Just as we were catching our collective breath from Arsenal’s blistering 3-0 win over Manchester United, news broke out that Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers had been sacked by owners FSG.
This announcement sort of had an air of inevitability despite Brendan Rodgers spending near 300 million pounds since arriving in 2012.
The disappointment of selling their star players such as Fernando Torres, Luis Suarez and most recently Raheem Sterling was
somewhat offset by the immense fees they received. However you could say of the 24 players Rodgers signed between 2012 and 2014 – I am reserving my judgement on the seven players who were brought in this summer with only 8 games gone – only two have worked out.
Firstly, Daniel Sturridge who came in for 12 million pounds from Chelsea has seemingly found a place he can call home after a period of instability at the West London club. Although, with the absence of attacking duo Suarez or Sterling to lean on and his persistent injuries in recent seasons it is still uncertain whether the 26 year old will recapture his best form.
Nonetheless, secondly and most pertinently, diminutive Brazilian playmaker Philippe Coutinho has been lauded as Liverpool’s next icon and man to help elevate them to the top echelons of European football once again. He has the vision. He has the desire. And perhaps most importantly for a team needing a new hero, he has a certain eccentricity and maverick nature that makes him so difficult to halt when on song.
Steven Gerrard has recently said Liverpool’s number 10 can become the clubs talisman if he stays with the team.
However a few hours before the final whistle blew in North London as an Alexis Sanchez-inspired Arsenal set a marker to the rest of the Premier League with their humbling of Louis Van Gaal’s United, Everton and Liverpool played out a fairly insipid Merseyside Derby.
Despite a couple of flashpoints including an innocuous clash between Mahamadou Sakho and Everton striker Romelu Lukaku the game was prematurely over at half time as the match remained 1-1 until the finish.
Danny Ings was left unmarked in the Everton penalty as a corner came in to make his most telling touch in a Liverpool shirt to date, but this was canceled out as Lukaku capitalised on some now, characteristic poor Reds defending to equalise.
However, Liverpool’s and more relevantly Rodger’s fate could have been so much different if his Samba star had took centre stage. His contribution to Liverpool’s attacking approach was near on non-existent as he was unable to pick the locks that were marshalled well by Phil Jagielka and Ramiro Funes Mori, in for the injured John Stones.
Coutinho was only really present in person and not in performance on Sunday which begs the question of whether he can do it consistently at the highest level and in the most decisive games. Would it be a little unfair to say if Gerrard had been on the pitch, in his prime would have produced the moment of unremitted brilliance?
Maybe so. However as Liverpool toiled for the majority of the game, it should have been the perfect time for Coutinho to fizz and bubble well above his sprite-like figure and simultaneously bring home the bragging rights and keep his managers job for another week at least.
