What crisis? Fascinating Liverpool still ahead of schedule

Last year they made an MGM musical sized production of coming second in the league, the most entertaining side in the competition if not quite the best, all six-threes, five-ones and three-alls, one which redefined failure on a grand scale, a bittersweet bridesmaid's romance or a burst of schadenfreude-fuelled hilarity, depending on your bias. Either way, nobody will be forgetting the Liverpool of 2013/14 in a hurry. Keegan's Newcastle de nos jours.

Therein lies the problem facing the 2014/15 vintage. How to match that, with half a new team, and without Luis Suarez, who in terms of maximising his own potential, arguably eclipsed even Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo last season? It's practically impossible, and sure enough, nothing's clicking yet. But in the grand manner of the new Liverpool, at least it's not clicking in spectacular style.

Take a look at their last three games: an absurd defeat at West Ham, the defence all over the place to the point where a tactical rethink was required at the 22-minute mark, sandwiched by narrow cup victories against unheralded opposition in Ludogorets and Middlesbrough, victories which would have both been defeats but for the width of a post. Throw in the longest penalty shoot-out on record in English professional football, and they're not only still taking the scenic routes, but going for an extra spin round the houses as well.

The sat-nav's on the blink, though Liverpool would do well not to panic and press reset quite yet. It's only September, and it's easy to forget that the result which served as their statement of intent last season, the 5-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur, only arrived ten days before Christmas. It's also easy to forget that Liverpool's opening salvo of three wins in the last campaign was followed by a stuttering September. Rodgers' teams have a habit of starting slowly, carefully at best, before picking up speed; this season should prove no different.

Which is not to say that Liverpool have much wriggle room if they want to entertain the notion of another title challenge. There's a strong suspicion that Chelsea have already set sail on that particular boat, for this season's Premier League already has Jose Mourinho's dabs all over it: his MO during previous title-winning seasons in England, Italy and Spain has been to hit the front fast, then scuttle off into the distance.

Still, with only five games gone, Liverpool are hardly in pipe-dream territory yet, and anything is possible if Mario Balotelli and Dejan Lovren can find their feet after sluggish starts, much in the way Adam Lallana appears to be now doing. But Rodgers and Liverpool have, in a paradoxical sense, bigger fish to fry than challenging again for that elusive 19th title this season. Such a short-term sugar rush is less important than laying the foundations for a long-term plan. Their second-place finish last time round should best be viewed as a glorious aberration, and not allowed to skew the overall trend of improvement since Rodgers took charge of a complete shambles in the summer of 2012.

The squad is in immeasurably better nick, even if the new-look first XI is currently - let's be polite - a work in progress. The aforementioned Lallana is beginning to get back into the groove that made him so popular at Southampton, a quicksilver presence that fits snugly into the Rodgers template. Dejan Lovren has been a bit of a curate's egg so far, dominant in the Sami Hyypia style on a couple of showings, laughably inept on a couple of others, though he can point to being played in his less-favoured position on the right-hand side of the central-defensive pairing. Despite also having to bear personal responsibility for pulling together a rickety defence, he should bed in soon enough.

Liverpool's two young full backs, Alberto Moreno and Javi Manquillo, have shone going forwards at least, and have been for the most part defensively competent, providing you can forgive them one horror show apiece, at Manchester City and West Ham respectively. Emre Can performed a barnstorming cameo in the middle at Tottenham before picking up an injury on international duty, and as one of Germany's hottest young things, should have the moxie to step in for Lucas and Steven Gerrard, for whom the bell tolls.

The Spurs outlier apart, Liverpool have been blunt up front all season, the Suarez hangover. But the only way is up. Raheem Sterling, a player of infinite possibility, has been Liverpool's star of the season so far, hugely impressive despite reaching nowhere near his own high standards. The injured Daniel Sturridge - a miss as huge as Suarez, somehow destined to be forever underestimated and under-appreciated by the world of football at large - is soon to return. Rickie Lambert, Lazar Markovic and Mario Balotelli all currently lie dormant, but if just one of these three explodes this season, it should stand Liverpool in good-enough stead.

On the debit side there's the inexorable decline of the heroic but battle-weary Steven Gerrard - who must be a good outside bet for a Jamie Carragher style mid-season retirement announcement - and the flat-footed Simon Mignolet, who after a shaky first season has finally frozen in the headlights, and whose woeful indecision is arguably the root cause of all Liverpool's uncertainty at the back.

But even taking into account the breakneck speed of snap judgements in the increasingly childish modern world, this hardly adds up to a full-blown crisis. No doubt it will be presented as such should Liverpool manage to lose a Merseyside derby at home for the first time since 1999 this weekend, but the trigger-happy Twitter juries should log off and simmer down. Rodgers should be judged on his overall contribution so far, not an understandable downturn after an ahead-of-schedule season of glorious overachievement. (This applies also to Roberto Martinez at Everton, who will doubtless be getting undeserved pelters if Saturday afternoon's result goes the way of the Reds.)

His young and vibrant team almost certainly has a few more meltdowns to suffer this season. There's also the possibility that everything will suddenly click into place just in time for another late-season tilt at a trophy or two. What on earth will they get up to next? Few teams in the Premier League era have been as genuinely fascinating to watch; only this season's Manchester United could give them a run for their money in this appointment-to-view regard. Trophies are almost by the by. Worrying about missing out on them certainly misses the point. Crisis? What crisis? Buckle in for the ride, sit back, and enjoy the view while you can. Clubs don't lay on magical mystery tours like this all the time.