Liverpool: 8 Things Brendan Rodgers Must Do To Improve In 2015
2. Use Steven Gerrard More Wisely
So much has been made of both Gerrards form and future this season, and there can be no doubting that, on the whole, the skipper has been a shadow of the player he was last season. While the 34-year-old deserves to shoulder some of the blame for his poor form, it is Rodgers who needs to take the bulk of it for playing Gerrard so much. It is clear that the Liverpool legends pace, fitness and general influence is not what it once was, and that he should be rested more in order to get the best out of him. Sir Alex Ferguson did it with Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, Jose Mourinho and Manuel Pellegrini have done it with Frank Lampard, and it has paid dividends. Why Rodgers hasn't taken a leaf out of their book is baffling. Perhaps he doesnt trust the other midfielders to perform without their talisman alongside them, but then that goes back to the earlier point about his effectiveness in the transfer market. Gerrard is still a class act on his day, and he can still be an effective player for the Reds for a few more years to come, but the time has come where he cant play three games in a week. Rodgers seems to think he can, and it is having a detrimental effect on both the captain and the whole team. He needs to be rested for the odd Premier League game here and there, or it will hinder Liverpools progress further.
