5 reasons why Brendan Rodgers deserves another shot in the Premier League

It’s been the best part of three years now since Brendan Rodgers was relieved of his duties as Liverpool’s manager and replaced by Jurgen Klopp, and the likelihood is that Reds fans are happier with the German rather than the Northern Irishman at the helm.

Since leaving Liverpool, though, Rodgers has seen plenty of success north of the border with Celtic. He won the Scottish Premiership title at the first time of asking in 2016/17 and looks set to repeat the feat this season, and he’s also won the Scottish Cup and two Scottish League Cups.

While some fans might scoff at the quality of Scottish football right now, it’s hard to deny that Rodgers’ record since moving to Celtic has been impressive. So does he deserve another chance in the English Premier League? Here are five reasons why he does.

#1: Surely he’s better than some of the usual names?

Why would a team bring in Alan Pardew when they could move for Rodgers?

Every Premier League season sees some managerial changes, and 2017/18 has been no different. Of the 20 clubs in the league, no fewer than 9 of them have changed their manager this season, with West Bromwich Albion actually doing so twice. But what of the men brought in to change fortunes during the season?

Roy Hodgson (Crystal Palace), Claude Puel (Leicester) and Carlos Carvahal (Swansea) have clearly had a positive impact, but of the others, the jury is largely out on Javi Gracia (Watford), while Sam Allardyce (Everton), David Moyes (West Ham), Paul Lambert (Stoke) and Mark Hughes (Southampton) can hardly be called successes. And of course, Alan Pardew was brought in by West Brom only to be fired just 5 months later.

So what does this have to do with Rodgers? Well, the fact is that Allardyce, Moyes, Lambert, Hughes and Pardew have been on the managerial merry-go-round time after time with little success to show for it recently. So surely Brendan Rodgers, with his history of success at Celtic, would be a better option? It makes no sense why none of the clubs in trouble have made an approach for the Northern Irishman.

Granted, he might not want to leave the success of Celtic for a relegation battle, but he’d definitely be worth the shot if he decided to make that move. And if he could succeed at one of the lower Premier League clubs, then a bigger one would almost certainly make a move for him. Why one of the strugglers hasn’t attempted to give him another chance is a mystery.

#2: His success in Scotland has to count for something

Rodgers has a tremendous win percentage at Celtic - which must count for something

Okay, so nobody in their right mind would ever try to claim that the Scottish Premiership is a top-level European league along the lines of Spain’s La Liga, Germany’s Bundesliga or indeed, the Premier League. Perhaps in the 1990s, it was considered strong enough, but in 2018 it’s about as close to being a one-team league as it gets. And of course, the ‘one team’ in question is Celtic.

So does Rodgers’ success with the club count for much? Well, in a word, yes. Sure, he took over a wildly successful side – Celtic had won their 5th successive Scottish Premiership title in 2015/16 under the stewardship of Norwegian Ronny Deila, but some of Rodgers’ feats and statistics are still hugely impressive.

His first season saw Celtic win a domestic treble and go unbeaten in all domestic competitions – a run that eventually ended at 69 games, breaking a British record that had stood for 100 years in the process, and his victory in the 2017/18 Scottish League Cup final meant that he was the first Celtic manager to win his first 4 domestic trophies.

When compared to other Celtic bosses, his record is also favorable. He currently sports a win percentage of 71.93%, 82 wins in 114 games. That’s the highest win percentage of any Celtic manager since Martin O’Neill’s reign from 2000 to 2005, and of course, O’Neill was also a highly successful Premier League manager. It’s even a higher percentage than the legendary Jock Stein had (70.14%).

Basically, even in a weak league, Rodgers stands out – and clearly deserves another chance at the higher level of the Premier League.

#3: He almost won the league in 2013/14

Rodgers nearly won the league with this Liverpool side in 2013/14

Rodgers’ tenure at Liverpool might’ve ended in tears in October 2015, but it’s very easy to forget how well he did during the 2013/14 season at Anfield. Liverpool fans might worship Jurgen Klopp right now and they might always hold a soft spot for Rafa Benitez for the 2005 Champions League win, but it’s Rodgers who got them closer to an elusive Premier League title than all of the rest.

Buoyed by the attacking talents of Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling and driven by the leadership of Steven Gerrard, Liverpool under Rodgers in 2013/14 were fantastic. Had it not been for two bad results in their last three games – a loss to Chelsea punctuated by Gerrard’s infamous slip and a freakish 3-3 draw against Crystal Palace – they would actually have lifted the trophy ahead of Manchester City. What’s more, the 101 goals they scored that season was an all-time high mark for the club – even better than their 70s and 80s heyday.

As they missed out on the title, Rodgers’ side goes down as one of the all-time great Premier League teams to not win the championship – up there with Kevin Keegan’s mid-90s Newcastle side – but that’s nothing to be ashamed of, really. And taking 2nd position in that season remains their highest Premier League finish (along with 2001/02 and 2008/09).

Essentially, the list of Premier League managers includes just 10 names – all of them great in their own way. And outside of them, Rodgers came closer than most of the others to capturing the title. Surely that means he deserves another chance?

#4: His downfall was hardly his own fault

Rodgers can't be blamed for struggling without the likes of Luis Suarez

Admittedly, Rodgers came under criticism for plenty of reasons during his time at Liverpool – even being compared to the notorious David Brent character from The Office at points due to his over-use of mantras and buzzwords – but really, wouldn’t any manager have struggled in the circumstances he found himself in following that successful 2013/14 season?

2013/14 saw Liverpool strikers Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez score an incredible 52 Premier League goals between them – basically half of the Reds’ total in league competition – while Steven Gerrard acted as the side’s driving force from the midfield. But of course, Suarez was sold to Barcelona in the summer of 2014, Gerrard suddenly slipped (no pun intended) from form and Sturridge spent the majority of the season injured, making only 13 Premier League appearances.

The Reds did receive a fee of around £65m for Suarez, and indeed, they spent a hefty £117m in the summer of 2014 and another £79m the summer after that. But according to most sources, Rodgers was not in control of the club’s transfer dealings – that was apparently down to a “transfer committee”, even if Rodgers always claimed he had the final say.

So under the circumstances – losing your best players and not truly being able to replace them – which manager could’ve succeeded? Would Tottenham be the same today without Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen? How would Liverpool fare without Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino?

Basically, the sticky end of his tenure at Liverpool wasn’t completely Rodgers’ fault, even if his methods could be questioned at times. And that means it shouldn’t be held against him when it comes to being given another shot.

#5: He’d have a lot to offer to a smaller Premier League side

Steven Gerrard always spoke very highly of Rodgers' management skills

Despite his success at Celtic, it’s not likely that one of the Premier League’s top six – the Manchester clubs, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal – would want to take a shot on Rodgers right now. It’s unlikely that the Manchester sides, Tottenham or Liverpool will want to change manager any time soon and Chelsea and Arsenal are more likely to look abroad. Which means if Rodgers is likely to be given another chance, it’ll be with a smaller side.

If that’s the case, then he’s got a hell of a lot to offer. It’s not like his methods have suddenly become outdated – he’s a manager known for wanting his sides to play possession-based football with a flowing passing game, putting pressure on the opposition when they have the ball, while at Liverpool he became famed for putting together a team able to switch formation freely depending on who they were playing and which players were available. That doesn’t really sound a lot different to today’s successful bosses like Guardiola and Pochettino, really.

He’s also been highly praised for his one-on-one man management – an ability that’s clearly needed if you want to succeed at the top level. No lesser a figure than Steven Gerrard – one of the Premier League’s all-time greats – stated that “He manages every single player differently. He knows we have different characters in the dressing room and his one-on-one management is the best I have known. He makes you go out on to the pitch feeling a million dollars — full of confidence and belief. He is a very confident manager.”

Surely that sounds like a boss that any Premier League club – particularly one who might be struggling to survive or looking to cement their spot in the top flight – would want to have? If Rodgers is anywhere close to as good as Gerrard described, then he’s certainly worth another shot.