Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers needed no reminding of the herculean task that was ahead of him after his side lost their 1st game under him at West Brom. The score line read 3-0 in favor of the Baggies. Fast forward the clock and look where they find themselves now!

Rodgers’ first real spell of success came at Swansea, where his side played attractive possession based football, the results were not disappointing either as Swansea were promoted and won many admirers in the Premier League even to the extent to being dubbed as ‘Swanselona’, an amalgamation of their club and the benchmark of possession football teams, FC Barcelona.

His mantra was clearly visible in the 1st season at Liverpool. Against West Brom, Liverpool had 57% possession with 10 men, but failed to take their chances. Now however, Rodgers has learned that possession alone will not win you games. His focus has changed to a more counter attacking style of play, pressing the ball high up the pitch without having to put pressure on the own back line, something that Andre Villas Boas failed to learn in his time at Chelsea and Spurs.

What Rodgers has managed to do at Liverpool in the span of 20 months is remarkable.

Let’s have a look….

Signings

First of all, a good team needs good players and Brendan Rodgers has built a team better than his predecessors had.

The signings of Joe Allen, Philippe Coutinho, Daniel Sturridge, Mamadou Sakho and Simon Mignolet have added much more quality to the team. What’s more is that that they were bought for relatively reasonable amounts considering the transfer prices that players command in the modern day.

The likes of Fabio Borini, Iago Aspas and Tiago Illori are yet to justify their hefty price tags, but they they are still so young. Aspas has had minimal game time due to the irresistible form of the SAS. Rodgers had a difficult task of replacing Jamie Carragher in the summer and he did so with the experienced Kolo Toure. Toure has had a bittersweet season so far; he started off really well in the 1st few weeks, but was disappointing against the likes of West Brom and Fulham.

The wage bill has been re-structured by selling deadwood players like Joe Cole, Stewart Downing and Andy Caroll, who had high wages. Caroll’s departure has been a boon as it has enabled both Suarez and Sturridge to flourish together.

The addition of Victor Moses and Aly Cissokho has added a little bit of depth, be it on a temporary basis.

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SAS’ form has been vital to Liverpool’s rise this season

Man-management

One of Rodgers’ biggest strengths has to be his man-management skills. His excellent handling of Luis Suarez has been deemed by many pundits as a “Season winning decision”. Suarez was edging for a move away from Anfield in the summer as Liverpool failed to qualify for the Champions league and gave a string of interviews where he stated that Liverpool have failed to keep their “promises”.

Suarez was later ordered to train alone as Rodgers felt he treated the club with “utter disrespect”.

However, instead of breaking all lines of communication, Rodgers offered his striker a route back into the team if the striker apologized. The rest as they say is history, Suarez performed exceptionally well after serving out his remaining 5 match ban and was granted a new bumper contract.

Suarez was ordered to train alone after his media outbursts

Suarez was ordered to train alone after his media outbursts

Another player that comes to the mind is Jordan Henderson. The midfielder failed to justify his hefty price tag and was deemed a flop by many including the Liverpudlians. Henderson was purchased for nearly £20 million, something he couldn’t handle at that time. Besides, he was often played on the right hand side by then manager Kenny Dalglish, which wasn’t his favoured position.

Rodgers not only instilled confidence in him, but also found the right position for him. Henderson is the engine of Rodgers’ team- covering almost every inch of grass on the pitch. He makes defensive contributions, presses almost for the whole 90 minutes and chips in with the odd goal every now and then.

The Ulsterman has also blooded the likes of John Flanagan and Raheem Sterling into the team. The fans love to see home grown players playing well and both of them have certainly done that. Sterling has been in superb form this season and tore apart Arsenal and most recently Manchester City with blistering pace and some neat footwork. Jon Flanagan was thrown into the mix-up after an injury to Jose Enrique and has never looked back. “Red Cafu”, as the Kop call him, has performed admirably and even has an outside chance of making the World Cup squad.

Tinkering

Part of why the SAS have been in spectacular form is because of Rodgers’ tactics. Suarez was banned for 8 games last season and was to serve 5 of the 8 in this season. During his absence Rodgers went for a 4-3-3 formation with Lucas in the holding role, Henderson and Steven Gerrard as the playmakers. Henderson had the free licence whereas Gerrard was used in a deeper role.

The same line-up was tried used during Sturridge's absence

The same line-up was tried used during Suarez’s absence

In defense, Toure and Agger performed well in the 1st few games. Martin Skrtel, who was a peripheral figure last season, had a brilliant game against Manchester United and has been ever present since then.

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After the return of Suarez, Rodgers faced a different type of problem- how to make both Suarez and Sturridge play together. Instead of sacrificing the midfield, he played 3 at the back so that he could accommodate both his strikers upfront.

During the Christmas period, Rodgers was dealt with a blow as Sturridge was set to be side lined for nearly 2 months. This was also the time when Suarez was in sumptuous form, so it did not come back to haunt Liverpool. He played the same 4-3-3 with Suarez replacing Sturridge.

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After the injury to Lucas, Rodgers shifted to a 4-2-3-1 formation, where for the 1st time he tried playing Gerrard in a defensive role. In his first game there, the Liverpool skipper struggled to deal with the pace of Aston Villa, but since then he has looked really assured. His typical Hollywood passes have often got his team out of jail as demonstrated against Fulham. It was notable that in mid-February and early March, Suarez had a barren run. This was because he was deployed on the left hand side by Rodgers in his 4-2-3-1 system. In this period however, Suarez had a host of assists.

Rodgers’ most recent formation is the “diamond”. It was 1st demonstrated against Manchester United at Old Trafford where his team had total control of the ball and deservedly won 3-0.

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Rodgers has chosen Coutinho, Sterling and Allen depending on the opposition. Against United, he went with Allen, who did not disappoint Allen broke up play and made some crucial blocks. Against Southampton, Liverpool were under pressure before the half time an hence Rodgers replaced Coutinho, who played behind the 2 strikers, with Sterling who added much needed pace to the team and even scored to justify the change.

Rodgers seems to have a game plan for every opposition- against teams that play a high line; he uses the pace of Sterling behind the strikers or on the wing. Against teams that pack themselves; he plays Brazilian Philippe Coutinho to make that final pass.

Liverpool’s rise has other contributing factors like not playing in Europe which has had a big impact on them as they have the thinnest squad among their title contenders.

However, nothing can be taken away from Brendan Rodgers as he has led his team admirably. The team is on a 10 match winning streak and are unbeaten this calendar year. After their win over Manchester City, the title is theirs to lose. Can they win it? Only time will tell!

 

 

 

 

 

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