The possibility of Brendan Rodgers taking on the Manchester United job is heating up.
The Star report Rodgers is United’s preferred option and that he would be keen on the role if offered.
The prospect of appointing Rodgers is not a perfect one. He has his faults, which we ran through earlier this week, but his job at all four of his previous clubs can be constituted a success, even his spell at Liverpool, in comparison to the state they were in before he arrived.
Rodgers is still managing Leicester and would have to be tempted away. His long-standing admiration of Sir Alex Ferguson could play a part.
The Northern Irishman has spent time in Ferguson’s company and has huge respect for what the legendary boss achieved at Old Trafford.
Speaking in 2017 as Celtic boss after meeting Ferguson at an awards do, he was quoted by the Daily Record: “Time with Sir Alex is gold dust, really. He is the big boss of everyone.
“He was incredible with what he formed, developed and cultivated all the way through and he also stayed modern all the way through.
“His enthusiasm, the drive, the hunger. The hunger. It is that drive, that relentless way of working and demanding to be the very best.
“You have to always keep the complacency away and that’s what he mentioned last night. He actually mentioned that complacency is like a disease. We speak about it here every day.”
Rodgers also reminisced about sharing a bottle of wine with Ferguson after the United boss had beaten him as Swansea manager, and of the supportive letter he received from the Scot after being fired by Reading earlier in his career, adding: “That meant a lot to me at that time.”
Fergie still has huge influence at Old Trafford
Whether United admit it or not, Sir Alex Ferguson wields a lot of influence on decisions behind the scenes at Old Trafford.
Ferguson consulted with Solskjaer when the Norwegian was offered the job, The MEN reported, and recently offered his support after the loss to Liverpool, The Independent reported.
But the Solskjaer experiment cannot go on forever, and nor is it likely to.
Ferguson’s advice on what to do next will be taken into account, and his pre-existing relationship with Rodgers could count for something, in comparison to Erik Ten Hag, rightly or wrongly.
Rodgers’ huge admiration for Ferguson will see him deem an offer from United as the highest honour.
‘Complacency is like a disease’
This phrase uttered by Ferguson resonated with Rodgers in 2017 and that will not have changed.
For Rodgers to reject the chance to offer United would be complacent, he would be assuming that another offer will present itself in the future and he can afford to wait.
But football can be a fickle business, and sometimes you only get one shot. His spell at Leicester could slide off, it’s not been a great start to the season, and he may become a less attractive manager for top teams.
Rodgers will want to test himself, and United would be the ultimate test, putting into practice all the experience and lessons he has learned in his previous jobs.
He may not be United fans’ top choice, but he could well be the board’s. And at this stage it feels like the club need to make a choice and choose a direction, or be stuck stagnating under Solskjaer until the season becomes impossible to retrieve.
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