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Brendan Rodgers will succeed at Liverpool: Jamie Redknapp

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I spent some time with Brendan Rodgers when I started my coaching badges at Chelsea. He was reserve-team manager then and I could see he had something about him.

We have spoken since about his coaching methods and his football philosophy. This is it: ‘The other team can’t score against you if they haven’t got the ball.’

He wants his teams to pass in all areas. He has used a system that has worked in Spain, especially for Barcelona —  principally the two centre halves split, the full backs push on and the holding midfielder steps in and plays from there. Everyone is encouraged to get on the ball, take risks, pass it, keep it. Liverpool will be playing the tiki-taka style.

High flier: Liverpool want Brendan Rodgers to continue the run of success he had as boss of Swansea

He won’t change at Liverpool, but he will need time to implement his way of playing. The Liverpool crowd will be patient, because they love and understand their football and will quickly see what he is trying to achieve.

Liverpool used to pass teams to sleep, but in recent times some of the managers they have had sent the players to sleep in training, with sessions based on stopping the opposition. At times, Liverpool supporters have been starved of good football.

This squad should be excited about working with Brendan because he won’t waste a training session, where he will be working with the ball and teaching them how to break down other teams.

When you are working for a good coach, players should go home every day thinking: ‘I’ve learned something there.’ Coaches should educate their players and this man does that.

Players go into work wondering what they will discover next. That is one of his strengths. I remain a Kenny Dalglish fan, but the board have decided that one cup and eighth place is not a good enough return. This has been a difficult season for Liverpool and so it is not a bad time for Brendan to be stepping in.

Audition: Swansea were clapped off the pitch at Anfield after outplaying Liverpool for long periods during last season's 0-0 draw

Over the last 10 years, it’s been one step forward and then two back and, even though I believe there were signs of healthy recovery under Dalglish, they finished 37 points behind the top two.

Liverpool played with less fear and more freedom last season, although their home form was very poor.

Brendan will need more goals to come from midfield: at Swansea last season, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Joe Allen and Nathan Dyer scored 16 Premier League goals between them. Steven Gerrard, Charlie Adam and Stewart Downing scored seven. This is where Liverpool come up well short.

I expect Rodgers to hijack the Sigurdsson deal (Swansea are trying to take him permanently from Hoffenheim) and I expect him to try to get Allen, too. Neither would look out of place in a Liverpool shirt.

There could be a long road ahead for Liverpool, but this has been a reality check for the fans. They say they wanted Jose Mourinho or Pep Guardiola, but Liverpool finished eighth — and were behind Everton, despite having a far superior squad. The club have done just fine by  getting Rodgers.

Significant: Rodgers masterminded a 1-0 win over champions Manchester City

They have got to grow again into a force and they haven’t got Guardiola, but they may have the next Guardiola. As a former captain of the club, I am excited by this appointment and the owners should be congratulated for investing in a young British coach. Manchester United did that when they appointed Sir Alex Ferguson.

Brendan inherits a strong squad but he needs to improve it and maybe he will raid Swansea.

When he took over there, he improved players. Some of them couldn’t wait to get the ball as far away as possible, but now they are happy on the ball. Ashley Williams, the centre half, is a good example.

This is a step up for a young manager, at 39, but he has suffered a setback before, when he was sacked by Reading. So this is not like Andre Villas-Boas, who had never encountered difficulty in his career before and walked into a brick wall at Chelsea.

Rodgers is not inheriting a difficult group of players, either. They will welcome him and enjoy his approach to playing football. In return, he should embrace the knowledge and quality in his dressing room.

Influential: Joe Allen (right) holds off the challenge of Jordan Henderson

His captain, Gerrard, has so much to offer and Brendan will know that, on and off the pitch, Jamie Carragher is worth tapping into. I would go a step further and offer Jamie a formal coaching role to extend his influence at the club.

 

One final point: the Liverpool fans who think the club have appointed a manager who didn’t want them because he turned down an interview are wrong. He didn’t want to be part of a beauty contest.

His audition came last season in two matches when his Swansea team took four points off Liverpool in the Premier League.

  More... Swansea fear Allen will follow Rodgers to Anfield... but Liverpool will have to pay at least £10m From Gerrard to getting the Kop onside: What is in Rodgers' Anfield in-tray... Rodgers to bring Swansea backroom team to Anfield as Liverpool agree compensation deal Liverpool will love life under Rodgers! Swans star Monk hails departing boss All the latest Liverpool news, features and opinion




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