The decision has been made, John W. Henry and the Liverpool directors have decided to appoint Swansea’s Brendan Rodgers as Kenny Dalglish’s successor, according to several high profile media sources such as the BBC. The news has been met with a fairly positive reaction, of course there will be sceptics, but I think fans are willing to give Rodgers a chance. Rodgers has been given a 3-year contract and Liverpool have reportedly had to pay around £4million compensation to secure his services.
Rodgers is known for his continental approach to football management, after travelling to Spain in his early twenties to observe the philosophies of clubs such as Barcelona and Valencia. He guided Swansea to an 11th place finish in their first Premier League season, which has impressed pundits and journalists a-like. It also seems to have impressed the Liverpool owners.
Some may argue that Kenny Dalglish used traditional and outdated tactics but that flaw is not likely to be repeated with Rodgers, who is a young manager with fresh ideas. And what better place to learn than under the stewarship of Jose Mourinho, where Rodgers was manager of the Chelsea reserve team in the mid-noughties alongside the Portuguese manager.
Only time will tell how successful Rodgers will be, but with time and patience from the fans, I think that Rodgers’ new approach could benefit the club in the long term. If an experienced Director of Football is appointed to assist him from above, steps are definitely being made to catapult Liverpool back to where they belong.
Welcome to Liverpool, Brendan.