A wise man once said that if you do not support us when we
lose, do not support us if we win. While the sentiment from the great Bill
Shankly might hold a lot of merit, it is debatable whether this should apply in
regards to Brendan Rodgers’ managerial tenure. It is true that Rodgers has one
of the best win percentage records of any Liverpool manager but yet the
consensus is that he should be sacked. For me, while poor losses and results
are a big factor, I think Brendan Rodgers should leave because of what he may
be inadvertently doing to the structure and dynamic of Liverpool Football Club,
one that may have long lasting impact if not addressed.
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| Bill Shankly built Liverpool's identity Source - Telegraph |
The first point to consider is his transformation of the complete
team without anything much to show for it. While transfer debacles have been well
documented, it is the other side of things that must be considered in more
detail. Rodgers has had falling-outs with all of the fan favorites at the club
and has replaced them with many players not of Liverpool standard. Daniel Agger
and Pepe Reina are two examples that come to mind as those who were fan
favourites but sold after falling out with the manager. Rumours also state that
Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard also had falling-outs with the manager but
the validity of these sources is unknown.
Rodgers has sold most experienced players at the club
ranging from Maxi Rodriguez to Craig Bellamy. While selling players is fine if
handled properly, the fact that Rodgers has used this as an excuse for his
failings doesn’t add up. In the current Liverpool squad, only Steven Gerrard,
Martin Skrtel, Glen Johnson, Jordan Henderson, Lucas Leiva and Raheem Sterling
are non-Rodgers signings and 2 of these 6 players are going to leave at the end
of the season and maybe even more. Throughout the season, Rodgers has told fans
that he is “taking time to build a team” and “learning on the job”. But, the
fact is that it is Rodgers himself that has replaced a proven, experienced core
with unproven, potential players. He has made himself to look as the victim
this season but all these players are here on his volition.
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| Kuyt and Bellamy - Two of the many sold by Rodgers Credit - KopSource |
The second fallacy has been Rodgers’ treatment of young
players. For a man who proclaims to give youth a chance, how many players have
been given a real chance in the
first team? By that, I do not mean a few substitute appearances here and there.
Raheem Sterling is the one example of a player who has been given a real chance
where he got a regular run of games. Despite performing badly, Rodgers still
persisted with him and Sterling rose to prominence.
Players like Jonjo Shelvey,
Martin Kelly and Suso are some of the many promising youngsters that were sold
without any justification. In fact, Rodgers has sold more youngsters than he
has given a chance. Out of the 28 players Rodgers has sold, 12 of them have
been youngsters below the age of 23. The main justification that has been given
is that those players were never good enough. But, how do we really know that?
Is it clearly established that Joe Allen is better than
Jonjo Shelvey or that Adam Lallana is better than Suso. Instead of flogging
millions on superfluous signings, Rodgers could have easily done what he claims
to do and have given youth a chance. It is not only academy players though, as
Rodgers has not even given players that he has himself signed a chance. Luis
Alberto and Tiago Illori are two examples that have not started a single
Premier League game. An approximate of 15 million was spent on these two
players with nothing to show for it. And yet, this could be swept under the
carpet citing the law of probability in that some succeed and some do not.
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| Everyone seems happy in this picture but that was not the case when Suso was sold to AC Milan Source- Getty Images |
The third and perhaps the most worrisome point is that
Liverpool are slowly losing their identity under Rodgers. Currently, the Liverpool
team is not one that the fans can relate to. The Anfield atmosphere has been
severely criticized and while the main reason has been the ticket prices, another
factor has been that fans may be falling out with the club. There seems to be lesser
passion or desire in the play at the moment and in my opinion, this has come
about because of too much change in the structure. Liverpool have transformed
but not evolved. There is a current unrest in the fans and the relation between
the team and the fans is not what it should be.
Bill Shankly also said that at a football club, there is a
holy trinity between the players, managers and supporters. At the moment, there
is a hole in the trinity as it does not seem like the players are playing for
the manager or the fans supporting the team. These are fixable problems of
course but in the present, Liverpool are slowly slipping out with the fans. Rodgers
is a good manager but the stature and legacy of Liverpool demands more.
