In the latest Talking Reds, Simon Steers explains why a 'one-club mentality' will help take Liverpool forward.

Liverpool FC has been built on a foundation of unity.

Since Bill Shankly famously said: "The socialism I believe in is everybody working for the same goal and everybody having a share in the rewards. That's how I see football, that's how I see life", the club has always had a single mantra: and that is that the collective is greater than the individual, both on the pitch, and off it.

That was the vision of Shankly when he arrived at the club in 1959. To create a football club that went beyond what happened on the pitch, to create an institution where people felt a common sense of purpose, all working towards the same goal.

There has been a great deal of change at Liverpool in recent times, but under Brendan Rodgers the club is once again beginning to reconnect with that identity that was a catalyst to making it so successful under Shankly, Paisley, Fagan and Dalglish.

Rodgers has spoken about his desire to create a sense of 'one club' at every level. From the boardroom to the supporters, it is Rodgers' vision that by working as one the club can build towards a new era of sustained success.

There are already some green shoots of that vision beginning to shine through...

On the pitch

There has been a significant cultural shift in the playing style of the team this season, perhaps subtly; the players are beginning to recognise that individual contribution is secondary to contribution to the team.

In recent interviews both Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge have been quick to shift the conversation from individual plaudits, and put the focus on the team. There has been a noticeable shift in how both approach the game; both are world-class individual talents, but this season both have made real contributions to the functioning of the team.

The functioning of the team is a critical success factor for Brendan Rodgers. In a possession-based philosophy, you need 11 players that will work hard to press, and will retain the ball at all costs. There is little space in a Rodgers team for a maverick or players that don't contribute to the team function.

I think both Suarez and Sturridge have adapted this season, have reined in natural instincts, and both have moved onto a different level as a result. Both players seem to have really brought into the team concept that Rodgers is trying to develop; and that is evident in what they say and how they play.

It isn't just Suarez and Sturridge, all of the players look to have formed a real togetherness. There is a spirit, that was perhaps born out of the opening-day win against Stoke and the Simon Mignolet penalty save.

Spirit and mentality is less easy to evidence as being contributory factors, but there is more belief and solidarity about the team this season. That isn't by luck or chance, that is because we have a manager that recognises the strength of the collective; and has put a focus on making the team greater than the sum of its parts. 

Off the pitch

These days, absolutely everything that happens off the pitch has almost as much significance as what happens on it. Whether it is the Academy or a new commercial deal, what happens away from Anfield on a matchday all has exactly the same goal: to improve the first team.

Rodgers has spoken in recent times about an idealistic combination of the Academy at Kirby and the club's training HQ at Melwood. Rodgers sees this as an important part of developing that 'one-club' culture where everyone from the manager through to the tea lady feels like they are making a contribution to the ultimate goal of success on the pitch.

It isn't just the football people that are important to that goal; it is also the people that have responsibility for growing the club around the world. The 'one-club' mentality needs a fusing of strong business principles with a football operation that makes the right decisions on recruitment and investment in players.

That is why it is so important to the club's future that new commercial deals are being put into place. It is why a 'one-club' mentality is so important; growth off the pitch has a direct correlation with growth on it, so the business and football sides of the club are working in partnership. One cannot grow without the other.

Rodgers is a manager that understands the financial and commercial reality of football; his vision is in tune with the club's ownership on how the club has to grow to achieve success. He also knows that the strength of the club will come through team mentality; and that is something we are already starting to see as this season unfolds.

Supporters

The most important element in Rodgers' vision of 'one club' is the supporters. They are the true soul and voice of the football club. Liverpool FC has a unique reputation for its support. You only need to rewind back to 2005 to see how the Anfield crowd literally sucked Luis Garcia's shot into the Kop end in the Champions League semi-final with Chelsea. Half-time in Istanbul the players realised that they will never walk alone, and when you know that, the impossible becomes possible.

Supporters play such a vital role in the success of a football club. Bill Shankly recognised that, he tapped into that bond that unites players and supporters, and on the back of it built Anfield into a 'bastion of invincibility'. Even today, when Anfield is in the mood, you just sense that we will not lose.

That is why Rodgers rightly points to the club's supporters as the best in the world. Under Rodgers, we are once again turning Anfield into a place that opponents fear. The supporters played a huge role in making it a 'bastion of invincibility' under Shankly; and Rodgers knows that if the supporters are behind the team, that it can quite literally be as good as a goal, as Jose Mourinho found out in 2005.

'One club'

It isn't just the supporters that flock to Anfield that are part of the 'one-club' vision that will drive the club's growth; it is the global support of millions of Reds around the world. The latest commercial agreement with Garuda is a link into Indonesia, where the fan base is as passionate as it is on Merseyside.

The global appeal of Liverpool goes back to that vision Shankly had for Liverpool in 1959, it goes back to the evening of May 25, 2005; it is feeling part of something unique, something special.

Whilst there are many differences between the two men, and they come from different eras, there is one significant similarity between Shankly and Rodgers, and that is a shared vision: 'one club' is something both men see as being fundamental to success.

Both men recognise that when we are united in one voice, we can move mountains. 

Follow the author @sisteers and read more of his work at tomkinstimes.com.