Rodgers spent his first season complaining he had a 'wafer thin squad'. Then he claimed his second season was better in spite of the fact that his squad was still 'painfully' thin. Then he spent his next season, after saying he'd needed to strengthen his squad, claiming that it still lacked depth. And then today he started the game with a bench populated by rejects who are heading out the door in the summer. And his last throw of the dice in the game was bringing on a player he's been sneering about ever since he or someone else signed him. What's going to happen next season, with a need to win something and four competitions in which to compete, apart from him complaining his new signings 'need time to understand my methods' whilst protesting that the squad isn't strong enough?
No doubt this is partly FSG's fault as well as his, but his attitude stinks nonetheless. He came here from Swansea, who had a tiny squad, and should have rejoiced at how much better he expected to do with so many more talents at his disposal, but suddenly he acted as though he'd turned up from Real Madrid and was frustrated at the loss of choice. Bloody hell.
And where's this fabled man management? He is such a father figure to Sterling (so he never tires of telling us) the kid is looking to buy out his own contract. He reacted to Balotelli failing not to be Balotelli by practically disowning him. He brought Borini to the club as some kind of disciple and now he appears unable to reason with him. He managed to piss off Gerrard. And the whole team has come out for most games looking as if they can't be arsed to play for him.
And what's happened to his decision making? Good for the first season, especially in bringing on subs early on (well, it wasn't his team then, so, unlike since, there was no implied self-critique with the changes), but what's happened more recently except horrible confusion? He dropped Carragher, then brought him back because he said the defence lacked a leader. Then looked to replace Carra with Kolo because Kolo was a talker and a leader. Then brought in Lovren because he was 'very vocal' and 'a leader'. Three years and there's still nothing stable, nothing coherent, except for the 'look at us doing what we do' faffing around at the back. True, he's changed the system a few times, but out of weakness rather than strength. It's like watching a dog chase its own tail.
It's almost as bad in attack. Look at Villa today: when they went forward there was loads of space, they moved quickly, made simple but incisive runs and looked dangerous. We, on the other hand, waited for lines of defenders to settle and then played the ball sideways, backwards and lost it. We weren't being the more 'clever' team. We were making the job of attacking look complicated, scary and hazardous. 'Death by football'? Well, not in a positive sense.
Turn down the sound of his own voice and there's not much to his 'style' except pace. Doing ordinary things quickly enough to disturb the opposition. And when, for whatever reason, the energy sags and the pace drops, like now, all you have is indifferent technique, average passing and movement and - apart from Coutinho - no imagination or creativity.
Two or three more second or third choice new signings aren't going to improve on that. I hate to see managers fail because it's my club and I want it to succeed. But this guy is now severely straining my patience. I don't want to hear another word from him. He needs to shut up, grow up, accept his responsibility and change things quickly, or go. He hasn't got a year. He's got months.
