Liverpool have had one of their most disappointing seasons in recent memory this year. Is this because expectations were raised far too high after last year's team looked like world beaters? Yes.
Is it also because the nostalgia about Steven Gerrard leaving has made anything other than a fairytale ending for the skipper a disappointment? Also yes.
Is it because Liverpool has been perpetually injury-wracked and therefore have no continuity or chemistry? Also yes.
Is it also because Brenden Rodgers is managing Liverpool much the same way Custer managed the 7th Cavalry Regiment at Little Big Horn, which is to say, poorly? Emphatic yes.
And this week it seems folks are starting to catch on to Rodgers, mainly because of what he said after Liverpool lost to Aston Villa in the FA Cup semifinals at Wembley Stadium Sunday.
Rodgers, in his infinite wisdom, said the defeat was caused by Liverpool's lack of big-game chops. This is a side that features numerous players who play key roles for their national teams, not to mention is captained by one of the most clutch footballers in recent memory.
Here is the real reason: Liverpool are not very good when they are missing Lucas and Daniel Sturridge, and are forced to play Emre Can on the back line because there is nowhere else to put him. (He is going to be a monster once he takes over Gerrard's defensive midfield spot, which is a move so obvious even Brendan Rodgers probably won't screw it up.)
This is not the first time Rodgers has misidentified the cause of losing a match, causes which are generally obvious. But then again, Rodgers has a penchant for missing obvious things, like how it took him far too long to realize the best attacking midfielder on the team (Coutinho) should play, you know, attacking midfield.
As if to make the point for us, Rodgers said today after being held to a goalless draw against West Brom, "I thought [we] were excellent."
Rodgers keeps insisting that he is the man for Liverpool. Liverpool fans disagree. Steven Gerrard should evict him.
