shelvey, although all three like to play as advanced playmakers, could easily play in the position of a deep lying playmaker. Gerrard could also play this role should I choose to deploy him as a central Midfielder instead of an attacking midfielder. The problem is the controller role as the only player who I have for that position is Lucas Levia. So additional cover may be needed here. The only other player in the Liverpool Squad who can act as a ball winner would be Jay Spearing, currently on the transfer list.
Attacking Midfield: This is the area where I probably have the most cover Kuyt and Rodriguez on the right, Downing and Bellemy on the Left and Gerrard through the Middle. I also have Shelvey, Suarez who can provide cover as well as reserves Kristian Adorjan and Suso and the promising Raheem Sterling. Plenty of options to rotate the squad or people to bring off the bench if I need to.
Forwards: In Suarez we have a player who would certainly fit in with Rodgers footballing philosophy as he would be very comfortable playing in this style of play. Some might say that Andy Carroll being the tradition No.9 would not be suited to a passing game however he could still play a very important role for the club as his strength and ability to hold the ball up would allow him to bring other players into the game. A very useful alternative perhaps if we are up against the more physical teams such as Stoke and Bolton.
Summary of Squad: I feel we have a squad with a good depth to it with the only problem position being the lack of quality back-up for Lucas Levia in the ball winning position. For now I have decided that Jay Spearing will be taken off the transfer list to provide some cover until a more suitable alternative can be found. I also have concerns about my third choice keeper so perhaps may look to address this position too. With the squad that I have at my disposal and some of the younger players coming through I am confident we can secure European qualification for next season and set about bringing the glory days back to Anfield.
Updates to follow soon…
Brendan Rodgers Swansea side of the 2011-12 season received praise from many football followers across England for their style of play. Many had written off their chances of Premier League survival but the defied the odds and survived comfortably playing a very eye catching style of passing football which some would say was quite similar to that of Barcelona and the Spanish National team. It was his achievements with Swansea which impressed the Liverpool owners enough to offer him the job at Anfield but there are some who question whether or not his style of play can be applied to Liverpool of indeed if it can bring long term success to the club.
Therefore my challenge is this, I will be taking charge of Liverpool and will manage it as if I am indeed Brendan Rodgers (under a different name of course) aiming to see if he can be a success at Anfield.
Taken from the Telegraph website the following explains the Rodgers philosophy and how I will set up my Liverpool side, the Rodgers way:
In the simplest terms, Rodgers wants his team to get hold of the ball as quickly as possible and then keep it.
One of the key points he made is that your initial formation — say 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 — matters less than what that translates to on the pitch. When going forward, the best way to move the ball up the field is to create angles of diagonal pass. If you have two banks of four across defence and midfield there are no diagonal passes on. The system needs to be more fluid.
So Rodgers seeks to create as many ‘lines’ across the field as possible. In his system you have a minimum of seven lines. He wants his goalkeeper to be part of the play, then the centre backs, then what he calls the ‘controller’ (a deep-lying playmaker), then the full-backs pushed on, the two attacking midfielders, the wingers and then the centre-forward. That allows you to draw seven horizontal lines across the pitch.
Through coaching, Rodgers ensures that every player knows his place in this system. When a player receives the ball he should always have at least two options for an ‘out’ pass. He gives the players confidence to make those passes by taking the blame on himself when it does not come off.
When the ball is lost, his players seek to win it back quickly by pressing high up the field. This means reacting as a unit and nobody shirking their duty. Winning the ball back quickly creates openings in a disorganised opponent, especially when it happens near their goal. The team as a whole need to know when to press like this, and hold a high line, and when to drop deep and absorb the opponents’ efforts to break them down.
So now that I understand how the philosophy of Brendan Rodgers works I can now begin to build shape my Liverpool Team.
Formation
4-2-3-1 will be my chosen formation which I will hopefully start most of our games with the option of changing to a 4-3-3 for more attacking options or a 4-1-2-2-1 to allow me to deploy a more defensive minded player in a kind of an anchor man role should we need to. By playing the 4-2-3-1 I should therefore be able to create those diagonal passing angles and open teams up.
Team selection
Goalkeepers. No doubt about it Pepe Reina is the best goalkeeper currently on the books so he will be the No.1 deployed in a sweeper keeper role which isn’t his preferred role but one I feel he can adapt to quite easily with the attributes that he has. Doni prefers to play as the sweeper keeper so but is nowhere near the class of Reina however should still be able to cover for him should he need to with Brad Jones a third choice keeper should things get a bit desperate. To be honest I hope I never get to the stage where I need to rely on Jones between the sticks.
Full Backs: Glen Johnson and Jose Enrique will be first choice right and left full backs respectively, both of who like to push forward and support the attack and so will fit in with Rodgers Style of play as he like his full backs to push on. Martin Kelly a centre back who can also fill in on the right and Fabio Aurelio will provide cover for injuries. With John Flanagan and Jack Robinson, two potentially very good full backs, both sat in the reserves I have plenty of cover in this department so it is likely that they will be both loaned out for this season and they should hopefully be better for the experience.
Centre Backs: Although not noted previously Rodgers is also a fan of the ball playing centre back as he prefers to see his players bring the ball out of defence rather that launch it up field. Agger, Coates and Kelly are all players who prefer to play as a ball playing defender where as with Skrtel and Carragher your more traditional no-nonsense central defenders who will add that bit of steel to the defence. With assistant manager stave Clarke indicating that Agger and Skrtel are the two best Central defenders it is likely that they will become first choice as the two should pair up well together. Also in reserve we have another youngster in Danny Wilson who again will probably go out on loan for experience.
Central Midfield: In a 4-2-3-1 formation Rodgers prefers the two to be a controller (which I define as being the ball winner) and a playmaker. The Playmaker role isn’t a problem as Adam, Henderson and Shelvey, although all three like to play as advanced playmakers, could easily play in the position of a deep lying playmaker. Gerrard could also play this role should I choose to deploy him as a central Midfielder instead of an attacking midfielder. The problem is the controller role as the only player who I have for that position is Lucas Levia. So additional cover may be needed here. The only other player in the Liverpool Squad who can act as a ball winner would be Jay Spearing, currently on the transfer list.
Attacking Midfield: This is the area where I probably have the most cover Kuyt and Rodriguez on the right, Downing and Bellemy on the Left and Gerrard through the Middle. I also have Shelvey, Suarez who can provide cover as well as reserves Kristian Adorjan and Suso and the promising Raheem Sterling. Plenty of options to rotate the squad or people to bring off the bench if I need to.
Forwards: In Suarez we have a player who would certainly fit in with Rodgers footballing philosophy as he would be very comfortable playing in this style of play. Some might say that Andy Carroll being the tradition No.9 would not be suited to a passing game however he could still play a very important role for the club as his strength and ability to hold the ball up would allow him to bring other players into the game. A very useful alternative perhaps if we are up against the more physical teams such as Stoke and Bolton.
Summary of Squad: I feel we have a squad with a good depth to it with the only problem position being the lack of quality back-up for Lucas Levia in the ball winning position. For now I have decided that Jay Spearing will be taken off the transfer list to provide some cover until a more suitable alternative can be found. I also have concerns about my third choice keeper so perhaps may look to address this position too. With the squad that I have at my disposal and some of the younger players coming through I am confident we can secure European qualification for next season and set about bringing the glory days back to Anfield.
Updates to follow soon…
