Defences have more to do with coaching than anything.
Look at Juve before Conte took over. Bonucci was a bit of a joke figure, now he is one of the best centre halves in the world, likewise Barzagli didn’t have the best of times at Juve until Conte came in. He’s done the same with Chelsea - Azpilicueta is playing in a position he has never played before, likewise Moses. Luiz was a bit of a joke figure in English football, Cahill is a fairly basic defender. Alonso is an honest player but he’s nothing special.
What you see with Chelsea is a well drilled side - it has star quality in Hazard and Costa but it’s mainly hard work and tactical organisation that has the side playing so well after that.
Chelsea have been very lucky up until now with injuries but they are light in certain areas - there are no real alternatives to Moses or Alonso and if 2 of Pedro/Willian.Hazard are gone at the same time it could pose a problem.
I don’t think Conte rates Batshuayi at all, he was signed during the Euros so I don’t think Conte had much of a say in it and he’s barely used him so far so I don’t think he’d like to have to rely on him.
Liverpool are great going forward but they look vulnerable at the back, Klopp doesn’t have the balance quite right.
Why was Rodgers sacked if the squad wasn’t up to it? Klopp is undoubtedly given more patience than the last few Liverpool managers who have been hounded out of the club, laughably when you consider our of them won the Champions League and another got them their best league position in decades.
Hounded out of the club? - You’re leaving out the ownership change there, mate, and the mess that was. Benny was there 6 years and looked to have gone as far as he could go - there was a power struggle throughout his time and his relationship with players was questionable - Alonso left because of him, Gerard almost left because of him and there were rifts with other players and at board room also - He was well backed with cash in his time but he looked to have run his course. Woy - Joke from the start but badly mistreated. Rodgers - I think the job was too early for him or too big for him. He stumbled on a formation by trying to keep Gerrard happy and had a great season thanks to the prowess of Suarez and Sturridge - Even throughout the season he fucked the league away they lost some ridiculous matches and almost every other game was a knife edge waiting for Suarez to work some magic - He never really got the balance right and as soon as he lost Suarez the club struggled - the same shambles at the back there had always been under him - he was unable to address this issue throughout his 3.5 years and again lost some stupid matches from the line - He struggles to make in game changes when things are going bad. He was a gamble that almost paid off but I personally don’t think he was ever fully believable in his role and when Klopp became available and was interested the club felt he was the right man - Both Benny and Brendan went from 2nd to almost mid table and 20 points off where they were the season before - they also wasted money on big buys that were a disaster - Mario / Aquilani are two that jump to mind… Maybe they deserved a bit more but hounded is an exaggeration here.
The signings during Rodgers’ time there were generally attributed to a transfer committee. He had to live with them, but Klopp gets time to change them.
I’m not saying Klopp isn’t a good manager but he’s been given an awful lot more slack than Rodgers was. Liverpool were poor last season. They didn’t improve under Klopp.
They may do better this season but it doesn’t look like they’ll be really close to challenging for the title, something they achieved under Rodgers of course. If Gerrard doesn’t slip is the job still too big for him. And the Suarez argument is ridiculous. He got the team to maximise their returns from a world class player. For some reason that’s used as a stick to beat him with, rather than something to praise him for. That showed the level he can operate at.
There is a false expectation around what’s acceptable to Liverpool fans. A Champions League success should have made Benitez a hero but the supporters demanded league titles out of nowhere. He may well have burned bridges and had his problems but he deserved reverence, not scorn.
All this impatience has shifted with Klopp and much of that I attribute to his media presence. He’s a likeable guy which helps his reputation hugely. He has a good track record and has kept Liverpool relatively consistent with where they were before he took over but the fans have fallen for his shtick and hold him to lesser standards.
I think the majority of Liverpool fans were very happy with Benitez’s stint at the club and see him a success. He managed to get them to two CL finals, winning one. It was time for him to move on when he did though as it was becoming stale.
I think Rodgers was unlucky. Expectations were too high the year after they should’ve won the league and he struggled to re-energise the team after Suarez left and eventually I think he lost the confidence of the players.
I don’t really understand why you think the Liverpool fans should be impatient with Klopp like they were with Rodgers though. They’re in 2nd position in a extremely competitive season and playing for the most part very entertaining football. Maybe will be a different story in a few months time when Liverpool have fallen off and are struggling to make champions league because the squad is not strong enough to deal with injuries and fatigue.
The fans hounded them out? incorrect - But that’s your real aim here, you just want to have a go at Liverpool fans and work in how it is a little club or something to that affect.
Liverpool finished 22 points worse off in the season after finishing second - they also whimpered out of the CL that season and Rodgers was shown up tactically again. They had thrown away 5 one goal leads in a row to draw 1-1 and had won only one in 9 when Rodgers was correctly let go - he was going backwards.
I think Rodgers was undermined by the owners which didn’t help his status with either the fans or the players. He also had the unfortunate situation of being a native English speaker, so a cliche that sounds humorous coming from Klopp sounded bland or forced coming from Rodgers.
Anyway, agreed he was unlucky. Very difficult circumstances too.
But I don’t think Benitez was held in any sort of reverence when he was going. He was lampooned.
Bizarre. I’ve said nothing like that at all. I just think Liverpool fans need to accept that top 4 finishes aren’t bad and they should be consistent in that view across managers. They don’t have a divine right to win the league and probably won’t get there if they keep ditching managers who get them to the brink of that.
That’s a good post,
I think the points in the middle about the importance and irreplaceable nature of a few players is off the mark though. The versatility of Fabregas, Azpilicueta, Willian and a couple of others will allow them to shift around with little lost. Ivanovic and Terry could still do a job and Zouma looked decent enough last year as well.
Costa in his current form is irreplaceable.
incorrect - But that’s your real aim here, you just want to have a go at Liverpool fans and work in how it is a little club or something to that affect.