Should Liverpool get knocked out of the FA Cup, will Brendan Rodgers’ job be in danger?
Will Brendan Rodgers get sacked if Liverpool lose to Blackburn in the FA Cup this evening? We very much doubt it, despite the claims of radio broadcaster Jason Cundy, writing for the International Business Times.
“Has Rodgers lost the dressing room? Well I’d be surprised if that was the case, but it’ll be a very difficult dressing room to rouse if they lose to Blackburn this week. In fact, I really think Rodgers could be facing the sack if they go out at Ewood Park,” the former Chelsea player said…
Should two consecutive defeats against admittedly top sides lead to a discussion about a manager’s future? Probably not, but in this day and age it’s inevitable, sadly.
Liverpool fans have been debating the issue heavily, no more than across our social channels, so we thought it best to play devil’s advocate, and outline some of the arguments for and against the Ulsterman.
FOR Rodgers:
It’s simply not the Liverpool way.
As mentioned, discussion over Rodgers’ future has bred solely from two defeats against Manchester United and Arsenal – two sides with more highly paid, more experienced and more expensively recruited players. Before those defeats, Liverpool were one of the form sides in Europe, and hadn’t lost a Premier League fixture since mid-December. Is this not all just a knee-jerk reaction – an example of football fans at their most painfully fickle…?
AGAINST Rodgers:
A manager should be judged by his signings, goes the old saying, and whatever way you look at it – Rodgers’ transfer record doesn’t represent value for money.
He hit gold in Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge, and Emre Can and Alberto Moreno look exciting recruits who should continually improve – but there’s been many totally unnecessary buys – for a cumulative fee that could have got one or two players of genuine class. For example – let’s add Iago Aspas (£7m), Tiago Ilori (£7m), Luis Alberto (£6m) and Dejan Lovren (£20m) (naming but a few…) together. That’s £40m undeniably wasted. Can we afford to let Rodgers and his mysterious transfer committee make the same mistakes again?
FOR Rodgers:
Rodgers has proven that he can get Liverpool playing genuinely beautiful, exciting free-flowing football.
Let’s make no bones about it – our brilliant, attractive game last term was not only because we had Luis Suarez playing up top. It was because our manager trusted a number of stars in an attacking formation and encouraged them to go and express themselves. Rodgers is not afraid of tactical diversity, positional versatility and attacking football. Fans may have grown used to us playing short passes automatically now, but they’ll have easily forgotten the often stale, defensive football deployed by Gerard Houllier, Rafa Benitez and… (gulp) Roy Hodgson. Rodgers hasn’t always got it right this term, but his philosophy and innovation is admirable and suits Liverpool perfectly. It deserves more chances.
AGAINST Rodgers:
Can the Northern Irishman really attract top European talent?
Bar perhaps Mario Balotelli, we haven’t made a marquee signing in the three years Rodgers has been in charge. We’ve targeted the likes of Willian, Diego Costa and Alexis Sanchez (via ESPN) – and publicly, and rather embarrassingly, missed out on them to rivals. Is this partly because of Rodgers’ lack of European pedigree? Maybe.
FOR Rodgers:
Rodgers shouldn’t be fired unless there’s a blatantly obvious replacement.
Barring perhaps Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola, who are unattainable, can we guarantee any of the mooted options would even be an improvement? Frank de Boer is untested outside of Holland, Jurgen Klopp saw Borussia Dortmund get themselves involved in a relegation battle at one point this season, Rafa Benitez has already had his chance, and Jamie Carragher or Steven Gerrard would be very big managerial risks.
AGAINST Rodgers:
A lack of any significant improvement.
In the season before Rodgers took over, Liverpool won the League Cup and reached the FA Cup final – but the performances were deemed poor enough for us to part company with Kenny Dalglish. In Rodgers’ first season with us he finished eighth in the league, and looks set to finish anywhere between 5th and 7th two campaigns on. He might top this season with an FA Cup victory – but is that really enough?
FOR Rodgers:
The wealth of young talent currently at Liverpool could thrive under Rodgers.
One of our manager’s biggest strengths is his ability to instil confidence in youngsters, and trust them on the biggest stage. He’s turned Raheem Sterling into a £50m player (via the Telegraph), brought Jordon Ibe and Jon Flanagan through, signed very talented young stars such as Divock Origi, Emre Can, Lazar Markovic, Coutinho and Alberto Moreno. If all these stars maximise their potential and grow together as a team – Rodgers’ failure in the transfer market will be irrelevant, as we’ll already have the players at the club to succeed. In terms of a fantasy ‘Under-23’ side, Liverpool probably have as good an outfit as anyone in Europe. Rodgers has built this, and should be given a chance to watch it grow.
AGAINST Rodgers:
His questionable relationship with the players.
Rodgers had to deny reports of a team riff (via the Guardian), but there’s undoubtedly some fractious relationships between himself and certain squad members. The boss has been hugely critical of Mario Balotelli (via BBC Sport), allowed Steven Gerrard to sign a pre-contract at LA Galaxy, saw Luis Suarez sold to Barcelona (although this was definitely not his decision) and has failed to convince Raheem Sterling and Jordan Henderson to renew their contracts yet. How much this has to do with Rodgers is uncertain – but he’s the boss, and his role in keeping our best players needs to be at least analysed.
