Liverpool named Swansea Boss Brenden Rodgers as their new manager
Late last week two of the bigger questions in the EPL offseason were answered. Who would take over the helm at both Liverpool and Aston Villa? Liverpool sacked King Kenny after spending a ton of money and only getting the League Cup to show for it. Aston Villa sacked Alex McLeish for sucking so bad that the club was nearly relegated. Interestingly enough, both clubs went with younger managers who had brought their respective former teams up to the Premier League the year before.
First in line Liverpool announced on Friday that Swansea City boss Brenden Rodgers had been selected as their new man. Rodgers led newly promoted Swansea City to an 11th place finish on 47 points. His side was credited with playing some of the most attractive football in the Premier League. The 39 year old has previously managed Watford and Reading as well. He also worked under Jose Mourinho at Chelsea.
Swansea will not come away empty handed though. Liverpool will compensate them for the fact that Rodgers was still under contract. According to Swansea the two teams also agreed that Rodgers would not attempt to sign any Swansea players for 12 months. Liverpool has yet to confirm this however.
Aston Villa announced their new manager over the weekend as well, though with considerably less fanfare and more controversy. They appointed Norwich City manager Paul Lambert as their new boss. This did not make Norwich very happy. Supposedly Lambert tendered his resignation to Norwich last Tuesday, but the Canaries did not accept it. There hasn't been much word on other details.
Lambert led Norwich to a 12th place finish last year, also on 47 points. His managerial experience includes Livingston, Wycombe, and Colchester before leading the Canaries up through the ranks. Villa was also criticized for prying McLeish loose from Birmingham City last year, so it will be interesting to see how this newest experiment works out. Personally, I think Villa needs more than a new manager.
No comments:
Post a Comment