Why Brendan Rodgers is the right man to manage Liverpool

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers

When Brendan Rodgers became the manager of Liverpool, he was tasked with only one job – to get them back into the top four. Usually, not a lot of top football clubs would appoint a manager with an experience of just one year in top-flight football. Having won the English league manager of the year award last season, the Northern Irishman finds his team struggling and questions being asked of his ability to manage one of the biggest institutions in world football.

Managers that come from the Championship usually find it difficult to stay in the Premier League and make a name for themselves. However, Rodgers made sure his first season in the Premier League would be a one to remember. In his first season in the Premier League, he finished 11th with Swansea and also defeated the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City in the process while garnering praise from all sections due to their playing style.

First season as Liverpool manager

In his first season with Liverpool, they finished 7th in the league and were eliminated in the 4th round of the FA Cup and the League Cup. They struggled to keep pace with the top clubs and during the first half of the season, it looked like they would not finish in top half of the league. There was a point where Liverpool had lost all hope because they were losing to lowly teams despite having a decent squad.

Among all the negativity, Liverpool’s season took a turn in the right direction when they signed Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho in January. Both these players were key in helping Liverpool finish 7th, especially Sturridge as he scored 11 goals before the season ended. Despite Liverpool not qualifying for Europe, the board and fans were content as they understood that Rodgers needed time to make Liverpool a top club again. For a manager, who was just in his second season in the Premier League and having managed Championship teams in the past, I feel Rodgers did a decent job.

Rodgers excellent second season

In his second season, I personally felt the Northern Irishman deserved the Manager of the Year award. In just one season, he made Liverpool a title challenging club. Not a lot of people expected Liverpool to perform so well under Rodgers, who was just in his third season as a Premier League manager. It usually takes a coach with such little experience a lot more time to cope with the pressures of the league.

Liverpool were never out of top four for the whole season and they managed to score a record 101 goals that season. Of course, they had the benefit of not playing in any European competition, but still they deserved all the plaudits they received. Liverpool’s aim that season was to challenge for a top four spot, and Rodgers almost won them the title. That season Steven Gerard described Rodgers as the best manager he has played under.

The reason behind current struggles

Everyone expected Liverpool to take last season's momentum and challenge for a top four spot in the 2014-15 season. Those hopes were shattered when Luis Suarez was sold to Barcelona. Despite his biting incident at the World Cup, Liverpool should not have given up so easily on him. Suarez’s sale is a key factor as to why they are performing badly this season. A team will obviously feel weak mentally after their best player is sold.

To make things worse, Daniel Agger, who was a key player at the heart of the Liverpool’s defence was sold as well. Liverpool spent around €117 million on new players, but barely anyone has performed up to the mark so far, especially Mario Balotelli, from whom a lot was expected. Liverpool started this season in horrible fashion as they managed to win only six games until mid-December. They also failed to progress to the knockout stages of the Champions League, for which they worked so hard last season.

Transfer mistakes and what they should have done

Daniel Agger (l) and Luis Suarez left Liverpool at the start of the season

Despite buying a plethora of players to replace Suarez and Agger, Liverpool have still been struggling at both ends of the pitch. In defence, Dejan Lovren has been struggling for form since his £20 million move, and they were forced to play Emre Can in a more central defensive role, something he is not used to. In attack, they bought Balotelli to replace Suarez and partner Sturridge up front. Things did not work out for them as they had hoped as Balotelli was just not able to gel with the team and things got worse when Sturridge got injured.

After Suarez left, Liverpool bought a lot of unknown players because of the pressure from fans and to meet the lofty expectations set due to last season’s achievements. Liverpool should have spent money on experienced players, rather than buying young unknown players in bulk. Personally, I feel they did not have to buy so many players. They should have just invested in two good central defenders and two world-class strikers.

Rodgers’ bad team selection

Due to Balotelli’s underwhelming performances and Sturridge’s injury, Liverpool had no recognized striker to play upfront with Fabio Borini out injured as well. They had to rely on Raheem Sterling, who is known for his pace, to play up front as a striker. Because of a number of injuries, Liverpool have had to play a lot of players in positions they are not comfortable with.

Currently the only other fit center back they possess who could replace Lovren is Kolo Toure. Taking nothing away from Kolo’s experience and talent, I just feel that Kolo is not the best defensive player to have in your starting line-up if you are challenging for a top four spot. Last season, Liverpool signed young Tiago Ilori, and I feel he would be a better defender to have than Kolo any day of the week.

Also, Rodgers should have known that if you buy a player like Balotelli, it’s risky business and given that Sturridge has a history of injury problems, he should have invested in another established world-class striker. Rodgers does have a lot of depth in his squad, but he chooses not to use all his players.

For the last few games, he has been using Jordan Henderson as a wing back despite having Glen Johnson. Furthermore, Liverpool signed Rickie Lambert this season, but he just sits on the bench every game. What was the point of buying him if you are not going to play him? Rodgers needs to trust his players more. Liverpool have been struggling to get goals this season because of Rodgers’ errors. They have just managed to score 47 goals this season, which is a significant drop than the 101 goals they scored last season.

Rodgers’ philosophy

Rodgers is the kind of manager who likes the passing game. He does not like his team slowing down the pace of the game, he likes to keep the ball moving. Defensively, he likes to put a lot of pressure on the opposition attackers and likes to win the ball back quickly. He has a set of tactics that he believes in.

However, when you come to the Premier League, you cannot stick to only a certain set of tactics. This has been the case for Liverpool this season. He kept on sticking in his tactics, and it backfired as Liverpool struggled in the first half of this season.

Then, in December, he finally switched to a 3-4-3 formation. Because of this, he has garnered a lot of praise for his tactical flexibility and getting his sides out of tough situations. His new formation and change in tactics has helped Liverpool climb from 12th to 5th in just three months. Despite all the injuries, the players playing out of position and all the failed transfers, he has still managed to form a decent squad and got them playing good football.

Silver lining for Liverpool

Rodgers has been tasked with rebuilding Liverpool now after Steven Gerrard announced that he would be leaving the club at the end of the season. Liverpool have a fairly young squad with a lot of talent and potential, and now that they have been eliminated from the FA Cup, they need to qualify for Europe considering the standards set by Rodgers. Being such a young and inexperienced manager, he still has a lot to learn, and these mistakes will certainly make him a better manager.

This is just his third season in the Premier League and for a manager with such little experience, he has already proven himself. Looking at what he achieved last season with Liverpool, no doubt he is a good manager, it’s just that he needs time to get Liverpool back on top and the fans need to support him in this task. The rebuilding process will take time, and Liverpool cannot sell anymore of their players, especially Sterling.

When Rodgers took over Swansea, in a year’s time he got them promoted and a year later he cemented their place in the Premier League. Not a lot of managers can do that. He did the same with Liverpool, in just two years he almost won them the title. There is no doubt in my mind that, if given time, Brendan Rodgers will be the first manager to lift the Premier League trophy with Liverpool.