Firstly, as I’m writing this after another poor result for
Liverpool I know that not as many people as usual will read it. I’m not sure if
everybody is aware of this but there is a visible drop off in the number of
hits an article receives after Liverpool lose, we are not talking tens and
twenties here we are talking hundreds. Where a loss will lose me a few hundred,
even a big important win rarely sees a jump of more than one hundred or so from
article to article. This is true of most websites which are dedicated to one
club in particular. And to me it explains why it sometimes feels like everyone
is against the manager, because of all the critical articles. It should be
remembered though that regardless of how the writer may feel they guarantee
hits by sticking another nail in the coffin. I’ve thought about this a lot and
although I don’t make any money from my articles (and I don’t really have any
ambition too) it certainly makes the time and effort that goes into each
article more worthwhile if I know people around the world are interested to
read it. I’ve thought long and hard about how to combat this and I’m pretty
sure I’ve found the solution. All I really need to do is follow public opinion
and write plenty of articles slagging off Brendan Rodgers. That’s what’s in
vogue right now and it’s easy. The opinions are already out there spreading
among Liverpool fans desperate for somewhere to place blame I wouldn’t even
have to come up with anything original. I could just regurgitate what’s out
there and I'm pretty sure it would be click, click, click with no decrease in
hits.
I’m not going to do that though. Not because of some holier
than thou mindset or because I think that I’m better than anybody. I’m not
going to do it because that’s not how I feel. The whole point of me writing in
the first place was to express my own opinions so that’s what I’m laying out
here. Feel free to disagree, feel free to comment to tell me so, but bear in
mind it’s just an opinion.
At the moment we are all feeling down. We all come into
supporting football for the joy it gives us, and it feels like for the last
year or two the joy has been in scant supply. There is no doubting that
performances have been terrible and results have been, at times, abysmal. This
naturally, and completely correctly, leads to many questioning the manager. So far,
so depressing.
That the manager wasn’t sacked in the summer was a shock to
many and it was a dangerous gamble for the owners to take as they must have
known that anything other than a perfect start this time around would lead to
serious questions being asked. Well, the season started off far from perfectly
and the inevitable and justifiable questions are being asked. What has
accompanied these questions though is not, in my opinion, justifiable. The
personal insults to Brendan Rodgers, the way he is portrayed in sections of the
media, the reduction of any of his achievements to luck. It’s not right and I
really don’t think it’s necessary. If you want the manager gone, there is a
perfectly strong body of evidence to support your case without claiming that
13/14 was all down to Suarez or discussing his personal relationships outside
of football. It seems to me that every article I read at the moment which
discusses Liverpool is accompanied by a picture of Brendan with that crazy look
on his face, as if to imply he is some crazy goof who has no clue what is going
on. I'm sure there are plenty of normal pictures which could be used but they
are discarded for some reason. It also seems like every article I read
discussing Rodgers himself to reference his “Brentisms” as if he is the only football
manager who uses management speak and buzzwords, just listen to LVG as an
example but you will find many other examples too if you look for them.
At the moment things aren’t working, that is a fact. We are
not playing anywhere near as well as we should and our results have been
terrible most of the time. But we must not forget this is a hard job. Its been
over 20 years since Liverpool last won the league title. He is far from the
first manager who has been unsuccessful in delivering that trophy. This job
breaks more managers than it makes, hell, Gerard Houllier almost died from
managing this club. My own stance is that I do not actively want Brendan
Rodgers out and I'm still willing to support his as the manager of Liverpool Football
Club but at the same time I know that if I heard he was sacked in the morning I
would probably feel a little bit relieved at not having to discuss this
situation anymore… for a while anyway, until this job beats the next guy. If we
get a Klopp or an Ancelloti I will be positive and optimistic, but lets not
forget that is a big if.
What I find hard to take is how willing a lot of Liverpool fans
are to join in the hatred towards the man. I’m sure he has done his best. It
may prove to not be enough. If that’s the case, he goes and the next manager
comes in. But remember all of this may end up being true of the next man as well
as the cycle continues.
