Liverpool forced one humiliating ‘decision’ and shocking Kompany truth uncovered before sack

The biggest humiliation is to be the subbed sub. Two managers in particular seem to like the feeling; Vincent Kompany should probably be sacked for it.

Morgan Rogers (v Luton, March 2)

Subbed on: for Jacob Ramsey in the 29th minute

Subbed off: Tim Iroegbunam in the 79th minute

Signed from Middlesbrough in a £15m deal in January, it was not to be expected that former Manchester City prospect Rogers would make too telling a contribution to this excellent Aston Villa season. Having never played higher than the Championship, the forward was purchased more with a view to the future.

Yet a swift acclimatisation to Unai Emery’s demands meant Rogers was immediately considered a first-team option, given brief cameos in comfortable circumstances against Sheffield United and Nottingham Forest.

A foot injury suffered by Jacob Ramsey early against Luton gave Rogers an opportunity he did not waste, and although Luton had equalised by the time he was taken off for a fellow England youth international in Tim Iroegbunam, Emery was impressed.

What Emery said: “His adaptation is going ahead and today he had minutes, taking experiences with us. I decided this because he played more than 45 minutes and he did very good work. I decided tactically to change him, but this is normal. I did something similar in Liverpool. I changed Leon Bailey after he came on as a substitute. It is a tactical decision.”

READ MORE: Premier League winners and losers – Liverpool hero, Rogers shine as Forest, Ten Hag embarrass themselves

Unai Emery instructs his Aston Villa side

Leon Bailey (v Liverpool, September 3)

Subbed on: for Diego Carlos in the 19th minute

Subbed off: for Nicolo Zaniolo in the 65th minute

Emery had indeed done similar before, with Bailey his sacrificial lamb during an early-season Anfield mauling.

Aston Villa were hilariously poor against Liverpool in September, already a goal down when Diego Carlos succumbed to a hamstring injury through chasing Darwin Nunez. In his stead came Bailey but neither he nor a system shift could quell the Reds, who had trebled their lead through a Matty Cash own goal and Mo Salah finish long before the Jamaican forward came off.

What Emery said: “It was a tactical decision. He played 90 minutes on Thursday, he played more or less 45 minutes. I decided that after 3-0 that we need to continue being consistent and practice something, playing with John McGinn and Moussa Diaby like we did in pre-season, but after some injuries we didn’t do it again. I wanted as well to occupy inside with McGinn and try to be more higher than Diaby. I was as well trying to practice in the last 25 minutes, with Tielemans and Zaniolo.”

What happened next: Bailey has been bloody brilliant.

Mike Tresor (v Fulham, December 23)

Subbed on: for Jacob Bruun Larsen in the 46th minute

Subbed off: for Hannes Delcroix in the 89th minute

With the scores level at half-time and Burnley presumably reeling from the shock of not losing a game when visiting Craven Cottage just before Christmas, it was deemed by Vincent Kompany to be time that the wind had a dose of caution thrown at it. Bruun Larsen had struggled against Antonee Robinson and was no more effective when moved to the other flank, so Tresor was called upon for his first meaningful minutes in about two months.

The Belgian forward rose to the challenge and helped unsettle Fulham, albeit playing peripheral roles at best in Wilson Odobert and Sander Berge’s goals en route to a 2-0 victory.

Tresor was himself taken off as Burnley shored up what remains both their last win and last clean sheet.

What Kompany said: Nothing in particular. Bringing a defender on at 2-0 up away from home was not overly controversial.

What happened next: Tresor started the next game – a defeat to Liverpool – but has played 23 minutes in their last eight Premier League matches and about as long in their FA Cup third-round exit.

READ MORE: Ten times clubs barely avoided recent disastrous managerial appointments, including Chelsea and Spurs with Kompany

Alex Scott (v Nottingham Forest, December 23)

Subbed on: for Lewis Cook in the 29th minute

Subbed off: for Joe Rothwell in the 70th minute

Having joined Bournemouth while recovering from a knee injury, Scott made his long-awaited debut in October and played three games, during which the Cherries belatedly kicked off Andoni Iraola’s reign with the manager’s first win in victory over Burnley. He was quickly sidelined due to an issue with the other leg, finally overcoming his problems to make the bench against Nottingham Forest during the packed festive schedule.

Iraola would undoubtedly have preferred to ease in his £25m summer investment but when Lewis Cook needed replacing after half an hour at the City Ground, the sensible choice was Scott.

Within two minutes of his introduction, the midfielder received a yellow card which retrospectively cut his cameo short – although Iraola might have been relieved to have the perfect excuse not to risk Scott too much on his return.

What Iraola said: “Alex Scott and Antoine Semenyo, I decided to take them both off because of their yellow cards. Because with a yellow card, whenever you are playing against 10, sometimes there is a risk. We had to be cautious with these things. The main reason to take him off was the same as Ant, the yellow card.”

What happened next: Scott started Bournemouth’s next game and produced a sublime assist against Fulham, being successfully rotated in and out of the side ever since.

Aaron Ramsey (v Luton, October 3)

Subbed on: for Zeki Amdouni in the 74th minute

Subbed off: for Hannes Delcroix in the 94th minute

Five wins and one draw represented a chastening start to the season for Burnley, back when it was assumed those were mere growing pains rather than proof that misery loves Kompany. But each of those defeats came to European qualifiers and the stalemate came at Nottingham Forest; a trip to Luton was a fine chance to get off the mark.

Lyle Foster’s goal in first-half stoppage-time gave Burnley an initiative they sought to pursue when, still leading with a quarter of an hour remaining, Ramsey and Bruun Larsen were introduced for Amdouni and Luca Koleosho.

It was Bruun Larsen who made the difference, scoring 65 seconds after an Elijah Adebayo equaliser to put the Clarets back ahead in the 85th minute. Soon after – and in response to a likely aerial onslaught – Ramsey came back off with his work done to be replaced by defender Delcroix.

What Kompany said: Again, not much. No-one dares ask about his obsession with Hannes Piterson Delcroix.

What happened next: In terms of Ramsey, he has been in and out of the side due to Kompany’s haphazard selection habits. As for Delcroix, well…

Jacob Bruun Larsen (v Brentford, October 21)

Subbed on: for Mike Tresor in the 66th minute

Subbed off: for Hannes Delcroix in the 80th minute

Really, though. There are abundant reasons for Burnley to sack Kompany but chief among them might be his sub fetish for summer signing Delcroix.

It worked to defend leads against Fulham and Luton; it did not when trying to overturn a deficit at Brentford. The Bees had established a two-goal lead through Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo shortly before Kompany took action, bringing Bruun Larsen and Josh Brownhill on for Tresor and Berge.

Twelve minutes later, Connor Roberts was sent off. Two minutes after that, Bruun Larsen came off for Delcroix in a damage limitation change. And seven minutes after that, Saman Ghoddos scored a stunning goal to put an already knackered game to bed.

What Kompany said: Nothing because the MSM doesn’t want you to know about this murky business.

What happened next: Bruun Larsen has not made more than three consecutive Premier League appearances because Kompany cannot decide which toys to play with at any given time.