Liverpool legend Mark Lawrenson feels that Brendan Rodgers made some questionable signings during his tenure with the Anfield outfit and in the end has left the side without a player around whom the team can be shaped for the future.

Rodgers took charge of the Reds in the summer of 2012 and guided them to the brink of the Premier League title in the 2013/14 season, however, apart from that breathtaking league campaign, he struggled to make them regular contenders for a spot in the Champions League.




The Northern Irishman recently endured a run of two wins out of nine games across all competitions and has been ultimately given the boot by the club hierarchy.

Lawrenson believes that the manager deserves a lot of credit for the Premier League title challenge of the 2013/14 season, but also deserves flak for the questionable way he handled Steven Gerrard and spent money on players who were not suited to the team.
 


“Rodgers deserves a lot of credit too, of course, because he was in charge, but since then his results have gradually gone downhill, and he has made a lot of mistakes along the way”, the former Liverpool defender wrote in his column for the BBC.

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“One of them was not offering Gerrard a deal that would have made him stay. Another was signing Mario Balotelli, when he knew what he was getting into.

“His overall record in the transfer market is another reason he has lost his job.

“He spent more than £300m, and too many have not made the grade.

“Just as you cannot blame Rodgers solely for that, it is not just down to Liverpool's transfer committee either, because he is part of that too.”

The 58-year-old further added that in the end, Rodgers didn’t leave the Reds with a player around whom the future of the club can be built.

“The Liverpool team he leaves behind does not have a player who can shape the way they play.

“Gerrard did that, and [Luis] Suarez too, but right now they are a little bit toothless and too easy to play against.”