Sport
IS IT TIME UP FOR BRENDAN RODGERS AT ANFIELD?
After three years in charge of Liverpool, Brendan Rodgers is beginning to feel the pressure of managing a top club. While there is no doubt that the former Swansea City manager deserved his opportunity to prove his worth at the highest level, Rodgers has ultimately failed in his goal to lead
It could be argued that Luis Suarez’s individual brilliance masked many of the problems that are now much more prominent in the current squad. In Rodgers’ first season at the helm, the Reds finished seventh. Then, when Suarez was at his brilliant best, they finished second and narrowly missed out on the title.
Without Suarez, they went on to finish sixth last season and, after seven games, currently sit in eighth position this campaign. Liverpool have struggled to move on and Rodgers’ insistence on building his squad around an individual is beginning to hinder their progression in the Premier League.
In fact, Rodgers is hindering Liverpool’s progression as a football club. At the end of the 2014-15 campaign, Rodgers became the first Liverpool manager since the 1950s not to win a trophy in his first three seasons in charge. Yes he reached the semi-finals of both cup competitions last year but they lost both of these ties – it’s simply not good enough.
Despite this telling statistic, Rodgers kept his job. At the time, many Liverpool fans were glad to see the club supporting the Northern Irishman but that opinion has changed after their slow start. In fact, more supporters are calling for change as Jurgen Klopp and Carlo Ancelotti remain without a club.
Rodgers’ main problem is that he refuses to budge from this attacking, total football style of play. Liverpool should stick to their strengths but Rodgers is clearly desperate to succeed and show the supporters that the Reds are capable of producing entertaining, free-flowing football.
Defensively, Rodgers’ teams have always been weak. In fact, Liverpool have been incredibly disappointing at the back for the entirety of the Northern Irishman’s tenure at the club. The Reds have conceded 43, 50 and 48 goals in the last three seasons.
These figures are three of Liverpool’s four worst performances in the last fifteen years and all have come during Rodgers’ era at the club. While that wasn’t a problem when Luis Suarez used to score three goals a game, it’s definitely a cause for concern now in this new-look Liverpool side.
Worryingly, Liverpool are struggling to beat the Premier League’s bigger sides. The Reds have won just five league matches since March, against Queens Park Rangers (relegated), Newcastle (19th), Villa (18th), Stoke (17th) and Bournemouth (16th). Rodgers just cannot get it right in the big games and this failure will eventually cost him his job.
If you don’t earn victories against the big teams, you won’t finish above them. It’s as simple as that. Brendan Rodgers has an excellent personality and isn’t a bad coach, however his inability to motivate his players for the big occasion lets him down. Liverpool’s performance at Old Trafford earlier this month was woeful at best, and they looked a shadow of the side that earned a 3-0 victory here just eighteen months ago.
With Klopp and Ancelotti both waiting for the right position to come along, Liverpool would be wise to move sooner rather than later and sack Brendan Rodgers. While the Northern Irishman had a good run, he just doesn’t have the talent, ability or capability to help the Reds challenge for the Premier League title. The clock is ticking and, unfortunately for Rodgers, it’s already the eleventh hour.
