by rhroyal »
09 Dec 2009 05:11
This board over reacts a lot. I know why. Those critical of Rodgers or supporting him only normally come out when the evidence backs up their argument. Where were Ideal and RL after we beat Sheff Wed? Where is W_R now? Well I'm going to break the trend. I still support Rodgers after a bad performance last night. Reasons:
1) He has been, and still is learning. We've already seen him learn that changing the team and formation on a weekly basis is not a clever idea. He's learnt to settle down now. Our team will nearly always involve the following:
Feds (after last night it might change), Tabb, Pearce and Ivar (this will however be coming up in my concerns), McAnuff, Rasiak/Church, Matejovsky, Bertrand and The Sig (maybe he was rested last night or something). Since learning to settle the team down we've improved.
2) Things really have improved. After QPR we had 10 points from 13 games. We've now had 10 from that last 7. That's almost twice as good, in fact it will be if we beat Scunthorpe on Saturday. I view QPR as the lowest ebb and the turning point, since then it has picked up. No arguments. Our more recent form is similar to that of 03/04 and 04/05. Mid table pretenders flirting with the play-offs. Our only consistency is our inconsistency.
3) Things should improve further. As I have already stated, he is still learning. So is our team. We already have the "link" striker he wanted arriving in January which will hopefully aid our cause. I won't count my chickens yet, every signing is a gamble and it's foolish to expect too much.
4) The players like and respect him. You can see it from every interview. They want to win for themselves, the team, the fans but equally they don't want to lose their manager. I think there is a positive atmosphere at the club. Sacking Rodgers could well lose this. Then we'll really be in the brown stuff.
Causes for concern
1) Ivar and Pearce. Very slow between them and hardly proving to be water tight. O'Dea is supposedly a real coup and in reality too good to be with us. Likewise Mills was highly rated when we signed him from Doncaster and cost £2mill. Read comments on this board when we signed him - people were pleased. Changes should be made. Serious question marks over Fed too, is Hamer ready?
2) Still some erratic decision making. Why was the Sig dropped for Gunnarsson yesterday? Maybe it was down to fitness. Either way putting in a 2nd defensive midfielder for a home game when we're playing 1 up front - on the back of 10 points from 5 games - is not a good decision. Who else? I think Kebe could be worth a punt as a support striker in a free role, with HRK on the wing. His subs are also erratic. It gives the impression he doesn't think about them, he just has a blind stab and hopes it works. This too will come with experience.
3) Stats can lie. 10 points from 7 games. Leicester and Blackpool (and now Palace but only after they beat us) are the only top half sides in that run. What happens after January where we have a run of tougher games? This is by far my biggest concern.
4) Inconsistency. Will this slowly be eradicated as the team grows together? If we can pick up 2 straight wins anywhere this could make a difference in terms of confidence etc.
Despite last night, I still see an upward trend. Relegation to League 1 is unthinkable for this club considering the progress this decade. If I think that there's a strong possibility I will turn on Rodgers. I was against him after QPR, I wanted him out. However now we're capable of scoring goals and winning games (still got 2 last night). The team has bad days, but they also have good days and we win on the majority of them.
You may have guess I'm fairly borderline. For now I have confidence in Rodgers. A shocker against Scunthorpe will really test that. Lets hope the team right last night's performance.
