Kenny Receives a Massive Vote of Confidence As a Former Manager Lurks in the Background.
Last night Liverpool's owner John W Henry gave an interview to Fox Sports during which he talked about his new found love for the club and all it stood for. He also said how pleased he was, that finally it appeared the clubs fortunes were on the way up.
Four weeks ago John and Liverpool's chairman Tom Werner, took what now appears to have been the right decision in sacking Roy Hodgson and appointing Kenny Dalglish as temporary manager. Kenny had one remit to follow and that was to resurrect Liverpool's season and pull us away from the relegation zone. To do this, Kenny had restore the harmony in the dressing room, greatly improve the training sessions and deal with the media in a more interesting and effective manner.
Kenny of course had already had a stint at being Liverpool's manager, during which he brought many honours to the club having mastered The Liverpool Way. Unfortunately and as sometimes happens fate got in the way and after being an absolute rock during the Hillsborough tragedy, Kenny, who began to suffer from severe stress, decided enough was enough and left the club. Several years later though, during interviews he did say that he had unfinished business at Liverpool and would love to go back.
That time has now arrived, albeit only at the moment in a temporary capacity. Kenny was on a cruise with his wife Marina, when he received a telephone call from John Henry, asking if he would, on his return become the manager of Liverpool Football Club. Kenny being Kenny said yes and returned home immediately.
The effect of course was immediate, okay his lost his first game, but when you are in the air and your team like the supporters is suddenly made aware mid-morning that the manager had changed, then they are not going to get the perfect preparation. Since then though, the fortunes of the team have changed. Our results have improved and we are on a steady climb up the table. Kenny has appointed Steve Clarke to help him and Sammy Lee train the players. He has also brought players such as Martin Kelly into the first team set up from the academy which is a fantastic move on his part. The players are again walking around with massive smiles on their faces and the old Liverpool pass and move style of football is back. Kenny also has massive man-management skills and can handle the press extremely well. In fact from the moment he gave his first press conference four weeks ago, the number of journalists turning up at Anfield has increased - yesterday there was standing room only. You see rather being told in a dour and boring way about the team and players, Kenny will crack a joke and refuse to tell them anything - The old Liverpool Way it is called. Last Monday's one was a classic, at the time there were rumours going around about a certain young man wanted a transfer. Kenny refused to elaborate on this but gave a general speech about players and their loyalty to the club - I am sure many of the journalists like myself managed to read between the lines and realised something was going on.
All this has led to John Henry giving the indication that they may appoint Kenny permanently in the summer. Maybe it is just me, but surely it would be better to do is sooner rather than later, especially as a former manager is now lurking in the background.
That former manager is Rafa Benitez who was sacked during the summer last year. He had been with the club for just over five years but with our results faltering and now silverware the decision was taken to replace him. Rafa then went to Italy and became the manager of Inter Milan. Unfortunately he made several early mistakes, one of which was to pull apart the title winning team left behind by a certain Jose Mourihno. This did not please the Inter president and just before Christmas Rafa was relieved of his post.
He returned to the home that he, his wife and family still had on the Wirral and at that time people wondered if he would be offered his old job back. Thankfully and I make no apologies for saying that he was not. All was quiet and apart from the odd interview here and there Rafa appeared to be relaxing.
The new year arrived and with it a public relations exercise was begun by Rafa. He was giving interviews, trying to talk himself up for a new position without mentioning the obvious. He wanted to return to football and was looking at the Premier League only.
Around three weeks ago a couple of photographs appeared in the Liverpool Echo. These were of Rafa with several workmen in Old Hall Street. Now I can be a nosey so and so and knowing Old hall Street sat and wrote down all the commercial and public properties in the road. I could not for the life of me fathom out why he was there, unless he actually had an interview in the Echo offices. It suddenly dawned on me that perhaps it was stage managed and contacted a friend who confirmed that yes it was.
Rafa since then has done several radio interviews about his time at the club and how he was ready to come back into football, each time giving a very gentle hint of where he would love to go.
Yesterday the BBC announced that he would be taking part in their Football Focus programme and very slowly details of the interview have crept out. He has boosted that he would have got £70 mill for Torres and he that would love to become Liverpool manager again one day.
Hopefully that last remark will fall on deaf ears because the man in place at the moment is I feel the only man that will bring the honours back to the club. We certainly do not need an old manager lurking in the background trying to unsteady a ship that again beginning to find its way forward.
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I thought I'd pop back on here after a long absence...this site is poor,with badly written and insipid articles with little if any actual football analysis,so there's very little reason to come here as a Red.It's almost like the personal diary of this Fulcher person,rambling on about all the nonsense in her head,both real & imagined.Who actually reads the garbage that you write?But even after my enforced absence I see some things never change;your hostile and downright malicious attitude towards the Reds ex-manager,which now borders on slander.You were one of Purslow's cheerleaders back when he had some power & you led your own low key campaign on here against Rafa Benitez at that time.Most LFC fans acknowledge the service that Benitez gave to the club,and as someone who was actually born in the city and lives here--but doesn't romance it from 250 miles away--I can tell you that most of us see Rafa for what he is...a Red through and through.His contributions to numerous charities;including £96,000 to the Hillsborough Family Support Group,speaks volumes,as does his decision to live on Merseyside.Only idiots,morons & ignorant types still rant against him.I always stopped myself from saying this in the past,because I always felt my anger was getting the best of me...but I now want to say it because I feel it is justified through the fact that you are slandering a good man...Faith Fulcher you are a crank.
And by the way...before you accuse me of wanting to 'unsteady' the ship too...I love King Kenny & I want him to get the managers post permanently.But that doesn't stop me from giving credit where credit is due and defending the integrity of Rafa Benitez who is a decent man who loves LFC.