New manager thread

[Kenneth]

I know. I only realised the irony of them this morning when I logged back in ha ha you ****ers!

[Roboklopp]

Yeah i noticed that too, Cloob i thought it was though, but weird eh.

Haha, me too. Ace innit?

[dww]

I think Henderson would revel in an AVB system. Downing would be like a fish out of the sea though (although maybe a rigid task and finish structure may be his best opportunity to contribute as he looks incapable of playing to any standard on his own initiative)

Henderson is a good shout.

I'm still not as out and out anti-Downing as many. But I think he has something of the Joe Cole's about him - he needs a manager who does his thinking for him and is willing to tell him exactly what to do on the pitch.

Also managers must tailor their ideas/tactics to the players they have available

Or at least that was an argument levelled at Kenny

In many situations I think there is something in that but at the same time there is room for idealists with a strong philosophy. If you go for the latter as a club then you have to back them to the hilt and be willing to buy/sell to adapt the squad to their vision.

[Lecter]

Kenny Dalglish is gone but has Fenway taken on too much at Liverpool?

A lack of footballing knowhow has worsened the difficulties of long-distance ownership for the Americans



David Conn

guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 16 May 2012 23.00 BST


Liverpool's owner John W Henry, right, watches Kenny Dalglish, left, collect his losers' medal after Liverpool's 2-1 defeat by Chelsea in the FA Cup final. Photograph: Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images


The Liverpool icon Kenny Dalglish's second stint as manager is summarily over and, with his departure, so too is the honeymoon period for the club's American owners, John W Henry's Fenway Sports Group. Liverpool seemed to promise such fun for them, and riches, when they were back-slapped in 19 months ago, paying off, as the price of buying the club, the £200m debt that the previous pair, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, borrowed to buy the club in the first place.

Yet now, and after a disappointing season in which expensively bought players failed to justify their outlandish fees, Liverpool supporters will demand a coherent plan from FSG, for a new manager, coaching structure, and some action on the stadium.

When they arrived, Roy Hodgson was struggling painfully, but it was FSG's decision to hire Dalglish on a permanent contract, and now they have sacked him. They appointed Damien Comolli as director of football on the recommendation of a baseball general manager, Billy Beane. Then they sacked Comolli too.

Liverpool overspent on players under FSG, the £35m for Andy Carroll the most staggering example, but Henry publicly endorsed that. The owners also supported Dalglish's protest at the FA's ruling that Luis Suárez had racially abused Patrice Evra, and Liverpool put out two dreadful, complaining official statements, so Dalglish's sacking has little to do with that. Last week the head of communications, Ian Cotton, who worked for 16 years at a club previously known for a dignified Liverpool way and then had to wrestle with the Suárez stance, departed too.

FSG have not only a manager's job to fill, but to design a whole structure, if they are to persist with a director of football, an appointment that is key, too. When they took over, the reports of their Boston Red Sox baseball team stewardship were glowing and had seductive parallels – there they restored a grand, fallen club to championship triumphs and its old ground, Fenway Park, sumptuously. But the discomforting truth, only dimly recognised here, is that Henry, Tom Werner and their fellow FSG investors bought Liverpool just as they were running into serious problems at the Red Sox for the first time. Last season the team failed to make the play-offs, a failure considered more catastrophic there than Liverpool fans feel about missing Champions League qualification. The Red Sox general manager, Theo Epstein, left and the coach, Terry Francona, was sacked.

Yet the replacement Red Sox coach, Bobby Valentine, is not faring any better; the Red Sox are bottom of their division, the fans unhappy, the press critical, which is all uncomfortable for the owners.

At Liverpool, you can overlay on FSG's Boston headaches four additional major difficulties. First, while they are lifelong baseball aficionados, they knew almost nothing about football before they bought one of its greatest institutions. Second, a much underrated difficulty in this Premier League experiment, the first ever in world football, is overseas ownership of clubs: FSG are busy people, a long way away, inconvenienced in daily business by time differences.

Third, Liverpool also have a stadium to sort out. The stated need that rich men must stand behind the cost of building a new stadium on Stanley Park was the sole reason Liverpool were sold in the first place, the former chairman David Moores making £90m for his shares. Yet FSG, having done a gorgeous job with Fenway Park, arrived saying they would look at redeveloping Anfield. So far they have spent 19 months scratching their heads over the same planning problems Moores's former chief executive, Rick Parry, found insurmountable.

Fourth is money. FSG were attracted by Premier League football's lucrative worldwide following, basing their calculations on Champions League qualification. The fans retain patience for FSG because they paid off the Hicks and Gillett debt and above that have lent Liverpool £30m interest free, freeing up money they then overspent. It appears, though, they do not intend to put more in, because Liverpool's accounts state they organised a £120m facility to borrow money from banks.

With expensive signings of historic proportions, Dalglish now fired, much blood spilt on the carpets and no news yet on the stadium, the American owners' next moves have to be very much more sure-footed.

[Lecter]

Henderson is a good shout.

I'm still not as out and out anti-Downing as many. But I think he has something of the Joe Cole's about him - he needs a manager who does his thinking for him and is willing to tell him exactly what to do on the pitch.



In many situations I think there is something in that but at the same time there is room for idealists with a strong philosophy. If you go for the latter as a club then you have to back them to the hilt and be willing to buy/sell to adapt the squad to their vision.

Lets just say you dont insist on playing a high line with your defence when Terry is almost as slow as Carragher and your other centrehalf's idea of "stepping out" is wandering off to play upfront

[Rowan]

Lets just say you dont insist on playing a high line with your defence when Terry is almost as slow as Carragher and your other centrehalf's idea of "stepping out" is wandering off to play upfront

Yeah, but you can't really drop them when one is a £30 million poud investment and the other will have you kneecapped if you faaacking tell him whet to do (or at the very least racially abuse your friends)

[dww]

Lets just say you dont insist on playing a high line with your defence when Terry is almost as slow as Carragher and your other centrehalf's idea of "stepping out" is wandering off to play upfront

I still like to hope that he was hoping to humiliate and eventually break Terry and force him into retirement.

[Slinky Skills]

So how long do you think it'll be before we get the new man in guys, a few weeks at least do you think?

Was watching SSN before and they read out some bits taken off the Offal of Ian Ayre saying that the owners are going to ensure that the process is not rushed and that a set of criteria will be matched to each potential candidate to ensure that they get the right man in for the job.

I have confidence that they'll get the right man in. I'm still hopeful that they will at least contact Guardiola even though he wants a break from the game as I think he will be keen to come.

I really don't know who we'll end up with, sort of warming to Joachim Low the Germany manager think he'd make a good appointment.

Would like Rafa back but can't see it happening.

[Roboklopp]

Very scary that Graun article.

[Alex]

Think the new man will be in place for 1st June. So he has as much time as possible in the window.

[Lecter]

I still like to hope that he was hoping to humiliate and eventually break Terry and force him into retirement.

Hes a poor reader of people if he thought that

[Vermilion]

Kenny Dalglish is gone but has Fenway taken on too much at Liverpool?

A lack of footballing knowhow has worsened the difficulties of long-distance ownership for the Americans



David Conn

guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 16 May 2012 23.00 BST


Liverpool's owner John W Henry, right, watches Kenny Dalglish, left, collect his losers' medal after Liverpool's 2-1 defeat by Chelsea in the FA Cup final. Photograph: Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images


The Liverpool icon Kenny Dalglish's second stint as manager is summarily over and, with his departure, so too is the honeymoon period for the club's American owners, John W Henry's Fenway Sports Group. Liverpool seemed to promise such fun for them, and riches, when they were back-slapped in 19 months ago, paying off, as the price of buying the club, the £200m debt that the previous pair, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, borrowed to buy the club in the first place.

Yet now, and after a disappointing season in which expensively bought players failed to justify their outlandish fees, Liverpool supporters will demand a coherent plan from FSG, for a new manager, coaching structure, and some action on the stadium.

When they arrived, Roy Hodgson was struggling painfully, but it was FSG's decision to hire Dalglish on a permanent contract, and now they have sacked him. They appointed Damien Comolli as director of football on the recommendation of a baseball general manager, Billy Beane. Then they sacked Comolli too.

Liverpool overspent on players under FSG, the £35m for Andy Carroll the most staggering example, but Henry publicly endorsed that. The owners also supported Dalglish's protest at the FA's ruling that Luis Suárez had racially abused Patrice Evra, and Liverpool put out two dreadful, complaining official statements, so Dalglish's sacking has little to do with that. Last week the head of communications, Ian Cotton, who worked for 16 years at a club previously known for a dignified Liverpool way and then had to wrestle with the Suárez stance, departed too.

FSG have not only a manager's job to fill, but to design a whole structure, if they are to persist with a director of football, an appointment that is key, too. When they took over, the reports of their Boston Red Sox baseball team stewardship were glowing and had seductive parallels – there they restored a grand, fallen club to championship triumphs and its old ground, Fenway Park, sumptuously. But the discomforting truth, only dimly recognised here, is that Henry, Tom Werner and their fellow FSG investors bought Liverpool just as they were running into serious problems at the Red Sox for the first time. Last season the team failed to make the play-offs, a failure considered more catastrophic there than Liverpool fans feel about missing Champions League qualification. The Red Sox general manager, Theo Epstein, left and the coach, Terry Francona, was sacked.

Yet the replacement Red Sox coach, Bobby Valentine, is not faring any better; the Red Sox are bottom of their division, the fans unhappy, the press critical, which is all uncomfortable for the owners.

At Liverpool, you can overlay on FSG's Boston headaches four additional major difficulties. First, while they are lifelong baseball aficionados, they knew almost nothing about football before they bought one of its greatest institutions. Second, a much underrated difficulty in this Premier League experiment, the first ever in world football, is overseas ownership of clubs: FSG are busy people, a long way away, inconvenienced in daily business by time differences.

Third, Liverpool also have a stadium to sort out. The stated need that rich men must stand behind the cost of building a new stadium on Stanley Park was the sole reason Liverpool were sold in the first place, the former chairman David Moores making £90m for his shares. Yet FSG, having done a gorgeous job with Fenway Park, arrived saying they would look at redeveloping Anfield. So far they have spent 19 months scratching their heads over the same planning problems Moores's former chief executive, Rick Parry, found insurmountable.

Fourth is money. FSG were attracted by Premier League football's lucrative worldwide following, basing their calculations on Champions League qualification. The fans retain patience for FSG because they paid off the Hicks and Gillett debt and above that have lent Liverpool £30m interest free, freeing up money they then overspent. It appears, though, they do not intend to put more in, because Liverpool's accounts state they organised a £120m facility to borrow money from banks.

With expensive signings of historic proportions, Dalglish now fired, much blood spilt on the carpets and no news yet on the stadium, the American owners' next moves have to be very much more sure-footed.

Very worrying times for Fenway, their Golden touch seems to be wearing off, Champions to bottom of their league, and known for the biggest, i think, capitualtion in baseball history, or one of them.

[dww]

Hes a poor reader of people if he thought that

I think if nothing else his time at Chelsea suggested that to be true.

[Imy]

Anyone else think it's going to take a long time before they appoint?

Surely if they are to persist with a DoF then it'd make sense to appoint one first? In order to appoint a DoF they would ideally sort out the senior positions at the club first?

We can forget about signing the best valued exceptional footballers too then, as any clubs with any brains will wrap up business early.

[Reece]

Anyone else think it's going to take a long time before they appoint?

Surely if they are to persist with a DoF then it'd make sense to appoint one first? In order to appoint a DoF they would ideally sort out the senior positions at the club first?

We can forget about signing the best valued exceptional footballers too then, as any clubs with any brains will wrap up business early.

I'd imagine they see signing a new manager and DOF as going hand-in-hand, and will therefore be trying to do both at the same time.

I'd be surprised if they don't have a list of candidates and favourites for both positions. I think we'll see movement sooner rather than later.