After a 1-0 mid-week defeat to the hands of Real Madrid in the Champions League, many fans and pundits have called for the departure of manager Brendan Rodgers from Liverpool. The Northern Irishman selected a weakened side, which omitted seven key players, to play against the Spanish giants in Europe’s top competition.

The former Tottenham Hotspur star, Gary Lineker, tweeted the following:

Whilst Lineker may have took issue with some of Brendan Rodgers’ decisions last night, many Liverpool fans have been voicing their concerns about Rodgers management style for over a season.

The fans have been yearning for Champions League football for many years. Brendan Rodgers knows this and yet decided to field a weakened side for a crucial game in that competition. This latest move has elicited the rage of many fans who see it as a lack of respect by the Liverpool manager towards the club.

Many hold the opinion that the Northern Irishman has only reached the level of respect and worship by pundits and other fans due to the displays of one Luis Suarez and a second place finish in the Premier League last season. Prior to that, he hasn't achieved much at the club.

He may have had little or no control over the departure of Suarez to Barcelona last summer, but he does have a say in who comes to the Merseyside club – and these decisions haven’t exactly pleased some fans either, as shown by this tweet:

The banner, set to be flown over Anfield in Liverpool’s game against Chelsea this weekend reads: 'Brendan Rodgers is a football genius,' followed by: 'Forever in love with Southampton and Swansea's footballers. £215m spent on absolute rubbish #RodgersOUT'.

The first part of the banner is obviously sarcastic but there is some truth to second half.

Rodgers spent close to £120m this past summer, bringing eight players to Anfield. Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana and Dejan Lovren joined from the Saints for a combined £50m, as well as bringing in Emre Can, Lazar Markovic, Divock Origi, Alberto Moreno, and Mario Balotelli.

The signing of the latter is particularly remarkable given that Rodgers declared at the start of August: “I can categorically tell you Mario Balotelli will not be at Liverpool,”. Many expected The Reds to sign Radamel Falcao from Monaco. A move for the Colombian was never completed and he went on loan to Manchester United instead.

Whilst Origi was sent back to Lille immediately on loan, the rest have failed to make any sort of consistent impact on the Liverpool squad and their results. This has caused Liverpool to go from finishing second place, close to winning the Premier League last season via a fantastic goalscorer, to sitting in seventh place after ten games of the post-Suarez era.

This demise has led to many fans wanting Rodgers sacked from Liverpool. If Rodgers wants to keep his job, a strong statement must be made at home against Chelsea.

The Pensioners are undefeated in the league so far this season, so winning against them would go a long way to winning back the confidence of the fans and justification for dropping seven key players against Real Madrid.

However, if Liverpool don't win, this could be the beginning of the end for Rodgers at the club.

Liverpool haven’t won a major trophy since the 2012 League Cup under Kenny Daglish, and fans will start to get restless with this lack of silverware if they fail to win anything this season.

The turnaround could all start with a win against Chelsea – here’s to hoping Rodgers doesn't let this opportunity slip.

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