I'll start by stating, catagorically, that i'm a big supporter of Rodgers. I like what he has outlined as his vision for the club and what he is gradually building towards. Even when we've disappointed during his tenure, i've generally been quite positive because the shoots of that vision are evident.
Unfortunately yesterday I couldn't say that. That was the first time under Rodgers where i've left the stadium a little dishearted. I honestly couldn't see that vision in action at all. When I think of a Brendan Rodgers system, I think of domination of possession. Constant, persistant passing. Intelligent movement. Intensive, collective pressure. Controlled aggression. Yet, i've seen very little of any of that this season. Next to none in certain games, or even a great deal of desire to enact it, and Rodgers has explained this as being tactical on more than one occasion. Now, i've been positive about that as well, this apparent tactical flexibility. The ability to recognise the strengths of your opposition and adapt in order to negate them is a good trait in my opinion. It's good to have more than one string to your bow and my feelings were along the lines of; if we can master the ability to play a low block and counter effectively, and couple that with our 'default' style, you have a very flexible - and therefore unpredictible and increasingly dangerous - opponent. But my question is starting to become; what now is the default? Has Rodgers abandoned his well documented vision in light of a newfound pragmatism, with short term results taking precedence over a long(er) term vision?
There is an argument that injuries (and suspensions) have forced the managers hand somewhat, with Johnson, Coutinho, Toure, Agger, Allen and Suarez all missing at times already this season. And all, arguably, key components of what Rodgers wants and expects of his team. But then, the retention of Skrtel in the starting lineup is a counter argument to that, because, as others have stated, despite his excellent individual performances, there are still big question marks over his impact on the team and system overall. I was chatting to SFiasco before the game and he brought up Flanagan as an option at right back in Johnson's absence. We both agreed that he will likely never become what we need longer term, but there is surely some merit to the suggestion that an average full back offers more in their natural position than an out of position centre back might. Without going over trodden ground, selecting four centre backs despite the obvious intention of Southampton to press our defensive unit at every opportunity was a mistake.
And that segways nicely to that Southampton pressure. They were excellent at it, no two ways about that. Aggressive, persistant - everything that we weren't. But it was far from unexpected. They did the same thing at Old Trafford, and at White Hart Lane. They did the same thing to us at St.Marys in March as well. Rodgers talked pre-game about learning from the mistakes of that day, and it was painfully evident that we hadn't. We failed to cope with it at all, and that was a worry. Any opposition manager who has watched our previous two games will have discarded the pencil and etched in their tactical blueprint for the Liverpool game in permanent marker. How we look to counteract this tactic moving forward now becomes key. We need to find a way to get around it and quickly.
In the end, despite creating very little themselves, Southampton deserved the result and the ovation that they received, if only due to the simple, yet effective gameplan and the unified desire that they brought with them. For us, well, it's five games in and it's important not to overreact, but I have more questions than I think i've had at any point under Brendan. We could really use a result on Wednesday to prevent the momentum we've slowly built since January from dissipating completely.
