Brendan Rodgers Must Not Make the Mistakes That Kenny Dalglish Did

It is far too early to be realistically talking about Brendan Rodgers’ future as Liverpool boss. His performance last season, guiding the club to an unexpected second-place finish, has ensured he has at least until the end of this campaign at Anfield, and likely longer.

However, there are several worrying parallels between Rodgers’ tenure and the ill-fated second spell of Kenny Dalglish emerging that should be a cause for concern for the club.

Rodgers is now, like Dalglish, held in extremely high regard on Merseyside. Where Dalglish gained his reputation first as a legendary player and then a hugely successful manager of the club, Rodgers has earned his stripes thanks to last season’s performance.

In Dalglish’s second spell in charge, things went badly wrong. Despite winning the League Cup, the Scot was profligate in his transfers, spending £35 million on Andy Carroll, £20 million on Stewart Downing and £9 million on Charlie Adam, all of whom have now left the club for substantially less money.

Results in the league didn’t reach the extremely high bar Dalglish had set for himself either. A lowly eighth-placed finish in 2012 was too much for the new owners of the club, and Fenway Sports Group took the decision that few fans would have wanted, sacking the man still referred to on the terraces as King Kenny.

Rodgers certainly doesn’t have the cachet that Dalglish does. However, his performance last season has got him breathing the rarified air that numerous predecessors—including current England boss Roy Hodgson—never got close to.

Going into this season, even without Luis Suarez, the expectations were huge.

As it has transpired, the most kudos Rodgers has earned so far this term among the Anfield faithful have resulted from his simmering public spat with Hodgson over Raheem Sterling’s role in the national team.

In many ways, he’s indebted to the England manager. Had it not been for the continued verbal sparring, the spotlight would be on him for very different reasons.

Liverpool’s loss to Chelsea at the weekend was their fifth of the season, and they currently lie in 11th place. Comparatively, last season they lost just six times over the entire campaign and were just two points off the top at the same point in the season.

The dramatic loss of form has been a surprise, but the warning signs have been there for some time.

Rodgers can’t be blamed for the loss of Suarez. Realistically, had he given him another chance, it would have undermined squad discipline and, combined with his lengthy ban, arguably caused more trouble than he was worth.

However, the rest of his transfer policy—the signing of Daniel Sturridge aside—has been little short of disastrous.

Despite their strong showing last season, Liverpool clearly had several areas of the squad that needed addressing, particularly in defence. Aside from signing Dejan Lovren, who has failed to hit the ground running at Anfield, Rodgers did little to fix the problems with the back line that conceded just three goals fewer than 16th-placed Hull last season.

Mario Balotelli has drawn considerable criticism following his faltering start to life in Liverpool, but he may still come good. He has, after all, proven himself to be a superb striker at several junctures in his still relatively short career.

The same cannot be said for several of Rodgers' other signings.

The critical issue has been the Northern Irishman’s admirable, yet worryingly naive, focus on buying talent for the future.

Last season, Tiago Ilori, Luis Alberto and Iago Aspas cost the club a combined £21 million and have so far made 23 league appearances for the club between them. All three are currently out on loan.

Having lost out on the title by such a fine margin, it’s fair to assume that Rodgers would have pooled resources more effectively this season.

However, once again he focused on the future rather than readying the squad for another assault on the top of the table. Emre Can, Lazar Markovic and Divock Origi (who was immediately loaned back to Lille for the season) are all largely unproven and yet cost the club an astronomical £40m.

Worst of all is the apparent lack of cohesion behind these transfers. Liverpool and Rodgers were applauded last year for the breathtaking speed with which they turned defence into attack. The squad had the look of one that had been deliberately constructed with a very specific playing style in mind.

This season’s transfers have cast all of that into doubt. Those accusing the Reds of being a one-man team who have lost their fulcrum are being slightly harsh—the loss of Sturridge has been almost as debilitating.

However, Rodgers’ failure to replace Suarez or supplement his team-mates with players of the same ilk has been the root cause of their poor start to the season.

Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert have never been particularly pacey players, relying on trickery and strength, respectively. The same is true of Balotelli, who does possess acceleration but so far has looked completely incompatible with Liverpool’s system and has destabilised the team as a result.

The similarities to Dalglish’s transfer policy are numerous. Both put a lot of faith in youth—one of Dalglish's biggest signings was Jordan Henderson, who took time to emerge as a key player. Lallana's capture is somewhat reminiscent of Downing and Carroll's signings, with the club paying over the odds for an English player.

Hodgson never came anywhere near to achieving the popularity that Rodgers currently enjoys at Anfield. Of the accusations levelled at him, some fairly and some unfairly, the most oft-repeated is that he simply lacked the ambition to be Liverpool manager. The names Paul Konchesky and Christian Poulsen are still spoken in hushed tones on the Kop.

However, they cost a combined £7.5 million, a mere fraction of the £73.5 million the club accrued for player sales that year.

Some managers finding favour where others don’t is a natural process in football; however, a degree of objectivity is important. Rodgers may have worked wonders last season, but he must be held to account for the failure of his transfer policy.