Someone’s telling porkies, but who do you trust between a Yank and a Spaniard? It’s a tough, tough call. On one hand there’s Roberto Martinez claiming Liverpool offered him a juicy old contract to ditch the bright lights of Wigan to take charge at Anfield. But on the other side, you’ve got Liverpool big wig Tom Werner saying the club only ever wanted Brendan Rodgers, and he was the only one given an offer. If only more people in football were as honest as the English. Footballers like Ashley Cole and John Terry would never cheat or lie for their own ends.
“We must educate people, in five or six years we [Wigan] reap the benefits,” said Martinez. “Maybe I won’t be there then but this is not why I stayed, when Liverpool made me an offer. I stayed because my chairman is unique.”
But like a law banning the sale of guns to mentally unstable Americans, Werner wasn’t having it.
“We engaged with a number of very experienced football people whose names have never been mentioned,’ said Werner.
“We ended up focussing only on Brendan Rodgers – we never made an offer to any other manager.
“We were extremely impressed with Brendan, with his thoughtfulness and devotion to Liverpool. Brendan was the only candidate to whom we offered the position.”
Is it just us or is Tom protesting a little too much? Still with a record that boasts one half-decent season in the Premier League, why would you look at anyone other than Rodgers for the job? Or is it possible that the idea that someone would rather stay at Wigan than move to Liverpool says a little too much about the club’s standing in the pantheon of European giants these days.
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