Analysis: Longest 90 minutes
Football coach and blogger Jed Davies takes a look back at a Liverpool team from the past for an example of what we might expect under Brendan Rodgers...
If there was just one game that epitomised the Brendan Rodgers-Liverpool ideal; one team who set the benchmark for the Rodgers era; one season that best demonstrated just how much potential the new era could see - we would need to go back to September 2, 1978 and sit amongst the 50,000 fans in Anfield who were about to witness something truly life changing.
Liverpool were four games into a new season after a relatively disappointing second-place finish the season before, facing a newly promoted Tottenham Hotspur side who had invested heavily in Osvaldo Ardilles and Ricardo Villa, and included a young Glenn Hoddle. Nobody was prepared for the game that was set to unfold before Anfield on that day but it is safe to say the Tottenham players, management and fans were given the longest 90 minutes of their lives. This is Anfield.
Brendan Rodgers represents one school of footballing philosophy. The unified philosophy, destructive fluency in the movement of the ball, and the team's ability to switch the tempo of the game in a heartbeat are all part of Rodgers' game plan. Most Liverpool fans and neutrals are eagerly anticipating his ideas to translate through the players, almost as if he were an artist creating a masterpiece from his materials.
Anfield has seen this all before, on more than one occasion. However, Bob Paisley's Liverpool side of 1978-79, who touched the This is Anfield sign before putting on a performance against Tottenham that would be remembered for lifetimes to come, best embodies the potential and excitement surrounding Rodgers' appointment:
Ray Clemence, Phil Neal, Alan Kennedy, Phil Thompson, Ray Kennedy, Emlyn Hughes, Kenny Dalglish, Jimmy Case, Steve Heighway, Terry McDermott, Graeme Souness and David Johnson (substitute).
The class of 1978-79 would go on to win 19 of their 21 league games at Anfield that season, scoring 51 goals and conceding only four. The season presented the fans with world-class footballing displays from the first minute to the last: keeping a total of 34 clean sheets in 54 games and scoring 98 league goals. Goals that were scored more or less evenly throughout games:
Goals from 1 to 15: 16
Goals from 16 to 30: 16
Goals from 31 to 45: 13
Goals from 46 to 60: 22
Goals from 61 to 75: 13
Goals from 76 to 90: 18
But no statistic can encapsulate the successes of that season, not even the scoreline on September 2, 1978 - that's not why we are travelling back in time to that day.
Each and every goal scored against Tottenham gave us a glimpse of football at its best, a particular way of playing that would fit perfectly alongside Rodgers' vision of Liverpool. Tottenham were truly given a master-class after two early goals from Kenny Dalglish and a far-post header from Ray Kennedy sent Spurs back into the changing rooms at half-time 3-0 down, hoping for a better second half.
Could Liverpool get any better? The answer was yes. Liverpool started the second half with a nine-man passing move, the ball moving fluently around the field - out it went to the right flank, in it went to Dalglish and within the blink of an eye Johnson, Souness and Dalglish combined in a move that finished with Johnson scoring the fourth, a move that Barcelona would be proud of today. Souness lifting a volleyed pass over Tottenham's defence to a buzzing Dalglish confirmed that Paisley had sent the team out expecting more - taking the performance up through the gears.
However, Liverpool saved the very best until last. Dalglish received the ball deep inside the Liverpool half and quickly played it forward to David Johnson. Johnson would then play the pass of the game with the outside of his right boot, over the Tottenham defence, for Steve Heighway to race onto. Heighway crossed first time and it was met at the far post by a charging Terry McDermott, who headed straight into his near post and finished the game off 7-0. A goal that deserves to rival Carlos Alberto and Maradona's claims to the best ever goal scored on a football field.
The Tottenham players were left stranded on the field at Anfield that day with their hands on their heads as the Liverpool players and fans celebrated as one - euphoria erupted, 'We were there'.
When Brendan Rodgers gets to make his mark on Liverpool Football Club he will do so in search of that same euphoria that players and fans felt on September 2, 1978, and he will do so with the same philosophy of attacking, exciting, dominating and creative football:
"For me the attraction is to defend the principles of this great club - which are about offensive, creative football with tactical discipline - and to retain the values of the club," said Rodgers.
"If you are better than your opponent with the ball you have a 79 per cent chance of winning the game."
On Brendan Rodgers' path to success, players may need to adapt to fit the philosophy - cast your mind back and remember when Paisley bought Ray Kennedy, a renowned centre forward. Kennedy was asked to adapt to fit Paisley's philosophy and he transformed into one of the most feared midfielders throughout Europe. Rodgers will be demanding that his Liverpool side defend from the front and attack from the back, promoting his holistic view of rejuvenated, high-octane and progressive football.
The much documented analysis of Brendan Rodgers' style of play at Swansea - the formation, the player roles and approach to attacking - provides fans and pundits with the opportunity to take the template and fit within it a set of players that would, in their opinion, win world titles. However, many miss the point - the strength of Brendan Rodgers' philosophy is in the team:
"The best team is nearly always not made up of the best players."
An adapted approach will be made for Liverpool Football Club and Rodgers acknowledges the club's rich history, he acknowledges the illustriousness of Anfield and he acknowledges the legacy of the This is Anfield sign.
"I want to use the incredible support to make coming to Anfield the longest 90 minutes of an opponent's life."
Follow Jed Davies on Twitter @TPiMBW>>