Liverpool Blog
A new season, a new dawn, a bunch of new players but the same old manager, Brendan Rodgers could be one of the few Liverpool managers who has polarised opinions of the fans. Part genius, part bumbling fool, it is expected for someone to manage one of the biggest clubs in the world to win a trophy for the Reds.
Rodgers survived an end of season review but his assistants got the boot and he is one of the favourites to get the sack come the start of the season. Now it is the belief that unless Liverpool are firmly in the race for a top 4 position in December, Rodgers could get the sack.
Can the Reds march to the top of the league?
Liverpool lost two of their best players at opposing ends of their careers, the legend Steve Gerrard left the club to play in America while rising star Raheem Sterling finally got his ‘dream’ move to Manchester City. It does not mean that Liverpool sat around with the money, they spent nearly every bill in getting the likes of Benteke and Firmino, amongst others.
There could be a few more players leaving the club as Rodgers tries to slim the squad, Rickie Lambert has already joined West Brom while Mario Balotelli, Fabio Borini and Jose Enrique could be the next set of players to leave.
Liverpool are not in the Champions League this season and that would be their first target, getting into the top 4. Manchester City and Manchester United would be the two teams that Liverpool would be looking to knock out. While United have strengthened a lot, City still seem to be missing out on some more players, apart from Sterling joining the club.
Liverpool and Rodgers would need the players to click right from the start of the season. They have an incredibly tough run of games in the first couple of months, which could decide their fate in the league. They also have a chance of European glory with everyone’s most hated tournament, the Europa League but, just like last season, the winner of the tournament would get a direct entry in the Champions League, that is just 13 or so games to get into the Champions League rather than a gruelling 38 game season.
Liverpool though have the squad strength to deal with campaigns in both Europe and England, the more pressing concern for the manager would be the style of play and their defensive issues. Liverpool were horrible in the first half of last season and need to ensure they do not showcase the defensive frailties from last season. Also, they need to be scoring and playing free-flowing football, similar to the final season with Suarez where they almost won the league.
It could be a season of almost for Liverpool while it would be hard for them to break into the top 4, just missing out by coming 5th, they could do something in either of the cup competitions, Rodgers isn’t a cup manager but this could be the only way for him to keep his job.
Comments are closed.