Why Brendan Rodgers must not walk alone

“The king is back” was the glorious chorus being chanted on Meyerside upon Dalglish’s return. He was perceived to be the Messiah the new owners were talking about. Eighteen months later, King Kenny brought success in the form of the League cup and the FA Cup runners up medal, but couldn’t resurrect the Reds league form.

Someone had to pay the price. Fenway Sports Group reviewed the 2011/12 season where 110 million GBP was spent in the transfer market on players with very little to show for it – Dalglish was fired, Rodgers replaced him.

At the unveiling ceremony, club owner, John W. Henry said,

“Brendan Rodgers’s appointment today as manager of Liverpool Football Club is one of the most important steps we will take in building the kind of club on and off the pitch supporters can be excited about.”

It is three weeks into the 2012/13 season with Liverpool having played seven competitive matches and already securing three victories, two draws and two defeats. Perhaps the results in the EPL are the ones that should be a cause for concern for their followers considering that they are winless after three rounds of matches.

Is this the excitement promised by Rodgers and Henry?

In a bid to defend the club’s new philosophy, the owner released wrote an open letter to the fans and this was quite significant

“No one should doubt our commitment to the club. In Brendan Rodgers we have a talented young manager and we have valued highly his judgement about the make-up of the squad. This is a work in progress. It will take time for Brendan to instil his philosophy into the squad and build exactly what he needs for the long term.”

Rodgers has been saddled with the responsibility of charting a new path for Liverpool by investing in the youth which guarantees a future while playing attractive football and be competitive on a tight budget. It is very clear that he has quite a challenge at hand. The expectation of the Reds supporter is lofty, considering how the Northern Irish man’s former team (Swansea) played last season in their first season in the top flight.

Like every new manager, he has dipped his hands into the market to acquire players he feels will fit into his philosophy. The most notables are Fabio Borini from AS Roma, Joe Allen from Swansea City and Nuri Sahin on-loan from Real Madrid. Players have been promoted from the academy to the first team to gather experience as they build towards the future.

Now, let’s look at the team in prospect.

As it has been in the past few years, Pepe Reina is the first-choice goalkeeper at Anfield and he’s likely to be the ideal last line of defense for Rodgers; his position wouldn’t be threatened with backup options, Alex Doni and Brad Jones, who aren’t exactly top-notch.

Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger were successfully retained at the club along with Jose Enrique and Glen Johnson. The same defensive unit of last season will continue. The same cannot be said for the midfield that lost Brazilian anchor man Lucas Leiva through injury last season and had to rely on unproven back-ups. Jay Spearing and misfit Charlie Adam have been shipped out paving way for Joe Allen and Nuri Sahin with Jonjo Shelvey and Jordan Henderson serving as back up.

Scoring was the biggest problem encountered last season. Suarez and Borini are the centre forwards available in the first team with the Uruguay born forward as the most recognized striker saddled with the responsibility of getting the goals. His tricks and intelligent movement can compete with Lionel Messi while his execution and finishing leaves much to be desired with just 23 goals and 15 assist in 56 appearances for Liverpool, it shows he doesn’t have the capacity to carry this enormous weight on his shoulders.

Brendan has his work cut out!

Where will the goals come from? His philosophy will require sufficient time for it to be transfused into his new team as they embark on a new journey.

The American owner stressed;

“No one should doubt our commitment to the club. In Brendan Rodgers we have a talented young manager and we have valued highly his judgement about the make-up of the squad. This is a work in progress. It will take time for Brendan to instil his philosophy into the squad and build exactly what he needs for the long term.

We are still in the process of reversing the errors of previous regimes. It will not happen overnight. It has been compounded by our own mistakes in a difficult first two years of ownership. It has been a harsh education, but make no mistake, the club is healthier today than when we took over.

That ethos is to win. We will invest to succeed. But we will not mortgage the future with risky spending.

“It will not be easy, it will not be perfect, but there is a clear vision at work.”

The early signs have shown that it would neither be easy nor perfect but the work is in progress. The future looks bright with youngsters like Raheem Sterling, Oussama Assaidi, Daniel Pacheco, etc who are coming through the ranks while veterans Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard will step to the back stage quietly.

John W. Henry’s letter indicates the board position and their willingness in backing up this new project but I reckon they will have to do more than an open letter in the coming months as Brendan Rodgers tries to navigate the Reds’ ship through difficult storms created by previous regimes.

Rodgers must not be allowed to walk alone even in the coldest night.