Questions must now be asked of Liverpool boss Rodgers

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers faces a test of his managerial ability with the Reds struggling to find form

Liverpool exited the Champions League at the group stage last night, after only managing a 1-1 draw with Basel at Anfield.

The Reds had to play the last half hour with ten men after substitute Lazar Markovic was shown a red card.

Steven Gerrard scored a sublime free-kick with ten minutes remaining to level the scores, but the Reds could not find the vital second goal and the Swiss side went through to the knockout stages of the competition, while Liverpool dropped down into the Europa League.

Red Card

Markovic’s red card looked slightly harsh, as the Serbian attempted to push off the attention of Basel defender Behrang Safari by pushing an arm in the direction of the full-back.

The 29-year-old went down like a tonne of bricks and Merseyside police will be conducting an investigation into how a sniper got into Anfield.

In truth though, whether Markovic made contact or not is not the issue. The referee sent the youngster off for his intent, which by the letter of law is probably correct.

Poor

To use the sending-off as an excuse for the draw would be clutching at straws. The way that the Reds were playing there was no guarantee that even with eleven men they would have found the goal needed to take them through.

This game was indicative of Liverpool’s season so far. The whole team seemed to lack, energy, incisiveness and ideas. There just seemed to be a total lack of creativity and confidence in the team.

Decisions

I have to say I was baffled by some of Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers decisions, prior and during the game. The decision to start the game with two defensive midfielders in Lucas Leiva and Joe Allen was a strange one.

Liverpool had to go out to win the game, yet those two players who produce little in the way of creativity were named in the starting line-up, while playmaker Adam Lallana was left on the bench. The fact that Lallana did not even come off the bench was also a strange one.

The Reds were in need of a goal and the England international is one of the most creative players at the club, yet Spanish full-back Alberto Moreno and struggling winger Lazar Markovic both got on the pitch ahead of the former-Southampton man.

The decision by Rodgers to take off lone striker Rickie Lambert and put on Markovic, who has struggled to adapt to life on Merseyside since his big money summer move was also rather baffling.

The youngster may go on to fulfil his potential later on in his career, but he has done very little so far to justify his hefty £20million fee.

Summer

Liverpool boss Rodgers had the ideal opportunity to bring in some real top talent this summer, as he spent over £100million, much of which was brought in by the sale of star striker Luis Suarez to Barcelona.

With that sort of money most top managers can attract world-class players, think Mourinho with Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas, or Louis van Gaal with Angel Di Maria, even Arsene Wenger with Alexis Sanchez. However, Rodgers record in the transfer market is poor to say the least.

Maybe the former-Swansea boss should have allowed his scouts to venture further than the south coast in search of reinforcements, because the players that arrived at Anfield in the summer have just not been good enough.

If ever there was a boss who needed a director of football above him it is Rodgers. He did a fine job at Swansea, but the Swans never had so much money to spend on players. He was never given £100million to spend, or waste as this summer proved.

False

Last season’s second place finish was a rather false picture of where Liverpool really were, because Luis Suarez simply played out of his skin, which masked the other problems in the team, such as the terrible defence or the need for midfield reinforcements.

The second place finish got them into the Champions League, but in truth Liverpool never had a good enough team to compete at the top level, just two strikers in Daniel Sturridge and Suarez who were banging in goals for fun.

Test

Brendan Rodgers has been lauded as an outstanding young British coach with his own football philosophy. He did a good job at Swansea and appeared to be taking Liverpool in the right direction in the last few seasons.

However, with Liverpool out of the Champions League and struggling to find form in the Premier League Rodgers is facing the first real test of his managerial acumen on Merseyside. The pressure is now on Rodgers to manufacture a turnaround in the Reds fortunes this season.

The Merseysider’s are now odds of 3/1 to make the top four this season, behind Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal with most bookmakers.

At this point in time a place in the top four this season would be an achievement for Rodgers and his team, because at this moment in time the team look like they are miles away from the team that challenged for the Premier League title last season.

The calls for Rodgers to be sacked have already started and if the Northern Irishman does not find a winning solution at Anfield he may just be heading for the exit door in the near future.

Is Brendan Rodgers still the right man to bring success to Liverpool?