Three games into his miraculous return to Liverpool, “King” Kenny Dalgish is yet to taste victory. His record stands at two defeats and one draw and, but for the clumsiness of Tim Howard in giving away a stonewall penalty yesterday, it might well be three losses on the trot.
For those who thought the Scot’s biggest asset in being appointed was the ability to give the players and Anfield faithful a lift — thus ensuring a short-team bounce in results — the past week has truly been a reality check. He’s given the lift alright, but no bounce so to speak. And that’s troubling because, make no mistake, a man who hasn’t managed at all for 11 years isn’t going to bring a revolution in coaching in the medium to long-term; so that bounce was his biggest pro when set against the case for hiring another manager.
And that’s the point. Roy Hodgson’s sacking was the right call. He inherited a wealth of problems, but by the end of his reign the majority of players weren’t playing for him, the football was turgid most of the time, and things were getting progressively worse, not better. Quite apart from all this, John W. Henry and his Fenway Sports Group will have seen attendances start to drop and Liverpool, literally, cannot afford to let that happen.
So yes, as much respect as I have for him as a manager and individual, Hodgson had to go. Where I think the owners have erred is in appointing his replacement.
I found the clamouring for Dalgish to return as manager by the majority of Pool supporters utterly baffling. Put bluntly, the longing for a messiah to save the club is beneath one of Liverpool’s history and stature (and that takes a lot to write, as a United fan). It’s an affectation I just about expected of Newcastle fans when they craved the return of Kevin Keegan — delusional people, with an over-inflated sense of their club’s importance, that they generally are — but Liverpool? You can do better.
There are many problems on Merseyside, and Dalgish’s nostalgic warmth and tireless enthusiasm — infectious though they may be — are not going to solve them. What they need is a proper coach with a modern understanding of the game and a willingness to embark on a full-scale rebuilding of a side that has become unforgivably average in recent times.
Of course, they may well get this come the summer. And none of what I’ve written will matter if Dalglish is indeed just a stop-gap till then. But if he isn’t. If he does, truly, as many fans wish, become the permanent manager of a club that should be setting its sights on transforming the club from the bottom up, then the level-headed scousers should worry.
I’ve seen enough, particularly in yesterday’s derby, to suggest the Scot’s sheer force of personality will improve the club gradually to the end of the season. They should, despite the absence of the results bounce this week, avoid relegation. But sheer personality will not ultimately be enough if they want to set their sights higher than that, which they will and rightly so.
If Liverpool are truly to return to the glory days, they should start by dispensing with the services of a legend from that time, as planned, and get a manager in who’s been practicing his profession in the last decade. It seems a terribly odd thing to say — and I’ll no doubt be told that, as I’m not a fan, I don’t know what I’m talking about — but Liverpool deserve better than their legend.
