Writing this with 48 hours to go before the Merseyside Derby, I have just seen another substandard performance against a team languishing in the middle of the Swiss Super League table.
The team that Rodgers chose was not a starting XI but not far from it; it witnessed seven changes from the team that beat Aston Villa at the weekend. Whilst that game was perhaps our most convincing to date this season, it was far from convincing in itself as Rudy Gestede ran riot through our defence time and again and only a strong performance from Sturridge prevented our lack of goal scoring from really showing us up at Anfield once again. The truth of the matter is that Liverpool have only scored more than one goal once this season, and that paired with a shaky and unsettled back line is holding us back.
Brendan Rodgers has witnessed the negativity around Anfield after almost every game since the international break, yet it would appear he has done little about it to settle the nerves of the faithful.
Cue the arrival of an in-form Everton side with only one loss this season against Manchester City, including an impressive victory over Chelsea in which they never looked truly threatened by a Mourinho side looking to defend their Premier League title.
The weight and importance placed on this game sits above most, if not all, other games in the calendar for Liverpool – the first one looked for on the fixture release day and the most eagerly anticipated. But as the fans gather at Goodison it is the blue half of the city with the most optimistic outlook.
Relying on the local boys like Barkley and Baines to reiterate how much this means to everyone associated with the club. In stark contrast, the Liverpool line up will most likely not feature anyone from the City doing the same job for the reds, with the exception of perhaps Rossiter and Brannagan who will be on the bench, hardly a position from which either of the young prospects can lead. The relevance of this occasion will be mentioned, but without a local lad in that changing room and on the pitch, Liverpool will lack the leadership that they so desperately need.
“Form goes out the window” is often the cry of the team whose previous matches don’t reflect too well on them and I am sure a pundit or two will utter the phrase in the pre-match build up. But the issue at hand is that whilst the form looks at our previous few matches, there is something throughout the core of the club at the moment that is causing this issue.
Whilst I don’t accept that the reason for this all lies at Brendan Rodgers’ door, he must take the lion’s share as he is the man charged with the task of getting results on the pitch. Fenway Sports Group have stated their support for Brendan Rodgers, yet they have removed the likes of Mike Marsh and Colin Pascoe – people who, in the case of Pascoe, Rodgers bought to the club with him.
This duplicitous move by the owners must draw into question their belief in Rodgers and surely speaks louder than the action of publicly supporting him. Gary McAllister and Sean O’Driscoll are capable individuals but they are not the people that Rodgers wanted for the job; they are people that, it would appear, have been forced upon him. This considered along with the transfer committee must show that FSG have never been truly happy to let Brendan Rodgers have complete control of the club.
A manager must be allowed to manage. I would argue that FSG and Ian Ayre have not allowed Rodgers to do it as he sees fit, particularly since the start of the season. Going into this game Rodgers must stamp his mark back on this club and lead it. Lead the team, the players and the fans in what is arguably one of the biggest games of his Liverpool career.
A defeat against Everton, or anything less than a win will see us most likely in the bottom half of the table and without even any signs of turning it around. There is a lack of leadership and desire in the club, there are one or two who are fighting for it but without a local spine in the team, this may very well be a difficult day for the Reds, and for Rodgers. If this performance goes the way that many others have this season, he may well be lucky to make the trip to White Hart Lane two weeks from now.
