Highs and Lows of Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool Reign
Liverpool dismissed manager Brendan Rodgers on Sunday, ending the Northern Irishman's three-year reign at Anfield.
After taking over in June 2012, Rodgers nearly guided Liverpool to the Premier League title in the spring of 2014. The Reds fell tantalizingly short, but under Rodgers' guidance, the famous old club's future seemed bright at the time.
Less than a year and a half later, though, Rodgers is history. As Liverpool begin the search to replace him, we at B/R look back on Rodgers' highs and lows during his three-year reign at Anfield.
High: Hired as Liverpool Manager, May 2012
1 of 17
In May 2012, Brendan Rodgers agreed to a deal to become Liverpool's next manager. The Anfield club had parted ways with Kenny Dalglish following a disappointing eighth-place finish in the Premier League that season, while Rodgers had guided unfancied Swansea City to 11th place.
Former England international striker Gary Lineker tweeted: "I feel this could be a very shrewd appointment. Totally gets the way the game's evolving."
Low: 1st Premier League Match in Charge
2 of 17
Rodgers' first Premier League match with Liverpool ended in disappointment. On the first day of the season, the Reds traveled to West Bromwich Albion and lost 3-0 to the Baggies.
Zoltan Gera, Peter Odemwingie and Romelu Lukaku all scored for West Brom, prompting BBC Sport's Phil McNulty to write:
"On this evidence Rodgers faces a massive task to restore Liverpool to the game's elite after succeeding the sacked Kenny Dalglish.
…
It was a brutal wake-up call for Rodgers after so much optimism surrounded the build-up to this opener.
"
"It was a bad day at the office," Rodgers said, per McNulty. "It's going to take time. We'll lick our wounds and move on."
Liverpool finished seventh in Rodgers' first season.
High: Signing Sturridge and Coutinho, January 2013
3 of 17
Fairly or unfairly, Liverpool's failings in the transfer market were a central issue in Rodgers' reign. But in January 2013, the Reds made two excellent signings.
Just after the New Year, the club announced it had signed striker Daniel Sturridge from Chelsea (h/t the Guardian). Sturridge has faced injury issues during his time at Anfield, but when fit, he's been a force in Liverpool's attack. That was especially true of his partnership with Luis Suarez.
At the end of the month, Liverpool signed Brazilian playmaker Philippe Coutinho from Inter Milan. BBC Sport's Simon Austin called the transfer a "calculated gamble," but in 2015, the £8.5 million fee looks like an absolute bargain. Coutinho ranks among the Premier League's top creative players, and his presence in the team is critical for the Reds.
January 2013 represented a good month for Liverpool and Rodgers in the transfer market.
Low: FA Cup Loss to Oldham, January 2013
4 of 17
That same month, however, Liverpool crashed out of the FA Cup in the fourth round against League One side Oldham Athletic.
The Reds had beaten Norwich City 5-0 in their previous match, but Rodgers left Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and other experienced players on the bench for the Oldham game. Matt Smith scored twice in the first half for the hosts, and Reece Wabara made it 3-1 shortly after the break. Goals from Luis Suarez and Joe Allen were not enough for Liverpool.
"We are bitterly disappointed. We started the first half poorly and we started the second half and got punished," Rodgers said, per the Daily Mail. "We've got a big week of games but our mentality in that opening period was poor and it ended up costing us."
High: Premier League Manager of the Month for August 2013
5 of 17
The 2013-14 season would prove a memorable one for Liverpool and Rodgers, and the Reds started the campaign in fine form.
A string of 1-0 victories over Manchester United, Stoke and Aston Villa sent Liverpool to the top of the table. Striker Daniel Sturridge, who had signed the previous January, earned Premier League Player of the Month honors, and Rodgers was named Premier League Manager of the Month for August.
High: Title Challenge 2013-14
6 of 17
Liverpool went on to challenge for the title throughout the 2013-14 season, eventually finishing two points behind champions Manchester City.
At one point, the Reds won 11 straight matches, including a 5-1 romp over Arsenal and a thrilling 3-2 victory over City. Other highlights included a 5-0 demolition of Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane and a 3-0 win at Old Trafford against rivals Manchester United.
With three matches to go, Liverpool had the title in their sights. At that point, Rodgers had the Reds in position to break a 24-year league championship drought.
Low: The Slip
7 of 17
Liverpool's 2013-14 title challenge faltered on April 27 in a 2-0 loss at home to Chelsea. The match will forever be remembered for one play.
In first-half stoppage time, with the teams still level at 0-0, Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard slipped and allowed Chelsea striker Demba Ba a free run on goal. Ba scored what turned out to be the winner, though Willian added another goal in second-half stoppage time.
"(Chelsea) parked two buses, rather than one," Rodgers told BBC Sport. "From the first minute they had 10 men behind the ball. We were the team trying to win but we just couldn't make the breakthrough."
Victory would have given Liverpool a six-point lead over Manchester City, though City had a game in hand either way. After the Reds lost at Anfield, City won that game in hand to take over first place on goal differential.
The teams were then level on points with two matches left.
Low: The Draw at Crystal Palace
8 of 17
Even after losing to Chelsea, Liverpool still had a chance to win the title. The Reds needed to win their final two matches and hope to overturn Manchester City's advantage on goal differential.
In their next game, at Crystal Palace on May 5, Liverpool stormed to a 3-0 lead by the 55th minute. Victory seemed assured, and the title race appeared to be heading down to the final week of the season.
But Palace hit back with three goals in the final 11 minutes to claim an unlikely 3-3 draw and deal another severe blow to Liverpool's title chances.
"There is no doubt Manchester City will go on and win it," Rodgers told BBC Sport. "We needed to win to keep the pressure on going into the last game and we did not do that."
Manchester City won the title by finishing two points ahead of Liverpool.
High: New Contract, 2014
9 of 17
Despite the disappointing end to the 2013-14 season, Liverpool rewarded Rodgers with a new contract in the summer of 2014. According to Louise Taylor at the Guardian, the contract was a four-year deal.
"We are very fortunate to have a hugely talented individual leading our football performance and in whom we place our trust to deliver the vision we share for Liverpool Football Club," the club's principal owner John Henry and chairman Tom Werner wrote in a combined statement at LiverpoolFC.com.
The statement continued:
"Brendan is at the heart of what we, as an ownership group, are trying to achieve on the pitch. This season has reaffirmed everyone's belief that we can bring football success to Liverpool and we are all committed to working together to achieve that.
Players and supporters have made it clear how important Brendan is to our success and so to have him commit to us for the long term is a great boost for everyone going forward.
"
Rodgers, for his part, said he was "humbled" and "privileged" to have an opportunity to extend his contract.
In addition to his new contract, Rodgers received recognition as the LMA Manager of the Year.
Low: Transfer Dealings, Summer 2014
10 of 17
The summer of 2014 marked Luis Suarez's departure from Anfield. The Uruguayan striker had played brilliantly for Liverpool since joining from Ajax in 2011, but his tenure was full of controversy, and an incident at the 2014 World Cup seemed to decisively signal that the time was right for a change.
For the third time in his career, Suarez was guilty of biting an opponent, in this case Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini, at the World Cup. Suarez received a four-month ban for his crime, and when Barcelona came in with a huge offer, Liverpool decided to sell. According to Louise Taylor at the Guardian, Barca paid £75 million for the player's services.
Such a sum represented an enormous windfall, but Liverpool spent the money unwisely that summer. By the time the window shut, the Reds had spent more than £100 million on Mario Balotelli, Lazar Markovic, Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren and Divock Origi.
Balotelli and Markovic have been shipped out on loan, and the others have struggled to varying degrees to justify their transfer price tags.
Low: European Failure
11 of 17
One upside to Liverpool's disappointing finish to the 2013-14 season was that the club had qualified for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League for the following campaign.
However, after being drawn into a group with Real Madrid, Basel and Ludogorets, Liverpool failed to qualify for the knockout stage.
Liverpool dropped to the Europa League but crashed out of that competition at the first hurdle, losing to Besiktas on penalties in the round of 32.
Low: Contract Dispute with Raheem Sterling
12 of 17
As the end of the 2014-15 season approached, Liverpool became embroiled in a contract dispute with Raheem Sterling. The 20-year-old forward was a rising star for both club and country, and negotiations with Liverpool were going poorly.
In an interview with BBC Sport on April 1, Sterling confirmed he had turned down Liverpool's latest contract offer, which was worth £100,000 per week. The interview was not sanctioned by the club, and Sterling came off negatively, but the relationship between club and player was clearly damaged.
Sterling signed with Manchester City in July for a £49 million fee, as reported by the Manchester Evening News.
Low: FA Cup Semifinal Loss to Aston Villa
13 of 17
By the spring of 2015, Liverpool were out of the Premier League title race. But a fairytale ending was shaping up in the FA Cup.
The final that season was set for May 30, which coincidentally was captain Steven Gerrard's 35th birthday. Gerrard had already announced his decision to leave Liverpool at the end of the season, so the FA Cup final represented what would have been a perfect send-off for the club legend.
But on April 19, Liverpool lost 2-1 to Aston Villa in the semifinals despite taking the lead through Philippe Coutinho in the 30th minute. Villa were fighting to avoid relegation, and Arsenal had no trouble beating Tim Sherwood's side 4-0 in the final. Thus Liverpool's failure that day was all the more perplexing.
Low: Loss to Stoke
14 of 17
Gerrard played his final match for Liverpool on May 24, the last day of the 2014-15 Premier League season. It was a day Gerrard, Liverpool and Rodgers will want to forget.
The hosts scored five times in the opening half and went on to win 6-1 at the Britannia Stadium. Gerrard scored a second-half goal on his final appearance, but it was little consolation on a poor day for the club.
High: Strong Start to 2015-16 Premier League
15 of 17
As fate would have it, the fixture list sent Liverpool straight back to Stoke City for the opening day of the 2015-16 Premier League season. This time, the Reds won 1-0 to make a strong start to the campaign.
Rodgers' men followed that with another 1-0 victory at home to newcomers Bournemouth. Thus through two games, Liverpool had won twice, scored twice and conceded none.
Although the performances had not been spectacular, Liverpool had a positive base on which to build for the season ahead. Or so it seemed.
Low: Penalty Shootout with Carlisle
16 of 17
The draw for the third round of the Capital One Cup was apparently kind to Liverpool. Rodgers' men had a home match against Carlisle United, who had finished near the bottom of League Two (the fourth tier of English football) the previous season.
Instead, the night nearly ended in disaster. Danny Ings scored in the 23rd minute to put Liverpool on track, but Derek Asamoah equalized for the visitors 12 minutes later. After 120 minutes, the two teams remained level at 1-1, so the match went to penalties.
There, back-up goalkeeper Adam Bogdan—making his debut for the club—stopped three shots to rescue the result for Liverpool.
The Reds avoided defeat on the night, but the end might have already been in sight for Rodgers.
Low: Sacked, October 2015
17 of 17
The news was hardly unexpected, but it still had to sting. Rodgers learned of his fate on Sunday after Liverpool had drawn 1-1 with Merseyside rivals Everton.
According to James Pearce at the Liverpool Echo, Liverpool would have dismissed Rodgers even if the Reds had beaten Everton on Sunday. To quote Pearce, the club's owners acted at that time "to salvage a season which they feared was going off the rails."
"I'm stunned," Liverpool legend Graeme Souness said, per David Wright at the Express. "They gave him a load of money in the summer and I find it amazing."
Souness continued:"But with all due respect I don’t see why they gave Brendan Rodgers the job in the first place. Liverpool go out and buy the best young players, develop them and then hope to sell them. They have become a selling club."
At the Daily Telegraph, Matt Law reported that Rodgers had almost three years remaining on his contract, which was worth about £5 million per year including bonuses. By firing him at this time, Liverpool will be unable to invoke any performance-related clauses that would have penalized Rodgers monetarily for failing to win a trophy or finish in the top four.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
