5 Things That Are Holding Liverpool Back from Being Premier League Contenders
How do Liverpool rise from top-four hopefuls to genuine Premier League contenders? It seems a big step for manager Brendan Rodgers to take after a late-season struggle for form.
But Rodgers still believes he can win the title during his time at Liverpool, as Chris Bascombe of The Telegraph retold last week.
"I think it’s a mark of how the club has moved forward that there’s such disappointment that we weren’t challenging this year," Rodgers said. "Of course it’s been disappointing not to have had a challenge this year. I have absolutely no doubt it will happen."
The manager added: "That’s something that I’m very hungry to do. And it’s something I won’t rest in my time here until we have."
So how can the Liverpool boss mastermind a rise in the Premier League?
Here are five things currently holding Liverpool back from being Premier League contenders, including the requirement of a fit, proven goalscoring striker.
Lack of a Ruthless, Level-Headed Brendan Rodgers
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Rodgers continued his overview of the challenge ahead by declaring: "It will be a big summer for us to find the right type of player that can come into that and [build towards success]."
While there needs to be a sensible and ambitious level of recruitment this summer in terms of personnel, a lot of the blame for the Reds' struggles in 2014/15 can be attributed to Rodgers himself, and he must improve if Liverpool are to progress with him in charge.
He received significant praise, and rightly so, for his switching to a radical 3-4-2-1 system earlier in the season, which heralded a three-month 13-game unbeaten league run.
But, as he admitted back in March, as recounted by David Maddock of the Mirror: "I should have done that earlier!"
For a manager as "innovative" as he goes on to describe himself as, Rodgers has been largely rigid in terms of his tactical approach this season.
Too often he has opted for a largely ineffective 4-2-3-1 formation; too often has he put faith in poor performers such as Glen Johnson and utilised others out of position, such as with Steven Gerrard and Lazar Markovic; too often has he lauded his side as "outstanding" following a meek display.
To become a successful manager, Rodgers needs to reclaim a front-footed aggressive approach, maximise the talents of his squad more realistically and develop a ruthless streak.
Jose Mourinho and Louis van Gaal both have it; Arsene Wenger has seemingly developed it this season.
To become their managerial equal, Rodgers must follow suit.
No Real, Consistent Defensive Line
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When Rodgers hit upon the successful 3-4-2-1 system, one of the biggest improvements within his squad came in the defensive line—a trio of centre-backs formed a cohesive shield ahead of a swiftly progressing Simon Mignolet in goal.
In that 13-game unbeaten run, Liverpool kept eight clean sheets.
This system saw Emre Can, Martin Skrtel and Mamadou Sakho all thrive, with its demands catering perfectly to their individual capabilities.
Injury to Sakho, and suspensions to both Can and Skrtel, has seen this form nosedive once again. Losing Sakho in particular, as Liverpool's best defender, has damaged their ability to build from the back with incision and composure.
Since Sakho's injury, Rodgers has reverted to a back-four defensive system, with Can utilised largely as a right-back and Dejan Lovren joining Skrtel at centre-back. They have struggled to coalesce and Liverpool have shipped goals as a result.
To foster a successful side, Rodgers must find a strong defensive line—one which can perform with consistency.
A returning Sakho must be built around.
Lack of Goals from Defence, Midfield
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Quite obviously, Liverpool have struggled this season due to their overall inability to score goals, having found the back of the net just 49 times with three league games to go, compared to last season's 38-game tally of 101.
As will be discussed, much of this stems from a lack of a regular goalscoring striker this term, but this can also be apportioned to elsewhere on the pitch.
During pre-season, for example, Rodgers declared how he had set a goalscoring challenge for midfielder Jordan Henderson, as reported by Jack De Menezes of The Independent: "I would expect him to be getting upwards of 10 goals this season."
With three games to go, Henderson has scored six league goals. In fact, no Liverpool player has scored more than seven league goals this season. Last season's seven-goal centre-back Martin Skrtel has scored just one goal in 2014/15. Liverpool are lacking goals all over the pitch.
The loss of Steven Gerrard, who stands the Reds' joint-top goalscorer this term with seven, this summer should highlight many requirements within Rodgers' squad.
Most pertinently here, it is the need to find goals from midfield.
The hope will be that Philippe Coutinho continues to develop his finishing ability, but the likes of Henderson, Can and Joe Allen all need to improve in this area.
When the strikers fail, Liverpool need goals from elsewhere.
Sparse Match-Winning Nous
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Another factor Gerrard's departure will underline is that Rodgers' squad is very thin in terms of match-winners.
The captain's late, goalscoring contribution in Liverpool's 2-1 win over Queens Park Rangers on Saturday is the perfect example of this—no other player looked likely to score and secure the three points for the Reds, and this is a worrying trend.
Only Coutinho can be described as a genuine match-winner in Rodgers' squad when Gerrard leaves to join MLS franchise LA Galaxy.
Rodgers must foster this belief within his current squad but also bolster this with signings who possess an intangible, match-winning quality.
The manager recently stressed the need to sign, as reported by Neil Jones of the Liverpool Echo, "marquee signings," before adding: "For supporters, and for players themselves, it is always great if you can get in those marquee players that can really help you."
This summer, Rodgers needs to find players who can win him points from the bleakest of positions.
No Fit, Proven, Goalscoring Striker
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Goals from midfield are an essential factor in a team's success in the Premier League, but fundamentally this burden should be the responsibility of their strikers.
For a variety of reasons, this season Daniel Sturridge (injury), Mario Balotelli (suitability), Fabio Borini and Rickie Lambert (general ability) have all struggled in a Liverpool shirt. The quartet have contributed just eight goals between them in the league.
Last term, Sturridge and Luis Suarez scored 52 league goals between them.
This is a loss of 44 goals from Liverpool's strike options alone, and this will need to be rectified if Rodgers' side are to become Premier League contenders.
Surrounding Liverpool in the league table, Chelsea (Diego Costa, 19), Arsenal (Alexis Sanchez and Olivier Giroud, both 14), Manchester City (Sergio Aguero, 21), Manchester United (Wayne Rooney, 12) and Tottenham Hotspur (Harry Kane, 20) all possess strikers of genuine goalscoring prowess.
Sturridge fits into that bracket, but his sustained fitness issues mean that Liverpool will need to add to his talents this summer.
Support Sturridge with two proven goalscoring strikers in this summer's transfer window, and Liverpool will be well on their way to becoming Premier League contenders once again.
Statistics via WhoScored.com.
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