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Liverpool manager Brendan Rogers encourages Fabio Borini during the Barclays Premier League match against Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday in Liverpool, England. (GETTY)
Brendan Rodgers has tried to shed the ‘Barcelona’ cloud that has hung over his style of play ever since his Swansea days.
Liverpool as a club do have a tradition that matches the great Catalan giants from the mainland.
So when Rodgers brought the tiki-taka revolution to Anfield the breath of fresh air was snuffed out by the stink of transfer chaos.
Rodgers will have to play exactly like Barcelona now to kick-start his season – given this is Liverpool’s worst start to a Premier League season in decades.
Barcelona are one of the few sides in the world who can get away playing with just one striker. In fact, last season, with David Villa injured that is exactly what they did.
Of course, we know they have Xavi, Iniesta and Lionel Messi.
So who is going to be the Xavi, Iniesta and Messi for Liverpool?
Steven Gerrard, Joe Allen and Fabio Borini?
Unlikely.
Because Rodgers has stated clearly, it will be only one forward till January – Luis Suarez.
The Liverpool manager says his team will have to go through the pain barrier until he can get new faces in.
Fabio Borini, 21, is the only other senior player who could step into the Suarez role, but he still seems a few games away from getting up to Premier League speed.
After allowing Andy Carroll to join West Ham on loan without landing a replacement, Rodgers says “We’re in a position where we’ve got 25 games minimum between now and January, so we’re going to be stretched to the limit.
“I’ve spoken to the players and if they get little niggles, they have to man up. We have to come together and be strong.
“Between now and then we have to be creative because of the limited number of players we have up front. I’m going to have to find different solutions.”
The 17-year-old winger Raheem Sterling is one of the solutions, clearly.
Rodgers added: “I’ve an inherent belief in young players.
“A young player will run through a barbed wire fence for you. An older player will look for a hole in the fence.”
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