A Liverpool Dilemma

Article by Craig Muncey

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As the season draws to an end there is a lot of speculation in relation to Brendan Rodgers and whether Fenway Sports Group will keep him in charge after this summer.

My own take on this is that I have some sympathy with Rodgers, last season Liverpool played some great football and were very close to winning the league, however with losing Suarez completely and for big parts of the season Sturridge this season has been a disappointment, in my opinion main reasons for this are the following:

Transfer Strategy

Liverpool under Rodgers have splashed out more than £150 million, there has been 25 players coming in, and in my opinion I only class 3 as being a success, Sturridge, Coutinho and to a lesser extent Allen. In my opinion this is simply not good enough.

Some of the transfers also seem very odd. Suarez leaving left a massive hole they wanted Sanchez who chose Arsenal and has been a great success, Liverpool had Origi who they had already agreed to loan back to Lille, however, Remy seemed to be on his way only to fail a medical at Liverpool but passed a medical at the league champions Chelsea! Liverpool ended up with Balotelli, who seems to go against the whole ethos Rodgers has, about not one player being bigger than the club and team spirit. This has been a massive failure.

Also struggle to understand what occurred with the Konoplyanka transfer saga. Liverpool seemed on verge of signing a player for if reports can be believed of £15 million for a player who has played at 2 major European tournaments and had terrorized England at Wembley Stadium for Ukraine. Liverpool baulked on the price, but then paid over £20 million for Lazar Markovic from Benfica, an unproven player of potential, who from what I have seen this year looks terrified on this stage.

Team Selection and Formation

Some of Rodgers tactics and mind games I have found very strange. Simon Mignolet was struggling early in the season and Rodgers took him out of the firing line for Brad Jones, but where does he decide to do this? Old Trafford against their biggest rivals Manchester United! Ultimately, Rodgers was forced to bring him back in as Jones got injured, and full credit to Mignolet he has battled through his issues, but I am still not convinced, is he better than the player he replaced, Pepe Reina? Not for me.

Rodgers for me wants to play a certain formation and then places players in those formations to fit, some positions are not suited to the players strengths. Some examples, Can at right back, Glen Johnson playing right centre back, the same Glen Johnson who for years people have mocked his defensive capabilities! Raheem Sterling playing right wing back and also centre forward the list goes on.

Conclusion

People will say transfers are not all his doing or any of his doing with the transfer selection committee that Liverpool employ. However for me, there are basic errors being made by Rodgers. I applaud his ideals on how the game should be played with swift incisive passing and dominating possession, but have to look at what you have in your squad and play to their strengths. Let's see what happens...