http://anfieldindex.com/11669/brendan-rodgers-thin-ice.html The weekend saw Liverpoolâs run of abject form continue, as they slumped to a fourth consecutive defeat, further extending their winless run in the Premier League. Not since an injury time own goal spared the Redsâ blushes at Loftus Road on 19th October, have Liverpool recorded three points. In fact, a last gasp home win over Swansea, in the Capital One Cup, continues to be the Anfield sideâs only victory in the last seven â a run which has witnessed five losses. This latest defeat and, more pertinently, the almost absolute inevitability of it, has sharpened the focus on the future of Liverpoolâs young manager, Brendan Rodgers, and rightly so. The manager must take responsibility for the shambles that unfolds on the pitch in every game we play, particularly away from home. Six defeats on the road in all competitions, and itâs not even December â three home wins is hardly cause for celebration either. Things have gone wrong. Itâs possible to look at Liverpoolâs terrible form this year and offer up some mitigating circumstances, but not many. In fact, the only unavoidable, concrete fact thatâs contributed heavily to the situation in which ´Brendan finds himself, is Daniel Sturridgeâs continual injury problem. Even in this case, thereâs a strong, credible argument that says the manager could and should have been more prepared for this probable situation, especially given Sturridgeâs record. That the transfer committee, which includes Brendan Rodgers as an active and prime member, didnât identify the potential problems of being without the main goal threat, the only striker with genuine pace, the one player who strikes genuine fear in the hearts of defenders and opposing managers, was a catastrophic blunder. Having sold Suarez, and knowing the likelihood of Sturridgeâs hyper-sensitive muscles causing problems, it should have been an absolute must to secure a similar type of potent, pacey striker for this season, to consolidate and/or deputise when necessary. Losing Sturridge was wholly predictable, and his absence has proved hugely costly for a side whose game is built around quick transitions, stretching opponents and getting them turned, runners creating space for through-balls; without Sturridge, the entire attacking game goes to pot, and so itâs proved. Brendan should have been acutely aware of this, and done a lot more to ensure that we werenât left wanting in this position. The players that werenât signed are a problem, as weâve just seen, but so are the players we did, some of them at least. Dejan Lovren has had an unrelenting nightmare since donning a Redsâ shirt. Quite how heâs been so bad is a bit of a mystery to me, because given how desperately eager Brendan Rodgers was to get him, I wouldâve thought (in fact I did think) that the manager was certain of his quality. Obviously not. Lovren was all over the place again on Sunday, and royally humiliated for Palaceâs second goal; another one to add to his list of culpability. That the manager can be SO wrong about a player, a player who was easy to scout, is a big problem. The money was there to buy a really top centre back, but itâs been utterly wasted. Others among this yearâs crop of signings have yet to impress. Lambert, despite his goal yesterday, looks out of his depth and a shadow of the player we saw at Saints; Lallanaâs had a few flashes, but that â¬30m looks pricier by the day, while Markovic and Can certainly have potential but need time to develop and adapt. The two fullbacks appear to be the best signings at the moment, with both possessing the attributes to become starters for years ahead. Unfortunately however, Brendan doesnât seem sure about the two of them, and this leads us onto the biggest issue Brendan has at the moment: TRUST! Weâre well aware that Brendan is not a very trusting manager. Regardless of how he likes to talk about youth, despite the image of a forward looking, modern manager not afraid to make big decisions, the truth is that Brendan likes to play it safe. Unfortunately for Rodgers, his version of playing safe, is actually a recipe for disaster. Thatâs because Rodgers is seeking safety in reputation rather than reality. Brendanâs safety theory involves playing players who are out of form; players who are in desperate need of a rest; players who should be being phased out, or those that simply shouldnât be near the team, whilst overlooking others whose reputations may not be as impressive, but have much more to offer in the here, the now and the future. Why? He doesnât trust them. Why else do you play Glen Johnson out of position, when you have Alberto Moreno ready to go? Johnson shouldnât be near the team, he has no passion; he plays by the numbers, putting in the bare minimum and even then the holes in his game are glaring â if you trust him Brendan, weâve got big issues. Skrtelâs another unfathomable selection. The common denominator in Liverpoolâs worst defences since 1992/93, Skrtel is a centre-half that just does not cover. Fine, he can do his own part well enough at times, but covering is a huge part of a centre-backâs game, and quite frankly if you donât do it youâre only half a player. Iâve mentioned before in my musings that LFC concede two a game when Skrtel plays â not only is that thoroughly unacceptable, but it also shows no sign whatsoever of improving. What really grates though, and what is a deep rooted concern, is the fact that Rodgers seems oblivious to the folly of continually selecting these two, with Lovren, and with Gerrard their protector in front. Gerrard as a deep lying playmaker worked last year because Liverpool had so much going forward, other teams were more worried about defending than pressing Gerrard. The situation has flipped 180 degrees now, and Gerrard is a sitting duck as the defensive midfielder. Continually selecting Gerrard in that position is neither helping the team, nor the player; we have others who can play the role better. The whole thing is an accident which never waits long to happen. Every week this combination makes fatal errors; Skrtel and Lovren lead the way in errors which yield goals, Gerrard and Skrtel didnât manage a single successful tackle against Palace. The mistakes happen consistently, and yet Rodgersâs words seem to suggest that he doesnât recognise this fact: When I saw the team sheet, I expected those mistakes â as Iâm sure many other fans did. Look at the spine of yesterdayâs team, itâs plain to see that somehow, totally opposite to where we thought we were going, Rodgers has assembled a very weak side â Mignolet, Skrtel & Lovren, Gerrard, Allen, Lambert. Compare that to Courtois, Terry, Cahill, Matic, Fabregas, Costa or Hart, Kompany, Demichelis, Toure, Silva, Aguero, even United have stronger spine than Liverpool at the moment, and they have tonnes of injuries and were nowhere last year. Looking at things as they stand, itâs difficult to see how Rodgers can turn this around; thereâs a lack of trust, coherence, cohesion and confidence. The team looks rudderless & the manager seems bereft of ideas; the opposite to last seasonâs situation, and pretty much the perfect ****storm With the dust settled, we find ourselves in the bottom half of the table; 12 games in, 14 points on the board and, bizarrely, still very much in the hunt for fourth place. Things have to change though, and quickly if the Reds are to have any hope of retaining their Champions League berth, and all that extra money that goes with it this year. And thatâs the real point, we need that Champions League spot, and FSG knows it. Is Rodgers the man to deliver it? On last seasonâs form, unquestionably. On this seasonâs, unlikely. Rodgers is on thin ice. The Crystal Palace match was the tipping point; the straw thatâs threatening to break the camelâs back, thereâs a realisation amongst the fans (perhaps the staff too) that Sunday had to be rock bottom; either things get better now, or Liverpool will be looking for a new manager in the very near future. Whether that will be for better or for worse remains unclear, however FSGs requirement of a fourth place minimum has never been debated, and what remains crystal is that while itâs achievable, mountains will be moved to attain it.
The thing is we all have to admit to ourselves that our owners are quite amatuerish for this level of football and will not sack him unitl its far too late. I think I'd be sacking him right after wednesdays game when we fail to win but i have to say i'd already have replacement lined up. I do not believe FSG are thinking this way and it will be march (like Utd btw) before we do anything. Not sure we'll even have 40 points by march. what's wrong? 1. club technical organisation. 2. player manhood and physicality 3. players out for themselves now. no dressing room. no huddles i reckon 4. dead man walking who is undroppable 5. no forwards or any quality that are fit 6. managerial selection consistently focused on same errors... 7. manager like small boys not proper men when we are talking about player purchases. The purchase of lallana was sinful, the purchase of markovic nonsensical. the purchase of balotelli broke his trend but proved how big a panic buy it was.
i don't think the owners give a ****e to be honest, they only care for us being self sufficient and probably staying in and around europe places ie not even cl. probably use our name elsewhere to get better deals for themselves as their fecking baseball team doesn't carry much weight apart from in america does it!! we have amateurs all over the place here sadly, from manager and his staff to owners to 3 strikers that should be playing in the Championship, that alone prem and cl games. when was the last time they was seen? its nearly xmas maybe they are like santa, visit once a year type thing lol
I think it's harsh on the owners to be fair. I think they have done a good job. They will not spend stupid money on certain players i.e. £60m on Di Maria etc. We simply cannot afford that plus the mega wages on top of that. They have shown that they are willing to back the manager - look at the amount of money we have spent under Rodgers and Kenny. Problem is, these 2 managers are the ones who have wasted this money. The owners should have stuck with the transfer committee and brought in a DoF, and not allowed Rodgers to dictate terms. So FSG are guilty of that. But they are trying to improve us commercially so that we are then able to spend more in line with FFP rules.
The article starts out well but then turn into a bit of a rant. I pointed out that I felt Rodgers was in trouble with the Rodgers Out thread I did, I was in the minority at the time but a few bad results later and that minority has grown. I don't want Rodgers to go, I really want him to come through this. The problem is he's not helping himself with his team selection. The most staunch Gerrard fan of last season (myself included) freely admits that he shouldn't be starting and is there a Liverpool fan alive that wants Johnson in the team? I think if Rodgers gets that right and starts fielding a team that will battle for points the fans will back him but if he continues with his recent selections the fans will just apply even more pressure and he'll be forced out. IMO as I've said before play Can and Lucas in front of a back 4 drop Johnson, drop Gerrard we then have a midfield with fight and protection for the back four, stop the goals going in and work from that.
Agree with you mate. I sense the feeling he has lot the respect of some players because of his persistence to play the 'undroppables'.
He texts me all the time, I also get the occasional voice mail that calls me all sorts of lovely things.
Quite a few people (Ben Smith, Tony Evans) have said that FSG are still in favour of Rodgers and likely he will be in charge come the January transfer window.
that just means to me they can say to him you had money in the summer to spend,wont get away with that so much trying to get a new manager,"yeah love for you to manage us but no funds available", fancy it type thing lol.
agreeed...... these guys have lots of litttle links about... but none are saying he's lost the dressing room or not.
