Liverpool - What's Going On?

When Liverpool sacked club legend Kenny Dalglish and replaced him with Brendan Rodgers, many had high hopes for the Merseyside club. However, since then, success has been few and far between with Liverpool sitting in a 10th position full of mediocrity and averageness. One of the most inconsistent teams in the league have been loitering around mid-table all season - so - What is going on?

December has summed Liverpool up perfectly really, with 2 impressive wins followed by extremely disappointing defeats by both Aston Villa and Stoke. They went to East London and somewhat fortuitously came away with 3 points in a strange game that included 2 own goals. Following this they returned to Merseyside full of confidence only to be outclassed by a weak Aston Villa team who were destroyed by Chelsea a week later in an 8-0 thrashing. Liverpool never looked good in their 3-1 defeat to Villa and they weren't, baffling considering they had just got an away victory against an impressive newly promoted side the week before. 

After the Villa defeat they picked themselves up and blew Fulham away with a 4-0 win. They looked like a quality side that day and played some brilliant football, Gerrard was at his best, orchestrating the midfield. This win would imply that the Villa defeat was simply a blip and they had finally found their stride. However, it wasn't to be as they crashed to a 3-1 defeat at Stoke in which they looked weak and were easily second best. 

Brendan Rodgers came in and changed things. He wanted a shake up in the club and that was what he got. He completely reshuffled the style of football and replaced it with his free flowing style that was so easy on the eye and evident at former club Swansea. I think this is what Liverpool are struggling with, they haven't been able to adapt yet and I'm not sure the style of play suits them, it seems like it has been forced through but it is not working. He has currently led his Liverpool side to 25 points in 19 games, the same as one of his predecessors Roy Hodgson managed before he was sacked, this is a massive indication of how badly they're under performing.

When I saw Liverpool take on West Ham, there were parts of the game where they were definitely the better team and created good chances but they were definitely not when they attempted 'the passing game'. It looked unnatural and like they were trying to fit a square peg into a round hole when they unnecessarily took goal kicks and free kicks short. When they tried to build up a move slowly with some nice passing and long possession they got themselves into trouble, West Ham hurried them and forced them into mistakes. Liverpool looked best when they counter attacked and broke quickly with their pace and the 'on the floor direct' football seemed to work best for them. Another thing that I noticed was Glen Johnson out of position, he was excellent going forward and had the beating of Matt Jarvis, causing terror all game, however the same cannot be said for his defending and I think he should be given a go at right midfield as he was very effective when he got forward.

It doesn't take a genius to see and realise that it isn't working for Liverpool, for the big club they are, they cannot be this inconsistent, they need some results and for them I feel it is really important they win their next 2 games as after that they face Manchester United, Arsenal and an in form Norwich side who have been very impressive lately. Rodgers should in my opinion stop trying to force his players to play like he wants them to and perhaps let them play how they play best. 

It is no secret that Liverpool were caught short in the Summer with their transfer dealings and I think they should and will move quickly to sign a new striker to accompany and back up Luis Suarez. In my opinion they should push Johnson forward to right midfield and bring in a new right back or perhaps some youngsters from the youth system which seems to be churning out some good little players at the moment. 

In conclusion I think that Liverpool need to settle and find their rhythm or change their style, if one of these doesn't happen soon then I fear that this mid-table mediocrity will continue for them and fans will be greeted by the same inconsistency that has been there all season so far.

What do you think is going wrong at Liverpool? Tell us below!

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