With the footballing world having not pulled any punches following Brendan Rodgers’ sacking as Liverpool boss on Sunday evening, Reds supporters are firmly looking forward to Jurgen Klopp arriving to sort everything out.
Having experienced a damning assessment from Liverpool supporters and some pundits alike, it could’ve all been so different for Rodgers who came oh so close to lifting a first Premier League title in the modern era for the Reds back in the 2013/14 campaign when Manchester City stole in to win it right at the death.
Ultimately, Rodgers paid the price for his Liverpool side being too inconsistent but also particularly his failings in the transfer market with the likes of Mario Balotelli, Lazar Markovic and Dejan Lovren just not being up to scratch to sustain a top four battle, let alone a title chasing one.
Just four points off second and third placed Arsenal and Manchester United right now, Klopp won’t be inheriting a side in total disaster such as Newcastle United but quite simply, 10th place right now is not good enough for a club the size and stature of Liverpool.
For Rodgers however, it remains to be seen where he’ll source his next job but make no mistake; having cut his teeth in management back in 2008 with Watford after being a coach at Chelsea, he’s steadily built his reputation and does deserve some credit as being a good man manager with attacking intentions.
Undoubtedly going to be one of the leading candidates whenever the next Premier League manager loses his job over the next couple of months, we’ve devised a list of five top flight clubs who Rodgers could be managing next following his Reds sacking.
[ffc-gallery]
Click on the image below to reveal the five Premier League clubs Brendan Rodgers should manage after his Liverpool sacking.
[/ffc-gallery]
Newcastle United
If there’s a club in what we have to believe is crisis right now, it’s Newcastle United.
Flirting with complete and utter oblivion far more times than we care to remember, Steve McClaren is the latest manager to try his hand at what many deem to be the impossible job up there with the England coaches’ role.
Having invested £50 million on Chancel Mbemba, Georginio Wijnaldum, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Florian Thauvin in the summer, you wouldn’t have guessed this investment had been made with the Magpies still looking a sorry outfit that is beaten all too easily.
While the game against Chelsea was initially positive ahead of giving up a two-goal lead and the first half performance at Manchester City was promising before succumbing to Sergio Aguero and all that, Newcastle still only have three points on the board and sit bottom of the Premier League table right now.
Nobody knows how much longer Mike Ashley will give it before the axe falls on McClaren but you can be sure of one thing; the Geordie faithful will be calling for McClaren’s head if this dreadful form continues long into the autumn and Rodgers might be on the controversial oweners’ speed dial!
Aston Villa
Like Newcastle United, no matter who Aston Villa have seemed to appoint since the Martin O’Neill days, they’ve really struggled to get anything positive out of this Villains team for long enough.
Of course, Tim Sherwood had a fantastic fast start to his Villa career, guiding the West Midlands club to an unlikely FA Cup Final appearance but like Paul Lambert before him, things have gone stale all too quickly.
Having invested heavily in an entire plethora of new signings this summer, Villa still aren’t able to shake that work in progress tab and to be honest, what Villains fans crave is a side who are back in the top half of the table rather than battling against relegation season in, season out.
Like any time nearer to the bottom of the table, patience is at a minimum at Villa Park right now and if things don’t improve drastically, Rodgers could be somebody Villa might line up.
Investing heavily in youth since Lambert’s days in charge, Rodgers also likes to involve as many young players in his squad as possible so this could well prove a good fit.
Sunderland
The single Premier League club without a manager right now is Sunderland who parted company with Dick Advocaat recently after a quite terrible start to the Premier League season.
Having won no games so far like their sorry North East neighbours Newcastle United, it’s a shame things didn’t work out for Advocaat who was rightly lauded as a hero last season for keeping the Black Cats in the Premier League.
The problem for Mackems fans nowadays however is that all they’re cheering is the fact they’ve managed to beat the drop each season and should this really be the expectation for a club the size they are?
Quite clearly it shouldn’t be and although ex-United States mens national team manager Bob Bradley is the hot favourite to take over at the Stadium of Light following Advocaat’s departure, perhaps Rodgers should be looking to rebuild his reputation from the bottom in similarly expectant surroundings but of a different kind given Sunderland’s stature compared to Liverpool.
West Bromwich Albion
Quite simply, the early enthusiasm of Tony Pulis’ West Bromwich Albion reign has been traded for attitudes of the club’s fans looking over their shoulder at the few teams that are below them in the Premier League standings right now.
Currently in 17th place, the Baggies are tasting an enduring start to the new campaign and having splashed a club record fee on Salomon Rondon, not to mention keeping Saido Berahino away from the clutches of Tottenham, weren’t things meant to be a hell of a lot better?
The thing is with some football fans that they can sometimes take things for granted with attitudes in where a club is going often going in cycles.
While Pulis has most definitely proved that he’ll always keep sides in the Premier League, some Baggies fans mighe be thinking but where do we go from here?
One of those clubs that neutrals will claim simply make the numbers up in the top flight, Baggies fans will demand more and if Pulis continues to struggle into the autumn, perhaps Albion fans might be craving the top half experience of a manager such as Rodgers who would arrive in a smaller pond.
Chelsea
They wouldn’t would they?
Who could have ever predicted a Chelsea side under Jose Mourinho would be locked in 16th position after eight games in the Premier League?
Perhaps the biggest shock in English football this season, the Blues have looked a sorry outfit that have been partying way too much following last season’s title triumph and on the face of it, it doesn’t looking like their problems will be ending any time soon.
With some suggesting that Mourinho has lost the dressing room, he’s received the dreaded vote of confidence from players and pundits in recent days but it would be incredible if Roman Abramovich was to fire him for a second time so soon after winning the club’s fourth Premier League title.
The sheer fact of the matter is that stranger things have happened at Chelsea before and with the club’s mentality being so focused upon winning and excellence in the short-term compared to any other club in England, perhaps an unexpected change may occur, who knows?
Abramovich hasn’t been shy of making hugely controversial and unexpected calls in the past as we saw with the appointment of Blues public enemy number one Rafael Benitez and you can imagine that Chelsea fans wouldn’t be impressed with the hiring of Brendan Rodgers either given he ultimately failed at a big club in Liverpool.
That said, Rodgers did work at Chelsea as a coach prior to going full-time as a manager so make of this what you will.
