Possible Rodgers Replacements

5 men who could take the manager’s seat at Anfield in the coming weeks

After seeing his side score only four goals so far in the Premier League this season, win two games, and drop precious points at home to West Ham and Norwich, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is becoming increasingly under more and more pressure.

The majority of Liverpool’s fan base are now calling for Rodgers’ head, and many names are circulating social media concerning who should replace the Northern Irishman.

At 11/8 odds (all odds from Betfair), Rodgers is now bookies’ favourite to be the next Premier League manager to leave his post, and scraping through to the next round of the Capital On Cup on penalties against League 2 side Carlisle didn’t help, but once that’s sorted, who is the right man to take the helm at Anfield?

Jurgen Klopp – Favourite at 5/4

Bookmakers have dramatically slashed their odds on Klopp becoming the main man at Anfield, and he has a very respectable record from his time at German side Borussia Dortmund. He won the Bundesliga at the club in 2011 and 2012, along with the DFB-Pokal cup in 2012. In 2013 his side reached the Champions League final at Wembley to make it an all-German affair against Bayern Munich, Dortmund lost thanks to a late goal from Bayern winger Arjen Robben.

However, slight concern has been raised due to Klopp’s final season in charge with Dortmund before announcing he would be taking a sabbatical in April 2015, with his team scraping Europa League qualification after spending the majority of the season in the bottom half of the Bundesliga. Having lost players such as Robert Lewandowski and Mario Gotze to Bayern, his team struggled, and this could be a possible concern for FSG as they look at his credentials when considering him for the job.

Carlo Ancelotti – 2/1 odds

Carlo Ancelotti is a manager who has always done well with his teams.

He was put in charge at AC Milan in 2001, winning the Champions League in both 2003 and 2007, beating Manchester United and Liverpool respectively. His ’07 Europe win isn’t the only European history he has with Liverpool, as he was in charge the night he saw his side let a 3-0 lead slip in Istanbul in 2005, allowing Liverpool to beat them and win the competition on penalites.

He resigned from Milan in May 2009, and has since managed big clubs such as Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid.

He is currently without a job as he was harshly sacked by Madrid in May 2015, after failing to win any trophies in the 2014-15 season, despite reaching the Champions League semi-final and finishing 2nd in La Liga.

Ronald Koeman – 20/1 odds

Koeman is more of an outsider for the job, but has done an admirable job since joining Southampton in June 2014, following Mauricio Pochettino’s departure for Spurs.

Upon arriving at the club, Southampton lost a fair amount of key players during that summer, but still managed to finish a very respectable 7th place finish in the league, with the Saints challenging for European football for the majority of the season.

It’s unlikely that Koeman will be drafted in by Liverpool, but he’s certainly worth mentioning, with his style of play something very similar to how Liverpool want to play.

Frank De Boer – 10/1 odds

De Boer is currently in charge at Eredivisie club Ajax. He has been involved at the club since 2007, when he took up a coaching role. At the 2010 World Cup, he was assistant manager to Bet van Marwijk as the side were beaten in extra-time in the final by Spain.

After Martin Jol resigned from Ajax in December 2010, he was appointed caretaker manager, but ended up sticking with the club after winning the league that season. He’s won the Eredivisie another 3 times since, however he hasn’t made so much of an impact in Europe, which could be a factor for FSG to consider.

Steven Gerrard

Not really on the bookmaker’s radar so soon after leaving for LA Galaxy, but stranger things have happened.

It would certainly please the fans, as Anfield seems a stranger place without Gerrard around after all these years.

You have to wonder whether it would be better for Gerrard to gain managerial experience somewhere else before taking the helm at Liverpool, but few know the club better than Stevie, and it could be a stroke of genius to bring a man with such passion back to the club to inspire the team.

By Ben Kelly – @benkelly_10