Time running out for Liverpool's Brendan Rodgers

A growing number of Reds believe he is simply a chancer who happened upon the job by luck, riding into Anfield on the Swansea train after the tracks had been laid by previous managers.

Some suggest he was the best of a bad bunch in the running for the job after Kenny Dalglish's departure in the summer.

There is also a sense that some - including the board - simply fell for his mantra of possession football or pass and move which, let us not forget, is nothing new in football.?

Since his arrival at Anfield Rodgers has overseen the release of several established players and squad-cluttering dead wood.

But he also failed to replace these with players of superior or even similar ability, leaving the squad short of quality and depth - an issue that has clearly blighted the club's stuttering season.

His decision to loan Andy Carroll to West Ham is perhaps the most baffling, leaving Luis Suarez and the inexperienced Fabio Borini as his only senior strikers.

Now, with Borini out injured, exiling Carroll to east London looks even more short-sighted as Liverpool continue to misfire.

Rodgers has to some extent been successful in his attempt to bring his philosophy of possession-based football to his new club, considering the short time he has been there and the players at his disposal.

However, his stubborn insistence on sticking with this style of play has cost Liverpool points.

The football is often pretty and yields high possession statistics but is glaringly ineffective against teams who are happy to sit back and allow the Reds to pass the ball around in the middle third.

As a result, the side are predictable and easy to read.

The build-up is often far too intricate and far too sluggish, meaning that by the time the Reds reach the opposition's penalty area the defence have had time to organise and form a solid line - as Aston Villa did to perfection in last Saturday's shock 3-1 win at Anfield.

For all the neat triangles and passes there is a clear pattern. Liverpool hold onto the ball to the detriment of actually shooting, are far too slow at build-up play and almost inevitably concede goals on the break due to the defensive line sitting too high.

Sometimes Rodgers needs to release his players and allow them to attack quickly on the counter, to give the opposition something else to think about if nothing else.

Although the Reds boss clearly dislikes losing possession, sometimes a side need to take risks in order to create chances, as well as gambling on a shot rather than aimlessly passing the ball around in an attempt to open up a 10-man defence.

This is Rodgers's major weakness - his dogmatic inability to allow his team to take a risk in case they lose the ball.

Some might say he is trying to play the correct style of football but there is growing discontent in the Liverpool ranks.

A number of nagging questions regarding Rodgers are refusing to go away and are unlikely to do so until his side achieve even a modest level of consistency.

A win over Fulham would be a step in the right direction but given the current short-termist attitudes of Premier League clubs, one cannot help but wonder if he will last that long.