Worst LFC manager of recent times?

Has to be Roy Evans

As far as I'm concerned Graeme Souness had a massive job on his hands when he took over.  I still think fair play for getting rid of a lot of players who didn't want to play for the club even if they were big names.  The 'Paycheck Charlies' they had become.  He blooded a whole host of new players.

But Roy Evans had some amazing talent at his disposal, partly thanks to Souness, and he failed to keep them in line.  I am convinced that with a more authoritarian manager that team really could have landed a title for us.

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Never thought we'd get this low....are you that desperate for a topic JD?! How about rephrasing to...'Least Productive'. Which is the lovable but should never have left the 'boot room', Evans....or 'The F*cker who let Fowler go'.....in that case its Houllier.....god I hate this topic....like saying which childhood pet was your favourite....

Also...whatever you choose you know that EddieC will crucify you for it!!

Roy Evans had the big job of clearing Souness's mess remember. Souness took over from King Kenny,chopped & changed the whole team,then tried to buy success,He single handedly ballsed the whole club up.Liverpool never recovered.Evans just could'nt repair the damage,nor could Houllier.Rafa's changing all that though.You only have to look what he's done so far.There's great times ahead for Liverpool,

does anyone ever read the previous poster's opinion anymore?.....read, comment and then make your point...

Who in right mind is going to pick Shankley or Paisley as the Worst manager of all time?

Soledee!!!! Come on please do it....with the Hatton fight approaching I need a way to get out my aggression!!

im going to say Houllier. Him and his 5 year plan. Truth is it was great winning the treble 2001 no doubt but a great manager would have kicked on from there he didnt. Our best run in the league was when thommo took charge cos of Houlliers health problems.

He bought some good players in like Hamann Hyppia and Henchoz but was also quick to bomb lads out like Babbel and of course Fowler and replace them with sh*te like Diao Diouf Cheyrou he also signed Jean michel Ferri anybody remember him?

Basically for me Houllier was a bullshitter and if we had have left Roy Evans there and gave him the funds to get a good centre half and keeper we wouldnt be still waiting on number 19
 

Houllier for me. Who chooses Diouf over Anelka? He brought in absolute rubbish players at times that left me wondering. Although Rafa hasnt made all perfect signings, he realises it, admits it and moves on and buys an absolute gem. Cheyrou, Diao, Traore, Diouf, let Fowler go. He was a mess.

I don't think Houllier gets the credit he deserves, and that is due to one summer of madness when he signed Diouf, Diao et al.

Gerard single handedly dragged this club into the 21st century, and he was the guy who raised our levels of expectation again. Before the arrival of Houllier we were worryingly starting to get used to mediocrity, Champions League qualification was a bonus rather than an expectation before Houllier arrived, he raised the bar which in turn helped contribute to his downfall.

Admittedly in that last summer Houllier made some bizarre signings, but being honest after seeing Diouf & Diao in the World Cup who wasn't excited at the prospect? At the other end of the scale he also made some brilliant signings, the purchases of Hyypia, Henchoz & Babbel saw us have a defence that was the envy of Europe, and Riise whilst IMO not being good enough anymore was a steal for £4m at the time. Didi Hamman of course was an awesome player too, but for me the most inspired signing he made was Gary McAllister. I honestly believe if we hadn't signed Gary Mac we wouldn't have the Stevie Gerrard we have today, he was the old hand teaching Stevie all the tricks of the trade as he broke through the ranks.

For me it is definitely between Souness & Evans as to who has been the worst manager in recent times, I would go for Souness as he's also gone on to do a shoddy job elsewhere, proving it wasn't just a one off. How Houllier is in the running for some people though is beyond me.

simple Eddie. Roy Evans and Graeme Souness never said "I have a 5 year plan" and in year 6 be as far away as year one. A lot of you are blinded by 2001 which as i said was great to win a few trophies. At the end of the day he came second once. He counted charity shields as being of importance to win. He disregarded players at will if they didnt take to his suiting, Fowler being the best example.

Souness has admiitted he was too quick to sell some players to soon but he brought thru Robbie Redknapp Macca when they were kids and they done well for the club. Roy Evans side was a very good side who sadly made too many defensive blunders which cost them but they came closer then Houlliers team. Houllier to this day would come up with some excuse anything but say he wasnt good enough.

Can't knock Houllier.  Practically his team that won the Champions League.

Whats the point in this post?? Lame if you ask me also you are not being fair with regards to the list of managers, you are going by modern times, what about Phil Taylor? we languished in the second division with him, And Don Welsh? we actually got relegated under him!! And he was sacked because we didnt win promotion straight back to the first Dvision, so I would say Don Welsh would have to be the worst going by what you are surmising here.

Also I would agree with what lester is saying least productive might have been more politcally correct.

im going to say Houllier. Him and his 5 year plan. Truth is it was great winning the treble 2001 no doubt but a great manager would have kicked on from there he didnt. Our best run in the league was when thommo took charge cos of Houlliers health problems.

He bought some good players in like Hamann Hyppia and Henchoz but was also quick to bomb lads out like Babbel and of course Fowler and replace them with sh*te like Diao Diouf Cheyrou he also signed Jean michel Ferri anybody remember him?

Basically for me Houllier was a bullshitter and if we had have left Roy Evans there and gave him the funds to get a good centre half and keeper we wouldnt be still waiting on number 19
 

As I recall Liverpool FC did give Roy Evans the funds to get a good centre half, and he used them getting Babb & Scales, but he did have a lot of rebuilding to do after the Souness reign. Souness tried to change too much too soon when he took charge of Liverpool and it backfired big time.  Yes he gave the likes of McManaman, Fowler, and Jamie Redknapp their chance, but they were already at the club when he arrived and would surely have been given opportunities under any other Manager. Simply put, Souness made too many mistakes, and sold players that he shouldn't have.  The likes of Nick Tanner should never have got anywhere near Liverpool's first team, but Souness didn't build from the back as he should have done in my opinion, therefore, player's who clearly weren't at the level expected for Liverpool Football Club were given opportunities, along with the players who were suited to the job.
During the Roy Evans reign I didn't agree with the 3-5-2 formation because I thought that possibly the best right full-back in the country was being played out of position which was ridiculous in my opinion.  There's no doubt in my mind that Rob Jones should have been played at Right Back in a 4-4-2 formation, and I also thought (at the time) that both Babb & Scales weren't good enough for Liverpool, but if you took Mark Wright out of the picture they were better than what we had.  However, I think that Roy Evans could have got better players for the money.  Evans also signed Jason Mcateer and played him out of position as a right wing back.  Ok, he did a job, but he built his reputation as a central midfielder...
Roy Evans had Liverpool playing attractive football again after the Souness reign in my opinion, and Houllier took the club to another level after Evans, but the bottom line is that neither Souness, or Evans proved good enough for Liverpool FC, and although Houllier won a lot more trophies than both of those Managers I don't really see the point in debating who was the worst... They just weren't good enough.

Can I request you add Phil Thompson to the poll?
he was sh*t and if it wasn't for Houllier's continued input while they were joint in charge god knows where we would be by now.  I also think that this is a bit of a desperate thread, why are we focussing on the negative points of our manager's anyway? I thought you knew better JD!

Can I request you add Phil Thompson to the poll?
he was sh*t and if it wasn't for Houllier's continued input while they were joint in charge god knows where we would be by now.  I also think that this is a bit of a desperate thread, why are we focussing on the negative points of our manager's anyway? I thought you knew better JD!

I think that's a bit unfair to be honest.  Phil Thompson was thrown in at the deep end and got on with it, and in that respect i think he did pretty well.  When he took over in Houllier's absence there was talk of someone being brought in to help, but that never materialised.

Got to be Souness. No question.

I'd say stop here, don't look back. The damaged done cannot be undone. What good comes out of it even if we are able to identity the worst manager? It will only open up old wounds. I'd say the failure of the managers could also be attributed to many factors and constraints that are not known to us but only to those managers themselves back then. I wouldn't put the total blame on the managers though, but those who put them in that position. 17, or is it 18 long years is a long drought and its the total system and management that needs rethinking and revamping.

Can't knock Houllier.  Practically his team that won the Champions League.

well why did he not win it with them then? I recall he took Hamann off at a vital stage in the Leverkeusen game  when we were doing well. Why did he make that change and why wouldnt he admit he was wrong to do it

Look I can see why you all love him and why your all voting Souness but this lad had it all in his hands and bottled it. After 01 we should have really pushed on we didnt and its his fault simple as that  

well why did he not win it with them then? I recall he took Hamann off at a vital stage in the Leverkeusen game  when we were doing well. Why did he make that change and why wouldnt he admit he was wrong to do it

Look I can see why you all love him and why your all voting Souness but this lad had it all in his hands and bottled it. After 01 we should have really pushed on we didnt and its his fault simple as that  

I can't understand the mentality that it was Houllier's team that won the Champions League. It wasn't!  He may have signed the majority of the players but it wasn't his team. A new manager would have his own ideas of how a team should be playing etc, and have a completely different outlook to the former Manager, not to mention that Xavi Alonso, and Luis Garcia were a part of the Champions League winning side. It's a little like saying that Kenny Dalglish's double winning side in his first season was really Joe Fagan's side.  

I think that's a bit unfair to be honest.  Phil Thompson was thrown in at the deep end and got on with it, and in that respect I think he did pretty well.  When he took over in Houllier's absence there was talk of someone being brought in to help, but that never materialised.

 Rafa was in exactally the same position as Thompson and he went on to win us the bloody champions league for fucks sake!

Rafa was in exactally the same position as Thompson and he went on to win us the bloody champions league for fucks sake!

Yes, but one was regarded as a world class Manager, and the other was an assistant to Gerard Houllier who was asked to fill a void.  The majority of Liverpool Fans would've realised that Phil Thompson wouldn't (and indeed shouldn't) have been considered as a full time Liverpool Manager, and Full Time manager's make their own changes and sign their own players etc, therefore, NO! Rafa and Thompson were not in exactly the same position, as Phil Thompson was covering for his Manager, and working (on advice) with the resources he had so I don't really know what you expected of him.

Souness by a land slide,he wreacked Liverpool big time.

Can I request you add Phil Thompson to the poll?
he was sh*t and if it wasn't for Houllier's continued input while they were joint in charge god knows where we would be by now.  I also think that this is a bit of a desperate thread, why are we focussing on the negative points of our manager's anyway? I thought you knew better JD!

The reason I joined this site was to discuss ALL things Liverpool. I think this is a good debate. And all tho I disagree with JD on Houllier I think its a good question and a good discussion

While Houllier won us the treble in 2001, and that he did drag us from the dark ages into the new century, I feel that his handling of some players wasn't upto scratch! I feel it was Houllier who overworked Michael Owen, eventually running him into the ground with injuries.

Picking Diouf over Anelka was also a weird decision that will go down as one of the peculiarities of our history. Bringing in young French players who may well have been promising, but he heaped immense pressure on their backs by labelling them the 'next Zidane' and the 'next Viera.' A manager should never do that, as it either sets the players up to fall or inflates their ego's to the point of bursting.

I'm making this decision purely on the basis of how I seen the manager, as I know he was in an awkward position when he took over, but when he finally got the squad he felt was good enough he didn't do much with it. 

Gotta be royevans. I liked grahem souness as he had a mission on his hands but fair play because he did alright.

Got to be Souness. No question.

Would agree 100 percent!! Souness in most deffinitely the worst, just look at his record since we booted him out!!

I might get crucified for this, but hear goes....

I said Kenny, don't get me wrong he won a lot of trophies for us, but he did take over an excellent team with which he had very little to alter. Then he left the club at a time when alot of those star players were starting to get on a bit. I believe he left because even he didn't know how we were going to replace most of the players and rebuild a team.
This mess was then apparent when Souness took over, and he tried to replace alot of the players and it didn't work. But Souness did bring alot of future blood like Redknapp, Fowler, McManaman, and if I'm not mistaken Carragher?

Ill get you your coat jrwanderer you can see yourself out 

 

I might get crucified for this, but hear goes....

I said Kenny, don't get me wrong he won a lot of trophies for us, but he did take over an excellent team with which he had very little to alter. Then he left the club at a time when alot of those star players were starting to get on a bit. I believe he left because even he didn't know how we were going to replace most of the players and rebuild a team.
This mess was then apparent when Souness took over, and he tried to replace alot of the players and it didn't work. But Souness did bring alot of future blood like Redknapp, Fowler, McManaman, and if I'm not mistaken Carragher?

Are you posting that to wind people up?  When Kenny took over as player-Manager he won the double in his first season, but in his second, (although we were there or thereabouts) we won nothing and Rushie was due to leave for Juventus.  Therefore, it became clear that the team needed new players, so Kenny brought in three players who in my opinion should go down as Liverpool legends... that's John Aldridge, John Barnes, and Peter Beardsley.  (He later added Ray Houghton to those signings) and Liverpool went on to play great football that year, and were unlucky not to clinch another double.  Also, a fifth European Cup may very well have been won back then had we not been thrown out of Europe.  When Kenny left Liverpool Football Club i believe he left because the pressure was getting too much, and maybe personal issues were involved, but it had nothing to do with rebuilding a team in my opinion.

JD you are the man and make some excellent discussion threads, but this one makes me feel like a geordie! 

Souness for me was the one that subsided the walls of Anfield.  As for Houllier, I think he did very well and was the first to build a very good squad of players.  As for the five years thing, he did dismantle the entire team, so obviously, he needed more time than lets say Souness that was inherited a winning team. 

king kenny the worst manager in Liverpool's history !!??

dont make me F***ing laugh

that is completley outragous

It has long been an accusation that Dalglish left because he wasn't sure where to take the club from that point. Personally I think it was a combination of a lot of things, and I do think this was a part but not the main part. That said even if it was the only reason he left his achievements alone mean he surely can't be rated as the worst manager, maybe not the best but definitely not the worst.

if you go by win percentage then statisticaly Ronnie Moran, when he was caretaker manager for a few month's between Souness and Evans, is the worst LFC manager of recent times !  
Personally think its souness, has everyone here forgotten the f***in interview he did with the S*n that alone is enough to make him the worst. i remember being particularly disgusted when be bought julian dicks, dicks by name dicks by nature !. He tried to impose his authauroity too quickly moving players on when they were at their peak, Beardsley, Mcmahon, houghton and even steve staunton and replacing them with sh*te. fair play to him he gave macca, growler and redknapp their chance but his reign consisted of too many really low points and very shallow highs. the FA cup win apart,it was a forgettable time really.
Evans was better his team played sparkling and exiting football but were defensivley fragile, remember calamity was souness signing after all, despite only winning the league cup his team brought us some spectacular and truly memorable matches. how can we forget the two 4-3s against newcastle, the recovery from 3 down against manure among others. none of us will forget the FA cup surrender against manure or those wanky white suits. but generally i have happy memories of evans time in charge.
As for houllier its very clever of us to slate him now with hindsight but in 2001 people thought he was the messiah, shanks reborn etc after winning an english record of 5 trophies in a calendar year. we were all made up after that amazing u£fa cup final against alaves, or when we gained a little revenge on arsenal for robbing us of the league by robbing them of the FA cup.  he had improved our league position year on year, he advised on the re-building of melwood and the academy, though that would have happend regardles of who was manager. he also modernised the training, fitness and diet of the team, carra and stevie g are the players and profesionals they are today because of him. sami hyypia and didi hamman are LFC legends. lets be honest he brought pride back to us and brought the name Liverpool football club into the european spoghtligt again. we had some very good times. and after the man nearly died for us and football he lost his way, his purpose and importantly his sound judgement. how many of us would bounce back into the job after such a life changing event ?. i was at the roma champions league match with the "allez" mosaic,i remember the immense pride i felt at the support and devotion we showed to our manager, its what makes us unique as fans. .
yes he was a defensive coach and yes he bought a striker that went a whole season without scoring; theres a very good reason why el hadj diouf is the only former red thats booed constantly at anfield.....hes a world class tw*t and a nobend. good scouting would have found this out, diouf at the time seemed an exiting but impulsive buy, who knew eh ? having said that houllier did buy my all time anfield "cult" hero Jari Litmanen, a magic player as well as Kewell. it was when he sold Fowler and hardly played Litmanen that the tide turned for me with houllier but even so i was sad to see him sacked.

Soledee!!!! Come on please do it....with the Hatton fight approaching I need a way to get out my aggression!!

My vote is goes to Souness! Now pick a fight with that 

Basically for me Houllier was a bullshitter and if we had have left Roy Evans there and gave him the funds to get a good centre half and keeper we wouldnt be still waiting on number 19
 

Houllier had problems: but Souness, now that was a clueless manager.

Houllier for me. Who chooses Diouf over Anelka? He brought in absolute rubbish players at times that left me wondering. Although Rafa hasnt made all perfect signings, he realises it, admits it and moves on and buys an absolute gem. Cheyrou, Diao, Traore, Diouf, let Fowler go. He was a mess.

If you mean El Haj Diouf, let's have a rethink. We have this saying that ''The gift is free; so your gift (skill or talent) can take you to great heights that your character will not be able to keep you''. it is Diouf's bad attitude that overshadows his foot-balling skills. The bboy know how to move with the ball, he is just so mild-mannered.

WHOA...!!!

I Thought Id accidentally clicked onto a "REDKIPPER" forum....

Umm, Nup, this is definitely a topic in lfcreds...

All managers make mistakes . But for me Souness messed the club up the most, you only have to look at how long it is taking to put the mess right.

I was going through Diouf's profile on Wikipedia and found this...

'He remains Liverpool's worst buy of all time, scoring 3 goals in 58 appearances and highlighting Houllier's lack of managerial talent.'

Houllier was a childish manager in the transfer windows. He saw one tremendous performance as 'whoa! step back! this guy is awesome!'

His team he put together was rubbish and Rafa has dropped the clue's plenty of times eg. 'We won the CL with a squad with less quality' etc.

Houllier built a team of one match wonder's.

Can I request you add Phil Thompson to the poll?
he was sh*t and if it wasn't for Houllier's continued input while they were joint in charge god knows where we would be by now.  I also think that this is a bit of a desperate thread, why are we focussing on the negative points of our manager's anyway? I thought you knew better JD!

Phil Thompson actually had the best record of any Liverpool 'manager' for his time in charge.

And, I do know better.

Oh dear oh dear.  I see somebody has thrown in a vote for Rafa tonight.

Oh dear oh dear.  I see somebody has thrown in a vote for Rafa tonight.

I question some people's support JD. All of a sudden now, we're in a slump. Expect the press to have a field day if we lose another and some fans to pounce on Rafa's credentials.

someone also voted for Shanks. Looks like we have a couple of dickheads on here. Also note that whoever voted for Shanks and rafa didnt say why they voted them come on dont be shy knobheads

Roy Evans - nice guy, in fact really nice guy off the field... but unfortunately nice guys don't usually bring back home trophies.