Only Klopp or Ancelotti can clean up Rodgers's mess

In February, the Merseyside derby draw at Goodison Park represented Brendan Rodgers's 100th league game as Liverpool manager. On Sunday evening, the same fixture, at the same venue, with the same result was also significant for the 42-year-old - it was his last in charge of the club.

The sacking had an air of inevitability about it - regardless of the scoreline against Everton, the upcoming international break and the heightened unease among supporters meant the writing had long been on the wall.

Still, the timing, it must be said, is bizzare. FSG had the opportunity to see Rodgers out the Melwood doors in the summer, but he survived the end-of-season review and was given £80 million to spend as well as the go-ahead to overhaul the coaching staff.

After a stuttering start to the new campaign, which mirrored so many old flaws from the end of 2014-15, the owners had a decision to make again, much sooner than they would have possibly anticipated. This time, they opted to twist and will have to ensure their next choice is the correct one.

The Northern Irishman is the seventh man to be hired and fired at Anfield in the last 25 years without the club winning a league title - solving that conundrum is what FSG have termed their “only driving ambition”. The new appointment, and every detail going forward, has to be geared towards Liverpool achieving that challenging aim.

Despite reports suggesting the club were warned off Jurgen Klopp, indications are the German is the preferred candidate to replace Rodgers. Carlo Ancelotti, too, is in the frame for the job. Both would immediately get the supporters back onside, with hashtags and chants already created for the former.

They represent more experienced options than Rodgers, but their managerial styles could not be more contrasting. Klopp is the tornado that sweeps in with verve, passion and the belief that just about anything is possible. Ancelotti, meanwhile, is the regal and refined sort.

Given FSG’s affinity for the unconventional, it would make sense for them to opt for the effervescence of Klopp. He has proven that he can transform a non-stellar squad into more than the sum of their parts. The bounce would be back at Melwood, as well as on the terraces.

The German’s agent, Marc Kosicke, has already verbalised his client’s interest in a job like Liverpool. In June, he remarked: “We do not only think about the top four because there are some other great clubs below them… If he goes into a stadium, feels the energy and thinks that he can make a difference here, this could be more attractive to him than going with the big deals and aim for the treble."

The club plan to announce the new manager in "a decisive and timely manner."

Whoever is named, it would be wise to remember that ultimately, Liverpool need much more than a managerial makeover: keeping the club’s best players needs to be a priority, as is recruiting more quality over quantity.

"Ambition and winning are at the heart of what we want to bring to Liverpool, and we believe this change gives us the best opportunity to deliver it," read the club statement upon Rodgers' sacking.

The actions moving forward, starting with the instalment of the new manager, will reveal the depth of those words.