Whoever gets the job, what is reasonable for FSG to expect in the first season?

 As we draw closer to an appointment, and as we have fans of various different persuasions saying they'd be "well f**king p!ssed off" if such and such gets it, I just wonder what the OWNERS are expecting from the new man. My own guess is we'll improve in the league in any case providing we don't get a complete numpty, but are we really into a cycle of a different manager every 12-18 months if we don't get the success which they crave?

 From a fans point of view, lets be brutally honest here. Regardless of who gets the job, as things stand we are going to find it very difficult to get into the top four next season. You would guess that man City definately will, and much as it pains me to admit it so will Man Utd. That leaves two slots, and as of today all of Spurs, Chelsea and Arsenal would be very confident of finishing above us next season. The owners are reportedly prepared to throw 30 million quid at closing the gap, but given that all of those named teams will probably spend at least that much it certainly follows that we aren't going to blow them out of the water with the cheque book.

 My own guess is that the likes of Carroll/Henderson and Downing simply cannot be as bad again, while we simply cannot be as unlucky as we were last time again. Given that I would expect us to be significantly closer, but what if we finish 6th next time, 5 points off of fourth. Is that relative success or are we then going to be looking at a new manager and a new plan?

 In the last three seasons we've finished 7th under Rafa, 7th under Hodgson/kenny and 8th under Kenny. There's something of a pattern developing there, and I absolutely believe that the owners AND the fans have got to come to terms with where we actually are. All talk of great European nights, Champions League qualification every year etc etc is the stuff of dreamland at the moment. My hope is that whoever gets the job, whether it's the fans first choice, ninth choice or some fecker who they wouldn't trust with a pub team gets it, they are given time, money and 100% support.

 The owners need to man up, they definately should not have got rid of Kenny in my view, and now when they make their choice they have to stand by their man. So must we, this is the most important managerial appointment the club has made in many a year. He must not fail, but he must also be given a chance and time to succeed. 

FSG will expect top 4...

It really depends on how much they give the new manager to improve the squad. I would say if they are looking to improve then £20Million for each place above 8th. So top 4 we need at least £80Million to spend on players - this however is not Net Spend. £20 Million for each place regardless of who leaves.

WIth no money then they should expect nothing more than finishing where we are...

This is the problem they've created, no matter how much you didn't want Dalglish in the job you surely expected improvement next season and progress to be made. Now whoever comes in, even if they progress to let's say 6th in the league are they out, is it an endless cycle until we finish 4th or get shut of the owners, I'm not sure.

Expectations are limited by budget and I have no idea what we'll be given to spend, but I honestly believe it's CL or bust for whoever comes in and despite wanting the highest possible league placing, I also understand that football management is not about instant success = long term success, even Man City with spending massive amounts have not had instant success so the pressure on whoever comes in is probably going to be massive and unfortunately could cause some rash decisions, like rushing Sterling in, or rushing Lucas back from recovery too quickly, who knows but it's not the mentality that I would of hoped our owners had, sadly I'm left disappointed and frustrated by them.

In conclusion 4th or we're shopping for another manager next season will be the standard set.

Good post and i would love to say 4th spot but i cant say its realistic.
Expectations from the new manager would be a spot in Europa league and gain more points at home. He needs to make Anfield a castle where other teams fear us, no matter who they are. Like it used to. Get more out of players who underperformed this season and imo the most important, a default formation which suits us and every player knows his role.

In my humble opinion we would have made top 4 with Kenny and just a couple of player transfers next season. So with that in mind....they must be expecting that we challenge for the title because why sack someone that will likely get you where you supposedly want to go?   

What they have shown is they mean business, no fuk kin about, no room for sentiment. They want Liverpool to be at the very top, just really sad it's without the king. Only thing is to get to where they obviously want to be costs an awful lot of money and if they don't supply whoever the new manager is with the funding required then they are just setting him up to fail also.

What they have shown is they mean business, no fuk kin about, no room for sentiment. They want Liverpool to be at the very top, just really sad it's without the king. Only thing is to get to where they obviously want to be costs an awful lot of money and if they don't supply whoever the new manager is with the funding required then they are just setting him up to fail also.

This all day long.

Call it wishful thinking but I have a feeling that the owners will show a little more patience with whoever they bring in next.  For one, I think they always had Kenny down as an interim manager in their minds.  Someone to come in and steady the ship after the circus of the preceding few months.  When we caught fire under Kenny's leadership at the back end of last season, they found themselves in a bit of a bind: an Anfield idol was doing the business and the feel-good factor was through the roof.  So, I think they decided from their perspective to take a punt and make Kenny's position permanent, hoping it would work out.  When, our form started to really sour after Christmas I don't think it took too much soul-searching for them to revert to their original idea of Kenny as a stop-gap.  I expect that the next manager they line up will be someone they consider as the architect for long-term future success and will give him more time accordingly.

With that said, I think they will be looking for us to at least put the likes of Fulham and West Brom firmly in the rearview mirror, leapfrog Everton and Newcastle in the table and put considerable, sustained pressure on Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham for the Champions League births.  If we do that in the league and manage a creditable showing in the cups I think they'll see it as progress, provided they can get someone in that they consider their man from the outset.

No doubt top 4.

They want Premier League challenge and Champions League football. Not FA Cup, not League Cup.

If they are going to sack every manager who doesn't get the top four status, they would need to be prepared to invest very heavily into the squad a la Man City for every new manager.

why did we not strengthen in Jan who is to blame for that.Two cup finals apparently mean nothing,
So if we finish 5th win the Two Cups and the Europa league it will not be enough.If we finish 5th and win no Cups the manager will have to go the die is cast.

Are we turning into Chelsea in terms of this manager position?

With Chelsea, it's if you don't win the Champs League, you're out.

With us, no CL spot = Fired?

This all day long.

then they need to open the cheque book big time £30 mil just will not do it.Our squad is thin and if we lose Maxi.Bellamy.Kuyt then £30 mil will not even cover their departures.Its all bollocks really.

Everybody is basing the Top 4 argument with the thinking that Kenny was the guy they wanted all along.

Everybody is basing the idea our league finish was the only reason they let Kenny go.

I would give a different argument that it was based off of many things.

- I don't think Kenny was ever "their guy". He was brought in out of desperation from project owl and a very real chance of dropping into the relegation zone. I think they found themselves in a corner when Kenny sparked the team and the fans called for a long term contract.

- The Comolli sacking in conjunction now with Kenny's shows they were not particularly enamored with the way or process money was spent.

- The Director of communication sacking I think goes back to the way the Suarez incident was handled and this also reflected on Comolli and Kenny

- If Ayre was not so good on the commercial side I think he would be let go also, although I am still of the belief that there will be a lateral move sometime in the future that has him solely concentrating on money deals and not directing the entire club.

- I think there was/is a disconnect where the visions of owners was not being implemented the way they had expected and that is why all of this has happened.

Once they get the person they choose (not who the supporters choose) they will give the money and patience needed to see it thru, I do not expect a sacking if top 4 is not achieved as long as the vision is implemented and the club is moving in a positive direction.

People are getting caught up in the Top 4 thing and while it did play a part in all of this I do not believe it was the sole reasoning behind all these massive changes taking place.

For me, if they REALLY mean business then they go after one of the bigger names in world football. someone with a PROVEN track record and an impressive CV, someone who has worked at a big club before, someon who understands the pressure at a club like ours and someone who can attract quality despite the fact we are not in the Champions League.

Managers like Martinez and Rodgers are not it.

Their communication with the fans is appalling and it will backfire on them.If they need a history lesson lookback a couple of years.They have made winning domestic cups insignificant so the only conclusion is top 4 or your out.So unless they have big pockets we will have another new manager next June too.

Their communication with the fans is appalling and it will backfire on them.If they need a history lesson lookback a couple of years.They have made winning domestic cups insignificant so the only conclusion is top 4 or your out.So unless they have big pockets we will have another new manager next June too.

My sentiments exactly walton,the new manager will have to do better than Kenny in the same time frame or he will have a free trip to the states like Kenny got.

In order to the question.

Title challenge, if we dont win 4th would suffice.

A very good run in the Europa cup.

Retain the carling cup.

Anything after is a bonus.

I'm not so sure it will be as clean cut as top 4 or you're out. No one is denying the importance of winning trophies, but the league is our bread and butter. Look at it whatever way you want but this season, after large investment, we finished lower in the league and that is what FSG are looking at. I am merely speculating here but FSG's long term plan must be based heavily on league progression.

Going from 8th to 4th is no mean feat for anyone! I don't think we'll become as fickle as Chelsea with managers, but a clear progression in the league and competitive cup runs should suffice for any new manager in their first season I would hope.

They clearly expected Kenny to achieve Champions League qualification so they will expect nothing less from whoever they appoint.

I expect another sacking by Christmas if results don't go the right way.

FSG will expect top 4...

It really depends on how much they give the new manager to improve the squad. I would say if they are looking to improve then £20Million for each place above 8th. So top 4 we need at least £80Million to spend on players - this however is not Net Spend. £20 Million for each place regardless of who leaves.

WIth no money then they should expect nothing more than finishing where we are...

So with financial fair play, where do you expect to get the £80m from?

I think it is fair to think that they will expect an improvement over this season.  So, this season we were involved in 3 competitions.  We won one of them, came in 2nd in another, and 8th in the league. 

I would imagine that the new manager will be expected to either get us back into the top 4, and if they cannot accomplish that then they will need to win 2 trophies in order for the season to be considered an improvement.  That is my opinion. 

Call it wishful thinking but I have a feeling that the owners will show a little more patience with whoever they bring in next.

I'm sure of it.  Kenny was never "their man," so their patience with him would be less.  When they get "their man," I'm sure they'd be patient with him for at least three seasons, barring a relegation-level collapse.

The bigger question for me would be "will the supporters show patience?"  This is particularly true unless we sign a "big name" like Klopp, Rafa, Pep, etc.  Say we go with a Flavor Of The Month and, by Christmas, we're mired somewhere between 12th and 15th.  Can you imagine the atmosphere at Anfield?  "Poisonous" wouldn't begin to describe it.

Two finals and at least one trophy