Now Kenny Dalglish has been ruthlessly sacked as Liverpool boss, new owners FSG simply have to get it right.
Managerless, directionless and virtually trophyless, if you discount the cup that the big clubs don’t want to win, Liverpool seem to be openly courting any manager who has had a modicum of success over the past 5 years.
So desperate is the situation, the manager of Swansea City seems to think he has a better chance of success at his present club rather than with the fallen Merseyside giants.
The club had lurched from crisis to crisis and the public image of a once iconic club has been tarnished maybe beyond repair by the stubborn refusal to accept responsibility for more than one incident.
Dalglish’s own reputation is tarnished, and the management needed to be more decisive and circumspect to better protect the stature of the club on a global scale.
Now, the Spirit of Shankly supporters group have called on the owners, Fenway Sports Group to come clean with their strategy amid fears that the spirit of Gillett and Hicks has infected these new American owners who the SOS were so supportive of in their ongoing battle with the previous regime.
It has also been long said that Kenny Dalglish returning as manager would not have the same effect as his first stint in charge.
Football has changed in the interim time, and whether Liverpool fans like it or not, so has the fabric of their club. The boot room culture does not exist anymore and the influx of outside influence is what the SOS see is ripping at the core of their club.
The uncertainty has to be a major reason why managers are shunning the chance to manage what was once seen as one of the continents biggest clubs in their droves.
No doubt there will be a taker for the hot seat, and they should have money to throw at the team if Dalglish’s lavish spending is anything to go by, but the job will not be an easy one and success will be expected instantly.
Would another returnee in Rafael Benitez solve any of the issues, or would it just exacerbate the situation which already exists?
Rafa was in the Liverpool hot seat not as long ago as Dalglish was, and things will have changed huge amount in this relatively short time. If King Kenny couldn’t make it a success second time round, there is no reason why Benitez could either.
Of the managers quoted in other press sources, there are few which really stand out as quality contenders. One of the reasons why the SOS have broached the subject of FSG’s strategy will be to see if they will be going down the route of giving a young manager such as Roberto Martinez a crack at developing a team and an ethos over a prolonged period of time.
Martinez’s stock rose a considerable amount in the last two months of the season, and he achieved a remarkable run of results to save Wigan.
Liverpool should be demanding immediate success though. Do they really want another year or two out of the Champions league?
Europe’s top competition has to be the aim, and whether Martinez will be able to produce a result like that in his first season will be asking a lot, especially with the strength of the clubs around them looking to attain that same goal.
Andre Villas-Boas, another favourite for the job would have expected that very same luxury at Chelsea when he signed up this time last year, and this coming of the back of a treble winning year in Portugal.
His pedigree in winning trophies far outweighs Martinez’s, but he didn’t get the time at Chelsea, so what makes him think that if he took the Liverpool job it would be any different?
This has to be one of, if not the biggest management decisions of the close season, and when you take into account the amount of other clubs also looking for new managers both in England and across the continent, it is easy to see that competition for big names will be fierce.
SOS is correct. This is an SOS call to the right man to get their club back to the top table of club football. Whoever answers the SOS will know that success will be demanded instantly, and there will be no second chance this time around.
image: © illarterate
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