Liverpool waved goodbye to Steven Gerrard twice in the last nine days. Unfortunately the legendary captain wasn’t afforded a dream swan-song in either his final Anfield appearance, nor in his last game in the Premier League game.

The ‘Reds’ were soundly beaten at home by Crystal Palace and then yesterday they were humiliated at the Britannia Stadium, where Stoke City thumped them 6-1!

Stoke and Palace are good sides, but really shouldn’t be beating Liverpool in such an easy manner.

Those two results, along with quite a few other dismal performances this season, has seen people question whether manager Brendan Rodgers should follow Gerrard out of the Anfield gates.

Liverpool were playing yesterday as if they were already out on the beach enjoying their holidays.

Ultimately the buck stops with the manager and things haven’t been great this season.

Things starting to go wrong last summer before the season had even begun!

Obviously selling Luis Suarez was a major blow. The Uruguayan was the clubs most effective player and could pretty much win games on his own. But in fairness, Liverpool received £75m for Suarez and they simply failed to strengthen/improve their squad.

Defensively they can be extremely weak and vulnerable. That has been the case since Rodgers took over in the summer of 2012.

Simon Mignolet is a good keeper but isn’t great. He still fails to command his area and suffers from confidence issues. Again we knew this last summer but nothing was done.

In the forward areas; Liverpool need to freshen things up. Daniel Sturridge is a proven Premier League goalscorer but has been very unlucky with injuries. So you need more goals in the squad to help out when Sturridge isn’t there.

I don’t think Rodgers has done enough, in terms of tactics, to help Mario Balotelli integrate with the rest of the squad. Fabio Borrini hasn’t showed anything to suggest he deserves to be at Anfield. Rickie Lambert is a fine pro and deserves a lot of credit for the impact he made with Southampton in the Premier League but he isn’t good enough for a really top drawer side.

The fact that Rodgers went with a first eleven without a recognised striker proves that they aren’t strong enough in the forward department.

You then look at the squad minus Steven Gerrard and ask if they have any strong leaders left in the dressing room. Maybe Martin Skrtel but his future is also in doubt. In time, perhaps Jordan Henderson too but not many others.

Which begs the question… Why did they not do more to keep a player that has been with them since the age of nine and who helped them win the Champions League in 2005?

In the last two weeks of the season, every crack and frailty that we’ve seen at Liverpool FC under Brendan Rodgers has reappeared.

The Northern Irish manager seems to struggle to adapt his style or tactics, especially when the chips are down.

The best managers adapt and find ways to get the best out of their squads. Can we really say that about Rodgers?

Everything seems to be going wrong for him in Merseyside at the moment.

They have failed to secure a Champions League place, they haven’t won a trophy in the last three years and they are losing heavily to mid table opposition.

Then you have a young player with great potential like Raheem Sterling asking to leave the club. It begins to look like a rat jumping from a sinking ship!

It’s going to be a huge summer for Liverpool. 

They need to replace the influential Steven Gerrard, they need two new strikers, a couple of solid defenders and a top class keeper.

That could mean that the ‘Reds’ owners need to open the vaults again at Anfield and spend another £100m, if they have ambitions of getting back into the Champions League.

But do they trust Brendan Rodgers to spear head that huge recruitment drive? Can he really persuade established international star players to the North West of England? 

Or will they be looking at the likes of Jurgen Klopp and Carlo Ancelotti and think that these men are better bets for success? 

I get the feeling that many of the Anfield support have lost confidence in Rodgers and the dressing room may be following suit.

Even Brendan Rodgers himself looked dejected and broken yesterday.

The forty-two year olds soundbites after the game didn’t fill anyone with any optimism that he was the man to turn things around.

He stated:

“I’ve always said if the owners want me to go, then I go”

That seems like a weak-ass answer if ever I’ve heard one.

As always, Rodgers believes he has the answers that will resolve the problems. But alas Liverpool fans have heard it all before and so far he seems to lack any real long-term solutions that will see the team score more or concede less.

You really get the feeling that the last nine days have shown that Brendan Rodgers really isn’t getting the best out of his squad and doesn’t have his men fully committed to his vision for the future!

Brendan Rodgers isn’t a bad man, nor is he a bad manager. I just don’t think he is the right man or manager for Liverpool.

Posted on May 25th, 2015 by scott
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