Football News: Who can replace Rodgers at Liverpool

With Brendan Rodgers now losing all the internal backing within Liverpool that had previously protected him from his nonsense comments to the media and failures in the transfer market, I thought this would be a good time to consider the options available to replace him.

The likeliest option seems to be Ajax manager Frank De Boer, the former Dutch international's success coaching there puts him to the forefront. Especially as it is known that De Boer was targeted by Liverpool owners FSG prior to the appointment of Rodgers, he would seem to be a logical choice.

At the time he ruled himself out of the role due to feeling he wasn't ready to move on from Ajax, since then Frank has made public statements about being ready for a new challenge. De Boer has won successive Eredivisie titles with Ajax in each year in charge of the club, leading him to be a serious contender for the role of Liverpool manager.

Current Zenit St Petersburg manager Andre Villars Boas has been linked with the role by a number of members of the English press. The former Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Porto manager saw his reputation nosedive after initial stunning success in Portugal.

AVB started off with a bang at Zenit, becoming the first coach in Russian Premier League history to win his first six games in charge. A number of influential people inside Liverpool believe he could be the best choice for the club, despite his previous failures in English football management.

An outside bet, though highly unlikely to happen, is ex-Reds star Steve Nicol, who is widely respected in the US, despite his chosen brand of football for his teams being less than edifying. Despite his success there, he is unlikely to be in the running for the role.

Jurgen Klinsmann is another well known to FSG, though his record at club level is not good, in fact it could be considered disastrous during his one attempt with Bayern Munich. Also he likes to make comments to the media that would not be well received, especially as it is one of the main issues that the owners have got with Rodgers.

Rafael Benitez is probably the only other candidate currently standing out as an alternative to Rodgers at this moment. Unfortunately for the Spaniard, who has been very public with a desire to return to Liverpool, he has burnt most of his bridges in his previous spell managing the club and is an extreme outsider.

While the likes of Jurgen Klopp, who admits to having a soft spot for Liverpool, Diego Simeone, Carlo Ancelotti could well be available in the summer, it is very unlikely any of the three would be interested in the role. All would have their pick of clubs worldwide, it is difficult to see that a club in such turmoil, with debt rising and a new stadium requiring funding, could provide the platform for the future they would be looking for.

Written by Tris Burke December 13 2014 09:48:32