A lukewarm 1-1 draw with Everton in the Merseyside Derby on Sunday, October 4th was the last straw for Brendan Rodgers, it seems. After the match, the world was informed that Liverpool sack Brendan Rodgers from his position as their manager. The decision is not surprising after rumors have swirled in recent weeks that Rodgers might be replaced by anyone from former Borussia Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp, to former Real Madrid and Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti. Still, Brendan's sacking marks the end of an era for Liverpool-an era that saw the football club get closer to winning a Premier League title than they had in more than two decades.
Still, while Rodgers' almost broke Liverpool's title drought in 2013 2014, his soccer squad declined sharply last season and has continued the free fall this season. The 1-1 draw with Everton dropped Liverpool to 10th place on the 2015 2016 Premier League table. With one-fifth of the season gone, it was time for Liverpool FC to do some damage control, and unfortunately, that meant Rodgers had to go.
A "Make or Break" Gamble
Indeed, Brendan spent roughly £80 million in the summer transfer window, bringing in a huge cast of new players that included Christian Benteke, Danny Ings, James Milner, Joe Gomez, Roberto Firmino, and Nathaniel Clyne. Most of those signings have been disappointments so far. Benteke, for instance, cost £32.5 million but has only scored two goals so far. Firmino has been even worse, still scoreless for Liverpool after a £21.3 million transfer fee.
How Rodgers Ran out of Time
Add the departures of Raheem Sterling and Steven Gerrard, and there were some big shake-ups at Anfield this summer. The revamp of the soccer squad was so substantial, in fact, that just about everyone was willing to give Liverpool the benefit of the doubt at the beginning of the season. It takes time to get a bunch of new signings playing like a cohesive team, and Rodgers was afforded some time to work out the kinks in his football club lineup.
At the Merseyside Derby, Rodgers finally ran out of time. More accurately, he ran out of time by only managing two wins in Liverpool's last nine games. Indeed, the Fenway Sports Group-the owners of Liverpool FC-decided to sack Rodgers last week, but waited until after the derby to inform him of his sacking by phone. In other words, it probably wouldn't have mattered if the Reds pulled out a win against Everton on Sunday. Rodgers' fate was already sealed.
Still, there was one glimmer in Sunday's match where it looked like Liverpool could at least send their best manager in years out in style. The Reds held a brief lead in the derby match after Danny Ings took an assist from James Milner to make the score 1-0 at the 41-minute mark. But the Everton home team managed to equalize just before the first half expired, and an unexciting, scoreless second half left the score at 1-1 at full time.
What do you think of the sacking? Do you believe Brendan Rodgers deserved more time to turn things around at Anfield? Or did Liverpool need to go in a different direction to save their 2015 2016 season? Support the team today, with a new Liverpool jersey 2015 2016 from Soccer Box. Then, link up with Soccer Box on social media to share your thoughts on the management changes at Anfield. You can find us on Instagram, Tumblr, and Google +, as well as other popular social networks.
