Time for Rodgers to rescue struggling Liverpool

Brendan Rodgers had a bumpy start to his Anfield career. After a 3-1 Boxing Day defeat at Stoke in 2012-13, the midpoint of the campaign Liverpool found themselves 10th in the table, 21 points off the top. In the second half of the season, they gained 36 points.

Had they kept that pace all year long, they would have been fifth, one point away from the Champions League.

Liverpool finished second in 2013-14, letting the title slip away with that 2-0 home defeat to Chelsea and the 3-3 draw at Crystal Palace. Currently out of the Champions League and ninth in the Premier League, 15 points off the top.

In terms of results, Liverpool is back to where they were in the first half of Rodgers’ regime: 25 points from 20 league games.

The loss of Luis Suarez, of course, was also a huge blow. He’s gone and he’s irreplaceable.

Rodgers re-invested the 75 million pounds earned from the sale of Suarez with eight new signings to bolster his squad, but all have struggled to vary degrees since arriving at Anfield.

Liverpool tried, and failed, to sign Alexis Sanchez before he went on to become Arsenal’s £32m inspiration, so, instead of stellar names, they have brought in quantity with promise rather than quality designed to bring instant rewards.

Liverpool’s improvement, beginning in January 2013, was not solely down to the arrival of Sturridge. Indeed, it had little to do with signings.

Other than Simon Mignolet and Philippe Coutinho, none of those who arrived in that 18-month spell enjoyed significant playing time.

The difference came on the training pitch; Rodgers developed a system that allowed Suarez and Sturridge to thrive together.

Jordan Henderson became a better player while Raheem Sterling developed into a star. Sturridge showed he wasn’t just a great player; he was a good professional as well. Steven Gerrard scored 18 goals in those 18 months as many as he had notched in the previous three years.

Suarez also netted 43 goals in 48 league games since that fateful Stoke match on Boxing Day, 2012. He had 28 in 62 before that. Simply put, he wasn’t a $100m player prior to Rodgers.

It could all be a massive coincidence. Maybe Rodgers just found his foot for those 18 months. Maybe Liverpool was just lucky. Maybe all those guys who seemed to improve at around the same time would have improved anyway, regardless of whether the manager was Brendan Rodgers, Buck Rogers or Mister Rogers.

Sterling has been ridden like some kind of workhorse. At times, you feel like the young lad is single-handedly asked to provide all of Liverpool’s creativity in the squad. And, as a result, he’s been inconsistent. Young players often are. That’s why managers are selective in how they use them. Not Rodgers.

Sterling is a superb asset for Liverpool but he needs rest in order to rediscover his best form.

Sterling has featured in all but one of Liverpool’s games this season. The club has played over 2,000 minutes of football: he’s been on the pitch for almost 1,900 minutes.

Injuries haven’t helped and mistakes have been made – crucially, few of them of the kind that can’t be undone – but there is still plenty to salvage from this season.

Rodgers may or may not be the right guy to turn Liverpool around and take them forward. Maybe, not the manager Liverpool need. He hasn’t demonstrated the skill set to be that kind of manager.

The Reds splashed out a whopping £110m (€140m) in the summer following Luis Suarez’s move to Barcelona but none of the new signings have lived up to their price tags. It is debatable if Liverpool’s American owners will loosen the purse strings again in January, though it is obvious that a striker is needed.

Had Suarez been in the team at Old Trafford, it could certainly be argued that the Reds could have beaten United given the chances they created and Rodgers’ problem lies in the fact that the Uruguayan was not adequately replaced in the summer.

Controversial summer acquisition Mario Balotelli is yet to score in the Premier League, with fellow new arrival Rickie Lambert netting just once, while Daniel Sturridge has been out since August.

Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy told BBC Sport: “Brendan Rodgers has earned the right to have a bad spell because of the way he moved the club forward so quickly, but he knows he has to do a lot better.

“What will be crucial is whether the board back him in January and let him bring in another striker and give him money to spend.

“He has earned the right to see the season through. I don’t think for one second he is under real pressure.”

The statistics are damning for Rodgers: Liverpool’s defeat at Old Trafford was their seventh in 16 league matches and they languish in 10th in the table.

Confidence appears to have disappeared out of a squad that did well last season and Anfield fans appear to be losing patience with the man on the sidelines.

The minimum that was probably expected of Rodgers this season was another top-four finish to build on the success of last season but that already looks dark.

Rodgers should remember that the owners sacked club legend Kenny Daglish and quickly dispensed of the services of current England manager Roy Hodgson after both failed to meet their standards.

@AnthonyNlebem

Anthony Nlebem