Brendan Rodgers: What can we expect next season?

We have all thrown the phrase "next year will be our year" around more than any other supporter of any other club. But after three very poor seasons in the premier league, are Liverpool fans giving up hope? What are we fans expecting next season? What can we expect? The Swansea manager, who has only achieved promotion and a mid-table finish; what is John Henry thinking? Here are five changes Liverpool fans can expect next season.

1) Possession Football or "Death by Passing"

"Death by Passing" as some have come to call it, is the same system Spain have deployed so successfully in the Euro's this summer. It is based on the philosophy of Barcelona that has them showering in more gold than Buckingham Palace in the past few years. It's the same philosophy that Rodgers used in Swansea that resulted in them being called "Swansealona". BR stressed the importance of "resting with the ball" and also stated his intentions to make "Anfield the longest 90 minutes of an opposition's life". He continued saying "if you are better than your opponent with the ball, you have a 79% chance of winning the game". All are clear indications of the type of football favoured by Rodgers.  

2) High Line Defence

So many times in the past few season, we fans have been biting our nails and closing our eyes, because the opposition has spent so much time in our box. Our defensive line has moved deeper and deeper, allowing pressure on our back line. Skrtel and Agger have both defended bravely last season to maintain a decent defensive record, but we have had several goals conceded right after scoring or near the ends of halves, because we sat back and sat deep. With Skrtel and Agger we have fast and strong centre backs capable of playing a high role, devising offside traps and pressing. We also have Reina, who is seen as the ideal sweeper keeper. His footballing skills are second to none compared to world class keepers and I think he would've made a decent midfielder if he started early.

3) Pressing off the ball

Swansea were tireless last season, as are Barcelona and Spain. This system is designed to give oppositions no time on the ball. Rodgers stated "if you give a bad player time, he can play. If you give a good player time, he can kill you." This shows that he has no intention of giving time or space to opposition players. Dirk Kuyt in his prime would've fit in nicely in this pressing system, but players like Suarez, Lucas, Gerrard and Henderson are extremely hard working and they will do their best to close down next season. 

4) A 4-3-3 Formation 

It is hard to predict new signings, so I will keep them empty. Here is the formation Rodgers will most likely favour next season. 

Reina

Johnson Skrtel Agger Enrique
Lucas Henderson
Suarez Gerrard NS
Carroll

NS = New Signing

We seemed to have a lot of indecisiveness last season with our formations. We went 4-4-2 in certain games and 4-5-1 in others. We didn't really settle to a specific playing style. Expect a change next season. We will most likely play a 4-3-3 and a fluid one at that. Carroll is expected to hold the ball up, pass to Suarez, Gerrard and our new signing for the left, and run into space. Meanwhile our attacking three have almost a free role in movement. Pass and move is the name of the game. If we are successful with our signings, we may even see this: 

Reina

Johnson Skrtel Agger Enrique

Lucas NS
NS Gerrard NS
Suarez

Suarez is a great choice for this role, because he can do what spain did with their "false striker" or "ghost striker". He has the ability to drop off, pick the ball up and create things, similar to what Silva or Iniesta was asked to do. This is obviously the very optimistic and fluid version. I'm quite confident Carroll can do a job next season. He has improved immensely in his hold up play. 

5) Positivity with better press conferences

You may think I am joking with this one or I am out of ideas, but in my opinion this is a very important part of being a successful manager. Roy Hodgson lost us, early with his negativity, blame game and antagonising of fans. He did not know how to rally the fans and get them behind him and the team. The manager has a responsibility to motivate the fans, as well as the players, after every defeat or draw. King Kenny started off really well. He came in and got everyone together. However, he seemed to have no love for the press or press conferences. He antagonised them and got Liverpool some negative exposure. Yes, great fans saw right through the lies of the press and understood the reasons behind the King's frustrated behaviour. But Liverpool is a global brand and it is very important to maintain a positive image. We have already seen a great burst of positivity from Rodgers in his early press conferences. We can expect him to continue on this path. 

With a new season comes new hope. Liverpool fans will always be hopeful for a quick return to glory. Will that happen next season? It's hard to say, because Chelsea and Arsenal are strengthening fast and the Manchester clubs are already very strong. One things for sure, we are not going down without a fight, especially under Rodgers. If he manages to implement these five changes successfully, we will definitely see positive results that will push us up the table. What's important now is signing the right players for the job. We can only hope FSG will back their man all the way, as we supporters will.