Brendan Rodgers: The Winners and Losers Under His Management?

Meet the new Liverpool gaffer.

Overview
Clearly Brendan Rodgers has taken the tough road to join Liverpool in his attempt to bring the old brand of football back to where "it's supposed to be". FPLZ analyzes the impact that the new Liverpool manager is going to bring to the players, especially in fantasy terms.

Out of the Topic: Public Relations Management
It's good to see Liverpool is not taking in another Roy Hodgson - a manager who is so poor in handling the players, the fans, and the press. Rodgers gives Fenway Sports Group a complete different package from the current England national team manager - not only the very different style in tactics, but also his much more superior PR management. For example:

“I know there are three types of supporters at every club,” he said. “Number one is those who, no matter who the manager is, they love their club and they will love their manager because Liverpool is their life and their passion. The second group is supporters who will accept you but to earn their real respect you will have to be successful. That’s fine.


"The third group are the critics and you never change them ever. Ever."


"I only want to work with the people who love the club. I have always had good relations with the media and with the supporters. I’m open and honest. I understand that not everybody will want me here. But that’s part of the dance.”


It remains to be seen how well would he cope with the constant high expectations at Merseyside, but at the moment, he has shown good degree of charisma and has definitely earned my respect.

Tactical Analysis
Tiki-taka was the famous brand Rodgers has established at Swansea, and thanks to such style of play he had managed to win against the big teams such as Manchester City, Arsenal and also Liverpool. It was indeed quite surprising that he actually led Swansea to beat Arsenal via an even more "Arsenal" way.

His tiki-taka approach heavily emphasizes on small triangular pass-and-move, where there are always two players sticking around the ball holder to provide support and ensure that the ball is always under their control. This definitely is not expected to blend instantly into Liverpool's current crop of players, though there are some players who can adapt to this style at ease.

The Defence
The back line is perhaps the most prepared ones for Rodgers infusion of tiki-taka play. Reina has always been a good commander and should have no problem adapting to the new tactics; Agger will be more than happy to stick the ball to the ground; Enrique and Johnson are both fast, offensive wing backs and should also cope well. Skrtel may struggle a bit in the beginning, but with all his defensive partners more than ready to adapt, he should be comfortable with the new style soon enough.

The Midfield
In the midfield, Lucas has developed into a great ball distributor - no problem, though I don't see how a DM is going to benefit from this fantasy wise; Gerrard is always the world class player who can take on any challenges - no problem as well; Sigurdsson, if he's joining, should blend readily since he had already flourished under Rodgers at Swansea.

The Offence
Suarez is the type of player you had expect him to blend instantly into the tiki-taka system - playing with Barcelona is always his ambition anyway; I am a little bit skeptical towards Carroll's response to this new system, especially when Ibrahimovic had actually deteriorated Barca's tiki-taka play in the past; Downing, on the other hand, still gets my vote of confidence despite his poor season - his stats wasn't that bad honestly.

The Bench
Henderson will need a good time to adapt in my opinion - he's a good runner, but needs to know his direction; Adam for me is the biggest loser under Brendan Rodgers - he likes to play long balls and that violates the principles of tiki-taka; Maxi, if he stays, should fuse readily with the system as Argentinians are good ground players; while Aquilani, if he returns, may become Rodgers favourite with the flair he's providing; not to be forgotten is the returning Joe Cole who had a successful revival at Lille - he can be the important chess piece of the new gaffer.

Verdict
I believe you have gotten the idea who will become good Liverpool fantasy assets in this coming season. Agger, in my opinion, will definitely be the top gainer under Rodgers' system with increased participation in offence, while players such as Gerrard, Suarez and Downing can expect a better season ahead if the new gaffer can deliver the same thing he had delivered at Swansea in the past.

Read here for a intensive tactical analysis on Liverpool written by TPiMBW on "The Path Is Made By Walking".