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Rodgers rejected Spurs for Liverpool and appeared to hint at same problems as Conte

talksport.com, 21 March 2023, 10:19
The problems encountered by Antonio Conte at Tottenham are nothing new, based on Brendan Rodgers' comments from 10 years ago.

Conte is set to be sacked as Spurs boss, bringing a likely end to his time as manager in north London after taking aim at the club's players before questioning why the club haven't succeeded under Daniel Levy.

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Now the Leicester manager, Rodgers was regarded as one of the hottest young managers in British football following his successful two-year spell in charge of Swansea.

Having secured promotion from the Championship in his first year, the Swans then finished 11th in their first season in the Premier League, playing an entertaining, attacking brand of football along the way.

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It was that which led to something of a tug of war between Liverpool and Tottenham for his services, a battle that the Reds ultimately won.

He replaced interim boss Kenny Dalglish, while it was Andre Villas-Boas who ultimately replaced Harry Redknapp in north London.

While Rodgers spent more than three years at Anfield, playing a key role in turning the club into the Premier league giants that they are today, Villas-Boas lasted just 18 months as he became one of a number of managers to fall short under Daniel Levy's stewardship.

Speaking to The Times, Rodgers said that it was this reputation that contributed to his decision to move to Anfield instead, saying: "They are a great club and one of the things I looked at was the history.

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"They'd had 11 managers in 18 years. I needed to create something; I needed to go to a club that was going to give me that opportunity.

"It's difficult. They have had a good couple of years, they were up there under Harry Redknapp. Obviously there have been difficulties from Bale leaving. It shows you that when you have someone with that X factor, sometimes eight, nine or ten players can't replace that.

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"That was why we fought like tigers to keep Luis Suárez here because he is a top player, he is a performer. There are many good players but very few who perform week in week out to that level.

"I am more than happy with the choice I made to come here and hopefully in time it will prove to be the right one."

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