Liverpool FC manager Brendan Rodgers’ popularity is at an all-time low. And one of the reasons for this is some of the absurd statements the manager has been delivering to the media of late. We list the most ridiculous ones and rate them on a scale of one to five with five being the most ridiculous.
1. “When youa ve got the ball 65-70% of the time, ita s a football death for the other team. Wea re not at that stage yet, but thata s what we will get to. Ita s death by football. You just suck the life out of them.”
Ridiculous Rating: 3/5. The statement in itself was not ridiculous when it was made in the 2012-13 season with Brendan Rodgers’ sides, both former and current, known to dominate possession. Swansea were termed Barcelona of the Premier League for a reason. Now imagine Tony Pulis making the same statement. While Rodgers has not really turned into Tony Pulis, some of the football Liverpool FC have dished out this season can only be termed ‘anti-Brendan’ given how much it contradicts the above quote of the Northern Irishman.
2. “Southampton dona t have to sell, they have a choice. Maybe their objectives have changed. They were looking to be a Champions League club, I believe.”
Ridiculous Rating: 5/5. Southampton had done pretty well in the 2013-14 season, the same year Liverpool FC had finished second in the league. The transfer window that followed the season saw Liverpool raid the Saints for three of their players — Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren, Ricky Lambert. They also lost Calum Chambers to Arsenal FC and Luke Shaw to Manchester United.
The season after Rodgers made the statement saw Southampton finish 7th in the league, just two points off Liverpool FC. Both clubs qualified for the Europa League.
3. “If you spend more than A?100 million, you expect to be challenging for the league.”
Ridiculous Rating: 4/5. The statement in itself is pretty sound, (and that saves it from a 5/5 rating) but just as fine wine becomes better with age, the quote has become more ridiculous with every passing day.
The above remark by Rodgers was on Tottenham Hotspur after they were struggling in the league having sold off Gareth Bale and added quite a few talented players. Fast forward by a year, and Liverpool sold Suarez and spent in excess of 120m GBP, only to finish in the sixth position.
They have followed that up with another spending spree this season, but things do not look very good for them now either.
4. “I will leave no stone unturned in my quest a and that quest will be relentless.”
Ridiculous Rating: 3/5. The two things mean the same, just put in two different ways. And while two of anything good is not a problem, the quest does seem to be faltering with the manager looking more and more uninspiring as pressure mounts, when it should be the opposite.
5. “I don’t think there is anyone better, that is the reality of how I see it.”
Ridiculous Rating: 4/5. Confidence is impressive when you can back it up with action. Sadly for Brendan, the quotes were not backed up with performance as Liverpool FC’s 2013-14 season derailed even further following the quotes in April ’15. Liverpool finished the season with a 6-1 hammering at the hands of Stoke City.
Having ridiculed him enough, we also give you some of the best of his quotes.
“I use a quote with the players,’Per aspera ad astra’, which is Latin for a through adversity to the starsa .”
This is quite inspirational and the Liverpool boss could make use of it now, more than ever.
“When we lose I don’t get too disappointed in the same way that when we win I don’t get too carried away.”
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A manager, anywhere, and especially in an emotional sport like Football, cannot get carried away too much. A stable emotional state is of prime importance to a manager, if he is to manage well.
a I believe a young player will run through a barbed wire fence for you. An older player looks for a hole in the fence.a
This is quite brilliantly put. Younger players are likely to be more enthusiastic and energetic as compared to the experienced ones. However, the experienced players are wiser and can be expected to use their experience to work out a better solution mentally.
