Just like everything else this season Liverpool has once more dropped the ball when it mattered the most.
Despite taking the lead in yesterday’s FA Cup semi-final against Aston Villa at Wembley, the Reds allowed Villa to get back into the game, and even look the better team for much of it.
You could say Liverpool were unlucky when striker Mario Balotelli got flagged for being offside, but by the time he had put the ball in the back of the net, the Villa players had already reacted to the refs whistle.
Following on from the disappointment of failing to get to the final of the one thing the Reds had a chance of winning, it is obvious that there is plenty of work to be done at Anfield this summer, and while many fans are having a knee jerk reaction to the loss calling for Rodgers to be sacked and replaced by Jürgen Klopp, we would like to remind you that Liverpool last season and for some matches this term has played some of the most attractive football seen in the Premier League.
Of course Liverpool fans are disappointed, but firing Rodgers and bringing in another manager will do nothing to change the mentality of the players at the club, who all except for last summer’s signings are still having to deal with the loss of Luis Suarez.
If we were to point the finger at Rodgers it would be for not bringing in another top player to replace the Uruguayan, and yes we know they tried to sign Alexis Sanchez, but not hard enough apparently allowing the 26-year-old Chilean to join Arsenal were he has scored 22 goals for the gunners in his first season.
There are also other issues going on at the club with us all knowing that for several players this will be their last year playing on Merseyside.
Captain Steven Gerrard will be jetting off to California where he will play in the MLS for the LA Galaxy, while both Glen Johnson and Lucas Leiva could find themselves playing in Italy’s Serie A. after interest in the pair from Inter Milan and AS Roma.
Meanwhile Jordan Henderson and Raheem Sterling are both looking to sign new contracts while Slovak defender Martin Skrtel waits to find out if he still has a future at the club.
As for Sterling and this is more of a personal take than a factual point, we think that the interview he gave to the BBC was designed to show that he is looking for a big money move away from Liverpool despite the very generous offer Liverpool has made him of £100,000 per-week.
Another mistake Rodgers made was to rely too heavily on Daniel Sturridge, who let the club down through no fault of his own by spending most of the season out injured, after being the Premierships second leading scorer behind Luis Suarez during the clubs previous campaign scoring 22-goals with none coming from the penalty spot.
I think you can say it is obvious that Mario Balotelli will be packing his bags as well, and to be honest he really does not fit into the Barcelona style of football Rodgers wants to instil in the team, and while recently talked about Radamel Falcao would, we prefer to see Liverpool find a true top striker such as Inter Milan’s Mauro Icardi or Palermo’s Paulo Dybala, two players who are both young enough to become legends at Anfield.
Even Manchester City’s Stevan Jovetic could be a good buy with the Montenegrin eager to prove himself after having been side-lined in Manchester City’s star studded team.
The truth however that it is more likely to be Villarreal’s 21-year-old Argentinian striker Luciano Vietto or Burnley’s Danny Ings that will join up with Belgian striker Divock Origi and Daniel Sturridge next season.
As for Yesterdays match here is what Rodgers had to say about Liverpool’s performance.
“We need now to have the courage and bravery to play better in the big games, because we didn’t play well enough today,” he said.
“We weren’t quite on it. We looked as if maybe the occasion and the energy got to us a bit today, but that’s what can happen with young players.
“We have come up short in a few games and it is something we certainly need to improve. We are a team that is growing, but all these experiences will hopefully help.
“We’re obviously bitterly disappointed but more with the performance. You can always lose a game but you need to play well and give yourself an opportunity.
“We had some chances but I thought they were better than us today to be honest.”
Rodgers continued: “Sometimes you can want to win too much. The focus comes away from what allows you to win.”
