Liverpool Football Club remains an enticing professional prospect for any top player or manager alike. Although the Reds have fallen down the pecking order Uefa rankings and have one 1 piece of silverware in its most recent history, the Club still represents ‘an ultimate experience’ for anyone that is asked to play for or manage it: because to be accepted and eventually loved by the Kop is an amazing and unique professional experience which cannot be lived anywhere else.
Managers the likes of Martinez, Rodgers, Benitez, Capello, Mourinho, Guardiola, Villas Boas, van Gaal, Klopp and Deschamps (hoping to not have missed anyone!) are all playing musical chairs in an effort to land the manager’s job at Anfield. Whoever gets the job has a monumental task ahead of him: he needs to be accepted by the players, accepted by the Kop (representing all the fans), and he need to fill in some very big boots, those that Kenny Dalglish left behind!
Now let me try to hit nail with this consideration: Mourinho , Grant, Scolari , Hiddink, Ancelotti all went to Chelsea with much pomp and pedigree, plus the power to spend at will. Who got them to win the Champions League? Roberto Di Matteo! A 41 year old ex-Italian international footballer who’s previous management experience was 1 year at Milton Keynes Dons and 2 years at West Bromwich Albion. What’s my point? My point is that you do not have to have a pedigree, and you do not need to have Champions League experience: what you really need is know a thing or two about today’s game, and most of all make sure you are accepted by the players, especially the old guard!
I kept AVB out of the equation because he was not accepted by Chelsea’s old guard so he never stood a chance, just as Hodgson never stood a chance at Anfield with the Kop sniffing that if he was ousted Kenny would take his place!
If we are going for a manager that has gone all the way then a sensible choice would probably be Capello! I say this because the Italian has won a multitude of titles and the Champions League twice with two different clubs, added to the fact that he has spoken of this desire of ‘managing one of the Premier League’s greats’, knows the language and has been in England for a few years now. This may well be Capello’s last adventure, and he may also be the perfect mentor to give Jamie Carragher the right impetus to become another legendary Liverpool manager when he decides to retire to his beloved Friuli.
With Guardiola adamant of taking a sabbatical, and Di Matteo having secured FA Cup and Champions League triumphs which should land him the permanent job, Capello cannot be lured to London and he may be arguably a less risky bet than with Villas Boas. The Italian wants to stay in England and has recently turned down offers to manage AC Roma or Internationazle as his objective remains to coach in the Premier League. Benitez remains a candidate albeit in the background, while opposing sides of lover and haters of the Spaniard voice their opinions on all forms of social media.
One thing’s for sure, the chance to manage a Club like Liverpool is enticing for any manager, so the list of candidates will never be a short one. My hope is that we get it right, because this Club deserves and has what it takes to be at the top level of domestic, European and world football!
What we really need to do is to support the new manager because whatever the outcome, there is no doubt he will want to prove himself and he will use all his knowledge to make us consistently successful!