The awkward truth facing Liverpool: Brendan Rodgers really wasn’t that bad

In October, when Jurgen Klopp was appointed Liverpool boss, a small ocean of ink was dedicated to explain how he had turned Borussia Dortmund into a continental powerhouse, how counter-pressing would elevate the club into the top four, and how inspirational management would revive careers that had stagnated under Brendan Rodgers. The fanfare almost bordered on the messianic. Three months later, it turns out not even Klopp can turn water into wine.

[SCOTT MURRAY: Klopp playing it cool, but problems proliferating]

The charismatic German may well still succeed at Anfield, but his honeymoon has contributed to recontextualise the work of his predecessor. When Rodgers was sacked, some criticised him as a poor strategist, and not everyone directed the finger solely at the club’s recruitment process when explaining his downfall. Yet far from putting his acumen into a worse light, the start under Klopp has provided further evidence that the issues under Rodgers never were about tactics or man management, but about the players.

Were it otherwise, a manager of Klopp’s calibre would surely have achieved more with the squad than what has been the case. Though Liverpool will surely grow as the final-third movement and counter-pressing are rehearsed, we have seen little so far to suggest that Rodgers underperformed with the material at his disposal. At the time of his dismissal, the team had accrued 12 points from eight league games; they have since taken 19 from 14. This lowers the number of points per game from 1.5 to 1.36. Rather than eclipsing Rodgers, Klopp has actually done worse.

In fact, both averages are below the 1.63 figure of last season; a campaign widely seen as a fiasco. That sixth-place finish was a reasonable representation of the club’s financial resources, yet the title challenge a year earlier contributed to brand the season as a debacle over which some felt Rodgers should have lost his job. It was certainly underwhelming, not least because of the Champions League group-stage exit, but the level of the squad hardly promised a treble-winning season.

Looking at that group of players, the key losses to date have been Raheem Sterling and Steven Gerrard. Few have missed names such as Glen Johnson, Lazar Markovic, Mario Balotelli, Fabio Borini and Rickie Lambert, and some even said Liverpool were better off without Gerrard during his valedictory campaign. That makes Sterling the key absentee. Recent signings have included Roberto Firmino, Christian Benteke, Nathaniel Clyne and James Milner. Does that make the squad much worse? If sixth place was unacceptable last season, what should be expected this time?

Such questions are not designed to criticise Klopp, who clearly needs time and money, but to highlight what Rodgers did with what he had. Rodgers was not unaccustomed to doing so himself. “I think I have shown in the early stages of my management – without being arrogant – that, with a talented group of players, I can compete at the top end of the league,” he said after what would be his penultimate league game in charge. “I am the same man who nearly won us the league, but better,” he added. “If you give me the tools, I’ll do the work.”

The comments may have seemed boastful, but Rodgers was largely right: he did do well with good players. The problem was that poor recruitment weakened the squad, which leads back to the transfer committee, about which Rodgers talked during his recent appearance on Goals on Sunday. There were lists of potential targets, with a particular focus on young players. “It was a group decision; it was certainly not something where I would have the sole final say,” Rodgers said. “It’s difficult because you want a player in, but if the player is not on the list, you’d have to take someone.”

Rodgers told how MK Dons manager Karl Robinson had driven Dele Alli to Liverpool to encourage a transfer, only for the clubs to disagree. He explained how he had seen Alexis Sanchez as a perfect replacement for Luis Suárez, before missing out and then being presented with the option of buying Balotelli, as nobody else was available so late in the window. “They were thinking this is a £50m player we could maybe get for £16m,” said Rodgers. “When the owners are wanting you to go down that route and there’s no other option, you give it a go.”

[RODGERS: I wanted Sanchez, got Balotelli]

The committee remains an opaque topic: still nobody really knows who should be held responsible for what. What Rodgers said was most likely the airbrushed version of a man seeking a route back into management, and figures inside Anfield might have offered a different perspective. Indeed, many of the signings were wanted by him; others could surely have been avoided had he proposed viable alternatives. The transfer record since his appointment was not only poor in 2014, but across all three years. It would certainly be wrong to absolve him completely.

Yet even if you take the strictest possible stance and blame him for every flop, the transfers remain his only major flaw at Anfield. Correct that process – and stomach the subtle boasts, the flowery diction, the occasional misguided post-match assessment – and you have one of the brightest coaches around. Few have the flexibility to successfully alternate between 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1, 3-5-2 and 4-4-2 diamond in one campaign. Fewer still could have devised the 3-4-2-1 system that sparked a run of 10 wins in 12 league games. Particularly when Liverpool chased the title, Rodgers proved to be an imaginative tactician first, an excellent man-manager second. Probably an entertainer third.

That should be noted among potential employers, who may recall how Rodgers – without the constrictions of a transfer committee – got Swansea promoted and secured an 11th-place finish before joining Liverpool in 2012. Given the players at hand and the injuries suffered, Rodgers the coach hardly underperformed last season. Going by the club’s recent results, he might even have overachieved.