Brendan Rodgers will not be Liverpool manager next season.
Let’s get this straight. Liverpool are going nowhere. And that’s not some kneejerk reaction to a disappointing defeat at Old Trafford. They’ve been going nowhere for years.
But let’s just take the Brendan Rodgers years as a sample.
His first season at Anfield was average. The second season, driven relentlessly forward by a demented Luis Suarez, was incredible. Or nearly incredible, but a most unlikely title triumph was ultimately undermined at the crucial moment by poor management, on and off the pitch. The third season was poor.
The fourth season - this season- may be similar to season one or season three – it will be nothing like season two.
It’s not all Rodgers’ fault of course. Far from it, many of the numerous things that are holding the club back are completely beyond his control, but he will be the first to pay the price for the club’s inability to mount a challenge on the top four, with the exception of what now looks like an aberration in 2013-14.
But Rodgers has a lot to answer for too. For someone who talks so frequently about ‘character’ Liverpool have none. They have no backbone, no resolve, no inner strength. The way they conceded straight after Benteke's goal was proof of that.
They also have no system, so method, no philosophy, no apparent tactical plan.
Their strategy is as empty and meaningless as Rodgers' rhetoric.
https://twitter.com/lovefutebol/status/642767530646446081
If it wasn’t for the presence of Jurgen Klopp, sitting at home on his arse watching TV and listening to heavy metal music, you would say that there is no point changing manager at any stage before next May, that there’s nothing to be gained by changing tack, that Rodgers, a good coach and a decent guy, may as well be given the full season to show some sign of what he can really do.
But Klopp is there. He is available. And the more it goes wrong for Liverpool, the more his presence is going to lurk over Rodgers’ shoulder. The change will be made at some stage. The only question is when.
If anyone ever mentions Liverpool’s ‘style’ or ‘philosophy’ again they’re an idiot
When Liverpool were first linked with a move for Christian Benteke many fans bemoaned the signing of a ‘big, target man’ because it apparently didn’t suit the club’s style or their passing game.
What style?
What passing game?
For past two seasons Liverpool have played to win – not very effectively – but that's all that matters.
No style, no substance, just try and win the match.
There's nothing wrong with that approach – it would be better if it worked more effectively - but that is the approach.
Whether it's a by-product of the bullshit Rodgers comes out with, or just the side effect of modern football that every person with more than 200 followers on Twitter think they need to be a tactical guru of some sort, but it seems a significant portion of Liverpool fans seem to think that there's some sort of higher power at work. That despite the poor results at least the club are working to some virtuous system that's been put in place.
They're not.
They're as focused on winning by whatever means possible as a Jose Mourinho side. They're just not very good at it.
Christian Benteke is no Didier Drogba
'Can Benteke become Liverpool's Didier Drogba?' was the kind of article that appeared frequently following his £32m move from Aston Villa.
Well he scored a Drogba-esque volley, a brilliant piece of technique which gave Liverpool a brief - if entirely undeserved - glimmer of hope.
But aside from that he's far, far behind the Ivorian.
Benteke was given a thankless role on Saturday, especially in the first half when he was so isolated from his team-mates they may as well have been playing at Anfield and let the Belgian travel to Old Trafford on his own.
But the role he was asked to play involves using his physical strength to hold up the ball to try and allow Firmino, Ings, Milner and Can to get further up the pitch. He wasn't able to do that.
At one point, chasing a scooped pass from Danny Ings, he was bundled off the ball by Daley Blind.
Christian Benteke. Knocked off the ball by Daley Blind. That shouldn't happen.
Benteke needs to toughen up. He also needs some support.
Emre Can gets an unnecessary hard time
In a recent article for ESPN Tony Evans described Emre Can as the 'poster boy' for the club's flawed philosophy, a transfer strategy that decries that all players must be flexible enough to fill a variety of roles, jacks of all trades, masters of none.
Evans wrote:
"[Can] was a midfielder, we were told, who could play in the middle and across the back four. He can. Just not well enough to be convincing anywhere. Once, he might have been called a utility man, a handy reserve to be slotted into the team during times of crisis. Traditionally, logic says find a player who can operate in one position very well and worry about the rest later.
"Can illustrates the lack of nous behind the scenes at Anfield. He has talent but he is not suited to the Premier League, where the "snap" to the ball is almost as important as what you do with it in possession. In England, you need to get to the tackle, to the ball, quickly. The German shows little ability to do that. An insider called him "a stroller." In the slower pace of Spain or Italy, or in international football, he will thrive. But not in the Premier League."
In the first half at Old Trafford Can was Liverpool's best player. That's not saying much, admittedly, but he is far from a lightning rod for the club's ills.
The club's transfer strategy may well be flawed, as Evans points out, but Can has more to offer than most who have pitched up at Anfield in recent years.
Sadly for Liverpool fans, that's not saying much.
Liverpool have closed the gap on United
Despite the result on Saturday evening, there’s not a huge amount of difference between Liverpool and Manchester United.
They’re both pretty crap.
