King Kenny next permanent Liverpool Manager (done deal or not) ?

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By Mark Sproule
on Twitter @MARKIESP

If reports are to be believed Kenny Dalglish will finally be installed as the permanent Liverpool manager within the next ten days. It is hard to grasp which of the finer details have prevented FSG and Kenny’s advisors from already having sewed this up weeks ago. Millions of Liverpool fans around the globe will be slightly concerned that it has taken this long, but as Kenny has admirably batted the questions away in press conference after press conference, citing the return to the clubs traditional manner of doing business behind closed doors and in the “Liverpool Way”, we may never know the reasons why the world has been made to wait.

I want to debate some of the possible reasons why John W Henry, whose Facebook site is inundated by the week with our fans calling for a speedy resolution in naming King Kenny as permanent gaffer, has decided to leave it until the end of the season or very near it, before making any announcement. I am quite sure that JWH and his colleagues have been as pleasantly surprised as all our supporters with just how well the players have responded to the input of Kenny and Steve Clarke under the new regime. I believe that in the early days of Kenny’s interim appointment FSG hadn’t seriously considered Kenny as anything other than a “caretaker” manager. Results and indeed excellent performances with the exception of a few blips have seen great victories over the three of the top four, Chelsea, Man United and Man City, with a draw at the Emirates followed by a total of 13 goals scored past Birmingham, Newcastle and Fulham respectively. Results, which until last night with Man City’s win at home to Spurs had still mathematically given us a chance at Champions League Football next year, with just two games left to play. If Phil Thompson would have made that prediction on the Sky Panel in early January he would have been laughed off the TV, and lets face it even the most diehard of LFC fan would have found it difficult to fathom. Now fifth in the Premier League and a close second to only Chelsea in a league table of the 16 games since KK took the reigns, LFC are playing championship winning football, albeit without the pressure, as some of our critics have been keen to point out. This amazing transformation I believe has given FSG a welcome headache when perhaps their early preference was to bring in a young manager in the Summer such as FC Porto’s Andre Boas, to work closely with Director Football Strategy Damien Comolli.

Having witnessed this dramatic change of fortunes and now firmly grasped the magnitude of the man they had come to deal with as their manager, JWH had admitted by early April that negotiations were under way with Dalglish. Now here we are some five weeks down the line and still no announcement. What are the possible reasons for the delay:_

  1. FSG are keen to offer only a two year deal with Kenny holding out for four years.
  2. FSG would like Kenny to begin to blood in a young manager as his replacement in 2 years time
  3. Dalglish wants the final say on transfer policy over Comoli, yet FSG say it must be a consensus of the two, or that Comoli can sign players without Kennys consent.
  4. Its down to money (doubt this very much) it was suggested that King Kenny would do the job for free though Alan Hansen laughed this off citing Kenny’s excellent negotiation skills when it comes to pounds and pence, and rightly so.
  5. FSG are using the rest of the season as a carrot-stick for the players to get Kenny the job with their performances and it has worked, with just two games left to play.
  6. FSG and Comoli disagree with Dalglish’s way forward on how much money to be spent and in what areas, again very unlikely.

What are your thoughts? Could we possibly get as big a shock as February 1991 when Dalglish left for the first time? Is it beyond the realms of possibility the King Kenny might not be given the job on a full time basis. I fail to see how anyone other than Kenny himself saying he didn’t want the job could prevent the announcement we’ve all been waiting on, and I like millions of other fans will be relieved to see the headlines to say he’s got the job.

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24 Comments

  1. It’s more or less done he will sign before our last home game on Sunday against Spurs, and yes some of what you have pointed out probably were the areas King Kenny and FSG and Commoli respectivley where sorting out, but it will be sorted by Sunday if not then deffo by our last league game…….YNWA……JFT96

  2. Relax, I think it’s a done deal and that all parties are leaving it until the end of the season as was originally announced just to prove the point that things will be carried out in the liverpool way ie the clubs terms. Not just to satisfy the sky-fed ‘must hve it now’ generation YNWA.

  3. 7. Kenny has said he doesn’t see a problem or rush and FSG said they’d make an announcement at the end of the season.

    Kenny has reinstated our traditions and core values within the club and FSG have bought into the “Liverpool way”. This means that they will tell us when they have something to say. Frustrating for the fans but it’s what we’ve been crying out for.

    YNWA

  4. Errr you also forgot the obvious one..

    They said they would appoint a permanent manager in the off season and true to their word they are waiting until then… Seriously what’s the rush. As long as a new manager is in place for when the transfer window opens what is the big deal about this? Do you honestly think King Kenny will say no deal, no can work for you. He bleeds the Liverpool red and will do what’s in the best interest of LFC. If that means wait 2 more games then so be it.

    LFC… YNWA…

  5. I wouldn’t be supprised if Kenny had signed already. Then by Kenny’s behest it won’t be announced untill the end of the season. Or after we beat the Spuds on Sunday and cement our place in 5th, then announce it next Monday. We don’t need anything to distract us from what’s happening on the pitch, and our good run of performances and results. Kenny will know this more than anyone and FSG did say they would reevaluate the situation in the summer, and make a decision then. In short Kenny and FSG are doing things in house and back to the Liverpool Way. And i wouldn’t have it any other way.

    1. Well said Blair, I was thinking the same aye. Kenny has also talked and hinted about next season, so he might have signed already. That way the players won’t think about next season if it was publicly declared and still have the job of this season to work on.

    2. agree. why anounce now wait till we beat spurs.i think the more games played the stronger the team gets. kenny just like the players were given til the end of the season to see what they were made off and hes stepped up and shown hes the only man for the job. what other candidate knows more about the club or has dreamt so long about getting this job.ithink its a done deal and the biggest indcator for me is kenny was given 35mil to sign AC in january that was kennys signing no doubt about it why let him spend so much if you dont have faith. saying hes too old isnt an arguement as fergie has won plenty between 60-70. cant wait for sunday its been a while since i looked forward to games so much thanks kenny.

  6. Personally I think that kenny could do the job for years to come, and to be given anything less than 3 years would be a crime against him, unless he gets the option to extend his contract at any point.

    1. I think that 3 years + a rolling year (If Kenny wants) could be the best solution for Kenny, FSG and us fans. Then hopefully after a few trophys give Kenny another 4 years because he has earned and deserved it.

  8. I was right John Henry and Tom Werner are jetting in on Friday to rubber stamp the deal before the Spurs game, they should make Pepe sign a new deal aswell even tho he just signed one last season he should get a pay rise……YNWA……JFT96

  9. i don’t know why u askn this quetion!!!!!!!!!!!!???????? when u know and see no 1 r beter than KING KENNY thank u KING KENNY for comen back to LFC

  10. Everyone needs to relax and stop ibsessing over why the deal hasn’t been done yet. If you take a look at how Henry and FSV have managed the Red Sox, it is clear that they prefer not to conduct this type of business mid-season. The fact that King Kenny has not yet received a permanent appointment is exactly what you would expect from FSV and exactly in line with how they traditionally do business.

  11. i thought the media and people outside of LFC speculated and worried about this. i was under the impression that king ken already has the job, and just have to decide when they officially want to announce it.

  13. I have said earlier that he(kenny daglish)has done a fantastic job in the short run but i cant agree him as the new manager due to my following reasons 1.i want us to look for a new manager who will carry this liverpool for many years to come,creating a new philosophy of entertaining and expansive football with winning mentality.2.he is 61 or so,he cant carry us for long.3.i doubt us moving well in european competitions.4.daglish wants to be the final say in transfer market and there will trouble in the boadroom staff affecting the team as a whole. All i want the team to do is.1.try all their possible best to bring andre villas-boas in the summer,regardless of age,the guy is good.2.if you want to be the best,you work hard to deserve the best.3.moving from anfield to franton park is a new idea as a sign of new era and total turnaround in our club.bringing new players is dangerous but i will only suggest just two english in the line up.4.i suggest we should make a summer clearout in which people wont agree with me but am telling from my heart will be a total turnaround in our lives,i suggest we sell all these:reina,aurielo,agger,krygiakos,skrtel,meireles,gerrard,jovanovic,jcole,maxi,poulsen,ngog andy carrol and kuyt.it may look awkward but i will tell you why.reina’s heart is no more with us,gerrard has reached his peak,carrol cant play in this due to the new philosopy we are into anew.we are going into a new era and want QUALITY talented young who are eager to play football,who wants to achieve determined to win things.i will suggest we go for all these.degea or lloris, as keeper.fabio coentrao,alex sandro,kjaer,yanga-mbiwa,leonel galeano, as defenders.mvilla,kara as defensive midfielders.defour,hazard,canales,jonathan viera,adam barton as midfielders.alexis sanchez or marko marin,shaqiri,juan iturbe(by all means),alex-chamberlain and geovani dos santos,as wingers.sergio araujo and wilfred zaha,as strikers.we need to spend to compete.with God on our side we will achieve.thanks

  14. Calm down. Does it matter when?, we’ve known for weeks that, it’s a done deal, so chill.

  15. Based on what has been said by FSG, they wanted to follow the American style of team management. A director who is responsible for talent acquisition and then a manager who gets the team ready for games. This is why they wanted a young manager who would report in to Comolli.

    My guess would be is that they didn’t want to appoint Kenny in the first place, knowing the weight he would be carrying. Its nothing against the king, it just goes against the model they wanted to set up. The team’s performance this year has obviously blown that plan out of the water.

    My guess is that they still want Comolli to be responsible for talen acquisition and scouting, and they are now negotiating with Kenny regarding how he will fit into the structure.

    It should be noted also that it is not common in the US to negotiate with managers or players during the season because if the negotiations go poorly, it could affect on-field performance.

    But I cannot imagine a situation where Kenny isn’t manager next season. I think the subtleties in how he fits into the structure will be the key discussion points over the coming week.

  16. ohk who eva this dumass neil laurex is,hes talkin utter crap!! he dsnt want kenny as manager and he wants gerrard out moreover he has profile pic of torres! lol. we jus need 5 new players and we can challenge the title!!! and kenny has signed the new contract and they havent announced it so as 2 prevent off field distraction!!!

  17. ohk who eva this dumass neil laurex is,hes talkin utter crap!! he dsnt want kenny as manager and he wants gerrard out moreover he has profile pic of torres! lol. we jus need 5 new players and we can challenge the title!! and kenny has signed the new contract and they havent announced it so as 2 prevent off field distraction!!!

  18. I wonder if it’s being left so late in order to prevent Kenny lining up expensive transfer target in advance of the transfer window opening. This would, in theory, allow money from outgoing player sales (eg. Aquilani etc.) to come in before we buy anyone.

    I’m seriously hoping we don’t have yet another H&G style transfer window with bugger-all net spend. If we do, United, Chelsea, City & co will once again have twa*ted us by Christmas, Kenny or no Kenny.

  20. BREAKING NEWS 3 YEAR DEAL SIGNED SEALED AND DELIVERED BY KING KENNY DALGLISH

    THE KING IS BACK LONG LIVE THE KING, LONG LIVE LFC, LONG LIVE THE MEMORY OF THE 96, LONG LIVE OUR GLORIOUS PAST AND FINALLY LIVERPOOL FC IS BACK, BRING ON THE GLORY DAYS……YNWA……JFT96

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