Rodgers struggling to rediscover touch with new-look Liverpool
LIVERPOOL, England --
It is one thing for Brendan Rodgers to promote his philosophy when he has one player scoring more than 30 goals in a season and his club has not got Europe to worry about. It is another entirely to try and maintain the same defiance with no Luis Suarez around and UEFA Champions League games to be planned for.
Liverpool finished second in the Premier League last season but the team that lost 1-0 at home to Aston Villa on Saturday bore little semblance to the one which thrilled consistently and scored at will last term. It managed one shot on Brad Guzan's goal throughout the evening fixture despite enjoying three-quarters of the ball possession.
The challenges of replacing Suarez's goals and all-round contribution -- as well as keeping his players in optimum condition -- is going to define the Rodgers tenure. The title challenge faded away badly when the heat was truly on and that did little to dispel the perception that this Liverpool team works best without pressure. Now that it is a runner-up again though, Liverpool is going to face scrutiny at every turn.
Anfield, collectively, was aghast that Aston Villa could not be broken down on Saturday night. Frustration grew as the clocked ticked by. The fans around these parts were bred on success in bygone eras and it does not take much to excite them. They believe that on the basis of last year's form every game domestically should be seen as winnable.
Rodgers' task of turning Liverpool around and making it a team worth believing in again is more or less complete but now comes the hard part -- delivering on expectation rather than hope and doing so without his best player.
What the Irishman cannot legislate for at the moment, however, is the absence of Daniel Sturridge. The England international scored 21 himself last season and started this season in positive form as Liverpool's centerpiece. However, he was injured on international duty this week with Rodgers left with little option than to field Mario Balotelli up front against Villa. It was the first time in close to two years that Liverpool took to the field without either Suarez or Sturridge.
The other attacking supremo who contributed so much to Liverpool's first season back in the big time was Raheem Sterling. The perils of balancing European and domestic football have already become apparent. With an England match behind him and Ludogorets ahead on Wednesday, Rodgers took the opportunity against Villa to rest the 19-year-old. It backfired.
What Rodgers identified as deficiencies in his team's performance on Saturday were directly attributable to the absences of Suarez, Sturridge and Sterling. One shot on target, no cutting edge, no final ball or verve in the final third. Rodgers' style of play may well be based on ball retention but there is no doubt he was dependent on that front three to provide the class and individual brilliance. Without them, Liverpool is ordinary.
"We were slow in our pressing and passing early on and gave away a bad goal, but then we upped it," he said. "It was a frustrating day but I think it was a combination of Aston Villa defending well and us failing to find that wee bit of quality. We had enough of the ball but could not find the penetration in the final third."
Rodgers would appear to have better squad at his disposal this season -- more options and having solved problem positions -- but he has yet to find the right formula. For every good performance at home -- Southampton -- there has been one of these. For every excellent display away -- at Tottenham -- there has been a disaster like Manchester City. Liverpool is a team which is hard to read at the moment and its early lack of consistency will only tempt Rodgers to tinker more to balance his side.
It started with six new players from the outset, including four making their Anfield debuts in Alberto Moreno, Adam Lallana, Lazar Markovic and Balotelli. Only Lallana and Markovic have shown the ability to force their way into the team and stay there. Moreno, in a defense short of game-time together, appears uncertain in his defensive work and only looks truly himself when asked to go the other way.
Balotelli has had worse games than this but not many. Villa set about him like a motorcycle gang. They tripped him, left their feet in, tackled heavily. Balotelli may be big but he is not brave and he cowered from Senderos and Alan Hutton.
The recent career trajectory should tell enough of the Mario Balotelli story for Liverpool fans to be wary. He was identified as a disruptive influence with the Italy team at the World Cup and has since been dropped. He was sold at a loss by AC Milan in an attempt to build a more positive attack and joined Liverpool on a pay cut and good behavior clauses written into his contract. These early months of the season are crucial for Rodgers and Liverpool and waiting for Balotelli to settle in will not be figuring high on the manager's agenda.
Four games into the season and with only six points, it is hard not to make the comparison with Tottenham last season. Like Liverpool, Spurs sold their best player overseas and re-invested the funds on a wide array of talented players. Attempting to blood new members of the team and trying to find Gareth Bale's goals elsewhere in the squad proved beyond Andre-Villas Boas who lost his job after a hammering by Liverpool.
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