[Locke]

Fairly scathing article:

The next manager will find no world-class talent available when he meets the squad. He will be hopeful that Daniel Sturridge will stay fit long enough to fulfill his potential and that Philippe Coutinho will stop flickering and shine with more consistency. Rodgers inherited Pepe Reina and Jamie Carragher -- added to the two superstars, they formed a spine for the team. The incoming boss will have to search every nook and cranny of the old ground to find some backbone. There has been little sign of any on the pitch this season.

Rodgers refused to work with a director of football. It was his first mistake. The next big one came at the end of the transfer window in summer 2012. He sent Andy Carroll out on loan after being expressly told by the owners that the big Geordie could not leave until "a couple of additional forwards" had arrived. The double move, sending Carroll to West Ham United and scuppering the initial Sturridge deal, left the squad short of strikers. More important, it caused fury in FSG's Boston headquarters. The rage increased further when Rodgers told the press that Carroll's departure was "99.9 percent about finance." It was the first time the manager sent blame in FSG's direction. It would not be the last.

The Northern Irishman tried to pull off a power play that even Jose Mourinho might have blanched at. He thought it would bring him Clint Dempsey. It brought him the transfer committee.

To make sure the chaos of August 2012 never happened again, FSG brought in a system of checks and balances. It took power away from the manager. It also doomed him to work with players he may not have naturally signed.

The 42-year-old used the infamous committee as a scapegoat on a number of occasions. It became easy to blame recruitment failures on others. It is not quite that simple. Rodgers' eye for talent is questionable and FSG were never going to bet the future on their manager's choices. However, some of Liverpool's methods of grading players appear equally bewildering.

Any sympathy for Rodgers should be tempered by the way he used the dysfunction in recruitment to deflect from his own deficiencies. The attempts to turn the blame on the owners over the past few days may have hastened his exit. His "give me the tools" comments after the Aston Villa game and "I will do my best with what I'm working with" before the derby at Goodison would have hardened attitudes in Boston. Finger-pointing in public is unseemly.

http://www.espnfc.com/blog/espn-fc-u...ionship-soured

I never realized there was that much friction between Rodgers and FSG.

And yes, Rodgers' 'eye for talent' has been dubious at best. *cough* Borini *cough*