October 5 – The English Premier League is only eight games into the new season but the sack race is already up and running. Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers (pictured) and Sunderland’s Dutch boss Dick Advocaat have both left their respective clubs after difficult starts to the new campaign, an uncomfortable reminder of just how impatient chairmen and owners can be and how quickly fortunes can change.
Advocaat, who by all accounts was persuaded to stay on at the end of last season after masterminding Sunderland’s survival, made the decision to go himself with the team struggling just as badly, with only north-east rivals Newcastle below them.
But Rodgers’ departure from Liverpool after three and half years is a far greater talking point.
Not only did he have the second best win record of any Liverpool manager since the advent of the Premier League but he also came closer than anyone to winning the league title for the first time since 1990 a couple of seasons ago when Liverpool were runners-up.
Although Liverpool are halfway down the table, they are six points off the top but with only three league wins so far, their American owners felt Rodgers was not the man to take the club forward and acted decisively though by all accounts the decision to replace him came before Sunday’s 1-1 draw with rivals Everton.
Rodgers would argue that the club ended up selling most of the world-class talent at his disposal but 23 players were signed on permanent deals during his reign at considerable expense and with a few exceptions, not many lived up to expectations.
The colourful Jurgen Klopp, who won two league titles with Borussia Dortmund and also took them to that all-German Champions League final at Wembley, is Liverpool’s first choice to replace Rodgers. Experienced ex-Real Madrid and Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti is also being considered.
“The search for a new manager is under way and we hope to make an appointment in a decisive and timely manner,” said a Liverpool statement.
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