The former Sunderland manager believes losing Suarez cost Rodgers his job
In the two months since he was sacked by Liverpool, little has been seen or even heard of Brendan Rodgers, and the former Liverpool manager has recently been linked with taking over as England boss next summer.
But losing such a high profile job at a key stage in his career can’t have helped Rodgers when it comes to applying for work on a similar level, particularly as it seemed that a number of more senior players were struggling to work with his methods.
While a number of Liverpool’s star players have opted to move to clubs that seemed to have more of a chance of winning silverware prior to the Irishman’s departure, something that no doubt contributed to his downfall.
It is a train of thought followed by a fellow manager and one of Liverpool’s former player’s fellow countryman, Gus Poyet. The Uruguayan manager believes that losing Luis Suarez to Barcelona may have had a large hand in Rodgers’ eventual sacking.
Speaking to Omnisport, Poyet said: “Luis left Uruguay and moved to Dutch football, which has certain significance at a world-wide level, but his move to Liverpool put him on a higher level than many. Today he is playing a part in one of the most important trios in football history. That makes him very special.”
Suarez almost certainly had a hand in dragging Liverpool into the Premier League title race two years ago, along with the likes of Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling. Both of whom have either been absent, or eventually left under Brendan Rodgers, which severely damaged the club’s challenges on many front.
But it is the loss of Suarez that Poyet believes played a key role in Rodgers losing his job in October, claiming that, had Suarez remained, Rodgers too may still be at Anfield.
He continued: “It happens in any part of the world. Napoli won the league when Diego Maradona was playing there. This doesn’t mean that I am saying that Napoli is nothing without Maradona. It is still Napoli, a great team. But it has been demonstrated that with Suarez, Liverpool was a better team.
“His departure has cost Liverpool a lot. Among other things, probably Brendan Rodgers’ job. Maybe if Suarez was still playing for Liverpool, Brendan Rodgers would be the coach today.”
