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The Merseyside derby at Goodison Park was to be Brendan Rodgers' last game at the club after FSG released a statement that confirmed the club had parted way with the former Swansea City manager. On the official site, the three main figures at FSG jointly shared the following:
We would like to place on record our sincere thanks to Brendan Rodgers for the significant contribution he has made to the club and express our gratitude for his hard work and commitment.
All of us have experienced some wonderful moments with Brendan as manager and we are confident he will enjoy a long career in the game.
Although this has been a difficult decision, we believe it provides us with the best opportunity for success on the pitch. Ambition and winning are at the heart of what we want to bring to Liverpool and we believe this change gives us the best opportunity to deliver it.
The search for a new manager is underway and we hope to make an appointment in a decisive and timely manner.
Rodgers can't have any complaints after being strongly supported in the summer after a disastrous end to last season. The problem was that his signings in the summer and tactical preparations in pre-season didn't make sense with the formation deployed over the past few weeks. He was given a chance to right the wrongs of last season but needed to start quickly. That didn't happen and FSG rightly acted.
For 18 months, Rodgers brought exciting football and the most credible title challenge in a generation. That work fell apart after August last year, but FSG acted before the October international break to presumably give the club enough time to appoint a new manager. It's a shame that Rodgers couldn't make it work at a club that gave him a platform to learn, develop, and display his credentials. He tried his best, though.
Hopefully Liverpool can appoint Carlo Ancelotti or Jürgen Klopp before another team has the sense to do so.
