Liverpool’s season took another turn for the worse with Tuesday’s Champions League exit at the hands of Basel. Ben Twelves picks five things Brendan Rodgers must do to rectify the issues before he suffers the brutal consequences.
The return to the Champions League stage that was battled so hard for came to a disappointing end as The Reds failed to deliver the goods in Tuesday’s win-or-bust tie against Basel.
It was a performance in keeping with all of the recent frustrations and once again little changed as Brendan Rodgers watched his side go through the motions in a first half of nothingness, before a second period surge proved too little too late.
Here is Liverpool's first half goals, season comparison #SSNHQ pic.twitter.com/S73JyV5vDb
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) December 10, 2014
Rodgers can no longer ignore the issues in front of him and failure to make the necessary changes is at the stage now where paying for it with his job seems a genuine possibility.
A big task awaits the Northern Irishman to turn the team around, and here are five things he can begin with to transform his side’s fortunes.
Resurrect Relationships
A growing concern over the Liverpool manager is his treatment of unfavoured players – especially where Mamadou Sakho and Fabio Borini are involved.
The French centre back has been overlooked constantly this season outside of his time injured as Rodgers has stuck with underperforming and inferior players, and Sakho has fallen victim to Rodgers freezing the dominant defender out.
Being cast aside hasn’t come as a consequence of performance for Anfield’s best centre back, as Martin Skrtel and Dejan Lovren both continue to be picked, so The Reds boss seems to have lost trust in the former PSG man somewhere.
The same applies to Borini, who continues to be completely frozen out and disregarded by Rodgers despite Liverpool’s desperate need for a mobile front man, and the Italian and Sakho’s lack of game time has undoubtedly contributed to the team’s slump.
https://twitter.com/borinifabio29/status/541377966253805568
Both have immediate roles to play at a time the team need them, and Rodgers must accept he needs to bring them back into his plans.
A physically dominant defender and a mobile centre forward are sat watching from the sidelines and it’s a waste. We need them, now.
Abandon 4-2-3-1
As I’ve previously written here on This Is Anfield, Rodgers’ preferred formation this season has to be scrapped.
The rigid and dysfunctional set-up does not suit any of the players in the Liverpool squad and completely restricts everything good about what the squad possesses – movement, fluidity and the ability to press.
A flat midfield pairing – constantly featuring an overused and tired Lucas Leiva in recent times – is easily bypassed when on the back-foot, and a slow, predictable and unthreatening attack – that sees Rickie Lambert become increasingly isolated from the attacking midfield three – materialises as a result of the unsuited shape.
https://twitter.com/MrBoywunder/status/528562775191457792
The formation causes far more problems than it does positives for Liverpool, and Rodgers must return to the diamond shape midfield or 4-3-3 formation to allow his side to function more smoothly.
Utilise Squad Depth
The penny finally dropped for Rodgers recently that Steven Gerrard can no longer play 90 minutes game in, game out but the Liverpool manager bafflingly thinks the same doesn’t apply to the equally legless pair of Lucas and 32-year-old Lambert.
It’s bizarre that the experienced pair, who have featured heavily from previously not being given a chance, continue to command starting roles in the team when in need of rest, despite a whole host of options available and ready for the opportunity to play.
Emre Can played very well against Chelsea. He has played only 15 minutes in the last 6 games.
— LFCTS (@LFCTS) December 9, 2014
Emre Can, Fabio Borini, Mamadou Sakho, and Lazar Markovic – who impressed in his 15 minute cameo before his harsh sending off on Tuesday night – have all been made to sit on the bench with fresh legs in recent times while chosen players naturally struggle with the demanding fixture schedule.
Tonight was another really poor performance. We need to see a lot more of Manquillo, Sakho, Moreno, Emre Can, Lallana, Markovic and Borini.
— Joe Musker (@JoeMusker_) December 9, 2014
Rodgers’ inflexibility and persistence over his preferred shape could have played some part in restricting their game time, but that must change if the Liverpool manager wants to keep his side as fresh as possible, thus giving his team the best chance of coming through the tough number of games with something to show.
Bring Back Meritocracy
Having long championed the idea, Rodgers has stopped practising what he preaches this season as he’s continued selecting certain players despite consistently below-par performances.
With some feeling the change has come as a result of attempting to stick by those he signed and favours, the contrasting approach can only be damaging to squad morale – sending out completely the wrong message to those viewed as ‘second choice’ options.
The Liverpool manager seemed to have learnt from reinstating dropped ‘first choice’ players against Real Madrid for the visit of Chelsea as Kolo Toure and Lucas have featured consistently in recent weeks, but Rodgers took a backward step on Tuesday night selecting Lovren and the abysmal Jose Enrique over Sakho and the more impressive Alberto Moreno.
I mean, anyone who opts to start Enrique over Moreno for a game of that magnitude needs to be seriously questioned.
— Matt Ladson (@mattladson) December 10, 2014
Operating without the performance-rewarding system is an unprofessional feat, and it must end immediately as it continues to impact severely on the team’s current performance.
Play to Players’ Strengths
It seems such a basic requirement, but it’s one Rodgers isn’t carrying out at this moment in time –deploying Raheem Sterling and Jordan Henderson in a less effective wide-roles for example.
4-2-3-1 for Liverpool. Allen and Lucas sitting. Sterling left, Henderson right and Coutinho behind Lambert.
— James Pearce (@JamesPearceLFC) November 29, 2014
Sterling’s devastating ability to drive forward through the middle of the pitch – petrifying opposition defences – has been rarely seen this season undoubtedly a contributing factor to the blunt attack, and Henderson’s thankless task has restricted his pressing in central areas and ability to support the forward line with his well-timed runs from deep.
Similarly, Lucas – not known for his ability to cover ground and shut down quickly – continues to be played in an exposed two man centre rather than anchoring in front of the back four, and up front Lambert cuts an isolated figure in desperate need of the support he’s proven to thrive on.
Too easy to kick a man when he's down. Rodgers made some great calls last year – Sterling at the tip of the diamond,Flanagan, Gerrard deep..
— Green Scouser (@Green_Scouser) December 10, 2014
Rodgers strangely has seemed to lose sight of what worked so well and enabled his team to launch an ambitious but most genuine title challenge last season, and he must return to the tried and trusted before he pays the price with his Liverpool career.
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