Brendan Rodgers' time at Liverpool is coming to an end, and he knows it

Ever since the 'Being: Liverpool' documentary series aired in 2012, the comparisons between Brendan Rodgers and David Brent – Ricky Gervais' cringe-worthy comedy creation – began.

In ‘The Office,’ Brent is the regional manager of a paper manufacturing firm based in Slough – a nondescript town on the outskirts of London. Overseeing a bunch of sales-people and accountants, Brent spends the majority of his time desperately seeking their validation. Thinking of himself as a quasi-philosopher, his biggest aim in life is just to be liked.

But despite the litany of offences (casual sexism, racism and discrimination) and despite his initial selfishness, Brent is a lovable lonely soul, an isolated figure who doesn't like the outside. He merely tries to fit in and be part of the crowd. Essentially, the audience continuously feels an enormous sense of pity for him. And at the end of the second series, when his poor performance and overall behaviour leads to him being made redundant, Brent begs for his bosses to reconsider in a genuinely upsetting final scene.

But while Rodgers has ventured into Brent territory occasionally with some quips and general 'isms', his inevitable departure from Liverpool won't be greeted with the same level of emotion as Gervais' television character. For Rodgers, unlike Brent, has always wanted to be an individual. He's never been interested in assimilating. For him, he's made a point of trying to be different.

Of course, that's never a bad thing. But there's a certain arrogance in attempting to stand out from the crowd. The key is to control it.
Rodgers' failure to land Liverpool the Premier League title in 2014 will forever haunt him and the club's supporters. Without a league success since 1990, their fate was in their own hands. The run-in, as many teams will testify, is a perilous environment – designed for the calm and composed.
Before a home clash with Chelsea, Liverpool were five points clear at the top of the table with just three games left in the season. In front of their own fans, they buckled against Jose Mourinho's side and lost 0-2. It was a seismic moment. They chased goals in the next fixture against Crystal Palace, scoring three in the opening fifty-five minutes. Inexplicably, Palace responded with three of their own and the title was gone.

Writing in his autobiography, Steven Gerrard describes the build-up to the season-defining Chelsea game and Rodgers' behaviour.

“I’ve never been able to say this in public before but I was seriously concerned that we thought we could blow Chelsea away. I sensed an over-confidence in Brendan’s team talks. We played into Chelsea’s hands. I feared it then and I know it now.”

Of course, Gerrard is another example of Rodgers' misguided attempts to be different. When the veteran should've been granted a new contract with minimal fuss and enticed by the prospects of a coaching role, he was ignored instead. He grew increasingly unimpressed when a deal wasn't being offered and negotiated a move to MLS side LA Galaxy. The sight of Gerrard wearing another shirt is both jarring and inexplicable.
Mario Balotelli was a handful for Roberto Mancini and Jose Mourinho – both managers finally washed their hands of the volatile striker, weary of his antics. But Rodgers believed he could succeed where other, more-experienced figures had failed. Ultimately, he never even attempted to properly integrate Balotelli in the Liverpool side, seemingly staggered at the Italian's disinterest in following instruction.

In 'The Office,' Brent is presented with various challenges but his attempts to ride them out are laughable, with everyone but him in on the joke. In the second season, when he gets a new boss – the suave and sophisticated Neil, Brent attempts to be just like him. When Neil walks in wearing a designer leather jacket, Brent does likewise. But there's one difference: where Neil's is from Giorgio Armani, Brent's is made by Sergio Georgini – it's just a cheap knock-off.

Still, Brent struts – ignorant to how silly he looks. And it's sort-of endearing. But ultimately, at the end, he knows he's messed up. He knows that he's got things wrong. He knows he should've been better. And when he initially refuses redundancy and pleads with the top-brass to allow him stay, it's an admission of his own failures and an acceptance of his shortcomings.

But where Rodgers seems all-too-willing to tell people of what he got right (when he changed to three-at-the-back last season, soccer journalists were briefed on the sleepless nights he endured trying to figure out what to do – as if reverting to a three-man defence was a new, radical way of thinking), he seems unwilling to own up to his mistakes.

In the summer, when he met with Fenway Sports Group to review the 2014/21015 season, many thought he'd be fired.

Instead, Rodgers' long-time assistant Colin Pascoe and coach Mike Marsh were dismissed – their supposed pal having little problem in throwing them under the bus in order to keep hold of his job.

With lots of money spent on misfiring players and with Liverpool's second-place finish in 2014 looking more and more like a freak occurrence, a fantasy rather than something tangible to build on, Rodgers has some explaining to do.

There are no more excuses left, no one else to blame.

At a press conference on Friday, Rodgers spoke of his job being under threat.

“We nearly achieved great things”, he said.

A quiet acceptance that the end is here.

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