3 potential candidates to succeed Brendan Rodgers as Liverpool manager
Liverpool's start to the 2015-16 campaign did nothing to convince the Fenway Sports Group that the club was going to improve, so Brendan Rodgers was ousted from his role in Merseyside.
Related: Liverpool fires manager Brendan Rodgers
The statement from the FSG said it intends to "make an appointment in a decisive and timely manner," and a search for the club's next boss could be well underway.
Rodgers' time was up before a ball was kicked in Sunday's 1-1 stalemate at local rival Everton, according to Ben Smith of the BBC.
Three names have emerged as early front-runners for the Anfield hotseat:
Jurgen Klopp
The eccentric German is the bookies' favourite.
Jurgen Klopp ended a seven-year tenure at Borussia Dortmund in May and has been on a sabbatical since. Recent advances from the Mexican Football Federation were not enough to lure the 48-year-old from his beach towel, but there have been rumours that an offer from the Premier League would convince him to return to management.
Dortmund captured the world's imagination with back-to-back Bundesliga titles in 2011 and 2012, and a runner-up finish in the 2012-13 Champions League. Klopp's brand of lush, attacking football and infectious personality would see him fit well into the Premier League game.
Carlo Ancelotti
That wandering eyebrow could return to England.
Carlo Ancelotti delivered a Premier League and FA Cup double at Chelsea in 2009-10 before being unceremoniously sacked a year later.
The Italian has had a trophy-laden career as both a player and manager, making him the most qualified candidate for the Liverpool role. Despite collecting four honours for Real Madrid over eight months in 2014, he was sacked in May 2015 and has turned down an approach to return to AC Milan since, saying he needed "some rest."
Frank de Boer
Another immensely decorated candidate, albeit in an inferior division.
After a successful playing career, de Boer has won four consecutive Eredivisie titles with Ajax, and was approached by the Reds when Kenny Dalglish was sacked in May 2012. The Dutchman turned down the offer to manage at Anfield, stating that he had "only just started with Ajax," but will he have the same response over three years later?
The outsiders
What if the Fenway Sports Group, in an attempt to appease fans, opts to bring a club legend to the helm?
Steven Gerrard and others have talked of his managerial credentials before, with the midfielder even naming former teammates Jamie Carragher and Xabi Alonso as his ideal assistants, but the Kop hero is just three months into a lucrative deal with the LA Galaxy of MLS. One day, but not now.
With the wholesale changes to Brendan Rodgers' backroom staff over the summer, there is a chance the FSG could hire from this new group of coaches. Gary McAllister, a former favourite who spent his twilight years with Liverpool, would be the standout man if they opted to go this route. But with just a short spell as Aston Villa's caretaker boss, and failed terms at Leeds United and Coventry City, he would be a risky hire.