No fan will disagree that Rodgers needs to be sacked after reading his biggest mistakes this term…
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The shameful transfer policy…
Liverpool spent around £120m in the summer, and there’s literally nobody who could possibly argue that they spent the £75m Luis Suarez windfall well.
They splashed £26m on Adam Lallana when Chelsea paid the same money for Cesc Fabregas.
They spent £20m on Lazar Markovic, a Serbian who’s made two Premier League starts and failed to contribute a goal or an assist in any competition.
They spent £20m on Dejan Lovren, who can now only get in the team because of an injury to 33-year-old immobile veteran Kolo Toure.
Mario Balotelli cost £16m and hasn’t scored a Premier League goal, Emre Can cost £10m and can’t get in the side for love nor money, and the hapless Jose Enrique starts ahead of £12m Alberto Moreno.
It’s arguably the worst set of transfer business conducted by an individual club in the history of the top flight.
To emphasise – Liverpool spent nearly £120m during the summer. Against FC Basel, Martin Skrtel was asked to play up top for the final 20 minutes.
Samuel Eto’o was available on a free, but they let Everton sign him, and dumped £4m on Rickie Lambert instead.
Dropping form players…
Rodgers based the success he had last season on playing players who deserved to be played.
And letting them play their football, too.
Now, every time a Liverpool player seemingly enjoys a good performance, he’s out of the side the following week.
Emre Can was Liverpool’s best player against Chelsea and hasn’t played since. Lallana is rotated randomly regardless of how well or poorly he’s performed.
Coutinho won November’s Liverpool Player of the Month, and has barely featured since.
Moreno started his Reds career superbly and then was randomly dropped for a series of matches.
It’s not rotation – it’s sending a message to the players that they have no say in their ability to get into the side. And while strong performers have been dropped, Rodgers has been loyal to Lovren, Mignolet and Gerrard – three players who’ve been dreadful all season.
Neglecting attacking philosophy…
Last term, Liverpool scored more than 100 Premier League goals, and made a habit out of coming out of the blocks and steamrolling sides within the first 25 minutes.
Versus Arsenal, they were 4-0 up within 18 minutes earlier this calendar year.
This season, they haven’t scored a goal in the first 20 minutes at Anfield.
Why?!
Instead of relentlessly pressing and viciously counter attacking, Liverpool slow games down, with a complete lack of any creative ability to open up opposition sides even if they are dominating possession.
Against FC Basel, a must-win Champions League game; Rodgers chose four central midfielders in a monumentally uninspiring team selection. Steven Gerrard, Lucas, Joe Allen and Jordan Henderson all started, and the team lacked ideas, dynamism and forward runs.
The contrast in the team’s creativity, movement, pressing, and work-rate between this year and last is actually absurd.
Rushing Daniel Sturridge back from injury…
Sturridge’s injury has meant Liverpool have virtually no pace up top.
(Perhaps they would if they’d have confirmed the Loic Remy deal, with the Frenchman having already passed a medical – but that’s another story…)
Desperately needing to bring Sturridge back into the side, Liverpool made mistakes – trying to get him up and running too quickly.
On two occasions, Sturridge had been set for a return, only for a recurrence of his thigh injury to see him back in the treatment room.
He’s still not played since August.
Absurd, stubborn team selections…
Where do we begin, here…
Against Real Madrid in the Champions League, Liverpool put out a second string, virtually conceding the game, in the hope that they would be fresher for the Premier League.
The reason Rodgers wanted his squad fresh for the Premier League is so that they could qualify for next term’s Champions League.
BUT GUYS – YOU’RE ALREADY IN THE COMPETITION.
They didn’t qualify from the group, and they didn’t deserve to either.
Rodgers has continually switched Steven Gerrard’s position, played Raheem Sterling wide when he’s better centrally, occasionally used Henderson on the left or the right, used Johnson, Manquillo and Enrique ahead of the clearly talented Moreno; and turned the mercurial Brazilian international playmaker Coutinho into a benchwarmer at the expense of Joe Allen.
Brendan Rodgers is living on borrowed time. Fact.
