Welcome back King Kenny

[kop-al-74]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoJWD...ature=youtu.be

[Lecter]

Enough romance, says Kenny Dalglish as he demands more of the players

The new Liverpool manager says there are no divisions at Anfield but accepts the players have been underperforming


Andy Hunter
The Guardian, Tuesday 11 January 2011

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2...rpool-manager1

Kenny Dalglish, who left Liverpool in 1991, meets the press after taking over from Roy Hodgson. Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images


The King has returned to the throne at Liverpool but not to a kingdom. For all the unifying, uplifting benefits of installing Kenny Dalglish as Roy Hodgson's replacement, evident the moment he stepped out the Old Trafford tunnel on Sunday, the significant matter of producing results with an average yet still under-performing squad remains. The point has not been lost on Dalglish despite the emotional drama surrounding his Anfield return.

One of the accusations thrown at Liverpool since dispensing with Hodgson and turning to the one man with a messianic aura at Anfield is that they have turned into Newcastle-by-the-Mersey. Dalglish's first two days in charge have shown he is on a mission to revive Liverpool's self‑belief as well as form, talking up the players at every opportunity.

He is anxious, however, to avoid his return being categorised as a sentimental journey, the kind Kevin Keegan bought into at St James' Park, and knows the expectations that weighed too heavily on Gérard Houllier, Rafael Benítez and Hodgson also apply to him.

"We have got to manage expectations. At the moment it's a wee bit romantic, to be honest," said Dalglish as he was officially unveiled as Liverpool manager for a second time yesterday.

"The romance is brilliant, it's romantic for me to be back, and it's a wee bit romantic for some of the supporters as well. But at the end of the day this game isn't built on romance, it's built on hard facts. And the hard fact of the matter is we have got to start winning games. Once we get the romantics out [of] the road we can get to work and see what happens from there."

Dalglish was in charge only in name against Manchester United. He did not select the team – Hodgson had already done so – and did not take a training session before the last chance of a domestic trophy this season disappeared at Old Trafford. His influence will really begin to be felt away at Blackpool tomorrow and in his first home game on Sunday against Everton, who were also his last opponents at Anfield before he quit the post in 1991. It is not the easiest of starts for any manager of a team languishing only four points above the relegation zone and beaten nine times in the Premier League this season.

"It's all very well prophesising but we will get what we get on the pitch," he said. "I'm sure the players' expectations at the start of the season were greater than where we are sitting at this moment in time. The players' ability means they should be doing better. It's not going to happen overnight but we need to see an improvement and we saw that on Sunday.

"The people here will accept signs of players going in the right direction. We don't want to say a 1-0 defeat is a positive result, but we could take positives out of the game on Sunday. If the people who come along can see something happen, then they will be happy with that."

New faces are unlikely to be plentiful in this transfer window, or at least to the degree that Liverpool require, and their financial situation has hardly been helped by the managerial changes of the past eight months. Benítez left with a £6m pay-off, Liverpool, having overlooked Dalglish's claims for the job last summer, paid £3m to release Hodgson from Fulham, his £3m salary for six months and then agreed another golden handshake with the 63-year-old on Saturday morning. The club's commercial director, Ian Ayre, yesterday claimed: "That payment doesn't come into the same area of the business as our transfer fund and won't make any difference to what we do this summer." But Liverpool are still footing the bill for recent mistakes.

Fenway Sports Group has placed itself in an insidious position with Dalglish's appointment. Should he repair the damage, the clamour for the club legend to remain in situ will be intense at the end of this season and its plans to start anew with its own coach will be problematic to say the least. But Dalglish dismissed the suggestion that Liverpool is an institution fractured by protest, expensive errors and politicking.

"I don't see any divisions at this football club in any shape or form," the Liverpool manager added. "The ownership has been dealt with, there has been new people in. John [W Henry] and Tom [Werner] are in now. There are certainly no divisions that are apparent to me in the dressing room, and they seem a very good bunch of lads.

"There are no divisions within the coaching staff and there is no difference in the size of effort in trying to move the club forward. The people that love the club want the club to succeed. Nobody would ever enjoy sacking a manager, especially someone with the integrity of Roy Hodgson.

"The owners would never have got any pleasure out of that, and certainly I never got any pleasure out of it. There is nothing dividing this club at this particular time."

Mindblowing the amount of money we have spent sacking Rafa/Roy what a complete waste of ****ing money. People lambasted the club for paying off that much to Rafa but **** me Hodgson has cost the club almost £10 million in compensation alone (paying off Fulham to get him and to pay him off to get him out the door)

[SB]

Dear god, how did we end up with that classless buffoon? Really?

That's a bit rough on Plod

But seriously, I agree

[The_weatherman]

That's a bit rough on Plod

But seriously, I agree

How much do you think we'll have to pay the Plod for compensation

[SB]

How much do you think we'll have to pay the Plod for compensation

Well Plod has been much more useful / entertaining in his time that Roy ever was so upward of 6mil I'd say.

[DeanoUK]

Got a new home shirt for Christmas. Its getting:

DALGLISH
7

on the back at the earliest oportunity...

Thinking of doing the same. Would be class.

[Roboklopp]

Hey Plod. I wish you'd get rid of your avatar please mate. Makes me want to punch my monitor when I see it PLEASE MATE

Will do when I get time mate. Not really one for changing Avs/Sigs that much, but it was on the "to do" list.

[SB]

Will do when I get time mate. Not really one for changing Avs/Sigs that much, but it was on the "to do" list.

Much appreciated mate

[Roboklopp]

Well Plod has been much more useful / entertaining in his time that Roy ever was so upward of 6mil I'd say.

[The_weatherman]

Well Plod has been much more useful / entertaining in his time that Roy ever was so upward of 6mil I'd say.

We'll just have to plod along then

[Kenneth]

I do worry about the divisions that may open up in the summer if the owners look at alternatives.

[The_weatherman]

I do worry about the divisions that may open up in the summer if the owners look at alternatives.

It's a possibility but I think the owners will only look to replace Kenny with a real top quality boss. Hopefully Kenny will then stay on in some capacity.

[red g]

Hansen was just talking about King Kenny at half time. So ****ing happy to have the King back....He said kenny won't be happy that Hansen said this but 'he will believe he can get us to champs league this year'

At last positivity sweeping through this club. Loving it

[Craig_H]

I believe he can, too.

[GorbyPeacePrize]

Mindblowing the amount of money we have spent sacking Rafa/Roy what a complete waste of ****ing money. People lambasted the club for paying off that much to Rafa but **** me Hodgson has cost the club almost £10 million in compensation alone (paying off Fulham to get him and to pay him off to get him out the door)

New faces are unlikely to be plentiful in this transfer window, or at least to the degree that Liverpool require, and their financial situation has hardly been helped by the managerial changes of the past eight months. Benítez left with a £6m pay-off, Liverpool, having overlooked Dalglish's claims for the job last summer, paid £3m to release Hodgson from Fulham, his £3m salary for six months and then agreed another golden handshake with the 63-year-old on Saturday morning. The club's commercial director, Ian Ayre, yesterday claimed: "That payment doesn't come into the same area of the business as our transfer fund and won't make any difference to what we do this summer." But Liverpool are still footing the bill for recent mistakes.

Bodge got £3mil for six months, which works out at £6mil per annum, which works out at £18mil for three years?? I find it very, very hard to believe that Bodge got an £18mil 3-year contract.