Did Di Matteo deserve to be sacked after winning Champions
League with Chelsea? Did Ancelloti deserve the boot from Real Madrid a year
after winning La Decima? No, the exits were untimely and uncalled for to say
the least. By winning the greatest prize in club football, they had achieved
what the club and its fans were seeking for a long time. They had justified their employment and
should have enjoyed 2-3 years of stability at the club.
However, the same cannot be said for these two gentlemen -
Louis Van Gaal and Brendan Rodgers. Not at the moment at least. Another season
without silverware and they’ll definitely deserve the sack. Why? These guys
have taken team restructuring to an altogether new level. In less than two
seasons, they have “bought” themselves a new team of 11 players. In doing so, a
lot of money has changed hands and also caused major reshuffle in the squad.
This was not about getting a group of guys ready for a
Sunday league match. The clubs wanted a quick fix solution and provided them
with a blank cheque book. So instead of performing a minor non-invasive procedure,
they went in for major surgery.
Players bought by LVG since taking over – Milinkovic,
Herrera, Shaw, Rojo, Di Maria, Blind, Valdes, El Fitouri, Falcao, Depay,
Darmian, Schneiderlin, Schweinsteiger, Romero. He has in all spent 221 million
GBP on players.
Players bought by Rodgers since selling Suarez – Lallana,
Lambert, Can, Markovic, Lovren, Origi, Manquillo, Moreno, Balotelli, Gomez,
Bogdan, Ings, Milner, Clyne, Firmino, Benteke. Since taking over, he has bought
31 players for 289 million GBP.
Mind you, most of the players mentioned above walked
straight into the first team. They were not selected for reserve team action
and probable place in the first team. That means that the managers had some
role in their mind at the time of purchase, which in some cases never reached
fruition.
Gone are the days when minor tinkering was enough to get the
squad ready for the next season. Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho have made
wholesale purchases in the past. However, all they did was add 2 or 3 players to
the main team to mount a serious charge across all fronts. Rest of the
additions only made the fringe. They knew when to buy and whom to buy and
rarely got it wrong.
LVG took a year to understand his existing players. Got rid
of a few of them but is still not sure of his best team. The team looks out of
rhythm and their play is workmanlike. Instead LVG has been good at deflecting
criticism away from himself and putting it on Di Maria not settling well or Van
Persie being past his best.
Rodgers made the cardinal sin of not keeping Gerrard at
Liverpool. He was an icon at the club like Giggs and Maldini and letting him go
was the wrong move. Rodger’s saving grace is that Suarez and Sterling moves have
brought in a lot of money and therefore brought the cost down. However, the
current lot includes many average players who don’t have it in them to reach
top 4.
Manchester United and Liverpool are not just clubs but
institutions of English and world football. With 38 league titles between them,
the fans and the clubs demand silverware every season. If after two seasons of
major purchases the managers have nothing to show for it, then the shortest
farewell will be the best. Adieu! (The Maltese Falcon, huh?).
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