Liverpool sacked Brendan Rodgers after the 1-1 derby draw with Everton on Sunday
Liverpool dispensing with the services of boss Brendan Rodgers after the Reds 1-1 draw with arch-rivals Everton was not a major surprise.
The timing of the decision was maybe a surprise, as a draw at Goodison Park in the Merseyside derby was not an awful result, especially as the Toffees went into the game with their tails up.
Confirmation
The decision was announced by the clubs owners Fenway Sports Group in a statement on the clubs official website which read: “We would like to place on record our sincere thanks to Brendan Rodgers for the significant contribution he has made to the club and express our gratitude for his hard work and commitment.
“All of us have experienced some wonderful moments with Brendan as manager and we are confident he will enjoy a long career in the game.
“Although this has been a difficult decision, we believe it provides us with the best opportunity for success on the pitch.
“Ambition and winning are at the heart of what we want to bring to Liverpool and we believe this change gives us the best opportunity to deliver it.
“The search for a new manager is underway and we hope to make an appointment in a decisive and timely manner.”
Strange
The timing of the sacking seemed strange, but unconfirmed reports on Merseyside suggest that the decision was made prior to the derby draw at Goodison Park. Rodgers post-match interview also hinted that he realised the writing was on the wall, even if he was only informed about the decision after the game.
Justified
It is hard to argue with Rodgers’ exit. The Northern Irishman seemed to have lost the majority of the clubs supporters. As I have stated in previous articles his football philosophy seemed to have disappeared and had been replaced by panicked, hurried football.
Rodgers team of this season has lacked any sort of identity, and has lacked star quality at times. The then Reds boss suggested that his team’s poor performance this season was due to losing key players in recent transfer windows in a post-match interview, which may have sounded like an excuse, but it was an accurate assessment of the situation at Anfield.
The likes of Luis Suarez, Steven Gerrard and even Raheem Sterling to a certain extent have been hard to replace, and despite spending a lot of money Rodgers has failed to find a winning formula without those star names.
Rodgers career as Liverpool boss has been a rollercoaster ride of emotions for Reds fans, from finishing second a couple of seasons ago to finishing sixth last season, and making a poor start to the current campaign.
No doubt Brendan Rodgers has some managerial talent, but maybe the interference from the transfer committee on signing players played a part in the clubs poor recruitment. At 42 years-old maybe the job came too soon for the former-Swansea boss.
Replacement
It seems the hunt for the next Reds boss is unlikely to take too long. Whoever gets the job will inherit a decent group of players, but will need time to turn things around at Anfield. Reds fans cannot expect miracles straight away from the new boss.
It seems the two favourites for the job at the moment are former-Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp at odds of 1/5 and former-Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti. Both men have been highly successful coaches in the European game.
Klopp did the unthinkable at Dortmund and bettered Bavarian giants Bayern Munich for two glorious Bundesliga campaigns, until Bayern decided to use the tactic of buying their rivals best players.
The charismatic German boss is regarded as student of the game and left Dortmund in the summer, after finishing seventh in the Bundesliga. However, for much of the campaign BVB were struggling at the foot of the table, and were in fact bottom at one point.
Talk of relegation gradually eased and despite that one-off campaign, Klopp is considered to be one of the brightest football brains in European football.
Ancelotti is a serial winner of silverware. Wherever he has managed he has collected silverware. At AC Milan, Chelsea, PSG and Real Madrid he won big trophies. Liverpool would be lucky to have a manager of Ancelotti’s calibre in charge of their football club at this current juncture.
Difficult
Managing Liverpool Football Club is a difficult job and it will take a lot of work to get the Reds back to where they want to be in the English game. Many managers have failed to bring Liverpool the success that the fans crave.
Brendan Rodgers will just be added to a large number of managers considered to have failed at Liverpool. The decision was the correct one to sack Rodgers, but maybe the clubs hierarchy need to starting looking closer to home for answers to the club not progressing in recent years.
Who will be the next Liverpool boss?
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