Is the clock ticking on Brendan Rodgers time at Liverpool?

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers is under immense pressure after his team’s poor recent performances

Liverpool suffered a 3-1 defeat North West bitter-rivals Manchester United on Saturday and for a second consecutive game looked poor.

The Reds boss Brendan Rodgers is under immense pressure to deliver success this season, after the team from Merseyside finished sixth in the table last season.

Behind

The Reds finished a massive 25 points behind Premier League champions Chelsea last season, after finishing as runners-up in the previous campaign.

The 2013/14 campaign was characterised by some fantastic attacking football mostly involving forwards Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge.

Of course Rodgers did not have the services of Suarez to call-on last season and his former-strike partner Daniel Sturridge spent more time in the treatment room than the Liverpool physio.

Lacking

I feel that the current Liverpool team lacks that sprinkling of star power. In the recent past the likes of Suarez, Steven Gerrard and even at times Raheem Sterling were inspirational figures in the Liverpool team.

The current team no longer has those sorts of heroes, who can score a vital goal to give the team a lift, or drag them on to victory. Instead Rodgers has arguably got a squad full of youngsters and nearly players.

The Reds fans seem to be pinning their hopes on Brazilian playmaker Philippe Coutinho to be their main man this season. The Brazilian missed the United game through suspension, after being sent-off in the Reds awful 3-0 home defeat by West Ham.

Coutinho does have talent and on his day he has undoubted quality. Unfortunately he has proven in his Liverpool career that he is wildly inconsistent. He is not a Suarez or a Gerrard, who will inspire the team to victory week-in, week-out.

The former-Inter star is a player who needs those sorts of players around him to be able to operate at the top of the game. I fear that he is not the hero that Liverpool fans are desperately seeking.

Boss

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers tactics have been questioned by many this season. The Northern Irishman seemed to have such a set football philosophy at Swansea and in his early days at Anfield.

At Old Trafford there was no sign of that pass and move football. Rodgers in his desperate search for points seems to have abandoned his whole football philosophy and his team played more direct, just because they had a physical presence in Christian Benteke up front.

The majority of Liverpool fans have kept faith with Rodgers because he had such clear ideals and philosophy about the game. Reds fans like their teams to play possession-based, attacking football.

However, without his trademark passing football, Rodgers is just another high-profile boss struggling to gain results at one of England’s most historic clubs. Maybe Rodgers has hidden behind his philosophy for too long, because Liverpool the Reds been poor for the last two games.

For all Rodgers rhetoric and supposed team building Liverpool are looking anything but a top team at the moment and their manager’s future has to be in question at the moment.

Jury

Unlike the hotel chain the Jury’s definitely not Inn, but out on the Liverpool’s summer signings. Rodgers again attempted to strengthen his Reds squad with the addition of a host of youngish players this summer.

Benteke scored a good goal for the Merseysider’s at Old Trafford and given the chances in front of goal will find the net, as he did on a consistent basis for Aston Villa in a team devoid of creativity. His transfer fee of £32.5million may have been questioned, but he is goalscorer and with support will score goals for Liverpool.

Full-back Nathaniel Clyne has not yet reached the same level of consistency in his performance that he found at Southampton. Although in time I am sure he will prove his worth to the Liverpool team.

Youngster Joe Gomez has started every game at left-back for the Reds this season and to be fair he has not let anybody down. However, why he is playing at left-back?

I cannot say I saw a lot of the 18-year-old in the Championship at Charlton, but from what I gather he played most of his football at centre-back or right-back.

Brazilian international attacking midfielder Roberto Firmino has started the last three games and seems to be struggling to adapt to life in the Premier League. He arrived with a big reputation and price tag from the Bundesliga and has not found his feet yet.

Former-Burnley striker Danny Ings played on the wing against United and looked ineffective. He has played there before, but was far more effective for the Clarets when playing as a striker last season in the Premier League.

Probably the most successful signing of the summer for Liverpool was that of England international James Milner on a free transfer. The experienced midfielder may not do anything sparkling, but at least he gives everything for the team.

Backwards

Liverpool went backwards last season from the team that threatened to finally win the Premier League title. Not even the most ardent Brendan Rodgers supporters could claim that the team have moved forward since last season.

In fact it seems the majority of Reds fans seem to think their team has gone backwards. If the team continues to perform so badly over the next couple of games, or so, Brendan Rodgers may just be heading for the Anfield exit, even if it does cost FSG a small fortune in compensation.

Is the clock ticking on Rodgers time at Liverpool?