Next Wednesday will mark three years to the day since Brendan Rodgers took over as Liverpool manager.
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Opinion seems to be fairly well split on his performance thus far. Despite guiding us to two cup semi-finals and our best Premier League season in the modern era, he’s sadly doesn’t have any silverware to show for his exploits.
So, after the disappointing end to our previous campaign, as well as his vast amount of transfer activity over the last two summers, you get the sense that it’s now or never for the Northern Irishman – history tells us that he won’t be permitted to have a fourth trophyless year in charge.
This time last year, we were also commemorating 40 years since Bill Shankly – the greatest manager to ever live – retired from football. You could be forgiven for think that, ever since his departure, we’ve been seeking out the perfect successor. Several iconic figures came close, but no one has ever been able to surpass his achievements.
As Rodgers frets over the amount of time he might have left on Merseyside, we rank his progress thus far in comparison with the other managers that have come and gone over the last four decades.
9) Roy Hodgson (2010-11, no trophies)
The current England boss endured a disastrous spell in charge of the Reds. He won just 13 of his 31 games in charge, giving him the lowest win percentage of any permanent Liverpool manager since Don Welsh in the 1950s. Still, who could forget his great signings, such as Poulsen, Cole and Konchesky – all of them legendary figures…
8) Graeme Souness (1991-94, one trophy)
Not every great player becomes a great manager. After a wonderful spell with the Reds as a player, Souness oversaw some of the most forgettable years in Liverpool history. On the plus side, we did manage to lift the FA Cup in 1992, while he was also responsible for bringing through the likes of Robbie Fowler and Steve McManaman.
7) Brendan Rodgers (2012-present, no trophies)
It’s been a hell of a ride for us fans under Rodgers. The less said about his first season in charge the better, but the dramatic improvements from the start of the second season onwards were incredible to behold. Unfortunately, his last year in charge of the Reds has seen us return somewhat to square one. It’s hard to know what’s coming next.
6) Roy Evans (1994-98, one trophy)
Liverpool were in free-fall under Souness and Evans did an excellent job of righting a lot of the wrongs of his predecessor’s spell in charge of the club, at least initially. He gathered an impressive nucleus of young players around him, a group that were regularly referred to as the ‘Spice Boys’. He also won the League Cup for us in 1995.
5) Gerard Houllier (1998-04, six trophies)
The Frenchman continued the rebuilding process, selling many of our established names and bringing in the likes of Sami Hyypia, Vladimir Smicer and Emile Heskey. He put more faith in our young players and was rewarded in 2001 when he guided us to the treble. He won the Super Cup and the Community Shield the following season and also won the League Cup for a second time in 2003. However, he failed to inspire consistency in the league.
4) Joe Fagan (1983-85, three trophies)
Fagan won an unprecedented treble during his first season in charge – capturing our fourth European title, as well as the League Championship and the FA Cup. He was also voted Manager of the Year. Unfortunately, his second year was less successful, as the Reds lost the league to Everton and the European Cup final to Juventus. He retired following the Heysel Stadium disaster, which saw all English sides banned from Europe for five years.
3) Rafael Benitez (2004-10, four trophies)
The Spaniard won 197 of his 350 matches in charge, making him comfortably our most successful boss in terms of win percentage since the start of the Premier League era. He won the Champions League in 2005, as well as the FA Cup twelve months later – both in dramatic circumstances. He took us to second place in the Premier League as well, with the combination between Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres becoming universally feared.
2) Kenny Dalglish (1985-91 & 2011-12, ten trophies)
Dalglish took over as manager following Fagan’s retirement. His first spell in charge saw him win three league titles and two FA Cups, while he also won more than 60% of his games, more than any Liverpool manager in the last 30 years. He returned as boss in January 2011, replacing Hodgson, and helped stabilise the club. He brought in both Luis Suarez and Jordan Henderson and helped us win the League Cup the following year.
1) Bob Paisley (1974-83, nineteen trophies)
The only man who can truly rival Shankly’s claim of being the greatest Liverpool manager of all time. He was at an advantage, having inherited the squad that his mentor put together, but there was still work to do before he was able to guide us to three European Cups in the space of four years. He also won an incredible six first division titles and topped off his impressive CV by lifting the League Cup on three occasions and the UEFA Cup as well.
