Brendan Rodgers recently admitted in a TV interview that his side are really feeling the impact of being without Daniel Sturridge. He’s right, they are.
However, he decided to build a team around Sturridge, who has a history of picking up injuries, so it’s hard to feel much sympathy for the boss. It also highlights how Liverpool’s summer business, although pretty good in places, failed to make the striking department as good as it should have, a problem which is exasperated by how poorly the defence has been too.
All that is by the by now though, nobody can change the past and Liverpool are where they are – in a hole. As they look ahead to face Crystal Palace this weekend, the scene of last season’s spectacular meltdown, Rodgers will finally get his wish of having both Mario Balotelli and Sturridge fit to play together for the first time since the 3-0 demolition of Spurs in late August.
While this is obviously welcome news for the manager, it’s also news which heaps more pressure upon his shoulders. If Liverpool continue to struggle despite the manager having his key man back, it will place the glare of Boston onto the boss, who despite losing the league’s best player in the summer, was given a lot of resources to improve his squad.
Luckily for Rodgers and Liverpool, most of the teams in the Premier League have struggled too, and despite being in 11th place, The Reds find themselves only four points behind fourth placed West Ham, so any type of decent run should propel them right back into the race for a Champions League place.
However if Liverpool, with a fit Sturridge, continue to struggle, the manager will find himself out of excuses to justify his side’s poor performances (settling new players in doesn’t seem to be an accepted reason these days).
Fans should take heart in the fact that Liverpool under Rodgers do seem to play much better post-Christmas, but if things haven’t begun to improve by then, the Reds might find themselves cut adrift from the pack, and in that situation you have to wonder how FSG would respond. Fingers crossed it doesn’t come to that.
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