It is, arguably, the toughest job in English football.

Brendan Rodgers, the talented Northern Irishman, walks into the bearpit of Anfield at a particularly torrid time. He will inherit an expensively assembled squad that has just finished 8th in the league, one that is the amalgamation of the visions of three different managers. Some of those players may struggle to adapt to Rodgers' deeply-held beliefs on how the game should be played – a style that led some in South Wales to refer to his Swansea City side as "Swansealona".

He is to be presented as the new Liverpool manager this morning, after the Welsh club yesterday agreed compensation for their coach and three members of his backroom team. He now faces an impatient Liverpool fanbase that has just seen one of its legendary managers – and finest ever player – sacked against their wishes. Those fans crave instant success and any request for time may well fall on deaf ears. Moreover, given the spending last year, Fenway Sports Group are unlikely to give Rodgers significant sums to spend. Any money he does receive is unlikely to bring in truly world-class players because they will be deterred by that 8th-placed finish and a continuing absence from the Champions League.

It is undoubtedly a hard job, then. There will be many who doubt whether Rodgers is the right man.

Two of the main criticisms of his predecessor at Anfield, Kenny Dalglish, were variations on a theme. One was that he was an analogue manager in a digital age; that he couldn't keep up with developments in the game (both on and off the pitch). The second was that he didn't have an overall vision for his Liverpool team. There seemed to be no central philosophy that he was inspired by. Nobody can accuse Rodgers of either of those.

He is a student of the game. He has spent time in Spain, and the Netherlands, studying how clubs like Barcelona, Sevilla and Valencia worked. He worked in the backroom to Jose Mourinho at Chelsea. He is fascinated by all aspects of the game – not just the tactical wizardry linking to wider strategic goals but also elements of the game, such as psychology, that are often overlooked or dismissed by other coaches.

Anyone who watched his Swansea side last season was impressed. Few teams, with such a modest budget and even more modest wage bill, have so obviously dominated possession against "bigger" teams. This attests to Rodgers' vision; that possession is nine-tenths of the law, that teams should control the ball and then they will control the game.

When the team controls the ball it means that players know the movement patterns, the rotation of the ball, and how the team should be positioned. His teams understand the old mantra "let the ball do the work". They understand that ball retention, and ferocious pressing when they don't have the ball, gives them the best chance of winning. Swansea understand the importance of an overarching system.

Like the great Dutch teams of the 1970s, and Barcelona today, Rodgers prides himself on the fact that all eleven players in his teams are comfortable on the ball. That happened with Dorus de Vries and was perfected by Michel Vorm, the Swansea goalkeepers. One of Pepe Reina's finest attributes is his distribution. It may be that Rodgers' appointment raises the Spaniard's game to its previous level.

Liverpool fans are often painted as being obsessed with the past. For once looking backwards may be useful. Rodgers seems to be an obvious and overt link to the glory days of pass and move, his vision and strength of character quite possibly representing the progression from Dalglish's relatively unsuccessful tenure.

The important thing for the club is to back Rodgers. Liverpool have had as many managers in the last 21 years as arrived at Anfield during the previous 55 years. That period (spanning 1936-1991) was the most successful in the club's history and centred around two factors. Firstly, trusting talented managers, and secondly, developing a Boot Room where advisors often played a key role. Some of those such as Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan and Roy Evans would go on to be managers. The second factor aided the first – there was a continuation of thought, attention and vision even when they did switch coaches.

Liverpool have undoubtedly been impeded by their growing tendency to give in to the cat-calls and remove managers when things start to falter, acting as most other clubs do. If FSG really want long-term success at Anfield, they should back Rodgers. They should give him some money, they should give him a number of seasons and – controversially – they should allow him, within reason, to fail. It might hurt to look to their two biggest rivals but, in doing so, and in looking at their own past Liverpool might find a way to enjoy success in the future.