McManaman Interview

[rodo]

TWELVE years have passed since Steve McManaman left Liverpool but he admits his failure to win more silverware at Anfield still rankles.

The talented playmaker led the Reds’ charge throughout the 90s but only had a League Cup and FA Cup to show for his efforts as title challenges fell short.

“Without a shadow of a doubt the biggest frustration of my career was that not winning more trophies with Liverpool,” he said. “I wanted to play in the Champions League with Liverpool and I would have loved to have won the Premier League.

“We played some great football and entertained the fans but we didn’t quite have enough. Roy Evans was a fantastic manager but maybe we just needed that extra player and a bit of luck.

“Sometimes you come up against a side who have the edge on you and at that time it was Manchester United.”

McManaman left Liverpool on a Bosman free transfer in the summer of 1999 to join Real Madrid. He went on to win two Champions Leagues and two La Liga titles, and has no regrets about ending his stay with the Reds.

“Leaving was the right decision for me,” he said. “I always wanted to play abroad, broaden my horizons and learn a different language.

“My last season at Liverpool was tough. I had terrible Achilles problems and the team struggled. My mum was very ill at the time and she died at the end of the season.

“It was a strange old season with Gerard Houllier coming in as joint manager. I wasn’t able to play as much as I wanted to help the team and we ended up finishing seventh.

“Whenever I go back to Anfield the fans are great with me. I think they appreciate the fact a local lad came through the ranks, helped the club and then moved on and won big trophies.

“Whether it’s tennis, swimming, football or whatever, it’s fantastic when local people do well.”



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[rodo]

STEVE McMANAMAN’S playing days under Kenny Dalglish may have been brief but they left a lasting impression.

The Kirkdale-born midfielder was only 18 when he was handed his Liverpool debut by Dalglish against Sheffield United in December 1990.

Just two months later the Kop legend walked away from Anfield but McManaman had seen enough to understand what set him apart from his peers.

When Dalglish answered the Reds’ SOS call back in January and returned to the job he had vacated two decades earlier, McManaman had no doubt his appointment would spark a swift revival.

“I joined as an apprentice when I was 16 and Kenny signed me as a pro two years later,” said the Reds legend and ESPN football analyst, who was speaking ahead of the broadcaster’s coverage of Liverpool’s pre-season tour of Asia plus friendlies against Valarenga and Valencia.

“It was Kenny who gave me my chance and I learned a lot from him.

“He has this great way of dealing with people. Whether it’s the person who works in reception or the guy on the car park, everyone has a high opinion of him.

“Players love playing for him and he commands respect. He was a great player himself so he’s been there and done it. He knows what works and what doesn’t work.

“People I speak to at the club now talk about how much the atmosphere has changed. They are more relaxed – there aren’t any strict rules. He doesn’t say you can’t do this or that.

“Kenny has also brought back the old Liverpool values which were so admired. Everything is done behind closed doors and what goes on in the dressing room stays in there.

“All that combined makes for a happy group of players and when you’ve got that you find they try more for the manager.”



McManaman believes the Reds’ rapid rise from 12th place to a top six finish last season proves that Dalglish’s methods have stood the test of time.

And the 39-year-old, who retired in 2005 and is based in Cheshire, shares the fans’ optimism about the coming campaign.

“Kenny might not have been a manager for a long time but he certainly hadn’t been out of the game,” he said. “I spoke to him before he got the job in January and his knowledge of football around Europe was fantastic. He was the logical choice for me – other candidates were not good enough or big enough to manage Liverpool Football Club.

“I know Roy Hodgson had a wonderful season with Fulham and was manager of the year, but the fact is last summer Liverpool went down the league to get a manager – that was a very un-Liverpool like thing to do.

“It’s a huge club and it needs a huge manager. Kenny is the right man and despite all the advances in technology and sports science, there’s still room for an old school manager.

“Before Christmas everything around the club was so negative but Kenny got the team playing and lifted the gloom. It was great to see and I really hope it’s the start of a new era. People talk about cycles and Liverpool are on the way back up.

“It’s hard to say what’s realistic next season as there’s a lot of business to be done before the action starts. But with another three or four new faces Liverpool should certainly be challenging for the top four.”

Dalglish kicked off his summer spending with the signing of Jordan Henderson from Sunderland for £16million.

McManaman believes the 21-year-old midfielder will prove to be a smart acquisition.

He said: “Jordan is a very promising young player and had a good season with Sunderland.

“It was a lot of money to spend but that’s the market. Like most good players I think playing in a better team will bring out better qualities in him. No disrespect to Sunderland but I expect a huge amount of improvement from Jordan. He’s still young and has a lot of potential.”

McManaman rose through the ranks at Anfield and was a shining light for the Reds throughout the 90s, scoring 66 goals in 364 appearances.

After some barren years, the club’s production line of talent has cranked back into gear and the former Real Madrid star is excited about the home-grown youngsters emerging from the Kirkby Academy.

“Fans love seeing young local lads coming through and business wise it’s vital,” he said.

“It certainly looks like they’ve got some really special ones. I was at the Fulham game towards the end of the season when Liverpool were outstanding. Jay Spearing and John Flanagan were excellent in that game.

“Martin Kelly was also very impressive before he got injured and Jack Robinson did well when he played. Obviously Jonjo Shelvey was brought in from elsewhere but he’s another youngster who has done well.

“Kenny was really clever the way he brought some into the side at the end of the season. It was a great time to play them because there was no real pressure.

“He’s seen how good they are now and whether they can cope with the demands of playing for Liverpool. Even if some of them don’t turn out to be quite good enough they can be sold on to generate cash rather than just released.

“I don’t like to go overboard about a 16-year-old lad but Raheem Sterling looks special. As he gets stronger I hope he keeps improving and developing his game. He’s in good hands with Kenny.”

McManaman may be a big admirer of Dalglish but plans to follow him into management are currently on hold.

“I went over to Ireland and took my UEFA B badge a few years ago,” he said.

“I want to get my badges so it’s an option in the future but football management isn’t the job it once was.

“The average term expectancy is around 16 or 17 months in the Premier League and even less in the Championship.

“It’s not the most secure of jobs. Never say never but I’m happy with what I’m doing at the moment.”



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[Lee]

I was gutted when McManaman left - amazing player.

Him and Fowler were my favourite players at the time.

[Exiled_red]

I was gutted when McManaman left - amazing player.

Him and Fowler were my favourite players at the time.

[Gingawaria]

Cue someone saying how he should've stayed with us as he was crap at Madrid.

[tsb]

Cue someone saying how he should've stayed with us as he was crap at Madrid.

Followed by someone pointing out he won a couple of CL trophies there...

[Gingawaria]

Followed by someone pointing out he won a couple of CL trophies there...

[Tee]

Macca was fantastic for us and I too remain gutted that his Liverpool team did not win more trophies - it really should have.

[Lee]

Macca was fantastic for us and I too remain gutted that his Liverpool team did not win more trophies - it really should have.

If it wasn't for our shoddy defence then we would have. What a team we had going forward though.

[Exiled_red]

If it wasn't for our shoddy defence then we would have. What a team we had going forward though.

If only we could have had someone like big Sami in the team of ~95-97

[Lee]

If only we could have had someone like big Sami in the team of ~95-97

Ah yeah, that'd have been ideal.

I don't know if you've read Evans' book, but he wanted a couple of good defenders but the board blocked it (story of the last 15 years eh? ). Thuram and Desailly are two. He wanted Sheringham. Shearer too I think.

Can't remember now. But yeah, Thuram and Desailly at the back with Barnes, Fowler, McManaman and Collymore up top would have been

[Exiled_red]

Ah yeah, that'd have been ideal.

I don't know if you've read Evans' book, but he wanted a couple of good defenders but the board blocked it (story of the last 15 years eh? ). Thuram and Desailly are two. He wanted Sheringham. Shearer too I think.

Can't remember now. But yeah, Thuram and Desailly at the back with Barnes, Fowler, McManaman and Collymore up top would have been

I haven't read his book but I've head those rumours That was all that was needed to turn that team into title winners

[Mattshark]

If it wasn't for our shoddy defence then we would have. What a team we had going forward though.

See we say that, but in 96/97 we had the third best defence and attack in the league but we scored 11 less than Newcastle and 14 less than United.

We had the 3rd best defence the year before too, 3rd best the year after.

I think overall it is more a case that we simply were not good enough as a team to win the league back then.

Our best scoring season in the Prem was 77 in 08/09.

[Exiled_red]

In the 96-97 season we had that run around April where we got owned in the air by opposition attackers from crosses and set pieces Coventry beat us 2-1 and Man Utd beat us 3-1 with header goals mostly from set pieces, we struggled to a draw with Everton after Duncan Ferguson gave us a rough time. We also lost to Wimbledon (I don't recall that particular game but expect it was similar), we missed out on the title by 7 points in the end. A decent defensive organiser with ability in the air and IMO we would have picked up points in those games and could probably have won the league

[Mattshark]

In the 96-97 season we had that run around April where we got owned in the air by opposition attackers from crosses and set pieces Coventry beat us 2-1 and Man Utd beat us 3-1 with header goals mostly from set pieces, we struggled to a draw with Everton after Duncan Ferguson gave us a rough time. We also lost to Wimbledon (I don't recall that particular game but expect it was similar), we missed out on the title by 7 points in the end. A decent defensive organiser with ability in the air and IMO we would have picked up points in those games and could probably have won the league

A lot of goalkeeping errors in that too though. A more commanding keeper could have made a big difference.