Liverpool signings by Brendan Rodgers - hits or misses?

In his regular BBC Sport column, Robbie Savage rates every one of Brendan Rodgers' 24 signings for Liverpool since July 2012 as a hit or a miss, and explains what he thinks the Reds boss should do in the January transfer window.

I am a fan of Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers and rate him highly as a coach, but he has spent £206.5m since taking over at Anfield and does not have much to show for it.

Rodgers signs a lot of young players and keeps talking about improving them for the future.

He has done that since he took charge in 2012 and he deserves credit for having that approach.

Unfortunately for him, with Liverpool struggling for form, the bottom line is that he needs players for today, not tomorrow.

Rodgers is under pressure but I think he should keep his job. He deserves the chance to put things right in January and the club should back him again in the transfer market.

But this could be his last opportunity to spend big, and he has got to get it right this time.

Young players yet to make the breakthrough

Fabio Borini was Rodgers' first signing, for £10.5m in July 2012. The average age of his 24 buys is 23, and the player who was the oldest when he signed him was 32-year-old Rickie Lambert.

Lambert and Kolo Toure are the only players over 30 that Rodgers has signed, and Adam Lallana is the only other player over 25.

Rodgers' problem is that the last two players he signed that improved his team straight away were Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho in January 2013.

And not enough of them have ended up making any sort of impact at all. Only eight of those 24 players have made five or more Premier League starts this season, which is a real worry.

Sturridge would be among them if not for his injury, but even some of Rodgers' buys who have been playing regularly have not been playing well.

Rodgers was appointed Liverpool manager on 1 June 2012

So far this season, Rodgers has been saying almost exactly what he was saying this time last year, before his side went on the amazing run that almost saw them win the title.

His signings in the summer of 2013 also struggled but back then he said they were young players, signed for the future, and they would improve. As you can see below, that has not happened yet.

I have looked at all of his signings and, out of the 24, there are only four who can be seen as a success.

Divock Origi is yet to join from Lille so I have not rated him yet. But the other 19 have all failed to have the expected impact, or featured at all.

Forget about the future, I am judging these players on the here and now and what they have contributed so far in a Liverpool shirt.

Some of them have great potential and could turn out to be excellent players in 12 months' time - but that will not help Rodgers if he has lost his job by then.

Summer 2012 - the first wave

Rodgers signed five players in the summer of 2012, for a total of £28.5m

He has never looked convincing in a Liverpool shirt. Not good enough, and definitely not worth what they paid for him. VERDICT: MISS

Did you know? Borini has scored one goal in 18 Premier League appearances for Liverpool - against Newcastle in April 2013.

He has played 62 league games for Liverpool and scored only one goal. Joe is a tidy little player but providing assists is his job, and he has not managed one of those. VERDICT: MISS

Rodgers tried to sell him to Stoke in the summer but they did not meet the asking price and took him on loan instead. Has no future at Anfield. VERDICT: MISS

Who? He has been unlucky with injuries but is nowhere near the first team. VERDICT: MISS

I expected big things from him when he arrived from Real but he did not deliver. VERDICT: MISS

Did you know? Sahin became the youngest player to play in the Bundesliga when he made his debut for Borussia Dortmund aged 16 years and 334 days in August 2005. He is now back with his first club.

January 2013 - A couple of instant hits

Rodgers signed Sturridge and Coutinho in January 2013 for a combined total of £20.5m

A massive hit and Rodgers' best signing so far. Since Suarez was sold he has been Liverpool's key player. They are missing him now more than ever. VERDICT: HIT

Did you know? Liverpool have won 60.9% of their Premier League games with Sturridge and 50% of those he has missed since joining in January 2013.

Another big success. I am just surprised he has not played more in key games for Liverpool this season. VERDICT: HIT

Summer 2013 - Building for the future?

Liverpool signed eight players in the summer of 2013 for a total of £48.5m

At the time he joined he was the most expensive defender in Liverpool's history and was talked up as being the man to take their defence by the scruff of the neck and turn them into a proper unit. It turns out they do better without him than when he is in the team. VERDICT: MISS

Has made costly mistakes and lost his place. If you are being left out for Brad Jones, then you are in trouble, because I don't think Jones is good enough either. VERDICT: MISS

Did you know? Mignolet has made six errors leading to goals in the Premier League since the start of last season, more than any other player.

Took one of the worst corners I can remember when he came on against Chelsea at the end of the season. Another striker signing who is just not good enough. VERDICT: MISS

Made only nine substitute appearances in the Premier League last season, totalling 135 minutes. Rodgers clearly still doesn't think he is ready. VERDICT: MISS

Even with Liverpool's problems at centre-back, he was not given a chance before being loaned out. VERDICT: MISS

Struggled badly last season but in recent weeks he has been one of Liverpool's best players. Out of all the players Rodgers has signed, expecting them to develop, it is the oldest player in his squad who has improved the most. VERDICT: HIT

Erratic displays meant he was not signed permanently VERDICT: MISS

Did not play enough to impress VERDICT: MISS

Summer 2014 - Suarez funds a spending spree

Rodgers received £75m from Barcelona for Luis Suarez and spent £119m on nine players

Injuries have held him back a bit and I think he will be a hit, but I am judging him on what he has done so far and not as the player I think he will be. He has not had the expected impact after how well he played for Southampton last season, and he has not been a £25m player. VERDICT: MISS

Did you know? Lallana has scored two goals and made one assist for Liverpool so far this season. He scored nine goals and provided six assists for Southampton in 2013-14.

He has been decent in the last couple of games and has just started to play well. A miss if you judge him up until the start of December, but showing signs of starting to justify his fee. VERDICT: MISS

At Southampton he had three players protecting him in Morgan Schneiderlin, Victor Wanyama and Steve Davis. Now, without protection, he does not look good at all. VERDICT: MISS

Rodgers gambled when he signed him and it has not paid off. I would sell him in January to raise some funds and try to buy two more centre-forwards. VERDICT: MISS

Did you know? Balotelli has had 42 shots in the Premier League this season, the most of any player yet to score.

He has made a couple of costly defensive mistakes but I like him and he is more of a wing-back because he gets forward so well. VERDICT: HIT

Started the season well for Lille, but has not scored in his last 10 games. I think he will be a hit, but I can't judge him until he moves to Anfield. VERDICT: UNDECIDED

There are plenty of opportunities to get into Liverpool's midfield but Can is one of several to fail to take them. I think Steven Gerrard is still their best midfielder. VERDICT: MISS

In the absence of Sturridge, and with Balotelli out of sorts, he had the chance to win a regular place but instead he has been left out so a winger, Raheem Sterling, can lead the line. VERDICT: MISS

Started the season in the team but did not convince and has lost his place to Glen Johnson, despite the England international remaining vulnerable defensively. VERDICT: MISS

January 2015 - what happens next?

How much will Rodgers be given to spend in the January transfer window?

If Rodgers gets money to spend then Liverpool definitely need a new goalkeeper, a commanding centre-half to organise the defence and lead the team, plus two strikers.

From their keeper, they need proven quality, experience and a Premier League pedigree. Chelsea's Petr Cech wants first-team football and would be the man to go for, if he is available.

At centre-half, I would go for Aston Villa's Ron Vlaar. He does not have great pace but he has got the authority they have been looking for at the back and have not got from Sakho or Lovren.

Another option is Swansea's Wales defender Ashley Williams, who is captain of his club and his country. He is better on the ball than Vlaar, and can defend too.

Up front, whoever Liverpool go for, he is not going to be cheap. Everybody knows they need a centre-forward.

They were in a much better position to get a quality striker - a marquee-style signing - last summer when they were still in the Champions League.

Liverpool missed out on Alexis Sanchez in the summer when he went to Arsenal because he wanted to move to London.

But it was Rodgers who made the decision not to sign Loic Remy, who would have been perfect for them.

Now, if he signs anyone, he has to go for a top-class striker. Edinson Cavani would have been ideal, but the question is can they afford a player of that ilk after spending so much already in the summer?

Swansea's Wilfried Bony might be more affordable, even though he has just signed a new contract.

Like the other players I have mentioned, apart from Cavani, Bony has already proved himself in the Premier League. That is what Rodgers needs from any new players now more than anything else.

Robbie Savage was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan