14 Dec 2014

Big News: Title-winning boss will take the LFC job 'now' if 'Liverpool ask'. Sack BR?

Last season, 'wonderful' Ajax boss Frank De Boer (RDB) revealed that that FSG approached his brother, Ajax manager Frank De Boer (FDB), about the possibility of replacing Brendan Rodgers at Anfield. FDB turned down the job, but with Rodgers in the last chance saloon at Liverpool, it seems that the Dutch legend is now open to taking the job.

In March, RDB told reporters:

"Frank has already denied Liverpool and Tottenham. Tottenham wanted to take him in January but Frank said no. He also said no to Liverpool last year [2013]".

Soon after, FDB admitted his interest in managing Liverpool, when he told the BBC:

"Those two clubs (Liverpool or Tottenham) are clubs that I think in the future I could be a manager of. I think the history of the clubs and what you can do with the team is my cup of tea"

When asked today about FDB's interest in managing Liverpool, RDB told Fox Sports:

"At the end of the season he surely could [take over at Liverpool]. Its a nice club. If Liverpool ask now he would certainly think about it. He would certainly not close the door immediately, like he did two years ago.”

Re RDB's claim that FSG tried to replace Rodgers during the 2012-13 season - it's pretty treacherous behaviour from John Henry et al, and echoes the Jurgen Klinnsman-Rafa Benitez debacle under Hicks and Gillett.

FSG basically went behind Rodgers' back and tried to secure a new manager on the sly, and if they'd achieved that, they obviously would've sacked Rodgers. Additionally, Ian Ayre must have known about it as I don't see how FSG could pursue new managers from the USA without Ayre's input.

It's likely that FSG approached FDB only months into Rodgers' first season, when Liverpool were struggling to stay in the top-half of the table (with FDB actually saying NO in 2013). Indeed, reports from that season add more weight to this theory. In February 2013 French newspaper Le Parisien, claimed:

"According to our information, Carlo Ancelotti was approached in November and December by three Premier League clubs including Manchester City and Liverpool"

After the previous poor season under Kenny Dalglish, FSG probably panicked after Liverpool's poor start under Rodgers, and consequently decided that they'd made a mistake in hiring him. And let's be clear here: the only reason Rodgers is still at Anfield is seemingly because FDB turned down the job.

Hypothetically, I wonder what LFC would look like right now if FDB had taken over? Would the Reds have challenged for he title last season? Would Coutinho and Sturridge be at the club? Probably not, but it's likely that Christian Eriksen would be an LFC player, as well as several other Ajax players.

FSG were probably relieved that their plan to usurp Rodgers failed as in 2013-14, the manager guided Liverpool back into the Champions League. Alas, that tantalising resurgence is seemingly over now, as the Reds are out of the competition, and are stuck languishing in mid-table obscurity.

The club's owners clearly have a ruthless streak (the merciless termination of Kenny Dalglish's contract is more evidence of this), and with things going badly at the moment, Rodgers would do well to watch his back.

Not that it will make any difference. In my view, Rodgers is a dead man walking at Anfield; Stan Collymore claimed this week that FSG have already tried to sack him twice, and defeat to Bournemouth on Wednesday could conceivably seal Rodgers' fate.

Amongst UK bookmakers, De Boer - who has won led Ajax to four consecutive league titles - is currently 10-1 fourth-favourite to replace Rodgers.

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64 comments:

  1. Got to get a good run of results going....I think if he fails in next two matches he will be gone by end of next weekend. Shame, I think he has totally confused himself this season with two many signings without a thought to the formations. Would like to see him crack it, but think pressure getting too much for him now. Should of stuck to what worked last season and purchased an established goalscorer.


    I personally think they will look to go with Klopp, with an interim manager if they can not snare him in Jan.

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  2. Someone like Frank De Boer is exactly what Liverpool need to get them back on track to being number one again.Proven experience in the world of football means a hell of a lot,and FDB has it in abundance.B.R is a amateur in a professionals position.


    Move aside son and let the real men in.

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  3. Rodgers out know and at least give us a chance

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  4. Sad thing is at this stage BR doesn't know his best 11!

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  5. I don't know but this just does not sit right with me. I just doesn't feel like the way lfc... Call me deluded and slate my opinion but I would be sickened if they sacked Rodgers. I for one am 100% behind him to turn it around.

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  6. Rodgers is turning out more and more like to be a good coach but not a good manager

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  7. I see no good reason to sack BR before the end of the season. There arent any managers availible who are better than him right now, all this klopp and de boer rumors will only happen if one gets sacked aswell.
    The only thing that would have happen if BR gets sacked is a caretaker might shuffle the squad up a little

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  8. I tell you what, nothing would make me happier to see BR turn it around. Bring some silverware home. Let's go all out for the Europa league and get in the CL that way. Could be a blessing in disguise...

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  9. I think there is possibly some doubt then when Brendan says that there is no one that can do a better job for LFC than him ......

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  10. Let's bring back Rafa with Higuain, Guarin accompanying him!!

    Things only turned sour when he was not given funds by Hicks!!

    How else will Lovren and Joe "Xavi" Allem get dropped??

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  11. The fat lady has sung....BR please go and take your entourage with you!!

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  12. Bloody hell. Islamic war has commenced in Sydney...

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  13. Yesterday was the second time I have shut a off game before the end. The one before was when we lost to wolves 1-0 with Roy. If fab is available, we have to take him.

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  14. This transfer committee has got to go.


    On the way out take this lot with you.


    Mignolet
    Lovren
    Allen
    Lucas
    Johnson
    Lambert
    Balotelli
    Borini


    At least let us get a part refund on Moreno and Markovic.


    Coutinho, could be your last year.


    Bring back Widom and Ibe... sign A.Song and a world class striker.


    Brendan, looking like your time is up my man.

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  15. Just don't make things go from bad to worse by rehiring Rafa Benitez. It will neither start good nor end good.

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  16. I can't see FSG making such a huge blunder. Rafa's toxic relationship with his superiors at Liverpool and Inter, crying over more money to spend will ensure he will once again be ignored. No interview 2.5 years ago for Rafa, no interview this time around for him either if they decide to sack Brendan. Brendan must do a better job picking the team, but Rafa is exactly the manager we should steer clear of at all cost.

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  17. Exactly. He's proven, but still in the part of his career where he can move on and still be successful.

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  18. Not quite islamic war, but not good things. Assumed 'Jihadists' have taken over a Lindt Cafe (yep, a chocolatey cafe) and taken somewhere up to 50 hostages. Pretty intense stuff, right in the heart of Sydney. No reasons given or anything like that, I think they are just waiting for some demands or something. Scary that it is so close to home... Even though I'm on the other side of the country.

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  19. On Topic: Frank would be a decent replacement, however I'm against anything happening to BR until the end of the season.
    Off Topic: Very impressed by Markovic's cameo in an unfamiliar position. He tore up the pitch a couple of times and man is that kid deceptively fast! His would-be assist to Balo was boss.

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  20. Hope everyone is fine. Doesn't look good on TV.

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  21. Good defensive coach, eh!

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  22. I would like to see Tony Pulis as an interim manager till May. He should be able to sort out our defence.

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  23. Yeah I posted that just as the news broke. When I saw the flags I immediately thought ISIS. I don't think it is them, but it certainly is islamically related. Not fair to good Muslims such as a mate of mine.

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  24. He's a good 'technician', whatever the f*** that is

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  25. Rafa is a high profile manager, BR is out of his depth at Liverpool! Constantly changing his back 4 is not pedigree, but a recipe for disaster How much money has BR wasted? Please....

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  26. Absolutely, bring De Boer and good thing is that he will have no issue with joining straight away. Then he can bring Dennis Bergkamp with him too.

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  27. FSG most likely will be bringing in a DOF so that immediately would rule Rafa out. Plus Rafa said weeks ago he was in talks for a contract extension at Napoli so for now it is safe to say that Rafa will not be coming back.

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  28. If you had more up votes to your reply then I reckon people would believe you.


    Why do you even bother?

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  29. stick to BR at least till end of the season

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  30. Yeah they are waving the Black Standard, which I believe is a jihadist flag, but I don't get drawn into the whole race/religion issue. I just think its a poor thing for humans to do, regardless of culture or creed. My thoughts are with those in Sydney. I also feel for the muslim community in Australia, who will fall under even more scrutiny now. It is an ominous event that will have severe consequences for our country, and personally I fear for what might happen. You may not be aware but Australia is dominated by either bogan racists, whose reaction to this event is to basically go around bashing every muslim they can find. We are a country that boasts about our multiculturalism, but within the borders it really is a different story. I just hope that it doesnt come to blows because many Australians are even more knee-jerk than the septic tanks, especially when it comes to things that they deem 'un-australian'.
    Off Topic, apologies. Peace, YNWA

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  31. I would rather spend money on bringing in a new manager and his backroom staff.

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  32. What does Bergkamp do for Ajax?

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  33. you forget goalscorers as well

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  34. Nevergonnacrackthecode7:29 am, December 15, 2014

    no villas boas is my choice
    better then da boer

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  35. Nevergonnacrackthecode7:33 am, December 15, 2014

    stop overreacting
    lovren,markovic and moreno will get better sopme players need time not all hit ground running look at fellani and de gea
    and its obvious balotelli is a top player with another top striker , he played well with sterling
    allen is a good squad player , lucas best dm we have
    coutinho obviously needs fast players prepared to penatrate in behind liek sturridge to do well

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  36. Nevergonnacrackthecode7:37 am, December 15, 2014

    Br needs to leave Villas Boas in
    he will play a team like this based on his spurs team that finished 5th
    ............................................Balotelli
    Lallana..................................Sterling..................Markovic
    .....................................Can...............Lucas
    Moreno.........................Sakho..................Skrtel.......Manquillo
    ..............................................Mignolet


    bench: Borini,Coutinho,Gerrard,Allen,Lovren,Johnson,Jones

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  37. Assistant manager?

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  38. Well thats not going to happen. He wont drop Henderson easily, nor Allen, despite their drop in form. Sakho and Skrtel? Doubtful. I'd put my bets on Skrtel Toure. Also, he already said he's dropping Mignolet.

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  39. The irony.


    Sour grapes.

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  40. 4 votes? 2 of which I know are Aussies. Spare me please ;-)

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  41. Unfortunately as this article indicates the problems at LFC go deeper than just the manager though he inevitably has to carry the can.

    If he has the primary responsibility then the owners who appointed him and presumably have oversight of his activities must be ultimately accountable - but of course they cannot be fired. It's a funny old game (business)

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  42. Your kidding AVB has proven he isnt ready for the EPL and god save us if he is in charge of a large transfer kitty.

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  43. It would take some balls to back him properly and I doubt that is the way that FSG would think or work.


    It is a shame because I don't have a choice about which club I support. I support them with my heart not my head and I'd like to think that that the club I support showed certain qualities like class and loyalty. If I am honest with myself though even going back years that has often not been the case and it always seems worse whn things are not going well on the pitch. .

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  44. Yep, agree, stick with BR to watch some Championship football next season.

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  45. Yeah they need to sign the club over to me all decisions can then be based on how hung over i am.

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  46. I think that is roughly how it works now with JH et al

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  47. There is no doubt Rodgers is a very good salesman. His 180 page dossier is not going to work for him again. That is for sure.

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  48. Glad someone is acknowledging that Balotelli is not the problem. He did well when he came on against manure.

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  49. I guess this is the one thing we are always going to disagree on :-) I hope that Balo fulfills his potential with LFC. Still rooting for him to emulate Ibra! (might as well aim high).

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  50. I would settle for a crumb of comfort...

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  51. Unfortunately it is looking increasingly likely that he's lost the dressing room. I wonder where it went so wrong...

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  52. I don't blame Rodgers he made us dream last season with 16 players after losing Suarez we were never going to be as good if we had Sanchez it may have been different we need top striker n top defender

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  53. M BaLotelli(24) has never ever been a target man or loan striker, he has always been a 2nd striker.


    He plays his best football when he is surrounded by class attacking players with mobility and pace, so he exploits the gaps they leave.


    Some fans are funny, do you think its a coincidence that coutinho(22) and Lallana(26) is having poor season?


    If B Rodgers brings more mobility, pace, speed to attack then the likes of Balotelli(24), Coutinho(22) and Lallana(26) can flourish.


    But at moment the only threat in behind we have is sterling(20) and it is easier for sides to stop 1 quick players runs and movements, but 3 or 4 players in side with good movement, pace and speed hurts teams. And that is what we had last season ( Sterling, Sturridge and Suarez causing havoc in front three)


    The owners need to ship out B Rodgers as soon as possible as 7 losses in league before christmas and 3 losses in europe, 2 draws and 1 win out of 6 games and out of champions league is abyzmal and comical.


    And its our worst start for 50 years


    The owners need to back the new manager with £70m in January and the owners need to step back and let a top manager do his thing, no transfer committee crap and no just buy potential crap. Buy class, experience and quality if it is there and available, not just potential.


    And if they genuinely want club to be a success again the need to stop being tight with the money, Yeah B Rodgers spent £115M this summer but he brought in £75-£85M on player sales ( Agger, Coady, Reina and Suarez)


    So he had net spend of £30-£40M that is not enough to compete with the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, Man City and Man United for players and trophies.

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  54. Yes you're spot on about Balo, Lallana and Coutinho. It makes no sense to not play to your players' strengths and then blame them when they can't fulfill your expectations. At Milan Balotelli had the quick and skilful El Sharaawy next to him, which allowed both to flourish. We saw how promising the Sterling/Balo combo looked for a few minutes yesterday and I hope BR persists with this kind of system instead of just playing his off-form favourites.

    I still believe that BR deserves a longer crack at the whip at LFC and would be really upset if he was sacked. The results are abysmal, as you say. Just got a feeling that this period might go down as a blip in a successful career.

    If BR is allowed to make the signings he wants with 70m, as opposed to Ian Ayre being the chair of a committee that decides transfers, I think we'll see a different team. Of course, BR will need to start playing a defensive midfielder regularly, though, but I am sure he is smart enough to learn from failed experiments.

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  55. The majority of them are not bad players imo. A guy like Lambert has his use. A guy like Lallana hasn't forgotten how to play football all of a sudden. A guy like Moreno isn't inconsistent all of a sudden. Rodgers is no longer capable to motivate them. There is no one on the pitch leading the attack like Suarez did and clubs are confident now when attacking us. Last year Mourinho had Chelsea play against us like we were playing Hajduk Split. Sure we los but the fact that 'the special one' was so scared of us speaks volumes. I'd be more than happy to keep most of these players at Anfield, except for Balotelli, but some of them should not have been bought in the first place. I get that we bought either Markovic or Lallana but why both? Had we put the 20 million of Markovic on top of the 16 million we paid for Balotelli, we could have bought a real striker. What was the point of signing Ilori if he never plays? What was the point of signing Can as one for the future when we needed a DM right away? But they're here now and the money is gone. It's also obvious that we still need players if we're to have any chance of getting results in the second half of the season. And it's very obvious that Rodgers is not able to either identify or attract the right players. Or both. So I say give someone else a chance. Someone who can be a breath of fresh air to this clearly demotivated and derailed squad and who can possibly shock it into winning games again. Let's not make the same mistake Man United made last year and stick around with a manager who will clearly not bring the goods in the end.

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  56. I agree with you- it seems that the sell-on value of players like Lovren and Lallana/Markovic among others will have taken a big hit and we probably will be lucky to get half back.- when a new coach comes in he will want to offload quite a few and the way BR has set up the team to play will have done them no favours when it comes to re-sale- some of these guys are good players but he's managed to make them look very average in such a short space of time. Some must be thinking why did I come here? Nearly half way thru season and our defence looks worse than ever- we have some good young players but no real quality anywhere to be seen and that is unforgivable considering the 200 odd million that has been spent- if we lose to Bournemouth and Arse that will be 3 wins in 15 and BR will have to go

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  57. He's coming dangerously close to Hodgson's 25 points out of 20 games anyway and Hodgson did not spend 200 million on players.

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  58. B Rodgers is so stubborn and comical. Last season we had best strike force in world football firing on all cylinders, yet we were conceding goals for fun even though he spent £16M on Sakho(24) and £9M on Mignolet(26)


    And we conceded 50 goals last season with Mignolet(26), G Johnson(30), M Skrtel(30), J Allen(24), S Gerrard(34) and J Henderson(24) in team.


    We have spent £32M on defenders this season and are conceding more goals than we were last season and the new comers are being made to be the scape goats.


    When actually the problem from last season has not been sorted:


    We need Good top class GK in summer to dislodge/displace S Mignolet(26) from the team and let them battle it out for the numer 1 spot but B Rodgers did not sort that out


    We desperately needed a mobile quick tough tackling defensive enforcer in summer as S Gerrard(34) and L Leiva(27) do not have the energy, legs, mobility, pace or speed to do the job properly and well in the premiership. And defence are left exposed game in game out


    In J Allen(24) and J Henderson(24) we have two average centre midfielders who have energy, mobility, bit of pace, both can press well and both pass backwards and sideways well. They both do not have enough class or creativity in the final third, they both do not score enough goals to the amount of games they play per season and they both offer the defence no real cover or protection as the are very poor tacklers of the ball.


    A class creative box to box centre midfielder should have been brought to club in summer ( A Fabregas(27), Rakitic(26), Modric(29), Koke(22) Or Cabaye(29) type midfielder but No B Rodgers brought another J Allen(24) and J Henderson(24) type midfielder to side , but someone who has more of a size to him ( E Can(20) )


    When L Suarez(27) was definately on his way out , i regularly wrote on here that B Rodgers should use at least £60M of the money on these three players to make up for the loss of L Suarez(27):


    1: Pedro(27) Of Barcelona or M Reus(25) Of B Dortmund for £22-£27M RWF / LWF


    2: P Aubamayeng(25) Of B Dortmund for £15-£17M FD


    3: L Adriano(27) Of S Donesk Or L Remy(27) Of QPR at the time for £10-£17M FD


    Yet B Rodgers only spent £20M on Lambert(32) and Balotelli(24) two strikers who are totally opposite from L Suarez(27) when your talking about energy and movement and his will to fight and hunt ball down for the team.

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