Farewell, and Good Luck, Brendan

Rodgers in Happier Times

After the United game, I finally came down on the side of those who recognised that Brendan Rodgers wasn't the man to lead the club to success.
That wasn't the first time I felt frustrated by Rodgers management. The way we went out of last year's Champion's League group stage also left a sour taste in the mouth. Don't forget that before last season, we had beaten Real Madrid in every single European match we had played against them—and that included the 1981 European Cup final. How many teams can make that claim? Yet, after a 0-3 opening home drubbing, Rodgers threw in the towel for the return leg (although, it has to be said, the second string he selected for that match performed a lot better than expected, but still lost 1-0). He then followed that game up by having the first string lose to Chelsea that weekend. A total failure of both strategy and tactics. And let's not even mention our pathetic performances against Basel and Ludogorets, neither of whom should have presented any problems whatsoever. As Jamie Carragher observed:
It baffles me when teams are more interested in qualifying for the competition next season than doing their best in the competition they are already in. The reason players love the Champions League so much is the thought of playing in an arena such as the Bernabeu.

Come in Mr Rodgers. Your Time is Up...

Rodgers: Absolutely No Clue What Liverpool Means

Five games into the new season, millions more spent in the transfer market, and already we're wallowing in mid-table mediocrity.
Today, United fielded a starting team with no recognized striker and with the same makeshift central defence that has looked so vulnerable all season. Here was an opportunity to take the game to United, play the high pressing game, run them ragged and put them under some pressure. So how does Rodgers approach the game? He parked the bus! Absolutely pathetic!
Today, Rodgers demonstrated a number of characteristics that, to me, put his future as Liverpool manager under serious doubt.

Benteke? Are you serious?

A perfect fit for Rodger's style of play. Not.

I just don't get this.
Apparently, we're about to splash the vast majority of our Sterling windfall on Villa's Christian Benteke.
Not that he's a bad player, because he's a great player. Is he worth the £32.5M required to release him from his current contract? Well, possibly not when you consider the calibre of player that kind of money buys you.
More to the point, how would he benefit the side?
When Rodgers took over at Anfield, the first thing he did was to end the Liverpool career of a very similar player: one Andy Carroll. Both Carroll and Benteke thrive in aerial combat, winning headers, beating-up centre-backs and hitting pile-drivers towards goal. Neither of them fit into Rodgers' system of quick-passing interplay in the final third. So if Andy Carroll was the wrong kind of player for us, how is Benteke the right player?