Who will be the next Liverpool boss?

Who will be Rafa’s replacement?

As I write this article Rafa Benitez’s future as Liverpool boss is in major doubt. The rumours on the football grapevine are that the Spaniard will exit Anfield in the next few days. It wouldn’t be a major surprise if he did leave Anfield. He has endured an awful season as Liverpool boss and lost the confidence of his players and fans.

Crisis

Last season’s campaign was Liverpool’s poorest in years and failure to qualify for the Champions League looks to have cost the bearded one his job. The club have gone backward this season after finishing second in the Premier League last season.

Options

It now looks like Rafa will be off to a new position and that new job could be with European champions Inter if reports from Italy are to be believed. Benitez’s reputation on the continent is still high despite his failure with Liverpool. He won’t be short of options.

Future

Liverpool will now have to find a suitable replacement who isn’t scared of a challenge. The club are in trouble both on and off the pitch. The Reds are heavily in debt off the pitch and need to strengthen their squad majorly if they are to even regain a top four place never mind mount a realistic title challenge.

Experienced

A few of the names linked with the job are experienced bosses. Former-Portsmouth boss Avram Grant has even been linked with the job even though he looks set to be announced as West Ham manager tomorrow.

Another name to linked with the former-European champions is former-Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink. His countryman Louis Van Gaal has been installed as one of the favourites for the job. His success as Bayern Munich boss last season has put him back on the radar of other European clubs.

Fulham’s success this season in the Europa League reaching the final has raised the profile of wily old boss Roy Hodgson. The veteran boss has experience of managing all over the world and would provide the Reds with a bit of stability. However he is an unpopular choice amongst Liverpool fans as they don’t regard him as a big enough name.

Highly rated

A surprise name that has entered the equation is that of Benfica boss Jorge Jesus. The Benfica boss is highly-rated in Portugal and has been compared to Jose Mourinho. In fact he even earned the nickname “The Special One Two”.

Unfortunate

An interesting name that has been mentioned is that of former-Real Madrid boss Manuel Pellegrini. He was rather unlucky to get the sack from a club that expect the world and more. He did a fantastic job at little Villarreal and that won him the role at arguably the biggest club in the world.

He was always fighting a losing battle at Real Madrid with now boss Jose Mourinho being constantly linked with his job. He was under an unbelievable amount of pressure and couldn’t live up to expectations.

Liverpool are a massive club but at the moment they need somebody to just get them back into the Champions League and the Chilean has proved that he can turn a team into Champions League contenders. Pellegrini would be a superb appointment for the Reds.

Vital

Whoever the Liverpool board appoint will have to deal with the behind the scenes going on. The Liverpool board have ruined their club but the next manager that comes along will have to have a thickskin and a big personality. Whoever the next manager is they are going to need a massive slice of luck to take Liverpool back to the top.

The question is who will be the next Liverpool boss?