King Kenny - Rafa's successor?

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King Kenny - Rafa's successor?

« on: March 12, 2010, 05:29:55 PM »

Just found this article and thought it was worth a debate.

Is Kenny Dalglish the man to lead Liverpool back to the glory days?

For a while there, Rafa Benitez would be forgiven for thinking he was over the worst of it at Liverpool. A run of solid, if unspectacular, performances leaving his side well in the mix for a Champions League place and into the last 16 of the UEFA Europa League. With Fernando Torres returning from injury there was reason to believe they could actually make something of the rest of the season. Even the supporters’ dismay over the club’s ownership seem to have quietened down, fans at Manchester United and Portsmouth taking up that cause now.

But Rafa would have just been kidding himself. Losses away at Wigan Athletic and Lille have lifted that flimsy veil of normalcy once more to reveal this is a club seemingly locked in downward spiral. Wigan chairman Dave Whelan’s criticism of Liverpool’s American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett running of the club may well draw Merseyside ire to the boardroom once more, but their real frustration should be reserved for Benitez’s management.

Right now, it is hard to see any improvement under the Spaniard, either in the short or long term. Yet just as difficult to foresee is a replacement capable of dealing with the difficulties existing in the Anfield boardroom and not letting it impede on the job he is trying to do on the pitch. It is a question where the answer, some have suggested, lies in the form of the Scotsman currently sitting upstairs.

Dilemma for Dalglish?

As a successful former Liverpool player and manager it is understandable Kenny Dalglish’s name would be talked about as a candidate should the Reds decide to replace Benitez. Currently working at Anfield as an academy director and club ambassador, his proximity to the players and structure give him a familiarity that would likely prove important in identifying where he could bring improvement.

Dalglish has previously stated that the manner in which he left the club in 1991 was far from the ending he hoped for. Stressed and tired at that point, he has admitted when he did resign part of him still hoped for a swift return once he felt rejuvenated. But the club’s quick appointment of fellow former Kop hero Graeme Souness put paid to that, leaving Dalglish with a certain sense of unfinished business.

While the temptation to sit once more in the Liverpool hotseat must be tempting, how bad though does Dalglish really want it, if at all? Considering it was Benitez who brought the Scotsman back into the fold there is certainly no chance he will go behind his back. Speaking about his appointment last July, Dalglish was very grateful. “For the boss to put his trust in me is a great compliment and I am coming back as a very lucky person.”

Short-term solution

After Liverpool’s Champions League exit to Lyon last November, managing director Christian Purslow was adamant the club would not be getting rid of Benitez any time soon. “He signed a new five-year deal four months ago and in those terms he is four months into a five-year journey. You don't deviate from long-term plans for people and the way to take the club to the next level because of two late goals against Lyon, and that's what it boils down to.”

Taking the word of any football director is a risky business at best. But even if Purslow believed what he was saying then, circumstances now might dictate him pushing Benitez before he can jump. Real Madrid’s exit from Europe this week (ironically also at the hands of Lyon) will possibly open a spot at the Bernabeu dugout this summer that Benitez has long been linked with, certainly so if Manuel Pellegrini fails also in Real’s quest for La Liga. Even if there is no truth in this, the Liverpool hierarchy will possibly decide they cannot let Benitez carry on any longer.

A parting of the ways accepted by all parties is realistically the only way Dalglish will ever take back the Liverpool coaching job. From the club’s point of view, should this happen, he would be an ideal short-term solution. They would not just be putting all their hopes on one ex-hero returning and somehow inspiring the team forward, as Newcastle did last season with Alan Shearer, King Kenny has genuine managerial credentials.

Despite what critics say, there is a lot more quality at Liverpool beyond the likes of Torres, Steven Gerrard and Pepe Reina. Dalglish has proved before, notably in the title-winning side he put together at Blackburn Rovers, that he is capable of bringing several different elements together as a unified force. Obviously he will not have the benefit of time to create that kind of cohesion with Liverpool. But there is enough decent talent within the ranks to mount a serious run for fourth spot, while the pivotal figures of the team will certainly respond to a directness in person and tactics that seems absent with Benitez.

Long-term problem

With that said it would be hard to look beyond this kind of role for Dalglish and genuinely see him making Liverpool a year in, year out contender for the top prizes like they were under his stewardship before.

By taking up the opportunity of returning as an academy director Dalglish certainly showed a passion for football still exists. At 59 he is far from over the hill and would not have to look any further than Manchester to see an example of a man far past what many would consider his prime, but still feeling as vital and ambitious as ever.

But the difference is Sir Alex Ferguson never left football. When he came close to retiring previously he found he was not ready to give it up and till his body tells him otherwise it’s hard to believe he will ever want to. Dalglish however on several occasions has found reason to move on. Up to rejoining Liverpool last summer he had been out of the game nine years since leaving Celtic. When he originally left Liverpool for very understandable reasons the club overall was in a much more stable position than they are now. The question is, as a man who has shown football is not quite everything to him like it is to someone like Ferguson, does he really want the challenge of making Liverpool great again?

It is a question Dalglish would seriously have to consider as it is a challenge that will need every little bit of the manager that takes it. Right now there is no end in sight to the boardroom struggle between Hicks and Gillett that has left Liverpool ill-equipped for competing with the likes of Man United and Chelsea. There is also the possibility that players like Gerrard and Torres just won’t have the hunger to take Liverpool forward any further, and with limited funds for new acquisitions they would be vital for any manager.

It is a task that Dalglish will ultimately probably see not worth his bother. If for no other reason, this is one club he will not to leave in the lurch if he deems it a job beyond him.

Personally I believe he's been away from the game too long to be a permanent replacement but in the interim may not be a bad shout.


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