A look at how long Brendan Rodgers has given his side’s poor form and his continuously dubious selections. Liverpool’s next Premier League game is at home to Norwich. Failure would surely compound the likelihood of his departure.
As a rule human beings don’t tend to agree with one another on almost anything. This is further exacerbated when Liverpool fans are brought into question. A quick scroll through any Twitter timeline associated with the hashtag #LFC is one that is bound to be disjointed and full of silly debates like whether or not Lovren should have done 7 step-overs in midfield against West Ham. This is why when the human race, and the Liverpool fan base, come together it is a time to listen. This has happened again in the form of fans calling for manager Brendan Rodgers’ head. Well, not his head but his job.
A point to consider is that both managers and players have been forced from the club for less in the past. Think of Mario Balotelli. One of Rodgers’ very own signings. He was marginalized within the squad for behavior that was well publicized beforehand and then described as being a ‘calculated risk.’ Either the Ulsterman didn’t calculate correctly or he wasn’t prepared to adjust his formula to accommodate another variable in the form of the maverick Italian.
If Rodgers was to be shown the same courtesy he has shown the likes of Daniel Agger, Pepe Reina and most recently Balotelli he would be without a job and likely bemoaning the lack of faith shown in him by FSG and the Liverpool fans.
An ever-present fixture of Rodgers reign as the top man at Liverpool has been a consistent tendency to make team decisions which just don’t make any sense. I remember with an ache that you couldn’t understand when we beat Arsenal to the singing of Nuri Sahin. What does Rodgers do? Plays him out of position and wastes a fantastic talent as a result. This is especially frustrating as he threw a way a perfectly capable defensive midfielder when it has been a position which Liverpool has been weak in since Javier Mascherano left for Barcelona in 2010.
This tendency carried on when Emre Can arrived from Bayer Leverkusen. The young German has been tipped to be a world-class holding defensive midfielder. In his debut season at Liverpool Rodgers played him at right-centre back as part of a dynamic back three featuring Martin Skrtel and Mamadou Sakho. He did this to both Jordon Ibe and Lazar Markovic as well. It limits their potential and hinders their development.
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Unfortunately given how long he has been in charge and the fact that he has been making the same mistakes throughout his managerial stint with Liverpool, I don’t see him cleaning up his act. Once again #BrendanRodgerOut is trending on Twitter again and for his sake I hope he doesn’t have a private account.
The Europa League is up next for Liverpool but it is old news that this is going to be a secondary objective ion the grand scheme of things. As such I will skip this and address the weekend’s game at home to Norwich City. The Reds’ form going into the game is shocking with their last win coming against Premier League debutantes Bournemouth when Benteke scored a controversial goal.
Rodgers will certainly be feeling the pressure to motivate his team to play. Anything less than the full three points will place even more pressure on the Northern Irishman with the angst growing. It is highly unlikely that he will be dismissed so early after being allowed new backroom staff to arrive as well as more money to invest into the side. It wouldn’t make sense for Rodgers to be sacked so soon after revamping the squad. If he was it would suggest that FSG have finally come around which is even more unlikely.
If action was to be taken then the earliest it could be expected would be December – bar a catastrophic run of form between now and Christmas. This would give Rodgers time to prove himself one more time before being told to pack up his office and leave. I am not of the mind to give the man any more time than he already has been given the fact that he has spent hundreds of millions of pounds and not won a single trophy. Not even the Capital One Cup.
Also topic of heavy debate and discussion has been who would take over at Liverpool should Rodgers actually be dismissed. Funnily enough Jurgen Klopp wasn’t as dominant in the suggestions for the new manager as you would expect. Much to my own surprise Jose Mourinho’s name has been quietly suggested by a fair few after Chelsea’s even worse start to the Premier League season. Liverpool have lost two games and drawn one and somehow are still three points ahead of the Blues. Once again it is a case of waiting to see what will happen.