[Guest-Post] Enough is enough: 6 reasons why Liverpool must sack Brendan Rodgers

[GUEST-POST] First, let me start by completely contradicting this post by saying I don’t think Rodgers is a horrible manager, not even a bad one. Over the past three years, though, his weaknesses have become increasingly obvious, and it basically boils down to this: Rodgers is incapable of delivering the goods at a club with Liverpool's standing and ambition.

Sure, Liverpool have fallen behind, but even without crazy oil money to throw around, revenue is up, the stadium will continue to grow, and the fanbase remains globally strong.

Much like Mancini and Pellegrini at Man City, Liverpool need a manager who can utilise those opportunities, and deliver what the likes of Ranieri, Grant and Scolari could not: consistent success.

Rodgers is likeable and ambitious, but he falls squarely into the Mark Hughes 'nearly man' category, and for me, his failures are holding Liverpool back. Examples:

Failure to deliver under pressure

Three points ahead of Manchester City, Rodgers failed to win the league in the final three games last year. He couldn't do anything about Gerrard's infamous slip, but he did walk into the Chelsea trap of putting 11 men inside their own box.

Had Rodgers settled for the draw, Liverpool would've still been one point ahead of Citeh and simply winning our final two games (against Palace and Newcastle) would've have been enough.

This year the same happened in the FA cup semis, although for different reasons. Liverpool had the chance to salvage the season against a perennial struggling Villa, but Reds just didn't show up for the game.

This arguably calls into questions Rodgers' preparation for big games, and shows that he does not know what the right tactics are, or when to use them.

Failure to deliver in the transfer market

When this is raised, fans will often argue that players need to settle-in, but the numbers don’t lie. The cold hard fact is that after spending over £210m over the last three years, only Coutinho and Mignolet (a little over 8% of the total transfer spend) are first team regulars.

One could argue Sturridge is also part of that equation, but he just doesn’t stay fit long enough. It’s like saying Seabiscuit would be a great racehorse if it were actually alive today.

Failure to attract top players

Apparently, Alexis Sanchez, Willian, Mkhitaryan, and Diego Costa did not want to Anfield, but who says that’s true? The only fact we know is that, when given the opportunity, none of the four wanted to sign for Liverpool, even with the presence of Gerrard and Suarez.

Two summers ago Rodgers claimed that lack of Champions League football is the reason for Liverpool's failure to attract top players, but what happened last summer, then? And why, if Sanchez only wanted to live in London, was he the only option ahead of Balotelli?

Why are guys like Di Maria and Falcao happy to live in Manchester? Is Liverpool such a horrible hole in the ground? I think not. And if the city is such a problem, how did Benitez manage to bring Alonso, Torres and Mascherano to the club?

Failure to rally the troops

Under Rodgers, Liverpool go missing in big, important games. For example, this season, the club got so close to the top four, then lost in quick succession against Man United and Arsenal.

Then, even after Man United lost three games in a row, Liverpool failed to capitalise, and got just one point out of two games against West Brom and Hull.

To add insult to injury, Rodgers couldn't even motivate the players to put in a shift for Steven Gerrard's final ever game at Anfield. When the going gets tough, the Reds go missing, and the buck stops with Rodgers, who is responsible for motivating the team and getting them to put their 'game face on' (as the Americans say).



Failure to build a balanced side

Rafa Benitez once said about the Valencia chairman: “I needed a table and they bought me a lamp”, or something along those lines. Rodgers seems to just buy lamps. Or tables. Whichever you like.

In three years, he’s bought five midfielders. Three of them in his first season, and none last summer, even though he knew Gerrard would be leaving this summer. In the same period, he’s bought eleven attackers, yet failed to bring in a much-needed holding midfielder.

Rodgers tried with Can, but quickly had to move him into defence to cover for his transfer failures in that department. Now, we have a defensive midfielder as a centre-half; an attacking midfielder playing defensive mid, and a winger playing as a striker. Makeshift players right through the heart of our team.

Failure to stick with a formation

Rodgers received praised for switching to a 3-4-3 formation earlier this season, but his poor transfer decisions forced his hand. That said, a good manager needs to take action when failing, and to his credit, Rodgers did that.

However, Since then, Rodgers has tried every formation under the sun, including 4-4-2, 3-4-3, 3-5-2, and 4-2-3-1. With this constantly formation-swapping, how can players and a team settle when the squad gets overhauled every summer, and the tactics change all the time?

The bottom line

Rodgers is constantly digging new holes to cover the holes he’s already dug for himself, and sooner or later he’s going to come unstuck. FSG are businessmen, and they think about the bottom line. They didn't hesitate when it came to dumping Kenny Dalglish - a club icon - so there's no doubt in my mind that Rodgers is on borrowed time.

In fact, I'd be baffled (disappointed in FSG) if Rodgers is still at Anfield next season. If that happens, I can only imagine they’re looking to sell the club.

Liverpool will not move forward unless and until an experienced 'been there and done it' manager takes over at Anfield. The list of names is out there on any rumours page you care to visit, and for the good of the club, I hope FSG are looking over that list.

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Author: Eric