Apparently immediately after the Everton vs Liverpool Merseyside derby today the official winner of the sack race (the race to decide the first BPL coach to get the sack each season) was won by none other than Brendan Rodgers. I have not seen eye to eye with Brendan regarding some of his recent comments regarding Chelsea FC and how we play since he took up the Liverpool managerial job but I must say I have sympathy for him. Is he the worst manager in the BPL right now to have suffered this fate? Absolutely no. His Liverpool team is presently placed 10th and they are still in the Euopa league with at least a statisitical chance of winning it and so getting into the Champions league by that means ( I know some here are laughing hysterically but you do remember some past Liverpool related miracles especially in the Champions league so this is not as outlandish as it may sound). As bad as Liverpool have been sometimes this season they have been better than we have in every significant stat including position in the table, goals scored, goals conceded etc.
So why did Rodgers win the sack race one might ask? What I state below is my theory but it will become apparent shortly if I am right or not.
I think the Liverpol brass are now punishing Rodgers for the mistakes of the past and for spending money like a drunken sailor in the last two seasons with no substantive results to show. He is now paying the price for his Ballotelli debacle, for blowing the funds got from the Suarez sale and for doing all that with no top 4 finish nor hope for it since the time of SAS when Liverpool was scoring like there was no tomorrow.
More than this though I am sure that the Liverpool brass themselves know that this Liverpool squad does not have talent on paper to be in the top 4..not if sides like Chelsea, ManU, City, the Gunners and even Spurs play up to expectation. It also does not help that other teams like Crystal palace, West Ham and Everton and doing much better than typical and are frankly speaking more likely to be the outsiders who could challenge the usual suspects for a top 4 positiion. With this in mind the Liverpool top brass know that for their team to over achieve and possibly recapture some of their much noised history they need a top draw manager and Brendan is not that guy..that is just the blunt truth.
Clearly the Liverpool brass have been on the phone for some time and they know there are really only two top quality managers out there who can pull of the minor miracle they are seeking to get Liverpool in the top 4 this season and most importantly who are actually available. It really is either Jurgen Klopp or Carlo Ancelloti. I am pretty certain Carlo meant it when he said he was taking a full year of to rest and recharge. Besides for a man who has managed the juggernauts; AC Milan, PSG, Real and Chelsea and has won top honors at all of them..no insult to Liverpool but for him to cut his vacation short to return to England to manage a mediocre Liverpool side just does not strike me as what Carlo would do. He only needs wait a little and much higher profile more profitable job offers (maybe even the Italy managerial job) will become available by the start of next season. In my mind what this means is that the Liverpool brass are under pressure to snap up Klopp now before someone else does and that urgency is what sealed Rodger`s fate.
This has huge significance for Chelsea FC because if as I suspect Jurgen Klopp gets announced as the new Liverpool manager in the next few days there goes the only real option that the those calling for Jose`s head can mention as a viable option for Chelsea. It is easy to yell blue murder and ask for Jose`s head on a platter but calmer heads would wisely ask..easy to say Sack the manager but pray tell who do you have actually available to replace him at this time. We all know after the RDM and AVB fiascos that Roman will probably never go the path of young maverick inexperienced managers ever again. Roman wants a manager with proven record of high level achievement and loads of experience. As I have said before what Roman`s past trigger finger practices have done is reduce profoundly what options he has available to draw from especially when talking about a mid season managerial change.
The only option left for Chelsea were the board even contemplating a change is Carlo and tihe cool Milanese gentleman in my mind has way too much class to come back to work for a man who fired him in the fashion that Roman did on the field tunnel at Goodison park after that fateful last season game against Everton in his second season with us. In essence thus Chelsea and Jose are stuck with each other at least for this season and I think this pragmatic realization may have informed the results of the recent meeting between Jose, Roman and the board.
Now that this matter is settled it would be wise for both Jose and the board to try and let bygones be bygones, stop acting childishly and begin to all pull together in the same direction so as to salvage what we can from this season and then get ready for a major assault on the transfer market in January to give us the impetus and momentum to finish the season strong.
For Jose I have a word of advice..he would be wise to learn from Brendan`s demise. That guy had a level of arrogance that was just so annoying and nauseating especially considering he had no achievements of note to back it up. True Jose has backed up his swagger with high level achievement for virtually all his career to date but hopefully he will finally eat a little humble pie, tone down the ego a tad and appreciate that his not getting the sack despite the worst results of his entire career may well be more related to the lack of any real good replacement options available rather than a true vote of confidence from the Board and Roman. He should also remember that he got this second stint with chelsea FC only because Roman`s actual first choice; Pep Guardiola spurned Roman and his offer of total control over all footie matters and a virtually unspeakable pay scale. That should be a humbling thought to our alpha male manager. In essence, Jose you are now living of the goodwill your double trophy season last year has bought you. That dividend may not last beyond the end of this season if Jose does not make substantive changes to his persona and methods and start getting the sort of results his managerial reputation has been built on. In closing, Congrats to Jose and all the other struggling BPL managers not named Brendan Rodgers for not winning this season`s sack race. KTBFFH.
Share this article
