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Daniel Sturridge has defended Brendan Rodgers’ time in charge of Liverpool, insisting that the Reds’ former manager was underrated.
Rodgers’ had a mixed spell at the helm at Anfield, with the Northern Irishman taking Liverpool agonisingly close to its first Premier League title back in 2014, only to fall just short of Manchester City.
Thereafter though, following the departure of Luis Suarez, the Reds’ form only got worse, and the following season saw them finish sixth, with Rodgers paying the price for a disappointing start to the 2015/16 campaign as he was fired after just a couple of months, with Jurgen Klopp replacing him.
Sturridge was one of the players who thrived under Rodgers’ management, having been signed by him in 2013, and the former striker believes, despite the mixed reviews of his time in charge, that his former boss deserves more credit for the job he did at Anfield.
During a video for FootballJOE, Sturridge was given a number of football topics and asked to rank them as overrated or underrated, with Rodgers’ Liverpool the first subject presented to him.
“I was part of that so why would I say overrated?” Sturridge replied. “Brendan Rodgers was great at Liverpool.”
Sturridge would go on to be asked about the Anfield atmosphere as well, with the former striker responding: “Underrated bro, come on. Don’t disrespect me again like that, honestly. You’re starting to get on my nerves now.”
Liverpool.com says: Rodgers’ time in charge of Liverpool will always leave fans with mixed feelings. Under him, the highs were unbelievably high, but some of the lows were desperately bad.
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His time in charge will always be remembered for the collapse during the 2013/14 season which ultimately saw the title slip away, and there will always be those who argue Liverpool was only in the hunt thanks to Suarez, which you’d have to say is largely true.
But, while his time in charge didn’t end too well - that 6-1 defeat to Stoke still sends a shiver down the spine - Rodgers should still be considered one of the better Liverpool managers of the Premier League era.
Obviously, Klopp sits top of the pile in that regard, while Arne Slot is already quickly rising in the ranks. Rafa Benitez and Gerard Houllier have the benefit of having won trophies, but Rodgers shouldn’t be too far behind them.
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