Brendan not losing sight of 'evolution' craved by Khun Top

[urban.spaceman]

Brendan Rodgers not losing sight of 'evolution' craved by Leicester City chairman

City boss has been given a task by Khun Top

Leicester City chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha and manager Brendan Rodgers (Image: Plumb Images/Getty Images)

Leicester City chairman Aiyawatt ‘Top’ Srivaddhanaprabha wants a football evolution at the King Power Stadium and Brendan Rodgers knows there is work to be done to achieve his boss’s aim.

Appointed to follow in his father’s footsteps last month, new City chairman Top has watched Rodgers guide the club to an unbeaten start to the Premier League campaign and up to third in the table, form that has earned the Northern Irishman a manager of the month nomination. 

But it is not just about the results. Top has tasked Rodgers with developing the playing style, taking City from lightning-quick counter-punchers to masters of all attacking styles, work started by Claude Puel.

Rodgers knows he is only at the start of the process.

“Khun Top was very keen to see that evolution of the team,” Rodgers said.

  

“Everyone knows they won the Premier League with this incredible counter-attacking style. The idea was to add to that, not take it away, because you still need to be really good on the counter-attack, especially in the Premier League and when you go into Europe.

“So it was a case of adding to that because in the following years that was when the team might have struggled a wee bit in breaking down defences. Because if there’s no space in behind, it’s hard to counter, so then you have to be good in front of the ball.

“That was part of the reason to bring me in and to see if we could evolve the playing style.

“There’s still a lot of work to do. There’s still a lot of improvement. We need to be better at sustaining attacks. We’ve got young players that are very exciting in the final third of the pitch, so when they arrive in there, we need to sustain attacks.

Brendan Rodgers directs his Leicester City side on the touchline at the King Power Stadium (Image: Plumb Images/Leicester City via Getty Images)

“We look to penetrate all the time. We need to have longer periods with the ball.

“We’re improving in that aspect. The next couple of years will be about being able to do everything.

“The best teams in this league, if you look at Man City and Liverpool, they can counter-attack at speed, they can trap you in a sector of the pitch and keep circulating the ball. And when they lose it, they’re brilliant in transition.

“For us, we’re becoming an aggressive team, which is good. We’re still very good on the counter. We’re getting better in the possession phase and we’ll look to constantly make that better.

  

“That’s just then the players becoming better and improving in how we work.”

If all goes to plan, the evolution of the playing style will secure the results that brings European football back to the King Power Stadium.

“That’s the aim here,” Rodgers added. “That’s why I came here. With Liverpool and Celtic I had great experiences. It’s a big challenge to come to here, a huge challenge to try to bring European football again to Leicester. I’m excited by that.

“Our idea in my time here is that we can get in there and then we’ll have shown good progress.

“It’s brilliant to have that European football. Having experienced the Champions League and the Europa League in the last number of years, that’s the competitions you want to be in.

“The challenge of the Premier League makes it very difficult but that’s why I came, to embrace that and see if we could get that.”

[shade]

lucky to have both him and top.

[ThaiFox]

A nice article, but it would have been disappointing if he'd have said anything else with the set up Vichai & Top have put in place.

[Nicolo Barella]

8 minutes ago, ThaiFox said:

A nice article, but it would have been disappointing if he'd have said anything else with the set up Vichai & Top have put in place.

I mean, I'd not have been disappointed if he said "hand hook leg car door" and then left the interview. How funny would that have been?

[ThaiFox]

1 minute ago, Nicolo Barella said:

I mean, I'd not have been disappointed if he said "hand hook leg car door" and then left the interview. How funny would that have been?

I miss those Nigel Pearson interviews too!!

[Freeman's Wharfer]

Contrast with Puel saying we shouldn’t try to compete with the likes of Wolves...

 

Rodgers, Rodgers, Rodgers. Is taking us to Europe, to Europe, to Europe!

[foxfanazer]

Despite his faults I still feel that Puel did an important job for us transitioning us from a counter attacking team to a possession based one. Never seemed like it was going to be a long term appointment but more a safe pair of hands to see us through the transition

[Sampson]

How do the media keep getting away with "Khun Top"?

 

It sounds like a reduction surgery a woman has after she's just given birth to triplets.

[Stadt]

49 minutes ago, Freeman's Wharfer said:

Contrast with Puel saying we shouldn’t try to compete with the likes of Wolves...

 

Rodgers, Rodgers, Rodgers. Is taking us to Europe, to Europe, to Europe!

That’s a bit disingenuous, he said we couldn’t spend like them which isn’t wrong.

[Guest bss9401]

14 minutes ago, Sampson said:

How do the media keep getting away with "Khun Top"?

 

It sounds like a reduction surgery a woman has after she's just given birth to triplets.

Someone needs to have the balls to advise Khun Top of this unfortunate potential faux pas 

[fuchsntf]

4 hours ago, ThaiFox said:

A nice article, but it would have been disappointing if he'd have said anything else with the set up Vichai & Top have put in place.

I would say starting to put in place..!!!

we are not near any end goal,in fact the Aftermath of the title,we needed to start again with Puel,und Now Rodgers is believed,from Top the Next Phase of developement,that brings an higher consistently and quality,not just for gameday,but through the squad...creating longer periods of improved Performance &

results.

[ARM1968]

The trouble is possession means fewer chances to counter. Counter attacks spring usually from the other teams possession. Give them the ball, then spring the trap. It’s hard not to try and attack if you have the ball. It’s easier to counter when the other team are stretched in attack, which doesn’t happen much if you’ve got the ball for 60-70% of the game. 

[StriderHiryu]

Music to my ears!

 

I'm not surprised this is part of the mandate from Top as he's a big football fan and in the early days of the KP era bringing in Sven and Sousa was clearly aimed at developing a more continental style. But I think in general that it's really hard to develop a style like that from scratch. Swansea City under Rodgers were perhaps the best example of managing to do it straight after coming up from the Championship, but otherwise you see examples like Norwich who are clearly a well coached side but their style is not as effective in the Premier League because of the players they have. How they will end up doing will be interesting to see. Notice how Wolves switched to a counter attacking style compared to possession based from the Championship to adapt to the Premier League. 

 

These days after 5 years back in the top flight we are established and now have more players built up over time to play a more technical way when needed with Maddison, Tielemans, Praet, Chilwell, Ricardo, Soyuncu, etc, etc all capable of it. I think it's great that we want to ultimately become a master of all styles like Man City under Pep. Against very accomplished sides away from home, there is nothing wrong with absorbing the pressure and countering. But against teams who play a low block and park the bus at the KP, we need a style to open them up and put them to the sword. 

 

For me already this season I see improvements. Wolves was a poor performance given we knew they would park the bus, but I really believe that Rodgers went safety first in that game because Wolves were already up to speed given European competition. Thus he played Hamza and Ndidi, but didn't against Bournemouth where we looked much better and really opened them up several times. Apparently we also have the highest tackle rate in the opposition third of enemy team, even including the top two, which is really impressive.  

 

I don't think we will get to where we want to be overnight, but if we continue on our current trajectory I feel like we will be getting into Europe fairly consistently, especially with the rumoured "Europa League 2" that has been leaked. 

 

 

 

 

 

[KingsX]

"mom and apple pie   mom and apple pie  mom and apple pie   mom and apple pie.

Our idea in my time here is that we can get in there and then we’ll have shown good progress.

mom and apple pie."

 

Strikes me that BR just told us when he will feel he's punched his ticket.

 

All we can do is treat that as a potential win-win and be ready.

[ThaiFox]

5 hours ago, Sampson said:

How do the media keep getting away with "Khun Top"?

 

It sounds like a reduction surgery a woman has after she's just given birth to triplets.

Actually its not even Top.....

 

In Thailand, the correct pronunciation of his name is Tdop (like a lot of Thai words, it contains a letter we don't have in the English language. So the first letter is pronounced by mixing the T and D together).

 

Stick with Aiyawatt, it's actually much easier to get your tongue around!