Evaluating Rodgers: Competition & first team performance

IN the first instalment of this feature we looked at how well Brendan Rodgers implemented a new playing style to the team and how he augmented the squad with the inclusion of young players.

This section will look at how the first team was dealt with and his performance in competitions.

FSG had made plain that they did not feel that Liverpool had been getting value for money. High wages and high transfer fees had yielded little success and with a restructuring of contracts, Rodgers had to work in a different environment to many of his predecessors. To that end high earners like Bellamy, Aquilani, Maxi, Adam and Kuyt were dispensed with and Carroll’s services were sacrificed with the hope of adding an extra option to the front line.

Sadly, the team was not reinforced up-front until Sturridge’s arrival but the cull continued with Joe Cole being moved on in January. While a new contract was awarded to Suarez, this saw a much greater emphasis on reward for performance, a growing trait in LFC player’s contracts.

Rodgers is still only part way through this shift of creating a cheaper and more productive team and the club has been busy realigning the squad early this summer. However, how he has dealt with the first team in the interim has provided some insight into his ability.

One of the hopes for the new man was that he could revitalise players who had underwhelmed in a red shirt. Repairing the reputation of current squad members would improve the team as well as increase the transfer fees that those players could command.

Downing had been one of the big name signings the previous year but endured an abject debut season. With his price tag plummeting and his on pitch performance flat lining, Rodgers was expected to do all he could to restore value and belief to the North East winger. It took a shift to left back and a warning that his future no longer remained at Anfield for Downing to rediscover the form that made him a regular in the England squad and one of Aston Villa’s key players. He pinned down a first team place for the rest of the season and was reliable for the remainder of the campaign.

Rodgers also coaxed quality out of Jordan Henderson, another big money purchase. Restoring the young midfielder to a central role and providing him with the competition of similar aged rivals, Joe Allen and Jonjo Shelvey, Henderson ended the season with 5 goals and 4 assists. This was a greater goal contribution than he had managed in any of his previous seasons. It also reminded us of the potential that had prompted Kenny Dalglish and Damien Comolli to fork out a huge chunk of their transfer budget for the player.

Rodgers must be given credit for this rejuvenation of squad members whose Liverpool careers had looked in jeopardy. Both players now look to have a Liverpool future and the re-sale value for these two is much greater than it was at the end of last season. A further example was the manager’s response to Jose Enrique’s wavering form at the end of the 2012 season and the beginning of last season. He had no fear in dropping LFC’s only recognised senior left-back. The result was another return to form and restoration to the starting line-up for the Spaniard.

Yet, this was not the only department in which Rodgers did well with the first team. Some of the veterans also improved under the new manager. Gerrard amassed more starts than he had done in the two previous seasons and despite playing in a deeper role, he registered 10 goals, 9 of which came in the league. While the manager cannot be directly heralded for conjuring up a fit Steven Gerrard for the whole season, he can be credited for retaining our captain’s goal threat while moving him further away from the attacking line.

Likewise, Glen Johnson, the so called defensive liability, started in 16 games in which Liverpool kept a clean sheet, more than any other player and he had his best season in a red shirt. The fullback was at the heart of Liverpool’s liberal attacking movements and was the only rival to Luis Suarez for player of the season.

Which neatly brings us to the Uruguayan.

Suarez is Liverpool’s most valuable asset both on the pitch and in terms of value. Brendan Rodgers’ impact here is one that is not just overlooked it has been overwritten. At the beginning of the season fans were worried about our goal tally. Not only had our most expensive striker been moved on without replacement but also our no.1 forward man was someone who most thought of as incapable of plundering the goals needed to mount an assault at the top of the table. Having mustered 15 league goals in 44 appearances for Kenny Dalglish at an average of a goal every 2.9 game,s the Uruguayan was cursed for his profligacy.
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However, Rodgers enticed 23 goals from 33 games out of Suarez, a rate of a goal every 1.4 games. His overall record also improved from 21 goals in 52 games (2.47 games per goal) under the King to 30 goals in 44 games (1.466 games per goal) under the Northern Irishman. Doubling the potency of your greatest weapon is an exceptional feat, especially as this was an imperative given the reduced forward options at Rodgers disposal. There is no doubt that Suarez is a more valuable asset to the team than he was 12 months ago and that is in no small part down to Rodgers ability to create a system which exploit the talents of the skilful.

While Rodgers gains plenty of positives for his ability to improve the attacking talents at his disposal, the defensive talents were more of a concern. An inability to deal with strong and aerially dominant opponents was Liverpool’s Achilles heel this term.

Stoke, Aston Villa and West Brom were all dangerous opponents for LFC and although these frailties were papered over by the return of Carragher, it is a dilemma that must be resolved next year. Rodgers must decide whether Skrtel’s huge drop in form was transitory or whether it demonstrated a fundamental inability to get to grips with the new system and playing style.

There is also remains a question mark over whether Enrique can perform for a full season having delivered only half a season of quality for Liverpool each season thus far. Yet, as highlighted in a previous piece, the perceived deficiencies at the back still saw the team concede a similar number of goals and keep the second highest clean sheets.

So while Rodgers did well with some of the talents at his disposal, this only really matters in how it translates into success in competitions. In the League Cup, Liverpool made amends for their opening day defeat by triumphing at The Hawthorns but followed that up with a wretched defeat at the hands of Swansea, of all clubs, in the next round. Chants of ‘you’re just a s*** Swansea City’ ringing around Anfield while humorous, was one of the lowest points of the season.

In the FA Cup Liverpool fared no better losing in the fourth round to Oldham Athletic. Anyone in attendance that night could attest to Boundary Park being the one of worst environments to be subjected to freezing temperatures and rain. The holes in the roof only added to the majesty of it all. The defeat was compounded by the fact that it was aerial prowess again that was the source of LFC’s defensive issues.

Yet none of this would have mattered had Rodgers finished higher up in the Premier League. The new manager was asked to arrest the deterioration of Liverpool’s league finishes. Over the last 4 seasons Liverpool have seen standards slip in the league from being Champions League heavyweights and title contenders to scratching around the upper mid-table.

The stated ambition was to challenge for the top 4 this season and there can be no shying away from the fact that Liverpool never seriously threatened to break into the promised land of Champions League football. Had there been an improvement in standards that at least saw Liverpool look like they could compete with the top teams, the display in the cups would not have been an issue. If we were still in the running for the top four with a couple of games to go it would have showed real signs of progress.

The reality is that Liverpool weren’t that close and when the team looked to have momentum in December, instead of pushing on, they faltered. The positive is that the team looked galvanised in the second half of the season and we should feel optimistic that we will be a stronger and more competitive team next season especially after we picked up more points than we have for a while. That said, Rodgers underperformed in the department where his ability most counts.

So with one year of the Rodgers era already laid to rest, the truth is that the man has had areas where he has excelled but the end product on the pitch was not good enough. That does not mean that he has done a bad job.

Indeed, if we look at the season in the context it should be placed, a transitional season, Rodgers has actually performed fairly well. He has cast off players unsuitable to his system, he has brought optimism to a flagging Academy, and he has introduced a playing style that can crush opponents. But these aspects have not been harnessed together to form a successful season overall.

There is still the worry that the team might not be able to perform under pressure when challenging for a top position. This is something we’ll only discover next season. The foundations though, look to have been securely embedded and if the blueprint is the right one, we may have built something much better come May next year.
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