Dalglish Deserved More Respect From Americans

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Dalglish Deserved More Respect From Americans

Kenny Dalglish has been sacked by Liverpool’s American owners, shocking the Anfield faithful to the core.

Kenny Dalglish like any other manager should have been given more time to improve Liverpool’s league fortunes.

But in this modern era of football and “modern” owners, time is not given to managers and they must get positive results immediately or suffer.

But for Kenny Dalglish not to be honoured more time is disgraceful, for a man who has served this club so well over the years as a player and as a manager, and who has his heart in the club.

Dalglish came to Liverpool’s rescue when he got an SOS call from Liverpool’s new American owners aboard the Titanic’s sister ship SS Roy Hodgson.

Dalglish then transformed the club and brought back a “feel good” factor back to the club and got everyone pulling in the same direction.

Dalglish spent a lot of money in the summer with new signings and big expectations for the new season with expectations of even winning the league.

But the league form was very poor and finishing in 8th position was very poor for a club like Liverpool.

But for Kenny to guide the club to two cup finals was a fantastic achievement and to win one of the finals and bring back a trophy to Anfield was vitally important for Liverpool to get back to winning things after going far too long without a trophy.

But inevitably Liverpool’s league form has cost Dalglish his job.

There has been criticism of Dalglish about some of his signings like Henderson, Downing and Andy Carroll not repaying the faith Dalglish showed in signing them, but some players take time to fit in to a new team.

Kenny’s tactics have also been criticised during his time, and his persistence in playing Jordan Henderson was highly criticised.

Dalglish’s biggest mistake was his handling of the controversial Suarez affair which could have been handled a lot better, but Dalglish always showed great support for his players, rightly or wrongly.

Dalglish never handled the media very well and in this era of scrutinised media attention made Dalglish look very uncomfortable.

But Dalglish provided more positives than negatives to Liverpool Football Club and that should not have been understated.

Dalglish has brought the club together and made the squad stronger with the signings he made.

Dalglish has produced a very young team with great potential and towards the end of the season we have witnessed some of Kenny’s underperforming signings start to perform, like Andy Carroll and Henderson looking far better players than they did at the start.

The impressive structure of youth coming through at Anfield that Dalglish should receive great credit for with the likes of Sterling, Coady, Morgan, Wisdom, Silva, Robinson and Flanagan on the verge of threatening for first team action.

But the progress and structure that Dalglish has been building could now be dismantled.

It is a massive gamble to bring someone new in, when Liverpool were making progress under Dalglish, but it seems that Liverpool’s owners are looking for instant title winning success from their manager, regardless of how much of a mess they were in not so long ago.

Liverpool has always been a club that has shown great patience with their managers but this act of impatience by their owners towards a “legendary” figure like Dalglish shows that Liverpool could be turning into a “managerial merry go-round” club like Chelsea which is very worrying.

Far from a disastrous season Dalglish was summoned to America to be professionally executed, the Americans could at least have conducted their calculated business at Anfield, and faced the supporters and media, in what is a massive decision for the club, it is ridiculous treatment for a man who answered their call for help not so long ago.

Time will tell if the Americans have made a very brave decision or a very big mistake, because whoever takes over the Anfield hot seat will have to be very good and hit the ground running.

15 Comments

  1. Let’s be blunt Kenny knew what the score was when he took the job on and so did we the fans.

    A great big fat transfer budget but the minimum objective for the season was fourth. Not first but fourth.

    Kenny didn’t just fail a couple of points and if he had he would still have a job. This was a massive fail and he gave the owners no choice: he knew what was needed and failed completely.

    Just before anyone get’s on their high horse this doesn’t detract from Kenny’s status as a hero or a legend. I’m 52 and I was there when all those achivements were made and I love Kenny dearly.

    Nobody knows more than Kenny that the club must come first and that is a fact. FSG have put the club first pure and simple. I applaud Kenny and celebrate everything he has done for us… it is now time to move on.

    I have one thing to say to anyone who starts whining that what FSG have done is like what Hicks & Gillett did. Stop talking b*ll*cks.

    FSG backed Kenny 100%.
    FSG did not brief the press against Kenny.
    FSG have not lied to the fans or to Kenny.
    FSG have not decimated Kenny’s squad by selling key players.
    FSG have not undermined Kenny’s position.
    FSG have not promised Silva and Villa and delivered Pennant and Keane.
    FSG have not asset stripped the club.

    It’s time we got over our emotions and started looking reality in the face. A relegation struggle with Kenny in charge would have been too much to take for all of us.

    What’s done is done. If the new manager is AVB or someone else I expect FSG to do their job and back him. As Reds it’s our job to back the new manager and thank god that Purslow, Hicks, Gillett and Hodgson are all gone.

    The future is waiting for us.

    YNW

  2. Yes, Dalglish’s season wasn’t the “abject” failure that warrants being fired, but his signings were. If I were an owner, and I don’t feel confident that the manager is going to use my cash wisely, I would do the same. At this moment, everyone who was responsible for paying the inflated fees for Henderson and Carroll have gone. Dalglish (I love the King) unfortunately is also responsible.

    I don’t think the “Americans” took this decision lightly, and I think they had already an understanding with Kenny in Boston that it was over. It’s better to end now than to persevere another 6 months uncomfortably (ie: they wouldn’t have backed Kenny fully in the market this time).

    Now we see who comes in, I don’t mind AVB, Rafa, etc., and let them build from the base we have. If I were the owner (and I’m not) I wouldn’t even start a conversation with an applicant who doesn’t see the team ready to be built without being razed.

  3. What a disgrace. It just shows that winning trophies comes second to making money. Don’t be fooled that these New owners are any different to the last. They would be quite as happy to come second thirf or forth rather than picking up silverware which fundementally football was once about. Listening to all radio last night and the usuakk suspects that are on speed dial to moan even after winning games were nowhere to be heard, the only sound was from proper supporters who see the bigger picture and a lot more about todays football and the economics that stand beside. Can’t be arsed any more me, anyway it will be sad in August with no kenny or Suarez. Hey at least Downing now has an assist. God help this club.

  4. Your biased and can’t accept his flaws he was poor and given him 2nd chance is too much to ask.this squad he left behind and his signings will never win champions league or even carry d league of finish top4.
    No time to waste serious over-haul needs to be done by a new manager …Rafa my choice Cappello not bad as well.

  5. these yanks better have a plan in place, and a good one at that. been a supporter for 32 yrs and im now seriously considering my association with the club. i’ll give them a season maybe 18 months to see what direction theyre taking us. i.ll always love liverpool,but the way kennys been treated has left a bad taste. different yanks more problems

  6. 14 defeats in the premier league , a total haul of 52 points from 38 games , the 2nd half of the season was relegation form. we finished 15 points above the teams that got relegated get a grip all you kenny diehards if the club is to move forward important decisions need to be made and yesterday was one of them. kenny can hold his head up high and so can the owners they are winners and are taking ownership of this great football club by the scruff of the neck to get us back up to the top at home and in europe.kenny was always a stopgap he knew that.now lets get behind the club as a whole and do what kenny wants and stick together. YNWA

  7. it’s a tough call. Every fans loves KD but some of his mistakes hurts the club too. (poor transfer judgment, game tactics, mismanaged kuyt/Maxi, mishandled Suarez issue etc) It’s true that things could improve nxt season but it could get worst too (thus beyond recovery) That’s why a bold decision has to b made.All love n gratitude to KD~ Let’s move on YNWA

  8. The intent of this article is good but it’s simply unhelpful for the club right now. Kenny himself stated he was handled gracefully and the idea that he was not afforded the respect he deserved is unfounded.

    There are several indications that the trip to Boston was necessiated by Kenny’s desire to have the meeting early. In that case, is it possible for FSG to agree to meet Kenny in Boston instead of Liverpool?

    I think it would be crazy for anyone to deny Kenny’s contribution and value to this club. However, it would also be hypocrtical to deny that for the amount of investment made on the club, the achievement on the pitch has been bad (even compared to 2010/11 season)!

    All said, it may have been preferable for Kenny to take the directorial post or for FSG to allow him to try to achieve better results until X-MAS but now the decision has been made, the focus should be on what needs to be done to strengthen the management, coaching staff and the squad rather than unnecessary negativity! I’m sure Kenny would prefer it that way.

    People who are talking of player exodus, etc. should be ashamed of what they are trying to do to this club. Those kinds of comments should not come from people who claim to love and support LFC (Hansen, beware!). YNWA!!!

  9. Although I’m disappointed to see an old favorite go, this statement is based on emotional bias.

    Kenny was not expected (although hoped) to finish top four but he was expected to be around the action. To finish 8th on the same points as Fulham 9th is a reality check for us all and yes we were nearer the drop zone then a top four place. Yes more time might have seen a turnaround but what if it didn’t come, we can only judge where we are today and 8th is not acceptable even for a player I watched play and admire so much. I don’t believe Kenny got the best from the players and his idea of buying british has so far failed. If we’d have finished 5th or 6th and close in points to fourth place this would not have happened … So to talk about disrespect and shocking the anfield faithful to the core is not completely true, I’m aware of many who did not want to see this happen to one of our own but also felt Kenny was not taking us in the right direct. Being balanced in your viewpoints would help but if you prefer to create divide and seperation between the owners and fans, you keep on writing like this, I’ll take it for what it was and move forward while your still here debating the past.
    I will be supporting the next manager, the players and my fellow reds as next season we have a european trophy on offer and I’ll be expecting a top four finish or to at least be in the mix.

    Paul

  10. The minute they took over the club we knew it was all about business

    Shat they did was wrong ..

    they did show respect for Dalglish .. the fans .. even for Liverpool football club

    It’s not personal .. it’s business .. pure business

    leo
    YNWA

  11. Kenny and Steve Clark seemed incapable of motivating the team, heads dropped if we did not score, more so if we conceded, Aside from Cup games we have become ultra cautious, the Cup Final was an embarrassing shambles and to fail to put Cardiff away in 90 minutes was desperate.
    on top of this king Kenny lost the plot with his tetchy press conferences and should have kept schtum over the Suarez case and the club should have hired a specialist lawyer to defend the charge properly, the t-shirts made us a laughing stock at best, unfairly reviled at worst.I genuinely worried for Kenny’s health; he is a legend but we cannot run this once, but no longer, great club on sentiment. Recovering our lost position will be a tough challenge, we need a decent manager who will let us play with verve; the LIVERPOOL WAY!!

  12. Forget the criticisms Jamie. You hit the nail on the head. Kenny should have at least been given more time (one more year), The Amercians disgracefully fired him in Boston after he came in and saved the club after the Hidgson saga. He deserves more respect and time.
    The players should be chastised. One comment I saw in the Guardian
    “Downing got his first assist”
    What they fuck have players like these done and how could they be selected for international duty. I don’t see any staements from them standing up for a man who put up with the plress’s flack when they played Shite.

    Also for anyone, it doesn’t matter who it is, being sacked is not an easy thing to face especially when you love the people you work with like Kenny. He needs our support as we had his even at the lowest time of the club Nuff Said.

    He is a man like anyone else, a legend to some of us, and his treatment was shocking.

  13. remeber the last time Kenny left us, we went on a rebuilding spree and guess where it got us…..sigh..

    Now after stabilising the club they kick him out and we start to “rebuild”.

    I hate to say it but the club treated Shanks poorly when he retired and now they have done it again. Sigh…

    All our greatest Lengends, seem like they end up walking alone….

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