We take a look at what happened to the first Premier League XI of the Brendan Rodgers’ era at Liverpool – a 3-0 defeat to West Bromwich Albion.
Goalkeeper
Having played the majority of the 2012-13 campaign as Brendan Rodgers’ first choice, Pepe Reina was loaned to Napoli following the signing of then-Sunderland stopper Simon Mignolet in the summer of 2013. After a season in Serie A, Reina made a permanent transfer as back up to Manuel Neuer at Bayern Munich – before returning to current club Napoli in 2015.
Defence
Glen Johnson played 84 league games for Rodgers, including being part of Liverpool’s title push in 2013-14. However, the following season Johnson found playing time limited and opted to leave the club – joining current employers Stoke City for the 2015-16 Premier League season.
Due in part to a cruciate knee injury sustained just weeks after being selected in Rodgers’ first Liverpool XI, Martin Kelly appeared in only nine top flight games in the first two years of Rodgers’ reign, ultimately leaving the club to sign for Crystal Palace in 2014.
Rodgers’ first campaign as Liverpool manager coincided with Jamie Carragher’s final season before retirement. For his first game at the helm, Rodgers selected Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger in central defence.
Skrtel, who, after losing his place in the side during Rodgers’ first year, would go on to tell the Guardian that the 2012-13 season was ‘one of the worst seasons in my career’, recovered to become a mainstay in a post-Carragher Liverpool back line, playing regularly until Jurgen Klopp sold the Slovakian to Fenerbache in 2016.
The 3-0 defeat against West Brom saw Agger concede a penalty and receive a red card. Agger achieved decent game time under the former Swansea City boss, but as with large parts of his Anfield career, the ball playing defender was plagued by injury. Now retired, Agger took a large pay-cut to sign for Brondby in 2014 -with the Telegraph reporting an unappreciative Rodgers’ as the reason for Agger leaving Liverpool.
Midfield
A three-man midfield was deployed against the Baggies, consisting of Lucas Leiva, Rodgers favourite Joe Allen and club captain and Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard.
Only Lucas remains at the club, with Allen, despite being a regular under Rodgers, being sold to Stoke after an impressive Euro 2016 with Wales, and Gerrard – now back at Liverpool as an academy coach – departing for LA Galaxy of Major League Soccer in 2015; having never achieved the elusive league title despite coming so close with Rodgers in 2013-14.
Gerrard, alongside Luis Suarez, Raheem Sterling, Daniel Strurridge and Jordan Henderson, were huge beneficiaries of Rodgers’ tutelage – with the 114 capped former England captain experiencing somewhat of a resurgence as a deep lying play-maker during an almost Premier League winning Autumn of his career.
Forwards
Despite being signed by Dalglish, it was Rodgers who got the very best out of the talismanic Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan goal machine was the main man during the Rodgers era and formed an outstanding front three with Sterling and Sturridge.
After an impressive 68 strikes in 110 Premier League games, Suarez was sold to Barcelona in 2014 – where his current league record sees the controversial forward with 78 goals in 88 La Liga appearances.
Supporting Suarez in Rodgers’ first league game in charge of Liverpool was current Sunderland attacker Fabio Borini and Stuart Downing – who, after an experimental stage at left-back, was eventually sold to West Ham United after just one year under Rodgers and now turns out for boyhood club Middlesbrough.
As with Allen, Rodgers facilitated large success with Borini at Swansea, so it came as no surprise that some of the current Celtic manager’s early transfer dealings at Liverpool involved bringing the Welsh midfielder and Italian forward to Anfield.
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