Should Brendan Rodgers be allowed to keep his job if Liverpool fail to finish in the top-four — or even in the top-six — of the English Premier League this season?
For the 11th placed Reds to turn around their season, it needs to start with victory on today’s trip to Crystal Palace, even if Daniel Sturridge’s planned comeback had to be put back after he broke down in training.
This week, Rodgers ruled out a possible early return from Lille of on-loan Belgian striker Divok Origi.
The 19-year-old could have provided another option to support forwards Mario Balotelli, Fabio Borini and Rickie Lambert who have, incredibly, failed to produce a single league goal between them this season.
Sturridge’s injury, coupled with the untimely departure of Luis Suarez to Barcelona, has left Rodgers in a challenging situation. Even so, he should have no excuses for Liverpool’s faltering form, given their record spending on players this year.
Adam Lallana has emerged as a key figure to help the Anfield side to get back on track, in support of his England teammate Raheem Sterling. But the former Southampton midfielder doesn’t yet seem ready to burden such responsibility at a much bigger club.
Even with Sturridge’s unavailability, Rodgers will come under immense pressure from the club’s owners if the Reds miss out on European football next season, even after going so close to winning their first English title in more than two decades in 2013-2014. The honeymoon period after that inspirational campaign is well and truly over.
Let’s not forget that Rodgers could finish only seventh two seasons ago and a similar position could end up in the Northern Irishman being shown the door — especially if they are behind city rivals Everton on the final table, as they were in 2012-2013.
Of course, winning a trophy could buy him more time. They are in the quarter-finals of the Capital One Cup (they’re away to Bournemouth on Dec 17) but lifting the 2012 English League Cup didn’t save the job of his predecessor Kenny Dalglish.
Rodgers must ensure that Liverpool win their next four, relatively easy, Premier League fixtures (away to Crystal Palace, home to Stoke, away to Leicester and home to Sunderland) before the Dec 14 crunch match against arch enemies Manchester United at Old Trafford.
While the Reds should avoid a repeat of last season’s debacle at Palace to get all three points today, a top-four finish this season is probably beyond them. So Rodgers’ fate could hang precariously in the balance, come May 2015.
* Jason Dasey is Senior Editor of ESPN FC, Malaysia’s most popular football website which has launched a Southeast Asia edition. Twitter: @JasonDasey