Brendan Rodgers’ ‘P’hilosophy

As of recent, Rodgers has given the letter ‘P’ a whole new importance in football. His short and sweet spell with Swansea City in the Premier League established not only his reputation but his philosophy on the big stage. It was Rodgers who helped Swansea get promoted from the Championship and become the only Welsh club to have ever done so since the establishment of the Premier League in 1992. In his maiden season, Swansea finished a respectable 11^th. But what surprised us even more was the way his team played football, almost like a poor man’s Barcelona, but Barcelona nonetheless. With an annual budget maybe a tenth the amount of Sheikh Mansour’s grandchildren’s weekly pocket allowance, Rodger’s worked with what he had and produced genius. For a Welsh team to come in the Premier League and knock around passes like its child’s play is making a statement, a very bold one indeed.

Eventually a top club came knocking; it was bound to happen really. It came in the form of Liverpool. It was a great platform for Rodgers to take his formula of raw P’s and make a perfect equation of them. Meanwhile, Liverpool also needed a saviour. They needed some sort of consistency, a setup much like Alex Ferguson’s, several miles down the M62.

Well only time can tell whether Rodgers will help Liverpool become the club they were. You might be wondering why I’m talking about the letter P so much. Let me explain, the Rodger’s way.

Rodgers’ note-taking

Possession – The longer you keep the ball, the more chances you create. Obviously not the sole tactic in winning the game but keeping possession means creating more chances which means scoring more goals.

Passing – When you have 11 players on the pitch, it’s pretty obvious that passing was meant to be a fundamental part of the game. Over the years, long range passing has become more sour and less sweet, while short passes not just add dominance to the game but also beauty. By passing the ball, you tire out the opponent while also moving further up the pitch to create more chances.

Penetration – You need to cut through the gaps in the defence to make chances on goal. There has to be a sense of direction in your passing and in football, each team has only one direction. Otherwise, you’ll just end up keeping possession and passing the ball around in your own half.

Pressure – Well you can’t always have the ball in your possession but you can pressure the opponent into giving the ball back easily.

Patience – I think Rodger’s has two notions for patience in his book. One is short-term, during the match. When things aren’t going your way, you have to keep a positive sense of mind and just wait for your chance. Another is long-term. He probably means to say that Liverpool won’t become Premier League champions for the next couple of seasons but patience is required to once again see them become the super power they once were.

As I’ve mentioned before, these Ps are raw but they are all interlinked in some way or the other. Like when you have more possession, you pass the ball more and when you’re passing you need to penetrate the defence. While you don’t have the ball, you need to be patient and pressurise the opponent into giving the ball back. If all these P’s are combined in perfect proportion, then I’m pretty sure Liverpool are in good hands.

However, with just 2 points in the opening 4 games, Patience seems to be the most important P at the moment.