Brendan Rodgers' Signings at Liverpool Will Prove His Undoing

How well has Brendan Rodgers done as a manager at Liverpool? Certainly, coaching-wise and tactics-wise, the affable 41-year-old is developing a reputation as one of the best young managers in the game. But when it comes to the all-important business of transfers, how is he doing?

The Reds have hardly started the season on fire. If truth be told, their Premier League title chances are already gone. Simply put, Liverpool will not go the rest of the season unbeaten, or at best only lose one, two or possibly three more games.

Three defeats from Liverpool's opening five games is not what the Reds' legion of fans would have predicted, nor their celebrated manager, Brendan Rodgers. Defensive frailties, a lack of cohesion in midfield and an impotent strike force have all contributed to leave the Anfield-based side chasing cups.

Amidst all the gnashing of teeth, tactical investigations and soul searching at Melwood, the buck will eventually stop at their manager's door.

Rodgers deserves credit for how his team played and applied themselves last term. Liverpool finished second, sandwiched between champions Manchester City and Chelsea in third. Those two heavyweights will undoubtedly be jousting for the title again come next May.

This season, however, the Reds have looked a pale shadow of their former selves. The most obvious difference between this and last term is the loss of Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan striker, yet to play for his new club following his latest suspension, was phenomenal and is more than difficult to replace.

According to Soccerbase, Liverpool have spent just over £214 million during Rodgers' time as manager. Many are now beginning to question the Northern Irishman's transfer policy and acquisitions.

Players signed by Rodgers at Liverpool, as per Soccerbase.

Tactical nous, organisational skills, planning, leading, controlling and man-management skills will always be at the top of any manager's skill set. When it comes to football, one other important element is needed to excel: Buying players.

Managers will not survive without the ability to sign good players. Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger were not good because they were given time at Manchester United and Arsenal. No. They were given time because they were so good. When it comes to buying players, their best purchases far outweighed their bad.

Now, with Liverpool's season threatening to crumble before it even begins, we can see that Rodgers' acquisitions and spending at Anfield leave much to be desired.

Rodgers' first purchase was Fabio Borini for £10.5 million from AS Roma back on July 9, 2012. Since then, the now-23-year-old Italian has played more games for Sunderland than his parent club and has been offered around the Premier League, as per the Irish Independent, unwanted by the Reds.

Rodgers' latest signing is Mario Balotelli. Counting the two Italians, Liverpool have signed 21 players and spent just over £214 million since Borini was unveiled in 2012. For those who are interested, the Reds have sold 21 players for £109 million during the same period. This, of course, includes the £75 million deal that brought Suarez to Barca, as per the Daily Mirror.

The list of players signed for Liverpool between 2012 and 2014 does not make for pretty reading. Liverpool's fans will be hard pushed not to read the list from behind the couch. Of the entire 21 transfers, only Daniel Sturridge from Chelsea can be claimed as a top-class deal and a top-class player.

Of the 13 players signed in Rodgers' first two years in charge, only Sturridge stands out. The rest, at best, are dice still rolling, even Philippe Coutinho.

Obviously, the jury is still out for many Liverpool fans on their most recent acquisitions like Lazar Markovic, Emre Can and Alberto Moreno from Benfica, Bayer Leverkusen, Sevilla respectively. They don't stand out as future stars, just yet. 

Only Balotelli appears as a player with any kind of reputation, even if it is one that has scared off Inter Milan, Manchester City and, most recently, AC Milan. Balotelli brings trouble wherever he goes. It is astonishing that Rodgers and the club would gamble on the erratic, both on and off the pitch, Italian having gone through the turmoil of dealing with Suarez's characteristic failings in recent times.

This report from the Metro gives a perfect example of the kind of weak character the Italian possesses.

In footballing terms, when on form, Balotelli is almost impossible to play against. When off form, he is almost impossible to play with. He offers no consistency and tends to shirk his duties when he is needed most.

Jose Mourinho told Pedro Pinto, formerly of CNN, a wonderful story of how he instructed Balotelli not to get involved in any physical tackles or confrontations while both were at Inter Milan. One minute after the half-time talk, Balotelli received a red card for a ridiculous challenge!

In short, Balotelli offers more problems than solutions.

These 21 players, brought to the club by Rodgers, then influence the tactics he must employ. 

Liverpool have been weak defensively of late. This is no surprise given the lacklustre defending from Martin Skrtel, Dejan Lovren and Mamadou Sakho. None are what one would regard as top-class Premier League defenders, let alone top-class international defenders.

Midfield has its own problems with Steven Gerrard's legs aging by the minute, Lucas Leiva with the same turn of pace as a wheelbarrow and Jordan Henderson, who possesses Olympian levels of stamina but also the football brain of one.

Up front, without the injured Sturridge and Raheem Sterling, who has been pushed wider to facilitate Balotelli, the Reds lack any kind of penetration and pace. Think back to how Sturridge, Sterling and Suarez intertwined, pirouetted and caused absolute havoc amongst opposition defences. Now compare it to today where Balotelli and Adam Lallana want to drop deep into Coutinho's space to orchestrate the game.

It is little wonder the Reds are still a work in progress.

Losing a world-class player like Suarez is never easy. Very few teams can deal with such a loss and bounce back to the same standard as in previous seasons.

That's one of the areas Ferguson and Wenger have proved so successful. Their succession planning has generally worked.

For Rodgers, quite frankly and despite all the goodwill he won from last season, the jury is still out and the clock is counting down.