The Kopite View

Rodgers Needs Positives Tonight 

Brenan Rodgers is a man under pressure with most Liverpool supporters calling for his head and the number of managers like Jurgen Klopp and Carlo Ancelotti that have been linked to the club is not helping his situation.

However, Liverpool are in the middle of a hectic schedule with three home games in the next eight days starting with a Capital One third round tie against Carlisle this evening.

Tonight’s fixture is one of those games where Rodgers can’t really win because his team is expected to win comfortably against the Sky Bet League Two side and anything less will heap more unwanted pressure on his uncomfortable situation.

Rodgers will no doubt make a host of changes for tonight’s game with an important league game against Aston Villa on Saturday his priority, but despite his anticipated changes he will expect his team to overcome Carlisle.

I would like Rodgers to give Firmino a full 90 minutes tonight because we’ve hardly seen him since his big money move and the player needs the chance to get his match sharpness and settle into his new team and tonight’s fixture is ideal for the Brazillian.

It would also be good to see Gomez in the middle of defence to see him play his preferred position, probably alongside Lovren who has been displaced by Sakho at the moment.

Adam Lallana needs more games too and will hopefully start tonight and Emre Can needs more opportunities in the middle of midfield.

Up front, I hope Rodgers selects Origi and Ings. The Belgian has looked very raw and not convincing so far in his first few opportunities but tonight is a game that could help his confidence, especially if he is allowed to play alongside a strike-partner and Ings deserves another opportunity to start after his tremendous performance on Sunday.

Hopefully tonight’s game won’t be about criticising Rodgers again but about positives that is very much needed at the moment.

Make Or Break Time For Rodgers

Brendan Rodgers faces the biggest 11 days of his Anfield career with his team playing four home games in that period. The Reds’ boss has come in for severe criticism this season despite a decent start to the season where Liverpool picked up 7 points from a possible 9 in their first three games of the season, but a very poor and disappointing performance against West Ham resulted in a 3-0 defeat, followed by a 3-1 defeat to bitter rivals Manchester United last weekend in what was another poor performance that brought much criticism by supporters of Rodgers’ team selection and tactics. A draw away to Bordeaux last Thursday night in the Europa League did little to raise spirits and with the pressure building on Rodgers he must have a positive run of results in the next four games.

Liverpool start with a home game against Norwich City today, followed by a Capital One Cup clash against Carlisle United before facing Aston Villa next Saturday and then another Europa League tie against FC Sion.

On paper the run of fixtures look kind to Liverpool but with the way they are playing at the moment there is no guarantee that they will win those games. The defence is leaking goals and many supporters are calling for the inclusion of Sakho to shore up the defence after his impressive performance against Bordeaux the other night.

Rodgers has a problem in midfield with a lack of creativity and the injury news to Jordan Henderson is a massive blow as the Liverpool captain is facing a further two months out of action after breaking a bone in his foot in training.

The lack of pace and width in the team is another problem and Rodgers tactics of playing a lone striker is resulting in the forward being left isolated too often in games.

The return to fitness of Daniel Sturridge could see Rodgers switching to two up front and the England striker could be a timely boost for Rodgers and he will be hoping the striekr’s return will end his team’s struggles in front of goal.

But Rodgers future won’t be decided by playing attractive football, he must get his team winning, even if it is ugly because football is a results based business and Liverpool need to win games if Rodgers is to keep his job.

Positives And Negatives From Bordeaux Draw

Liverpool earned a decent if not convincing result in France last night with a 1-1 draw in their Europa League opener against Bordeaux. Adam Lallana’s quality finish in the second half gave Liverpool the lead before a late equaliser by substitute Jussie earned Bordeaux a share of the points. Here are the positive and negative points I’ve taken from the match.

POSITIVES

1. The biggest positive of the night had to be the youngsters that featured for Liverpool. Jordan Rossiter started the game and he didn’t look out of place, the 18-year-old produced a mature performance, linking the defence with the attack with his passes and he was keen to make himself available for a pass and keen to get on the ball. Rossiter also provided good cover for the defence by making countless tackles and a few fouls during the game as he showed a determination that has been lacking in Liverpool’s midfield this season. Pedro Chirivella joined Rossiter in the middle of Liverpool’s midfield after Kolo Toure had to be replaced after picking up an injury during the first half, and after a shaky beginning to his night, the 18-year-old settled down and produced a confident performance by showing us how good his passing ability is. Cameron Brannagan came on late in the game to make his debut and the experience for all three youngsters is invaluable.
2. Joe Gomez produced another fine performance in Liverpool’s defence, he has all the attributes to make him a top class defender and produced another accomplished performance on his European debut.
3. Mamadou Sakho received his first start of the season and also captained the team and although Liverpool supporters believe he is the best central defender at the club, his performance should prompt manager Brendan Rodgers into realising this. Sakho produced a solid and assured display of what Liverpool need at the back as the French international made countless challenges and snuffed out most of the danger that Bordeaux provided. Sakho’s use of the ball was more impressive than what we see from Skrtel and Lovren with the French international always looking to play a forward pass to start an attack. He must start on Sunday or Rodgers will be asked questions.
4.                                                Negatives

1. Once again Rodgers played a lone striker, this time Origi, who looks raw and quite a distance from being a first team player, but it doesn’t matter who Liverpool play up front at the moment under Rodgers formation because they are left isolated with very little support.
2. Adam Lallana returned from injury last night and produced a moment of magic to score Liverpool’s goal, but these moments are all too rare and overall he was very disappointing and needs to improve with Firmino challenging for his place in the team.
3. Jordon Ibe had another quiet game and has disappointed after an impressive pre-season. But being dropped after two ineffective Premier League games hasn’t helped his confidence and it is showing with his reluctance to take on a defender, playing as a wing-back doesn’t suit his game, he needs to be attacking defenders with his pace.
4. Rodgers needs a win and although it was great to rest some first team regulars and give much needed experience to some youngsters, Liverpool should be beating a poor Bordeaux team and if he selected a stronger side and played with more attacking intent a win was there for the taking. A win at home to Norwich on Sunday is a must for Rodgers.

Sakho Start Is Just A Token Gesture By Rodgers

Mamadou Sakho has been left out of Liverpool’s defence this season with Brendan Rodgers taking preference to the Martin Skrtel, Dejan Lovren partnership despite calls by supporters to play the French defender.

Sakho will finally get his chance tonight against Bordeaux in the Europa League because Lovren and Skrtel haven’t travelled with the squad. Rodgers has decided to leave some of his regulars at home including striker Christian Benteke.

Many people see the Bordeaux match as a chance for Sakho to stake a claim in Rodgers’ defence but it just looks like a token gesture by the Reds boss and proof that he isn’t first choice anymore in Liverpool’s defence.

I don’t think it matters how Sakho plays tonight because Rodgers looks as if he wants to persist with the unconvincing Lovren and Skrtel partnership.

It’s hard to see how Rodgers rates Lovren as a better defender than Sakho. Despite Sakho’s un-gamely style, he makes far better use of the ball and is much better at tackling and although Lovren is possibly stronger in the air, Sakho is still very strong.

Sakho has much more pace too, that helps him out when dragged wide in one-on-one situations, whereas Lovren looks there for the taking every time when isolated.

We can only hope that Sakho has a very good performance tonight in France and Liverpool get a much needed win and hopefully Rodgers finally sees sense that Sakho should be first choice in Liverpool’s defence.

Supporters Are Losing Faith In Rodgers

After Liverpool’s last two disappointing defeats and underwhelming start to the season, the pressure on Brendan Rodgers is mounting.

Many supporters thought it was time for the manager to go in the summer after a poor end to last season and the embarrassment at Stoke on the last day of the season looked to be the final straw for Rodgers.

But the owners have granted Rodgers more time to turn things around despite failure to finish in the top four or win a trophy last season. It’s a change of attitude from the owners after sacking Liverpool Legend Kenny Dalglish so quickly, considering he took the club to two cup finals, winning one of them.

Maybe the £9million pay-off is putting the Americans off sacking Rodgers, whatever the reason, the Reds boss looks like he has lost his way at Anfield and it is hard to see him turning things around.

I really hope Rodgers does turn things around but how long can he go on with the games coming thick and fast.

The team lacks direction and the players have lost confidence and Rodgers looks like he can’t motivate them anymore.

The Premier League is unforgiving with no easy games and the West Ham game was a great example of this.

After the exciting football and title run-in from a couple of seasons ago it would be sad to see Rodgers go and maybe this is why the Americans are giving him a chance to turn things around, but I just sense his lack of experience and never managing a big club before is showing and the owners need to decide how long to let him go on struggling.

The supporters are turning against Rodgers and I don’t see many backing him after the last two ‘gutless’ defeats.

When The Heart Goes, The Manager Must Go

There is a crisis at Anfield right now, and even a win at Old Trafford yesterday would not have convinced me that things will improve with Brendan Rodgers in charge because Manchester United are not a great team and were there for the taking yesterday.

But the difference between United and Liverpool was they played with heart, they were sharper to every ball and Liverpool were well off the pace. The attitude stemmed from Rodgers setting a team out to play for a 0-0 draw as the team showed no intent to get forward for the whole of the first half and only managed to get forward when United sat back after taking the lead.

Liverpool had a few chances to score in the period after United took the lead because their defence is fragile and it was ridiculous for Rodgers to set the team up so defensively and not put their defence under pressure until going behind.

It is stark contrast from last season’s 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford when Rodgers changed his tactics and had a real go at United and although Liverpool lost there were many positives that came out of the defeat with the United goalkeeper being named man of the match for his performance that day.

But yesterday’s defeat and performance by Liverpool was shocking with the players showing no heart and the manager showed he is scared of losing his job with his defensive tactics.

The defeat against West Ham was probably a worse performance than yesterday but the reaction and lack of a response from the team in such a big game is inexcusable and if a team has lost heart then it’s time for the manager to go, and Rodgers must go before the season is over for Liverpool.

Rodgers Must Avoid Defeat At Old Trafford

Liverpool playing against Manchester United is one of the biggest fixtures on the Premier League calendar, but this fixture takes on a greater significance with both respective managers coming under scrutiny by their supporters after an underwhelming start to the season that has both worried about their chances for the rest of the season.

But a win on Saturday will provide the perfect tonic for the victors, but a defeat will only intensify the pressure on the losing manager.

From a Liverpool perspective, Brendan Rodgers has to prove that the disastrous defeat to West Ham a fortnight ago was only a one-off and he has the chance to redeem himself against the Reds’ greatest rivals.

Coutinho’s absence is a blow for Liverpool and it will be interesting to see if Rodgers’ sticks with Lovren after his nightmare against West Ham. I expect him to select him but the expensive defender must be running out of chances after so many poor performances since arriving at Anfield.

Sturridge has resumed full training again but the United game will come too soon for the England striker and Rodgers will probably play with just Benteke up front on his own.

Playing away from home might suit Liverpool, where you expect United as the home side to take the game to us, where we can play counter-attacking football that worked so well in the 0-0 draw at Arsenal.

It is still very early in the season but the result at Old Trafford could have a massive influence on the rest of our season and Rodgers’ future.

Don’t Put All The Blame On The Supporters

Liverpool’s famous Anfield atmosphere is being criticised in recent years for not producing the noise and vocal support that frightened the opposition. But times have changed in football over the years, like the famous wall of faces that frightened the visiting goalkeeper as he stood in front of the Kop trying to defend the goal against the many thousands that on many occasion sucked the ball into the net.

The die-hard working class Scouser can’t afford to go anymore and the global fan-base, has now made Anfield a tourist attraction with supporters taking photos of the famous arena and sitting in their seat waiting to be entertained.

I was one of those ‘tourists’ last weekend, that doesn’t get to many games, like many, due to a number of reasons, like finding it almost impossible to get match day tickets, never mind the affordability in paying for them.

Last Saturday was a great example of why the atmosphere is suffering at Anfield and it is not all down to the changes affecting the Liverpool support.

Last Saturday the supporters had very little to cheer about and although the team needs the supporters to back them and lift them when they are struggling, they need some encouragement from what they are seeing from the players, and in the last year or so, there has not been much for Liverpool supporters to cheer about Anfield.

Last Saturday there was nothing from the Liverpool team that inspired the supporters to get behind their team as the players showed no desire, understanding and a lethargic attitude that plagued the end of last season’s performances.

When Liverpool were in the title race a couple of season’s ago, the supporters were magnificent and proved that they can still provide the famous Anfield atmosphere, but they need the team to help, and they have been very poor at home in the last year, so people shouldn’t be laying all the blame on the supporters because they are not getting much to cheer about at Anfield these days.

Rodgers Doesn’t Rate Ilori As Much As Lovren

Liverpool let Tiago Ilori go to Aston Villa in a loan deal for this season. If he does well, Villa have the option to buy the 22-year-old. The deal has angered many Liverpool supporters, and the deal is hard to make sense of because if Ilori struggles then we’re stuck with an unwanted player next summer and if he does well, we will lose him to Villa.

Liverpool paid £7million for Ilori in the hope that he would be a player for the future but after being loaned to Bordeaux last season, expectations were high that he might push on for a first team berth in Liverpool’s defence.

But it looks like Brendan Rodgers has given up on Ilori and is hoping to eventually move him on to another Premier League club without giving him a chance at Anfield.

Supporters don’t see what goes on behind closed doors or on the training field but with Liverpool’s lack of quality central defenders it seems crazy to let Ilori go without giving him a chance, especially with the extra games in the Europa League Liverpool have to play this season.

Maybe Liverpool supporters don’t see what happens in training but they certainly see what happens where it matters, in games and many are wondering how Dejan Lovren has had so many chances in Liverpool’s defence when he has been hopeless more often than not, and Ilori has had no chance to prove his himself.

A couple of days after Lovren’s latest disaster against West Ham, Rodgers allows Ilori to leave without giving him a chance and supporters are angry at this decision by a manager that is supposedly renowned for giving youth a chance.

Liverpool only have Skrtel, Lovren, Sakho, Toure and Gomez as options to play in central defence and none are convincing as good enough defenders for the club, so it seems very strange why Ilori has departed.

We are left to trust Rodgers judgement on Ilori and believe that he is not as good as Lovren, but do we really believe him?

Liverpool’s Big Problem

Watching Liverpool play West Ham on Saturday raised a big concern more than the disastrous drubbing from a team that had never won at Anfield in the league for over 50 years.

Liverpool had no width other than their two full-backs, Clyne and Gomez who did their best to hug the touch line to give the central midfielders options wide. But far too often they were overlooked as the Reds tried to play their way through a packed West Ham midfield and defence that played a high defensive line resulting in no space for Liverpool’s midfield to play through because they knew that Liverpool didn’t have the pace in their lone-striker Benteke to get behind them.

Even when Gomez and Clyne received the ball out wide it was often passed too slowly for them to run on to and they would have to pass the ball back inside. Clyne got down the flank a few times but his final ball was disappointing and Gomez didn’t look comfortable going forward down the flank, after all he is used to playing in the centre of defence.

The biggest worry is that Liverpool don’t have many options in regards to playing wide players that can hurt the opposition, Liverpool need to stretch the opposition with good wide men when teams come to Anfield to defend.

Rodgers brought on Moreno and Ibe in the second half on Saturday but although Moreno is pacey and industrious he lacks quality and an end product and Ibe is still young and adjusting to the pace of the Premier League and has struggled since the start of the season.

The decision to allow Markovic to go out on loan seems ludicrous after spending so much money on him last season and he would have been another option to play out wide with his pace.

Rodgers has used Coutinho, Lallana, Henderson, Milner and more recently Firmino out wide but none have the pace to hurt teams and all of them would prefer to play centrally so Liverpool could have big problems breaking defensive teams down this season, especially at Anfield.