Wednesday, 1st October, 2014
Ex-Arsenal defender Martin Keown believes that Liverpool's current situation will be an acid test for manager Brendan Rodgers.
The Reds went down to a 1-0 defeat away against Basel in the Champions League this evening, turning in yet another poor performance for Rodgers.
From the highs of challenging for the Premier League title last term and finishing second, Liverpool are now struggling to get going, despite Rodgers spending over £100m on new players over the summer.
Liverpool have so far accumulated seven points from their first six games in the Premier League to sit 14th in the standings.
Keown feels that Rodgers now has a challenge on his hands he must rise to.
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"We'll see what Brendan Rodgers is made of. They're 14th and nine points away from Chelsea. The fans have got to be more realistic. Brendan has to stick to his philosophy and keep believing", he told BBC Radio 5 live.
"I've liked the way he was supportive of Mario Balotelli. He was probably seething at his performance. He's not going to be a [Luis] Suarez but he does energise the manager and they've got to pull together. There seems to be too many problems as a group.
"Balotelli is an individual. The way Suarez and [Raheem] Sterling and [Daniel] Sturridge integrated, it was beautiful. Balotelli is a bit of a fixed mannequin and he has to learn the Liverpool way or he'll just be standing there watching", the former Arsenal man added.
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