Whats gone wrong?

Pretty obvious title really.

This time last season we were looking at the top 4 and a possible title challenge. This season it looks more like Hodgson has gotten hold of the team again.

So here is what I think has gone wrong, and before anyone bites my head off I dont claim to have all the answers. Though I do have some suggestions

1- the most obvious is losing Suarez. A world class striker that would be missed by any team. I think most of us knew that if/when we sold him we would drop down a level. As would any side in world football. He is that good. How could we replace him? Its just not possible without spending 40-50 million on someone else.

2- injury to Sturridge. If there was one thing we didnt need when losing a 30 goal a season player it was to lost a 25 goal a season player as well. We scored over 100 goals last season and over 50 of them came from those two players. Its a difficult one to fix, and even more difficult to fix quickly. I think many accept that Sturridge is prone to injury and that generally he is out for a good 4-6 weeks. What we could have done without is those injuries popping up so early in the season having already lost Suarez.

3- poor tactics. Yes, thats right I did it. I blamed the manager. I back Rodgers, and rate him highly. I think the side has come on leaps and bounds in his time as manager. But he is a young, relatively inexperienced manager nonetheless. This season that has shown. An ability to identify weakness during a game and alter tactics and make effective substitutions was one of the things I was most impressed by him in the last 18 months. This season that has ebbed away. I've seen little variation in the set up tactically and its hurting us. Balotelli is lost in the lone striker role, whilst Sterling is at best ineffective on the right. Theres no intensity to our play, on or off the ball. It builds pressure against you as the other team push you further and further back.

4- selection. The reaction on Tuesday seems to suggest not many were actually all that up for seeing the bigger names being dropped, despite their poor displays. And despite a spirited and much imprved performance essentially there was one change from the side that played so poorly against Newcastle in the Chelsea line up. But for a reasonable opening 20 minutes or so it was more of the same performancewise.

5- the defence. Our defence has been poor. I actually think in the last couple of games its not been as bad. I think Lovren actually had a decent game at the weekend and is suffering now from a poor start in a similar fashion to Henderson with every little error being highlighted in the extreme. I dont think coming into a shakey backline helps, I think that having played with different players almost every other game has helped even less. He hasnt been great but on Saturday I wouldnt list him in the top 5 worst performers.

My suggestions would be

Be flexible tactically. Bring in Borini or push Sterling forward, give Balotelli a strike partner. Someone that will pull a defender or away from him and open up space between the lines for Sterling, Couintho and Henderson to run into.

Hold the players accountable. Some of those players did not deserve to start on saturday, both due to their own poor displays and the improved displays of those who played on Tuesday.

Finally work on defending corners and sit Mario down and teach him the offside rule. He's getting as bad as Cisse