ENGLAND-- Liverpool terminated the contract of manager Brendan Rodgers on Sunday, just eight games into the Premier League season with the five-times European champions languishing in 10th place.
The announcement came three hours after the team had drawn 1-1 at Everton in the Merseyside derby leaving them with only three wins from their first eight league games this term.
"Although this has been a difficult decision, we believe it provides us with the best opportunity for success on the pitch," the club's owners said in a statement.
"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.
"The search for a new manager is underway and we hope to make an appointment in a decisive and timely manner."
Liverpool have only beaten Stoke City, Bournemouth and Aston Villa in the league this season and count a 3-0 thrashing at home by West Ham United among their early results.
They also needed a penalty shootout to overcome fourth-tier Carlisle United in the League Cup at Anfield after being held to a 1-1 draw at Anfield after extra time.
Rodgers, who succeeded Liverpool icon Kenny Dalglish as manager in June 2012 and came close to bringing the title back to Anfield for the first time since 1990 in his second season, invested heavily in new players before the latest campaign.
Belgium striker Christian Benteke came in from Villa for 32.5 million pounds ($49.33 million), Roberto Firmino arrived from Hoffenheim for 21 million and England fullback Nathaniel Clyne joined from Southampton for 12.5 million.
Liverpool made a positive start to the season but have since been thrashed at Anfield by West Ham and also lost 3-1 to Manchester United, their first half-showing at Old Trafford described as the worst in living memory.
Draws against Girondins Bordeaux and FC Sion in the Europa League and lowly Carlisle -- despite the subsequent penalty shootout win -- proved to be the final straw.
Rodgers, 42, has now become the seventh man to arrive at Anfield and leave without taking the club back to the pinnacle of English soccer which appeared to be their divine right from the mid-1960s to 1990 when they won their last title.
The former Swansea City manager's tenure began so well when, after guiding Liverpool to a seventh-place finish in his first season, he came close to lifting the title 12 months later.
Liverpool put together an 11-match winning sequence from the beginning of February until the end of April 2014, but with the title within their grasp, it literally slipped away.
Liverpool were top when second-placed Chelsea visited Anfield on April 27 but an infamous slip on the turf by skipper Steven Gerrard allowed Demba Ba to give Chelsea the lead and the subsequent 2-0 defeat severely dented their chances.
Worse was to follow the following week when Liverpool were 3-0 up at Crystal Palace with 11 minutes to play before they drew 3-3 to effectively kill off their title dream with Manchester City crowned champions on the last day of the season.
With Uruguay international Luis Suarez sold to Barcelona and strike partner Daniel Sturridge sidelined for most of the campaign, Liverpool lost their cutting edge in attack and last season proved to be another disappointment.
They exited the Champions League after the group stage and Rodgers' handling of Gerrard's departure from Anfield after the midfielder's 17 years at the club was widely criticised.
Any hopes of a return to the Champions League faded in a calamitous end to the season which finished with a 6-1 defeat at Stoke City in Gerrard's final match for the club.
That was their heaviest league defeat since 1963 and that year came back to haunt them last month when West Ham United won 3-0 at Anfield for the first time in the 52 years since then.
Despite Rodgers' assurances last season that gifted England forward Raheem Sterling would not be leaving Anfield, he was sold to Manchester City for 44 million pounds ($66.78 million).
The gamble on troublesome Mario Balotelli also failed with the Italy striker shipped out after one erratic season.
Rodgers' failure to get the best out of expensive signings ultimately led to his downfall and leaves the club still looking for the consistency that was their hallmark during the 1970s and 80s when they won the league title 11 times through to 1990.
English premier league results
Sunday, October 4
Arsenal 3 Manchester United 0
Everton 1 Liverpool 1
Swansea City 2 Tottenham Hotspur 2
Saturday, October 3
AFC Bournemouth 1 Watford 1
Aston Villa 0 Stoke City 1
Chelsea 1 Southampton 3
Crystal Palace 2 West Bromwich Albion 0
Manchester City 6 Newcastle United 1
Norwich City 1 Leicester City 2
Sunderland 2 West Ham United 2
DHARAMSALA, India-- JP Duminy's batting heroics secured South Africa a thrilling seven-wicket victory in the first Twenty20 International despite Indian opener Rohit Sharma burnishing his limited overs reputation with a blistering century on Friday.
DHARAMSALA, India-- JP Duminy's batting heroics secured South Africa a thrilling seven-wicket victory in the first Twenty20 International despite Indian opener Rohit Sharma burnishing his limited overs reputation with a blistering century on Friday.
Needing 10 runs off the last over chasing a 200-run victory target, Duminy's seventh six tied the contest before he took a single to seal victory with two balls to spare and put his team 1-0 up in the three-match series.
Duminy remained unbeaten on 68 off 34 balls, frustrating India who rode Sharma's century to post a commanding 199-5 at one of the most picturesque cricket stadiums in the world.
As the only batsman with two ODI double centuries to his name, Sharma blasted 106 off 66 balls, highest score by an Indian in a Twenty20 International, as the hosts threatened to go beyond the 200-mark at one stage.
After opening partner Shikhar Dhawan perished in his half-hearted pursuit of a non-existent second run, Sharma teamed up with Virat Kohli (43) to lay the foundation for a big total.
The duo added 138 runs, an India record, in 12.2 overs and the elegant Sharma belted five sixes and 12 boundaries in his scintillating knock.
The Mumbai batsman brought up his century clobbering Marchant de Lange for a six to become the second Indian, after team mate Suresh Raina, to register a century in all three formats of the game.
AB de Villiers (51) and Hashim Amla (36) led South Africa's robust reply with a breezy 77-run opening stand before falling in quick succession.
At 95-3, South Africa looked in trouble but Duminy and Farhaan Behardien (32 not out) refused to throw in the towel.
Duminy hit spinner Axar Patel for three successive sixes in the 16th over to turn the match on its head and stayed put till the end to see the visitors home in a man-of-the-match winning performance.
Cuttack hosts the second Twenty20 International on Monday.
NEW YORK-- World number one Jordan Spieth capped a sensational season on Friday when, as had been widely expected, he was voted the PGA Tour's Player of the Year after a 2014-15 campaign highlighted by two major victories among his five wins.
Spieth landed the coveted honour after clinching the first two majors of the season -- the Masters and U.S. Open -- before finishing one shot out of a British Open playoff in July and being runner-up at the PGA Championship in August.
The 22-year-old American ended his campaign in triumphant style with victory at the season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta last week where he also clinched overall FedExCup playoff honours and the $10 million jackpot.
Spieth made 21 of 25 cuts on the PGA Tour, including four runner-up spots, as his earnings for the season ballooned to $22 million because of the FedExCup bonus.
He set a record for official earnings on the U.S. circuit, his tally of $12,030,465 eclipsing the previous mark of $10,905,166 established by Vijay Singh in 2004.
Spieth claimed Player of the Year honours over rivals Jason Day of Australia, Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy and fellow American Rickie Fowler in a vote of his peers.
Of that trio, Day pushed Spieth hardest in the battle for the prized accolade as he also triumphed five times on the 2014-15 PGA Tour while claiming his first major title at the PGA Championship.
"It was a season to remember," Spieth told reporters on a conference call. "You don't recognise it, I guess, as the year goes on. When you look at it in review, you can see exactly what we have done.
"It's an honour to win Player of the Year because it is the MVP (most valuable player) of our league and it's voted upon by the players. For them to recognise the hard work that we put in and what we've been able to do with it is truly special."
Spieth, the youngest Player of the Year since a 21-year-old Tiger Woods won the award 1997, also earned the Arnold Palmer Award as the Tour's leading money winner and claimed the Byron Nelson Award for adjusted scoring average (68.938). Known for his brilliant putting and mental strength, Spieth displayed remarkable consistency as he dominated golf for most of the year. He came close to recording the first ever calendar grand slam of the four professional majors, his worst finish a tie for fourth at the British Open.
A surprising dip in form over the past month coincided with a red-hot run by Australian Day, who won four of six events, including the PGA Championship and two of the FedExCup playoff tournaments.
That stung the highly-competitive Spieth, who made a mental adjustment as he turned things around after missing the cut in the first two FedExCup playoff events.
"As far as the majors go, it certainly very much exceeded expectations," Spieth said of his season. "I obviously am most proud of the two wins, but I am also extremely proud of taking those two wins into the last two and not giving up, continuing to play our best golf.
"Really in my mind I should have won the (British) Open championship had I played the last two holes like we had battled that week, but unfortunately I missed a putt on 17 and didn't play 18 the right way.
"And then I ran into a buzz-saw in Jason Day at the PGA (Championship). Our best stuff was there. It certainly exceeded my expectations in the major championships."
American Daniel Berger, 22, the only rookie to qualify for the season-ending Tour Championship after recording two runner-up spots along the way, was selected Rookie of the Year.
Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Michael Campanaro (15) leaps into the end zone to score a touchdown against Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Antwon Blake (L) during the first quarter at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. Ravens won 23-20. (Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports.)
