On June 1st 2012 Liverpool made the audacious step of hiring a relatively inexperienced Brendan Rodgers to replace the legendary Kenny Daglish as Liverpool manager. While Rodgers had found unprecedented success with his former club, Swansea, the decision by the Liverpool board was certainly one of risk as Rodgers had never managed a club close to the stature of Liverpool’s.
The fans acknowledged change was needed after a string of disappointing seasons and the hope was that Rodgers fluid, possession based brand of football could instigate that change. Rodgers first season at the helm brought mixed results as Liverpool only finished one place better than the previous year in seventh.
The Liverpool board showed faith in Rodgers and were ultimately rewarded the following season. Liverpool narrowly missed winning the league for what would’ve been the first time since 1990 but managed to secure the all-important Champions League spot as the finished second behind a rampant Manchester City.
This season has not started in the fashion Liverpool fans would’ve anticipated. Hopes that this year their team could take the extra step and win the Premier League have quickly been dampened, if not all together destroyed as the Reds find themselves in seventh place with as many loses as they have wins.
With Liverpool’s Champions League campaign presently proving just as fruitless questions have started to be asked about whether Rodgers is still the best man for the job, particularly after some heavy spending in the transfer window.
It is quite remarkable that Liverpool managed to spend more than they gained last transfer season despite the £65 million sale of star striker Luis Saurez. However remarkable is a term that has been used for few of the recently arrived players’ performances.
While it is expected that new players will come under immediate scrutiny when they join a club of Liverpool’s size many of the judgments revolving around the new signings have been unfair, both to the players and to Brendan Rodgers who brought them in.
While many have performed below their full potential it should be noted that most were signed for their potential as much as anything. Players such as Alberto Moreno, 22, Dejan Lovren, 25, Emre Can, 20, and Divock Origi, 19, still have their best footballing years ahead of them and while are not considered great transfers currently may well go on to be key players for Liverpool.
The transfers of such players show that Rodgers wants to ensure the success of last season is not simply a one off but a sign of what is to come for the Merseyside club. It is certainly also worth mentioning that the reason Liverpool were able to spend so lavishly, apart from the sale of Saurez, is down to Rodgers guiding them into the Champions League which proves a massive financial boost for any club. So it is perhaps unfair to be so harsh on Rodgers transfer negotiations when spending the money they did was only made possible because of the previous season’s success.
On top of this it is worth recognizing that the distinctive style of play Rodgers has introduced to the club is not one that can be picked up immediately. This is generally regarded as the reason for Liverpool’s mixed results in Rodgers first season at the club. It is unfair to expect the host of new players to be able to immediately adapt to the clubs style of play.
It should also be remembered that the a large part of the reason Rodgers is being judged so harshly is because he is being judged in accordance to the high standards he set himself over the previous season. Liverpool’s second place finish in the 2013/14 campaign was unprecedented as a top four finish would even have seemed ambitious when the season commenced. It is finishing so high up the table that has increased pressure on Rodgers as he is now expected to repeat that success at least. To put things in perspective Liverpool currently being in seventh place is a huge disappoint for the club but when Liverpool finished in the exact same position in his first season it was an acceptable position.
It is flawed logic attempting to judge whether Rodgers is the best man for the job by pitting his current success with his previous success. Whether he is still the most suitable candidate depends on the success the club would experience under another candidate compared to Rodgers himself.
While determining this can only ever be theoretical it is fair to believe that in the short term there is some manager that would be able to achieve more success at the club than Rodgers. There is a good chance a manager with a more basic football philosophy could briskly get his ideas across to the players old and new alike and achieve relative success over the remainder of the season. However the Liverpool board and indeed the fans are interested in more than immediate success as they endeavor to once again become one of England’s top clubs. This is, after all, why they hired Rodgers in the first place.
When it comes to recreating the dominance Liverpool once possessed Rodgers is still the superior option. The Liverpool board along with the fans should be patient and willing to ride out this troublesome period. They should be willing to do this because with the flamboyant style of play Rodgers brings to the club as well as the host of young talents he has recruited ensure Liverpool’s greatest chance of constant success among England and even Europe’s finest.
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