Some people have said in the press that Brendan Rodgers may only have ‘three weeks’ left to save his Liverpool career. The main culprit has been former Anfield goalie Bruce Grobbelaar.

Now even though I am not a huge fan of Bruce or his views, you can see why he has come to those stern conclusions. As a club, Liverpool haven’t been performing as well  as the were last term and certainly don’t have that same explosive impact that they did last season. In the league they have slipped up a few times and now lie in twelfth spot (they are currently closer to relegation zone rather than Champions League places). In Europe their return to the Champions League hasn’t run smoothly and they now face Basle in a make or break game in Europe’s elite competition.

These issues in modern day football can often lead to the sack as anxious owners panic and pull the trigger and sack bosses.

At Liverpool I think its slightly different and I also think the circumstances can be a bit misleading.

Now in the league, the title looks beyond the Reds and even catching Southampton (2nd) and Manchester City (3rd) looks to be a tough prospect for Rodgers and his squad. But the race for that fourth and final Champions League spot could end up being the most fascinating race we’ve seen in years. Yes, Liverpool might sit in twelfth but they are only five points behind Manchester United who are the current occupiers of fourth position. You just need to see Newcastle Untied, who are now fifth after winning five games on the trot, as something that could happen if Liverpool find some form. The Magpie fans were calling for Alan Padew’s head in September as they toiled in the relegation places and now they are challenging for the Champions League spots.

The fact is that teams like Man Utd, Man City, Arsenal, Everton, Stoke, Swansea, Newcastle and Spurs have had inconsistent runs like Liverpool. So as long as Liverpool are still within touching distance I doubt any serious discussions will take place regarding Rodgers position.

The American owners will have faith in their boss, as he was the man that lead the club back into the promise land of Champions League football.

While I touch on that subject. It’s extremely arrogant to think that Liverpool were going to sail through that group. Teams who haven’t tasted the competition for a while or have never embarked on that journey before, usually struggle to adapt quickly. Look at Man City, they still struggle to cope with the extra demands. Liverpool still have it in their own hands, a win over Basle in December at Anfield will see the club reach the last sixteen. That will be a fantastic achievement for this squad.

Also we cannot forget that Liverpool have had to deal with not having Daniel Sturridge due to injury or Luis Suarez who was sold to Barcelona, that was the bulk of last seasons goals right there. Brendan can’t be blamed for those situations. Now maybe you can point the finger at him for this summers recruitment drive but again I’d say that was a club decision and not solely down to the manager.

Looking at Liverpool’s fixture list, I don’t see many games left in 2014 or in January 2015 that will scare them. If they can get a bit of luck and find some form then who knows maybe they can get into the last 16 of the Champions League and have fourth place firmly in their sights.

Don’t get me wrong, Liverpool have been disappointing this term but with so many others being equally inconsistent then they still have things in their own hands.

I will put my money on Rodgers getting the time to try and rectify those early season issues and we’ll see a charge from Liverpool come Christmas time.

Posted on November 27th, 2014 by scott
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