Brendan Rodgers Sacked – My Thoughts

Following Liverpool’s 1-1 draw in the Merseyside Derby with Everton, Liverpool decided to part ways with manager Brendan Rodgers. The Northern Irishman joined Liverpool FC in June 2012 and helped the club mount a memorable title challenge in his second season, as well as helping to develop many exciting young players like Raheem Sterling, Jordan Ibe, and Philippe Coutinho. However, it simply wasn’t enough as the 42 year old was sacked by the club.

Let me just start off by saying that if Luis Suarez was never sold to Barcelona, I would never find myself writing the blog post that I am writing today. Luis Suarez was the catalyst that led Liverpool to the success the club held when they nearly won the title and finished second not too long ago. During his time at Liverpool, the Uruguayan striker scored 69 goals in 110 appearances for the Reds and made an everlasting impact on the club. The striker is now hands down the best player in his position and excels in La Liga in Spain with FC Barcelona.

Luis Suarez’s impact at Liverpool was one of great measures and has been missed ever since his departure.

Since his departure, Liverpool have never been the same going forward. Daniel Sturridge has been in and out of the team with constant injuries. Wonderkid Raheem Sterling has since moved on to Manchester City in hopes of actually challenging for a title.

Liverpool now find themselves rotating countless numbers of attacking options with Ings, Firmino, Benteke, Ibe, etc. and none of the options are seemingly on point. Thus far, Liverpool have managed to score a mere 8 goals in the league through 8 matches, tied for 4th worst. Goals are a clear explanation as to why the club has struggled.

Former Swansea manager Rodgers, who took over from Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish at Anfield, did not win a trophy during his time at the helm. He is the first Liverpool boss since the 1950s not to have won a trophy in his first three seasons in charge.

His overall record saw him win 83, draw 40 and lose 42 of his 165 games at the helm, but he won only four of 11 in all competitions this season despite spending around £80 million on new players in the summer, including a near scare on penalties to League 2 side Carlisle.

This trend was seemingly what is going to define Rodgers, the man who bought and bought in the summer and never saw the pieces of the puzzle get pieced together on the pitch for positive results. Since his arrival, Liverpool have finished 8th, 7th, and 2nd and now the club is sitting in 10th after 8 fixtures, a less than stellar record at a club like Liverpool.

In my eyes, Rodgers bought too many role players and made mistakes by letting his big time players go in Suarez and Sterling. He seemingly hasn’t used the money wisely and bought almost too many players and they haven’t meshed well. How many players has Rodgers signed that have been absolutely useless and total flops? Let’s name a few: Fabio Borini, Oussama Assaidi, Luis Alberto, Iago Aspas, Dejan Lovren, Mario Balotelli. The list goes on and on. Rodgers, in my eyes, isn’t a bad manager, the man just doesn’t know how to buy players.

Rodgers has missed on many of the signings he has made during his tenure.

It should also be noted that Brendan Rodgers has seen his two club leaders in Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard depart under his reign. For so long, the pair have been Liverpool’s beloved boys in red, but as age became a degrading factor in their careers, both players have since left the club, a huge morale blow to a club that, in my eyes, lacks a true leader on the pitch. There is only so much a manager can do, he can’t play the game for his players, Rodgers, following the departures of Carragher and Gerrard, has lacked a helping hand on the field and I find can also be a cause for Liverpool’s poor start to this campaign.

Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard were loyal leaders for Liverpool for over a decade and since they have left, Liverpool lacks a leader on the pitch.

Rodgers is probably deserving of his sacking, but I will say he is potentially a victim of a rough set of opening fixtures. The Reds, in the opening 8 BPL fixtures, had to go on the road to play Arsenal and Manchester United as well Everton in the Merseyside Derby, none of which are easy fixtures to get 3 points in at all. However, Rodgers and his side have lost embarrassingly at home to West Ham 3-0 and drawn with newly promoted Norwich, results that aren’t ones to be proud of if you are a Liverpool supporter. So I think it all levels out.

Now, where do Liverpool turn? It appears as if former Dortmund manager, Jurgen Klopp, and former Real Madrid manager, Carlo Ancelotti are the front runners for the vacancy.

Klopp, the German, is currently deemed as the front runner and in my opinion, would be an amazing fit for Liverpool. During his time at Dortmund, Klopp brought an immense amount of passion and energy to the sideline and made watching Dortmund a fun experience that was about more than just what was happening on the pitch.

The charismatic manager transformed a Dortmund side that finished in 13th a year before into a German powerhouse. In his first season in charge, Klopp guided Borussia Dortmund to win the T-Home Supercup, defeating German champions Bayern Munich.

Klopp took the club to a sixth-place finish in his first season in charge, and a fifth-place finish in the season after that, before leading the club to successive Bundesliga titles in the 2010–11 and 2011–12 seasons. In 2012, Klopp made Borussia Dortmund history by sealing the club’s first ever domestic double, by defeating Bayern Munich 5–2 to win the DFB-Pokal and in the 2012-2013 campaign, nearly won the Champions League, losing out to Arjen Robben and Bayern Munich.

BVB became a force in Germany and Europe under Klopp after seasons of lackluster performances. Liverpool is another Dortmund, a club struggling that should be doing much better than needs fixing, Klopp, in my eyes, is more than capable of achieving that.

The frontrunner to replace Rodgers at Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp would bring a good track record and loads of energy to Anfield.

Ancelotti has enjoyed nothing short of a star-studded managerial career, managing Reggiana, Parma, Juventus, Milan, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid. He has won the Champions League 3 times, 3 league titles, and numerous cup competitions as a manager. Ancelotti knows how to win and that is what Liverpool is desperate for now more than anything.

Regardless of who will replace Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool, it is safe to say that that man in charge will be under immense pressure to perform well and get results as soon as possible. Rodgers was thought to be the man to return Liverpool to the glory days, but it wasn’t to be, and now we await the next man in line.