Liverpool FC: What Does Brendan Rodgers Bring That Kenny Dalglish Could Not?

FSG, the owners of Liverpool, have finally concluded their search for a manager for the team by appointing Brendan Rodgers from Swansea.

In doing so they have gambled, to be very honest, but achieving high goes hand-in-hand with taking risks. If you play safe, you will achieve little-by-little albeit with no guarantees. If you play the high-risk game, as in stocks, you may go either way.

FSG have gone the latter way, which is bold but risky nonetheless.

So what exactly does Brendan Rodgers bring to the Liverpool setup that Kenny Dalglish could not? Well, the article itself would not remain much of a work if I answered that with a “not much." However, the fact of the matter is very much in line with that.

People are raving about “tiki-taka” coming to Anfield. Well, if Liverpool had not been so poor at putting the ball in the back of the net, the same people might have labelled the football under Dalglish as “tiki-taka”.

I do agree that Swansea did pass the ball very well, but under Dalglish Liverpool were not far behind. In fact, it could even be argued whether they were behind Swansea at all in the first place.

There goes the main source of enthusiasm that the media was seducing the Liverpool fans with. So is there no hope left for Rodgers even before a ball has been kicked during his rein?

Well, not exactly.

The main concern for me is the similarity between the play of Rodgers and Dalglish. Shall Rodgers bring in a good striker and get Liverpool to fourth then all will undoubtedly chant his name. The man already knows the main problems to be sorted out at LFC, and it would not take a rocket science to get another good striker.

Dalglish would have done the same with probably identical results. Then why did the Reds hire someone like Rodgers?

I am a optimistic person, so let’s find out rather than resigning ourselves to failure.

Rodgers is first and foremost a very resourceful coach or manager, either way that you wish to have it. Alex Ferguson had this to say about Rodgers while putting him as favourite for the Manager of the Year Award:

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“Brendan Rodgers came out of the Championship and only brought two players in, Danny Graham from Watford and Gylfi Sigurdsson from Germany, and even that was not for a big financial outlay."

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Rodgers’ resourcefulness will be needed now more than ever for a Liverpool team looking to overtake the likes of Tottenham, Chelsea, Newcastle and Everton. This is a tough task in itself, without even mentioning the constraints of financial fair play.

We know what Rodgers can do with the players he has through this quote. This should give Liverpool fans and John Henry above all reason to believe that Rodgers can turn the presumed rough diamonds in Downing, Carroll, Henderson and Adam into the final product that LFC wishes them to be.

Further, he only brought in two more players into Swansea. This bodes well for the immediate future of LFC when wholesale changes might throw the Reds back again. The same problem that seemed to cripple the Reds during Dalglish’s rein will surely reoccur if more than the required players sign this summer.

The other thing that Rodgers brings is the ability to adapt, as he is only 39-years-old. He is still learning his trade and will not be as adamant about any particular theory as Dalglish seemed to be.

He spent time with Jose Mourinho, and we all know how flexible Mourinho was. Dalglish was flexible with his formations at times, but the overall nature of management left a lot to be desired.

The players did contribute a lot to Dalglish’s sacking, but one may have a second opinion if Rodgers can get the most out of the same players.

The beauty about Rodgers’ signing by Liverpool is that he can finish off what Dalglish started.

The Reds needed a few changes in personnel and minor changes in tactics under Dalglish. By signing someone who plays similar but is still very young, FSG have played a master stroke in that the philosophy of play will not change to a vast degree.

The players are already accustomed to what will be played under Rodgers; it is just the minor tweaks that he will be looking to implement. With Dalglish those minor tweaks never came to fruition throughout last season, if we talk about tactics.   

Thus, even though I feel that Rodgers does not bring a lot of difference to the Liverpool setup, I do think he has the X-factor to deliver the wishes of the fans.

I will stick my neck out and say that if Rodgers is backed with 200 million pounds in the next six transfer windows then the league title will return to Anfield in Rodgers’ fourth year as manager (if not during the first three).