Rodgers Still Right For Liverpool

Prior to Liverpool’s defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League, Brendan Rodgers spoke of a desire to manage in Spain one day.

Maybe he has a vision of becoming Liverpool’s modern Bill Shankly before assuming the managerial position at Real Madrid/Barcelona. He is already fluent in Spanish so the transition should not be too difficult, but he probably imagines this scenario happening in ten years or even later. After all, he is only 41, a teenager in managerial years.

Yet this season, albeit relatively still in its infancy, has demonstrated how Rodgers is not immune from pressure and criticism at Anfield. He is yet to become a world-class manager, as performances such as last season have to be maintained consistently, year after year.

After succeeding Kenny Dalglish in the summer of 2012, Liverpool fans could see the ‘project’ that Rodgers was trying to build. Pass and move once again became the fundamental concept of Liverpool’s style of play, linking back to the glory days of the 1970s and 80s. However the Reds struggled in Rodgers’ first season, finishing 7th.

2013/14 was a phenomenal turnaround; going from seventh to first would have been unprecedented in the modern era and indeed it was beyond Liverpool. But only just.

Nevertheless the expectation was enhanced considerably for this season at the possibility of a first league title for 25 years.

That will not be happening in 2015.

Rodgers has been beset with unfortunate circumstances. Liverpool have had to integrate the Champions League into their schedule once again, which is never a bad situation but has been reducing the amount of training sessions and requires a mental readjustment for playing three games a week.

The loss of Luis Suarez was a monumental blow, with many at Anfield believing that they would hang onto the Uruguayan for at least another season until yet another bite incident, this time on the biggest stage of all in Brazil. Replacing Suarez and trying to cope with the return of the Champions League meant quantity and quality were needed.

Sadly, many of these players have yet to demonstrate their true ability on the field and justify their exorbitant transfer fees – only Alberto Moreno and sporadically Adam Lallana have looked capable of succeeding in the red of Liverpool.

Perhaps this is down to the new signings having yet to settle in, with many foreigners taking an entire year to settle at a new club – look at Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United in 2003 to the player he is today. Moreover, the lack of training sessions has given Rodgers less time to immerse his new signings into the Liverpool approach.

Many world-class players have turned down the chance to come to Anfield in recent years, such as Diego Costa, Willian and Alexis Sanchez. The lack of reputation Rodgers possesses may be a factor in this, although finances and geography are other important considerations.

Regardless, Rodgers has spent plenty of money during his tenure at Anfield – over 210 million pounds. The responsibility does not just sit with him, but with the transfer committee employed at Liverpool, yet he has the final say. Having spent that much, the defence has actually regressed under Rodgers, while the strength in depth remains suspect.

Liverpool continue to maintain this tradition of relying on a select few key players to win the matches, as the majority of the squad are simply not up to it. Steven Gerrard has been one of these since 2004, Jamie Carragher was another between 2004-09, Fernando Torres another between 2007-11, Suarez was during 2011-14 and Daniel Sturridge has been since his move from Chelsea last season.

The defence is the biggest criticism that hangs over Rodgers. The Northern Irishman is purely an attacking coach, best demonstrated through the statistics from last season.

Only champions Manchester City scored more goals than Liverpool, 102 to 101 respectively, which was still Liverpool’s best ever haul in the top flight. Yet what cost them the title was the goals being conceded at the other end. Liverpool let in 50 goals last season, 13 more than Manchester City and 23 more than Chelsea. Only Tottenham conceded more in the top eight.

With the loss of Suarez and the irritating injuries to Sturridge, the goals have dried up but the defence is continuously being breached left, right and centre. The 0-0 draw with Hull at the weekend was Liverpool’s second clean sheet in 19 games.

To even finish in the top ten that’s not good enough and the Reds have to finish in the top four. Otherwise, Rodgers will come under immense scrutiny regarding his future at Anfield.

Despite all of Liverpool’s and Rodgers’ faults, he must be given time to change things around. Liverpool’s title run last year was exceptional and perhaps ahead of schedule, yet now every result is measured against what went before in 2013/14.

Rodgers does take time to integrate players, shown through his first season at Liverpool, but once it clicks the results are devastating. The Reds almost scored their way to the league last season.

Because of the summer upheaval, Liverpool are undergoing a minor transition but hopefully by the start of 2015 the performances will pick up.

However, what has to improve immediately is the defending and the results. My belief is that Rodgers will remain as manager should Liverpool fall out of the top four this season, but it is best to avoid the situation entirely and qualify for next season’s Champions League.

Perhaps if the defence is still struggling another defensive coach could be appointed – maybe Carragher, who has hinted his desire to return to Anfield, could operate under Rodgers in a coaching capacity.

The results need to pick up though and fast, for the Champions League dream cannot be extinguished just after it has begun. The pressure is on for Rodgers, but he will become a top-class manager. He will soon achieve the status he deserves in the footballing world and hopefully it will arrive from succeeding at Anfield.

If he can do half as well as Shankly then Liverpool are in safe hands.

I mean not just classic and signature
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