By Matt Volpi
May 16th 2012 was an extremely sad day for Liverpool Football Club. It was the day the King was deemed not good enough to manage his kingdom. Regardless of what you think of Kenny’s latest reign, his media conduct, his signings, his teams, the departure of a living legend is always a sad day.
However, this is not a crazy decision. It should not be treated as that. Whilst everyone had their view on it, there were definitely reasons for his departure, and I believe over time people will realise it was the right thing to do.
A lot of people have said that he should have been given another season, possibly until Christmas if things do not improve. But picture this – January 2013. Kenny has stayed on for another summer, yet his shortcomings as a manager have continued and results are no better than last season. He is then fired, leaving in a much less dignified way than he has now, with his reputation having been dragged through the mud even further. Because of the slow start to the season, Liverpool finish 7th or 8th again. Key players such as Skrtel, Agger, Suarez have had enough of the clubs failings and leave. Due to our lack of stability and low league position we can’t attract top quality players to replace them, making the next season even more difficult.
Right now, in the present day, we are closer to becoming Aston Villa then we are to challenging for the title. The club has been on a bit of a downward spiral of late, and this summer is massive.
Sacking a manager is always a risk, but in this case I think keeping Kenny on after enduring our worst season in the league for 50 years would have been more of a risk. We cannot afford to slip any more or we could be completely sunk.
It’s crunch time for FSG. While I am not sure about the way Dalglish’s exit was handled, I appreciate the fact they have done it a week after the season has ended and seem fairly keen on appointing a new manager. Whoever it is has to be absolutely guarenteed to take the club forward. While Dalglish is a great man and motivator, tactically he seemed a bit simple at times and often the team never really looked like it had a specific Plan A or Plan B in games. We need a manager who sets his team up in a specific way week after week, and lets each player know EXACTLY what their job is, which is something I never saw under Kenny.
This is a scary time for the football club, and the owners must act quickly. Many positions in the club need to be filled. It’s unbelievable that we are now without a Director of Football, Manager, Director of Communications, Head of Sports Science and C.E.O. Not to mention the stadium plan that has been scrapped and is looking further away than ever.
Big decisions are about to be made. The search for a new manager has already begun. Gossip, rumours and hyperbole have already shoved Kenny Dalglish’s sad and shocking departure from the club he did so much for out of the limelight. I sincerely hope that he can find some way to be part of the club in what ever way suits him best. Until then, while it is never easy to say goodbye to a legend, we must try and realise that it may be the necessary step for the club to move forward.