Faith in Rodgers waning

Was it not for the infamous Gerrard slip, Brendan Rodgers would more than likely be the man who brought the first Premier League title to Anfield and reached legendary status amongst the fans, six months later faith in the young manager appears to be waning.

Todays defeat to Chelsea sees Liverpool sit in eight with 14 points from eleven games, 15 points off league leaders Chelsea, a considerable drop back from last season and raising the subject if Liverpool were a one man team last season and can’t compete without Suarez.

Liverpool’s season both domestically and in Europe has been dismal, not only have results been poor but the manner of the defeats has been very worrying and even when winning Liverpool have, in most parts, been lucky bar the away victory at White Hart Lane.

Chelsea outclassed Rodgers’ team in every aspect of the game, Liverpool never looked threatening on the attack while their defending, as we have come to expect, was appalling especially from set pieces.

The Chelsea defeat is all the more disappointing given the fact Rodgers rested big player’s midweek against Real Madrid looking ahead to the Chelsea game. The decision to rest players against Real was also greeted with mixed views from fans who believe Rodgers should have fielded his best team for such a big game.

Some would feel that after waiting so long to get back into Europe’s elite competition, why would Rodgers rest all his main players? Surely after the lengthy absence from games at the likes of the Bernabeu the Liverpool fans deserve better than seeing a reserve team face the reigning Champions League winners.

Since joining Liverpool, Brendan Rodgers has also had a very mixed transfer record, other than Daniel Sturridge and maybe Couthino, none of his signings have proven successful. This summer Balotelli, Lambert, Lallana, Markovic and Lovren were some of the players who arrived and none have repaid there hefty fees thus far, Lovren and Balotelli have been particularly disappointing.

Rodgers appears to have gone down the Spurs route by replacing the best player in the team with numerous unproven players that they hope will step up to the mark, as everyone saw with Spurs last season that method does not work and Rodgers and Liverpool are learning that the hard way.

The use of subs and team selections this season have been a major talking point amongst pundits and fans alike with Liverpool, Rodgers has stuck with one striker up-front despite the fact it is not working and continues to pick a misfiring Balotelli over both Borini and Lambert. Today and in games before fans have been critical of Rodgers for not using Adam Lallana, surely if you spend £20 million on a player he should be given a chance in the big games especially when you need goals.

It is clear that Suarez and Sturridge’s partnership was the main reason for Liverpool’s title charge and with Suarez departed and Sturridge struggling with injuries maybe Rodgers is being shown up for the tactically naïve manager he is.

We may only be eleven games into the season but everyone will be quick to forget about last seasons achievements and even quicker to turn on Rodgers should this form continue. He may only have signed a new contract in the summer but Rodgers could find himself out of a job unless he can turn things around, and quickly.