Liverpool’s sacking of Brendan Rodgers has elicited strong waves of sympathy. Arguably well deserved.
It is clear enough that he has carried the can for a number of dubious transfer decisions wished on him by the committee appointed by the owners.
Yet in Italy the manager scarcely ever has the last word. That belongs to the club’s chief executive. The manager may ask for the players he would prefer, but there is no guarantee the club will pursue them.
As for Rodgers a somewhat flamboyant figure it’s alleged in his off-field life, surely he deserved sympathy for the fact that he lost two essential attackers one of whom, Luis Suarez, was certainly whatever his dental tendencies – among the finest goal scorers in the world and totally irreplaceable.
The other forward being Daniel Sturridge hardly in the same exalted class as Suarez but nevertheless a goal scorer of salient merit.
Take those two out of the team, and remember the loss of admittedly ageing Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard, and you see all too clearly that Rodgers was faced by a colossal task.
Whether Jurgen Klopp can succeed in accomplishing it remains to be seen. Of his merits as a manager there is no doubt; his years at Borussia Dortmund were overall remarkable and had those two Bayern Munich players been sent off at Wembley as they surely should have been, then he and Borussia could well have won that hard fought European Cup Final.
Former Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp is tipped to bethe man to replace Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool.
It seems that Klopp is going to make it clear that committee or no committee his will be the last word and at least the supporters seem enthusiastic about his arrival.
But his task is surely unenviable. Even with Sturridge at long last fit and scoring again, and with the Brazilian Coutinho one of the Premiership’s outstanding players, turning the present team around with the present squad of players is a very hard challenge.
