Liverpool “Didn’t start well tonight…”
I’m beginning to get bored of hearing the same line from Brendan Rodgers. Liverpool put in a totally abysmal performance against Basel the other night.
Again. On this showing, you’ve got to wonder where the next good performance is going to come from.
Liverpool have been completely exposed defensively thus far this season. And the same can be said for midfield and attack. No Daniel Sturridge, no Joe Allen and the team falls to pieces. The problem goes much deeper than that. It’s clear that despite last season and the optimism injected by the summer signings, the top four this season, is a shout way too far for this Liverpool side. Conceding soft goals from set pieces and lacking any attacking threat is becoming the norm. The reality is the new signings have just not met expectations so far.
Dejan Lovren has not been what we’d hoped for. He started off well, but now the honeymoon is over, he’s struggling and one would argue he should have been left out of the squad to face Everton instead of Mamadou Sakho. The dilemma for Rodgers is: Do you spend £20m on a defender, only to drop him after five games? The answer is: Probably not. The only problem is that whilst Lovren is busy finding his feet, the opposition are busy finding the back of the net. The upcoming game against West Brom is one in which he has to start showing his metal because time as an excuse is fast wearing thin.
The same goes for Mario Balotelli who’s reputation seems to precede him. Opposition defenders spend most of the game fowling him and attempting to wind him up in the hope that his suspect temperament will let him down. Rodgers said after the Basel game “He worked hard, but he needs to do more…”. Is this the Italian’s fault or is this down to Rodgers? As the saying goes, you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear and I fear Rodgers is being a little harsh on the striker there. Logic says you buy a player for his attributes. These attributes should fit into your football philosophy. Rodgers needed to replace Luis Suarez perhaps not with a 30-goal a season player, but at least someone as mobile. For me, it’s Rodgers who should be called into question.
If his judgement in what he can get out of Balotelli seems wrong at this stage, is it really fair to blame the guy? I don’t think so. The big centre forward is trying, this is without doubt, but he’s no Daniel Sturridge or Suarez. Clearly, If his game doesn’t suit Liverpool’s then Liverpool’s has to change to suit him, and this won’t bring the results the team enjoyed last season because the type of game that suits Balotelli is not that brand of football. Simple. Ultimately Balotelli is playing in a role out of circumstances whereas Lovren isn’t and Rodgers has to bear that in mind. In my opinion, Lovren deserves equal criticism.
Lazar Marković seems to have a stinker each time he plays and appears to be a reincarnation of Bruno Cheyrou! For me, he’s a luxury player. Not one you can rely on when the team has to dig in, and that’s what’s needed now. He seems far too light, and this doesn’t help the team. I’d have preferred to have seen Adam Lallana start instead of Marković against Basel. If he needs more time, then loan him out or put him in the reserves but he’s nowhere near an improvement on the personnel of last season. On his current showing the Lad is about as much use as a paper brolly. Is he really £20m worth of player?
As a fan, one has to question Rodgers’ summer signings. Marković is virtually the same as Philippe Coutinho and, as we’ve seen this season, where Liverpool is the team to beat and the players are heavily marked and pressed, these players don’t really produce much. That said, Coutinho I’m surprised at and perhaps there’s something going on personally we don’t know about. If so, take him out of the firing line. Of the eight new additions to the squad there’s only Javi Manquillo and Alberto Moreno in addition to Lallana who can be called improvements. Emre Can seems to be OK but we’ve not seen enough of him yet. One could argue that half the buys have in no way improved the squad other than in number alone.
Liverpool have a big, big match tomorrow and anything other than three points is a must. Absolutely no question. If the goals go in off Balotelli’s arse, Rickie Lambert’s beard and Sterling’s ‘fro. The team needs the points. Forget the performance, this is time to win ugly. Just get a result. Anything else, and Rodgers is going to start feeling the heat. If you can’t stand the heat…
Follow me on Twitter: @Mrbengreen
Photo: Getty
