Should Liverpool Stick with Brendan Rodgers or Make a Play for Jurgen Klopp?

There was a very different atmosphere when Liverpool played Chelsea in the final weeks of the 2013-14 season.

Then there was a palpable sense of excitement on the streets around Anfield as Liverpool fans sang, “We’re going to win the league” before the game, and the team coach was held up by the sheer volume of people packed onto the pavements who wanted to catch a glimpse of the players they believed were on the verge of becoming champions.

Of course, it didn’t quite work out like that.

On the pitch, Steven Gerrard slipped, Demba Ba pounced and Liverpool ended up losing to Chelsea, and ultimately lost their best chance to win the Premier League for nearly a quarter of a century.

Twelve months later, before Sunday afternoon’s game at Stamford Bridge, Liverpool had to suffer the indignity of forming a guard of honour for the new champions Chelsea. 

But far worse for Liverpool is that they failed to provide any sort of challenge to Jose Mourinho’s side this season and instead spent almost the whole campaign outside the top four. 

This season, Liverpool have spent just a single week in the top four, and then only after the very first round of fixtures, while by the end of November they had fallen as far as 12th.

Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press

After Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea, it seems certain they will finish no higher than fifth and be shut out of the Champions League places.

This season has been a crushing disappointment for Liverpool, a cruel trial after last season had unexpectedly raised hopes, and they now need to decide the future of their manager. 

Should Liverpool retain Brendan Rodgers, the architect of last season’s title challenge, or dispense with him after deciding that the last three seasons of stuttering progress has not been good enough?

The Liverpool board needs to decide whether last year was a fluke, artificially fuelled by the goals of Luis Suarez, or whether Rodgers is capable of building another title challenge. 

Who is the real Brendan Rodgers? The bold and successful 2014 model, or the mediocre and underwhelming 2013 and 2015 models?

Matt Dunham/Associated Press

The availability of Jurgen Klopp is bound to be focusing their minds and making this decision even more difficult: Should we persevere with Rodgers or attempt to lure the Borussia Dortmund coach to Anfield?

It would be negligent of any ambitious club not to consider the merits of Klopp, who is looking for a new challenge this summer. 

Liverpool need to break the monopoly of the Manchester clubs and Chelsea in the Premier League.

For two glorious seasons Klopp disrupted Bayern Munich’s monopoly of the Bundesliga, winning successive titles in 2011 and 2012 as well as taking them to the Champions League final at Wembley in 2013.

Klopp has been there and done it. He would bring this experience and impressive record of success to Anfield. 

It offers more reassurance than Rodgers’ solitary honour of his Championship play-off win with Swansea four years ago.

Ina Fassbender/Associated Press

Rodgers now also holds the unwanted title of being the first Liverpool manager for 50 years not to win a trophy after his first three seasons.

Two years ago, Manchester United chose David Moyes over an available Jose Mourinho and have had to live with the consequences.

Despite Louis van Gaal appearing to finally be taking them in the right direction, there has to be genuine regret at Old Trafford at overlooking a proven winner like Mourinho.

Liverpool will want to avoid making the same mistake.

If Rodgers continues to struggle, could Liverpool deal with the sight of Klopp re-energising another club in Europe?

The evidence is stark, and the temptation for Liverpool to at least try to bring Klopp to Anfield must be strong, but then the desire to stick with Rodgers also carries great weight.

The Liverpool owner John W. Henry appointed Rodgers and must be sorely tempted to see if his instincts were correct three years ago.

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The memories of last spring and the thrilling football Anfield witnessed as Liverpool went so close to the title have probably just about given Rodgers enough capital to survive for one more season.

That's if Liverpool can address their severe lack of goals. Though they have so far scored a staggering 51 fewer goals this season compared to last season, the club could launch another title challenge under Rodgers.

The £75 million Liverpool received for Suarez last season should have been invested in another marquee talent, especially as at the time Liverpool could have offered Champions League football.

Instead, Liverpool made the woefully inadequate signings of Rickie Lambert and Mario Balotelli, who between them this season have contributed just three league goals.

That mistake needs to be rectified this summer, especially as Daniel Sturridge will miss the start of next season with injury. Liverpool need to buy a proven and prolific goalscorer—a striker good enough to feed off the creative talents of Philippe Coutinho, Raheem Sterling and the highly impressive Jordon Ibe.

Rodgers is not stupid; he has seen the speculation about Klopp and responded, as reported by Andy Hunter of the Guardian, with a understandably bullish statement: “In terms of what we are trying to do, I do not see anyone better in terms of the hand we were given.”

On Sunday afternoon at Stamford Bridge, as reported by Rob Harris of the Associated Press, the Liverpool manager would have also heard the Chelsea fans sing, “Brendan Rodgers, we want you to stay.”

Next season is Rodgers' final chance. He has earned that, to recapture the momentum of last season, reward the faith of the Liverpool board and make those mocking Chelsea fans look foolish.