Happy birthday Brendan Rodgers

On the 26th January, Brendan Rodgers celebrated his 40th birthday. The former Reading manager has endured both the good times and the bad since departing Swansea to join Liverpool in July 2012, but he has managed to overcome some early season woes and his side now sit in a comfortable 7th position. With only being 7 points behind 4th placed Tottenham, and 6 points behind rivals Everton, Rodgers has firmly put Liverpool in the mix for a possible top 6, and has done it in style. His passing philosophy was slow to implement, but now the club has begun to reap the rewards for his persistence and they now find themselves firmly in contention to return to where they belong; the Champions League. To celebrate his 40th birthday, I will evaluate 4 categories out of 10, (transfers, cup competitions, man management and Premier League) to come to an overall score based on his performance as Liverpool manager out of 40.


new signing Coutinho has the potential to be a pivotal figure for
Liverpool for many years to come



Transfers:

Overall, I think Rodgers has been fairly smart in the market. I agreed with the sales of Adam, Kuyt, Maxi and Carroll in the summer, but was disappointed with the sale of Bellamy, as well as the capture of Allen for £15 million. He was also unable to secure the services of a forward in the summer, leaving us perilously short up front in the months up to January, and I think that has caused us to drop a few points. In addition, I was very disappointed that the services of a winger was not secured, as I believe Downing is by far the weakest player in our team. However in the January market, the signing of Sturridge looks to already being paid off, with the Englishman making good start to life in Liverpool with 3 goals in his opening 3 games. I'm also excited to see the new arrival, Coutinho, in action, who I believe at 20, can offer a lot of quality to the Liverpool side for many years to come.


Liverpool's shaky defence were left watching as a League 1outfit, led
by former university graduate Matt Smith, tore them apart

Transfers: 6/10

Cup competitions:

Liverpool have had mixed fortunes in the cups, having success in Europe but having also crashed out to inferior opposition in the cups, which sparked great disappointment. In Europe, there were some nerves in the dying embers of the group when Di Nitale nearly cut Liverpool's European campaign short, but to finish as group winners was impressive considering Anzhi and Udinese are both good sides. In the Carling Cup, Liverpool crashed out to eventual finalists Swansea City, and because of the reputation of the cup I'm not too bothered about the early elimination. But to the fans dismay, Rodgers and his men couldn’t muster their best performance and consequently crashed out of the FA Cup to Oldham, which given that their struggling in League 1, is unacceptable.

Cup Competitions: 4/10



Henderson has started to produce his best in a Liverpool shirt



Man Management:

This is the area in which I think Rodgers is strongest in. Why? Because he has managed to get the best out of players who had struggled before he took the reigns at Anfield. Jordan Henderson is a prime example of this. ‘Hendo’ had struggled since arriving in a £15 million move from Sunderland in July 2011, but he now looks a man reborn, recently putting in some dominant and assured performances in the middle of the park. But most importantly, Rodgers has got Luis Suarez firing. Suarez's goals have been vital to the team this year, and Brendan Rodgers has managed to get the best out of him, giving him a free role on the football pitch whereby he has managed to bag 22 goals so far this season, a statistic that has been vital to Liverpool's success.
Man Management: 9/10


Rodgers has endured a good start to life as Liverpool manager



Premier League:

Although Liverpool looked in a bad position early on in the season, with only 3 wins in 14 games and lying in a lowly 12th position, Rodgers has been able to transform Liverpool's fortunes. Liverpool have been in scintillating form in recent weeks, scoring 19 goals in their last 7 games. Their new found goal scoring exploits have propelled them to 7th in the table, and based on their recent form, you'd expect them to keep rising up the table if this form continues. But most importantly, is that Rodgers has rid of Liverpool's previously worrying home form. Liverpool have won the same amount of home games as they did last year already this season, with 6 wins, in which they have only scored 2 goals less with 7 home games remaining. If Rodgers can guide Liverpool to build further on this home success, then I would expect Liverpool to be firmly in contention for a European spot later on in the season.

Premier League: 7/10

There is no denying that Rodgers has been a success at Liverpool since joining last summer. He's been able to steady a fast sinking ship at Liverpool, and has led then to the brink of the European spots after a shaky start. His passing football has been able to get the best out of key players, with Luis Suarez and Steven Gerrard performing to their best in recent weeks, with others such as Jose Enrique and Jordan Henderson also transforming into good players under Rodgers guidance. So overall, despite the humiliating defeat to Oldham in the FA cup, Rodgers has been a success, and I hope he can manage the team to further success long beyond his 40th birthday.

Overall: 26/40