Biggest Villain in World Football in October

There were one or two notable scapegoats who could have been chosen for our biggest villain in world football in October.

Aston Villa was an initial port of call—the Birmingham-based club endured an horrific month. They were pointless and goalless throughout October, breaking some seriously unwanted records in the process.

However, before I hang Paul Lambert and Co. out to dry, there are obviously some mitigating circumstances. The team have had an overwhelmingly ominous run of fixtures and have also had to do without star striker Christian Benteke…or at least, a fully-fit version of the Belgian forward.

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Things, surely, won’t remain this bad for Villa.

If they do, Lambert may well find himself featured in this article in a month’s time.

Elsewhere in the Premier League, two African players, Adel Taarabt and Victor Moses generated headlines for all the wrong reasons in October.

Taarabt was lambasted by Harry Redknapp for allegedly being overweight and unprofessional, and the spat descended into a very public dispute.

The Nigerian was branded a “cheat” by Swansea City manager Garry Monk after tumbling to the ground a little too easily under pressure from Angel Rangel during Stoke City’s EPL clash with the Welsh side.

Santiago Vergini, the hapless Sunderland defender who volleyed into his own net to open the Black Cats’ 8-0 demolition at the hands of Southampton is also worthy of a mention here. But picking him as “biggest villain in world football in October” would surely be kicking a man while he’s down!

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Across Europe, Borussia Dortmund are going through a disastrous time, while Luis Enrique and Claudio Ranieri are coming under increasing pressure at Barcelona and Greece respectively.

At Red Star Belgrade, both hooligan ringleader Ivan Bogdanov and acting general secretary Zvezdan Terzic behaved appallingly, while Brazil forward Leandro Damiao was also accused of some unsporting actions.

Football administrators Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini, as well as head honchos at CAF and within the Malaysian FA, also deserve criticism for yet more poor judgement calls and/or inappropriate soundbites.

However, for world football’s biggest villain in October, I am going to turn to Liverpool’s beleaguered boss, Brendan Rodgers.

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How quickly things have unravelled on Merseyside.

Results-wise, things weren’t dreadful for the Reds during October; they beat Queens Park Rangers and West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League, and overcame Swansea City in the fourth round of the Capital One Cup.

None of those triumphs were convincing, however, and it has been clear that problems have been brewing at Anfield over the last few days. The concerns of October have materialised into two consecutive defeats so far in November—against Newcastle United in the top flight at the weekend and against Real Madrid in the Champions League.

The Reds have won only one of their last five in all competitions.

Naturally, when teams begin to struggle, the manager’s decisions come under scrutiny. It’s natural. However, in Rodgers’ case, the coach has come under particular pressure due to a series of decisions.

Luis Suarez’s departure was always going to make things tough for the former Swansea boss, but in the Uruguayan’s absence, fans are beginning to reflect upon last season’s successful campaign.

How much credit does Rodgers truly deserve?

Were his tactics to thank for the Reds’ title tilt, or did they owe their charge to their South American maestro and his world-class attacking talents?

Certainly, without Suarez, Liverpool look like a different animal, and not one that too many will be expecting to sit comfortably in the top four once again.

Replacing Suarez with Mario Balotelli was always going to be a gamble as well. Admittedly, one was buying international pedigree for a cut-price, but Balotelli’s baggage has been well-documented. It’s a situation that would test Rodgers’ man-management skills to the hilt.

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So far, it’s hard to find too much to commend the ex-Reading boss regarding his purchase or management of Balotelli.

The Italian striker was heavily criticised for swapping shirts with Pepe at half-time during Liverpool’s Champions League defeat to Real Madrid, with the Reds already 3-0 down.

For the moment, he appears to be indicative of Liverpool’s malaise, rather than contributing to help the side to return to last season’s dominance.

Could Rodgers be doing more to get the most out of Balotelli?

The former Manchester City hit man is a complex individual and needs to be managed intelligently and sensitively.

Ask yourself, were Rodgers’ words about Balotelli following the defeat to Basel at the beginning of October ever really going to improve the Italian’s contribution?

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“We had attempts for other strikers that didn’t materialise for one reason or another so it left us right at the end of the window with a decision on whether just to go with what we had,” Rodgers began, as quoted by The Guardian, “when experience told us we were too light, or take a calculated risk on a player who has quality and then could we get it out of him consistently?

“There were very few who are top class who were available and Mario Balotelli was a calculated gamble that we had to try to work with.”

It’s hardly a glowing endorsement!

The striker was dismal in defeats against Basel and Real Madrid and, to date, is yet to score in eight Premier League appearances.

Barney Ronay is just one journalist to have actively criticised Rodgers’s man-management skills regarding the 24-year-old striker and his decision to scapegoat the forward.

Writing for The Guardian, he began:

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From a certain angle it seems clear enough why Rodgers made such a fuss over what is essentially an emotive, peripheral issue. Balotelli has already stretched his manager’s patience thin. This was the night Rodgers decided to cut him loose a little, to cash his player in against a disappointing performance, harnessing rather than fighting against Balotelli’s distractingly overblown presence in order to avoid having to linger on a one-sided home defeat.

Whatever happens from here Balotelli is surely going to be watching much of it from the outside. This is a player who for all his preening extroversions is clearly a fragile soul and for whom, right now, playing football appears to be a painfully abrasive experience. Perhaps the correct response might be concern rather than censure. Pity, sympathy, indulgence: these are not qualities that sit easily in football, which generally concerns itself with being infuriated at signs of weakness and disregarding the emotional wellbeing of players on the grounds that they earn a lot of money and get to kick a ball every day.

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It’s not as though Rodgers’ other signings are impressing too consistently either. The likes of Lazar Markovic, Fabio Borini and Emre Can have talent, but the manager isn’t procuring it from them often enough.

The goalkeeper, Simon Mignolet, has also received criticism for his unconvincing performances.

Liverpool appear to be firmly in a rut at the moment. They have dropped down to seventh and are currently eight points off second-placed Southampton.

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In the Champions League they are third in Group B, nine points off leaders Real Madrid and three off second-placed Basel. Both their results, and those of FC Basel, need to go in their favour if Liverpool are to progress to the last 16.

Over October, Rogers’ summer signings, his replacement of Luis Suarez and his man-management skills have all been questioned. It’s not inaccurate to put Liverpool’s struggles down to the coach’s handling of these three key issues.

Unless he can begin to improve these three areas, things may get worse before they get better.