Rodgers Tactics

After another disappointing result against Newcastle questions are being raised on whether Rodgers tactics are good enough to secure another top four finish. He traveled around Spain during his early career to learn different managerial techniques and has worked under Jose Mourinho as the head youth coach. So, for such an educated manager it makes you wonder how he hasn't been able to get it right this season. Last season he had Liverpool dictating the tempo of the game from the first whistle, closing down the opposition for the full 90 minutes and playing fluent attacking football each game.

New players & Transfer Strategy

However this season he is struggling to get it right, opposition have realised if you keep Liverpool quiet for the first 20 minutes then the game is yours and so far that is the case. Rodgers was recently quoted saying that he is staying up for hours on end each night looking for the answer to turn around Liverpool's fortunes, it makes you think what actually is he doing for that time if he is still struggling to find the the form. He has invested in eight players in the summer but that is hardly an excuse, Southampton sit second place in the league after undergoing a managerial change and an influx of nine players; Newcastle have hit a purple patch after signing 7 players (9 if you include Lascelles and Darlow loaned back to Nottingham Forest).

He has invested poorly in this transfer window and it is now starting to show, he has not signed a proven top class player since his appointment, you would think after playing attractive football and securing a second place finish that would put you in a great position to go and sign some top class talent to improve the starting XI. FSG are trying to implement the 'moneyball' technique that made the Boston Redsox a great baseball team which is when you only purchase players of a certain age and develop them. What needs to be realised ASAP is that this will not work in football you need a strong group which consists of young and experienced players of all ages and you would think Rodgers would know this.

You can only do this type of thing in FIFA but this is real life and the strategy needs to change or we are always going to use the excuse that we have players who 'have potential' but never players who have reached their potential. If you look at the starting XI, Skrtel and Gerrard are the only players that don't need developing and that just shows how dire the situation is and how much things need to change.

Stubbornness

One thing that I have noticed is Rodgers' inability to adapt his philosophies, it's either his way or no way and that is no way to be. He is a young promising manager which on it's own emphasises that he has a lot to learn. Even Sir Alex Ferguson had a stuttering start to his glistening Manchester United career and it took him a few years before he finally got it right and the rest his history. I am going to be harsh on Rodgers now but before he was appointed Liverpool manager he managed Watford, Reading and Swansea City. He obviously done a great job at Swansea making them play great football for a newly promoted side an earn a mid table finish which consequently got him the Liverpool job. However he has never won any credible trophies such as:

• Premier League title
• FA Cup
• League Cup
• Champions League
• Europa League

These are the trophies that you should be aiming to win at some point in your career as Liverpool manager or any top club in Europe. Rodgers has only won the Championship Play-Offs with Swansea City and has not won any trophy that is credible. Yes, winning the LMA manager of the year last season is impressive but he has no reason to be stubborn. If you look at Mourinho with Chelsea he has his team obliterating teams this season and playing great football, he adapts his tactics for the big games and that is what makes him one of the best managers in the business. Rodgers keeps the same tactics each game and what made Liverpool so good last season is that it caught everyone by surprise and we had the SAS up front getting the goals, but this season the opposition can easily predict how Liverpool will approach the game thus resulting in the bad results we have seen so far this season.

Defending

The defense this season looks even more shambolic than it did last season, and once again I think poor recruitment in both playing staff and backroom staff is the source of this. He has brought in Lovren, Moreno and Manquillo. Lovren has purchased to be the defensive leader that has been missing since Carragher retired but what I don't understand is how you can expect a Southampton player lead to lead our defense. No disrespect to Southampton but they don't get Champions League football, Johnson, Skrtel and Sakho are players who have experience in the competition and so does Lovren with Lyon but it has been a while for all players since the played in the competition. You need someone who has played in the competition consistently because then they will have no doubt over their own ability to lead the defense and I think that has what made Lovren disappointing so far, his lack of confidence.

Moreno is a young full-back but as many Liverpool players 'has potential' he is a really good player and I do like him but what needs to be remembered is he is still learning and his mistakes at Man City and Newcastle show this. He does have good European experience after helping Sevilla win the Europa League last season but he is another player who Liverpool fans must be patient with. Manquillo is the same, young full-back with potential but needs time to develop.

The thing that annoys me the most about the way that Rodgers plays is the way he tries to play from the back. He wants the defense to be able to distribute the ball up the pitch and pass it among themselves and he wants the goalkeeper to be good with his feet and be able to receive the ball and send it up the other end of the field. This is not the way to play the goalkeeper has only one job and that is keep the ball from crossing the line and the defense need to aid the keeper' and help him, Rodgers is trying to make them play football and in a perfect world the defense would be able to but you can't do that. Liverpool try and pass the ball around the attackers rather than send it down the pitch towards the strikers and that is what you need to do, leave the creativity to the attacking players.

The way the ball is passed round the back four and towards the goalkeeper and back is a motif in Liverpool's play. However this is one of the reasons that we can't create anything when we are attacking, when you pass along the defense it allows the opposition to get into shape and to mark all the midfielders and the attackers and this is how you lose the ball. I don't understand how Rodgers does not see this and this needs to change if we are going to make this season a success while it is still possible.