Rodgers Needs Liverpool Backing

It doesn’t take a genius to work out that Liverpool are going through the ringer at the moment after their 6-1 loss to Stoke City in the final game of the Premier League season.

Manager Brendan Rodgers has come in for some fierce criticism over the course of the season after narrowly failing to lift the title the 2013/14 title. The Anfield faithful had high hopes of repeating their form of that season and going one better and winning a first league title in over 20 years.

With Rodgers admitting that if the owners want him to go, he would walk away, Liverpool need to be strong and back the former Swansea boss into next season. There is no question that the Liverpool boss has made some mistakes and not replacing Luis Suarez is arguably the biggest of them all. The purchase of Lambert and Lallana from Southampton seems to have been a disaster but the introduction of players such as Jordan Ibe would have been less likely to happen had a foreign coach been in charge. Rodgers gives youth a chance!

The worrying aspect for Liverpool is the contract situation with Raheem Sterling, who looks to be splitting the fans opinions. It seems the England winger has grown tired of his contract demands being aired in public and looks set for a move away from the club, but there does seem to be an air of greed around Sterling.

Rodgers has inherited an ageing Steven Gerrard and father-time seems to have caught up with the former England International. There is no doubting his passion for the club and age catches up with everyone eventually but that is not Rodgers or Gerrard’s fault, its a simple fact of life. Gerrard’s influence on the side is still their for all to see but sadly his ability as a footballer has declined.

We can move onto the candidates that are available and a return for Rafa Benitez looks less likely with the former Liverpool manager looking set to take over at Real Madrid. They always say you should never go back to your old club. Next we come to Jurgan Klopp who looks like he could be the candidate to replace Rodgers should the axe fall and probably short-term the Anfield situation would improve, but long-term sticking with Rodgers and having  a consistency may be the better option.

There is no doubt that Rodgers needs to improve both as a manager and in his dealings in the transfer market but there has certainly been mitigating circumstances this season and he should be allowed to start the season and have a full pre-season to get some quality in. Replacing Suarez is the single most important aspect that Rodgers needs to grasp. They will cope OK with the loss of Gerrard, with Jordan Henderson taking on the leader of the club role that he has been groomed for over the last couple of seasons.

Then we come to the Sterling situation and there needs to be some harsh truths served up between both parties and find some common ground. If Sterling it adamant that he wants to leave then sell him to the highest bidder and use the money to re-invest in the squad. If there is even the slightest of chances that the England winger will stay then they need to offer him what he wants and build the team around Sterling, Henderson and other youngsters such as Ibe and Flanagan once free from injury.

There are other matters that need addressing with the back five at times suspect and ageing. Mignolet has his detractors and if a top-class goalkeeper becomes available, it would be wise to chop the Belgium international in. Likewise with Glen Johnson out of contract and moving on, there is only Martin Skrtel that has played the majority of games and the purchase of a couple of defenders must also be a priority.

It remains to be seen if Liverpool will deem the Rodgers experiment a failure and swing the axe, and if Klopp is available and willing to make his bow in English football, there will be many Liverpool fans who will believe they should make the change but Rodgers deserves a chance next season to try and replicate the near-miss of the 2013/14 season.