Misuse of Talent a Worrying Hallmark of Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool Reign

Watching his side crumble to a 3-1 defeat to Manchester United will have spelled trouble for an ever-hopeful Brendan Rodgers on Saturday, but Liverpool's Old Trafford capitulation was worryingly predictable—the manager's misuse of talent was characteristic of his reign on Merseyside.

Goals from Daley Blind, Ander Herrera and £36 million deadline-day signing Anthony Martial gave United all three points in what was a crucial clash between top-four hopefuls, with Christian Benteke's incredible acrobatic finish serving as a mere footnote to the Reds' misery.

Liverpool now find themselves buried in mid-table in the Premier League, three points behind United and fellow top-four rivals Arsenal and eight points behind league leaders Manchester City.

It would be wrong to suggest the Reds are out of the running for a top-four finish at this early stage, but Rodgers' side looked remarkably off the pace as they slumped to defeat against their bitter rivals.

On the evidence provided on Saturday, they look unlikely to rectify this in the coming games.

The way in which Rodgers set up his Liverpool side serves as the root of their problems, and this misuse of talent is alarming.

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Heading into this must-win clash, Rodgers' team selection suggested a return to the 4-4-2 diamond formation that proved so successful in Liverpool's astonishing 2013/14 title-challenge season was imminent.

With key playmaker Philippe Coutinho suspended after his dismissal in the 3-0 loss against West Ham United before the international break, promising forward option Danny Ings was brought into the starting lineup to make his full debut. Joining Ings were fellow summer signings Christian Benteke, Roberto Firmino and James Milner, with Lucas Leiva and Emre Can completing what looked set to form an accomplished diamond in midfield.

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With Ings and Benteke serving as a forward two, Firmino in his natural No. 10 role, Milner and Can operating as shuttling midfielders and Lucas as the defensive-minded anchor, Liverpool looked on course to genuinely challenge United at Old Trafford.

But it wasn't to be, with the Reds deployed in a clumsy 4-3-3, which mutated into a negative 4-5-1 as the game played out.

"There's not enough help for Benteke," former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher correctly highlighted after the game, analysing Rodgers' mistakes for Sky Sports.

"Ings came in and I said before the game it must be two up front and they must be playing a diamond formation, but they were still playing 4-3-3. I don't understand what the point was in playing Danny Ings in that wide position."

As Carragher continued, he lamented Rodgers' pitfalls:

"

You think about how many strikers Liverpool have on the books and they have no wide players. They've only got Jordon Ibe. Firmino is not a wide player and Coutinho played there last week and he's not a wide player.

I don't understand this obsession with playing 4-3-3. Brendan Rodgers came to the club wanting to play 4-3-3 and it didn't work.

The great season they had was with two strikers and how they got them into the team is down to the manager. They've got a lot of strikers, no wide players, and he continues to play 4-3-3.

"

Signing Benteke for £32.5 million this summer signalled a shift in ideals for Rodgers, with emphasis on width and quality of service necessary for the hulking Belgian to thrive. But while this 4-3-3 may be geared to maximise Benteke's talents, it serves to marginalise those of Ings, Firmino and the rest of his supporting cast.

Ings and Firmino operated as wing-backs in Rodgers' 4-3-3, as United took the initiative, with the Brazilian's thankless role symbolised by his output of seven successful tackles and no key passes, successful dribbles or shots on goal.

Neither Ings nor Firmino was able to get close enough to Benteke to benefit from the striker's physicality, holdup play and creative talent, and as a result, Liverpool were unable to test the returning David De Gea for much of the afternoon.

The rampaging Can looked the most likely to penetrate the United defence throughout, but the German's strong, driving runs from midfield were similarly fruitless as support from Ings and Firmino wasn't forthcoming. 

Rodgers set his side up to frustrate United, likely hoping for a performance similar to that which held Arsenal to a 0-0 draw at the Emirates Stadium in August, but he didn't employ the correct personnel to do so, as Graeme Souness detailed alongside Carragher on Sky Sports:

"

The first thing you have to do with players is make them feel comfortable in positions they're playing in.

Firmino doesn't want to be out there. On the other side Ings doesn't want to be there. Right away they've got an excuse: 'This is not my position. I'm not used to it.'

Ings spent most of that half running towards his own goal. He would class himself as a striker, he doesn't want to be doing that. What Firmino is I'm not quite sure, we might see that as the season pans out.

You've got square pegs in round holes and it just doesn't work. You have to make people feel they are playing in positions they are happy to play in and Liverpool haven't got that right now.

"

It became a running joke toward the end of the miserable 2014/15 campaign that whichever targets Liverpool were drawing up for the summer would end up playing out of position under Rodgers after Lazar Markovic, Adam Lallana, Jordon Ibe, Raheem Sterling and Jordan Henderson were all utilised as wing-backs in his briefly successful 3-4-2-1.

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But satire became tragedy at Old Trafford, with Rodgers looking poised to make the same mistakes over and over again.

Ings was signed from Burnley as an 11-goal striker, while Firmino was earmarked as one of the marquee signings that would reinvigorate Liverpool's dwindling attacking line after scoring seven goals and registering 10 assists in an attacking-midfield role for Hoffenheim last season.

Alongside Benteke, both looked set to trouble United's back line on Saturday, but they were instead shunted into the periphery because of Rodgers' tactical oversight. As Souness continued to underline, this is setting them up for a fall:

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They need goals. You won't always play well, but if you've got goalscorers it camouflages a multitude of sins and Liverpool have got to come up with a system.

I think they have to sit the players down. They all know what their favourite positions are and he must know he's asking players to play out of position and I don't think some of them are very comfortable with that.

You're handing them a big excuse.

"

Souness' suggestion this will become an excuse for the likes of Ings and Firmino is pertinent following the departure of Sterling to City this summer. The 20-year-old's unease on Merseyside seemingly began when he started being regularly used as a wing-back toward the end of 2014/15, telling James Pearce of the Liverpool Echo in April that he felt he was being "sacrificed to play in a more defensive position."

Sterling's £49 million move to City should have served as a warning to Rodgers that a misuse of talent will alienate players, and this morale-draining loss must prompt a shift in the manager's approach.

Rodgers has a talented squad at his disposal, but his inability to harness this potential could cost him his position under owner Fenway Sports Group.

Statistics via WhoScored.com.

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