Rodgers at 11/5 to lead Liverpool to top 4 place next season
Liverpool are odds-on to miss out on a place in the top four for a fourth year in a row, but can new boss Brendan Rodgers turn things around at Anfield?
The appointment of Brendan Rodgers as Liverpool manager is hardly the silver bullet needed to improve the team’s on-field fortunes if bwin’s Premier League top four football betting market is anything to go by.
Fenway Sports Group, the club’s American owners, chose to dispense with the services of Kenny Dalglish after the capture of the Carling Cup was deemed to be inadequate compensation for the club’s poor league form.
With qualification for the 2012-13 Champions League the target, Liverpool finished last season in a lowly eighth place – four points behind neighbours Everton.
The question Liverpool fans will be asking is whether Rodgers has enough tools at his disposal to have an immediate impact, or if a season of transition is on the cards.
Champions League Dortmund 1-1 Bayern Munich £150.00 (13/2) Dortmund 1-2 Bayern Munich £160.00 (7/1) Dortmund 0-2 Bayern Munich £175.00 (31/4) Dortmund win £84.00 (16/5) Draw £82.00 (31/10) Bayern Munich win £34.00 (7/10)
The fact that Liverpool are, at 3/10, odds-on to miss out on a top four spot next season shows the extent of the club’s fall from grace.
However, Fenway will be hopeful that the arrival of Rodgers at Anfield will prove a step in the right direction, and the five-time European Cup winners are at 11/5 to secure a top four finish in the coming campaign.
Rodgers’ work at Swansea suggests he will be able to make an impact, with his managerial abilities ironically highlighted on the final day of last season when the Swans beat Liverpool 1-0 at the Liberty Stadium.
This helped the Welsh side to an 11th place finish in the Premier League, only five points behind Liverpool, despite having a budget the fraction the size of most teams and being one of the favourites for relegation in the year following their promotion from the Championship.
Crucially, Swansea achieved their success under Rodgers while playing an attractive passing brand of football which further earmarked the Northern Irishman as a unique coaching talent.
The question Liverpool fans will be asking is whether Rodgers has enough tools at his disposal to have an immediate impact, or if a season of transition is on the cards.
At 11/5, a successful £25 free bet on Rodgers to turn things around quickly at Liverpool and lead the Reds to a top four finish will return £80, with the free bet available to new customers who sign up for a bwin account.
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