Dark Days For Liverpool, Something Needs To Change

Hendo is good but he is no Stevie G. Photo courtesy of LFC Images.

Where to begin in what has been a dreadful start to the campaign for Brendan Rodgers Liverpool squad. A team that dazzled the Premier League last season and came so close to capturing the league title has looked very mediocre. Yet another loss this Sunday to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, their fourth in a row in all competitions has seen the Reds slide closer to relegation than to the top four where they and many believe they should be.

This season has been a spiraling ball of problems on and off the pitch from bad mistakes leading to cheap goals or most importantly not scoring or creating the chances to score like they did so well at last season. The areas in defense that Brendan and his squad believed they needed to improve on have only gotten worse, and the flurry of goals that Liverpool scored last year to make up for the goals they did concede have dried up completely.

Luis Suarez celebrates the first of his four goals against Norwich. Photo courtesy of LFC Images.

It all started in the off-season when talisman and league leading scorer Luis Suarez decided to jump ship and join Barcelona in Spain. This has definitely hit Liverpool hard as those 31 goals they’ve lost have yet to be replaced and the unpredictability that he brought to the quad is missing immensely. It has since been the loss of second leading scorer and the player Liverpool planned to build their season around, Daniel Sturridge. The Liverpool hit man has missed a majority of the season with continuous thigh strains and without his goals as well Liverpool have looked lost out there.

I am not convinced by the 20 million GBP man. Picture courtesy of www.liverpoolfc.com

With all the money from the transfer of Suarez Brendan Rodgers and the Liverpool hierarchy decided to spread the table and bring in 6-7 players that they believed could give Liverpool the depth they had been lacking in previous seasons. Dejan Lovren who had a stellar campaign last season with Southampton was brought in to shore up the central defense, however if you were to point your finger at someone who has underperformed it would be him. Too many mistakes and not reading the runs of opposing players has been his biggest issue this season. Lazar Markovic was brought in and has yet to impress although he barely gets a chance to play. Adam lallana, who is actually playing a lot better and coming into form of late still hasn’t made a positive impression but I believe he still needs some time. Emre Can has looked good and then looked not so good and still has a lot of growing to do as a Liverpool player, but he will get there. Rickie Lambert started last game and scored a beauty only 90 seconds into the match that gave Liverpool the lead although he hasn’t been given the chance either. Finally there is Mario Balotelli. The former Milan star and Italian international was brought in to replace Luis Suarez but he has struggled the most, only netting twice with none of those coming in the league. Super Mario looks far from his title name and his inability to fire on all cylinders has hurt the Liverpool attack more than even I think they know.

May 29, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Belgium goalkeeper Simon Mignolet (1) against the United States at FirstEnergy Stadium. Belgium won 4-2. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Along with a majority of the summer signings, many of the squad from last season have struggled to keep up with their pedigrees this time around. Keeper Simon Minoglet has seen a huge dip in form and it was his give away off the goal kick that led to Palace’s second goal to give them the lead on Sunday. In attack Raheem Sterling has been a far cry from the explosive player he was last season and the fire he normally brings with his pace and ability to join the attack at any costs has burnt out. Captain Steven Gerrard, Jordan Henderson and Phillipe Coutinho have also been too inconsistent of late. All these dark areas are starting to paint this negative picture of a club that shouldn’t be sitting in the bottom half of BPL table.

GOTTA BE HAPPY WITH THAT. Picture from www.live4liverpool.com

So what needs to be done? Many frustrated fans and football critics think Brendan Rodgers should be sacked and replaced immediately but reports have surfaced that Liverpool owner John W Henry will not sack Rodgers and wants to give him more time to turn all of this around and I quote.

"“Henry is prepared to give Rodgers more time to end Liverpool’s slump and mount a campaign for a top-four finish.”“The American prefers to make managerial changes in the summer to mitigate the upheaval caused by changes in the dug-out.”"

Now we have seen crazier things with owners saying one thing and then doing another but I believe Rodgers has earned his place based on what he achieved last season and a shake up now might be even more damaging to Liverpool’s chances in turning all of this around. So what should be done? Well it’s as simple as the players who are put out on the pitch need to start performing. If they are representing a club of Liverpool’s stature, it isn’t even about pure ability anymore, it’s about playing with some heart, grit and determination to stand proud for a club who’s fans have stuck by them through thick and thin.

It will all get back under way on Wednesday night when Liverpool travel to Bulgaria to take on Ludogorets in the Uefa Champions League. It’s a must win for Liverpool if they have any hope of qualifying for the knock out stage of the tournament. A win in Bulgaria might be exactly what the doctor ordered however losing or even drawing will surely be the dagger that kills off Liverpool’s hope of turning all of this darkness into light again.