‘Klopp has been great. He’s a normal guy and fans relate to that’
Kenny Dalglish is convinced Liverpool have found the right man
Jonathan Northcroft Published: 14 February 2016
Kenny Dalglish is a fan of Liverpool's latest manager Photograph: Ashley Coombes
WHEN he started with Celtic, with the reserves, and they played at Aberdeen, players went by train and walked from Aberdeen station to Pittodrie. 1967. It was seen as a good warm-up.
Three hours in a second-class carriage, then two miles by foot, in who knows what weather, up Market Street, up Union Street, down King Street, then play a match: just considering it makes this Aberdonian tired. “And Aberdeen had [Jim] Hermiston and [Ally] Shewan at the back. They’d 3,000 reserve games between them,” laughs Kenny Dalglish. Different times.
His football education was like that. Tough, humble, real. He remembers black gravel pitches and rusting goals and “your mum would be out looking, ‘Whur ah ye?’ You’d be standing in the goal and it was pissing wi’ rain…”
Today’s youngsters “are brought up to expect something better and rightly so”. But he knows what risks being lost. Nobody who has scraped knees on Glasgow’s black gravel, or slogged through north Scotland wind to play, could be mistaken.
Without hesitation he replies, “The proudest thing for me is the family” when asked his greatest achievement. Being tightknit, guarding the clan, has been key to him.
In three weeks he’ll be a pensioner but he hardly looks one. He’s in Motherwell, yes, in wind and rain, doing grassroots work for McDonald’s. How else does he spend his time? “I’m still non-executive director of Liverpool. Family keep you going. I play a bit of golf [seven handicap]. Do bits for Marina’s [his wife] charity. I get on normal like anyone else. Well it’s what I think is normal. You’ve got your family, things that touch your heart, your interests. I’m no different to anyone else except I might get a better seat at Anfield.”
That clan is in good hands, now Jurgen Klopp is manager. They met for the first time last week. “I think the appointment has been fantastic,” Dalglish says. “The satisfaction hasn’t been reflected in results so far but there’s a final to look forward to at Wembley and Jurgen’s been brilliant, the way he’s come in, assessed everything, taken his time about [judging] the players.
“He shares the emotion of Liverpool supporters. Whether scoring a goal or losing — he shares it for everybody. He doesnae keep it to himself. He’s for everybody and that’s what Liverpool supporters want.”
Dalglish’s managers were Jock Stein, Bob Paisley (he died 20 years ago today) and Joe Fagan. Tough, humble, real. He sees Klopp in that mould. “He doesnae tell anybody . . . doesnae need to . . . that he’s good. Everybody knows he’s good. He doesn’t act presumptuously. He’s normal and the punters relate to him.
“They know he’s going to protect Liverpool Football Club. That’s all they want,” Dalglish says. “Next season will be when, if we’re going to make judgments, that he’ll have his own mark on it.”
He likes how Klopp resisted rushing into signings in January. “One thing he wants is total commitment — but that doesn’t define what players he wants. Does he want a left-back who’s right-footed, or 6ft 3in, or what? We don’t know. Give him time to settle. At Dortmund he got players in nobody had heard of, Lewandowski, Piszczek, Kagawa. Maybe that’s to come as well.”
Dalglish was the most recent Liverpool manager to win something, the 2012 League Cup. He also reached the FA Cup final but was replaced by Brendan Rodgers: the owners wanted league progress. Despite his status, and though he was rebuilding the squad, a surprising number of fans agreed. These are different times. “I understand [modern fans wanting immediate success],” Dalglish says. “Everything’s instant now for kids. You send a message on Twitter and you get it back. And they think you can do that with your job, your football club. You send a tweet and get a car built. It doesn’t work like that. [Managing] is like building a car. You start with the frame. Klopp’s doing that, it’ll take time. So give him a bit of time.”
Liverpool supporters have had to stomach a lot of new bosses, five-year plans and jam tomorrow. “Aye, but they can relate to him. They can feel something’s going to happen. That’s the big thing. The perception is ‘things are going to be all right because Jurgen is here’. So, no pressure!”
Christian Benteke also deserves patience. “Maybe he’ll get to understand better what the manager wants,” says Dalglish. “He’s a good player. It’s not a lack of ability, maybe just an understanding. The movement . . . because it’s different to where he came from and what Brendan wanted him to do.
People cannae keep saying Suarez this and Suarez that. Suarez was unbelievable. But you cannae revisit him. So you try to develop someone or find someone else and maybe Christian can make his own impact.”
Dalglish has enjoyed Leicester’s rise. He can see parallels with his title-winning Blackburn side, but differences too. For Leicester to succeed, they must stay in their bubble. “Most people look at Leicester and say, ‘I like that. I can relate to it,’” says Dalglish. What impresses him is that the dressing room is unaffected by success. “Vardy, Mahrez started getting the publicity, but it didn’t affect the rest, or affect them.”
Klopp must battle clubs such as Chelsea and Manchester City with their spending. “By the way, Chelsea are what? Man City are where?” Dalglish shoots back. “The finances are important. But you cannae beat the proper heart of football. And if you’ve got the proper heart, more than somebody else has, you’ve a better chance of being successful than they do by spending money. Jurgen knows that. He’s been through it with Dortmund, up against Bayern Munich. He knows what it’s about.”
He chats more. About Tottenham’s Mauricio Pochettino, whom he rates, and the shoots of recovery he perceives in the Scottish game. Back to the proper heart: “It’s been the same since football started. Even more so, now the game’s financially orientated. If you’ve a good dressing room, you’ve a better chance of winning.”
And back to family. “I played football and loved it. I loved being a manager. Even the times I was sacked, I might not have agreed, but I respected a club’s choice. And I have my winners’ medals. But the greatest thing is family. That’s how I was brought up, that’s how Marina was brought up. And hopefully they [Kelly, Lynsey, Lauren and Paul — his children] do the same.
“As long as they’re OK and doing well, that’s what matters. Maybe when I was a manager I didn’t always think as logically as that.” The Dalglish smile. “You get what you get and you get what you deserve. If I was to moan about anything that’s happened to me, I’d be a bit selfish. We did not too bad.”
Kenny Dalglish is convinced Liverpool have found the right man
Jonathan Northcroft Published: 14 February 2016
WHEN he started with Celtic, with the reserves, and they played at Aberdeen, players went by train and walked from Aberdeen station to Pittodrie. 1967. It was seen as a good warm-up.
Three hours in a second-class carriage, then two miles by foot, in who knows what weather, up Market Street, up Union Street, down King Street, then play a match: just considering it makes this Aberdonian tired. “And Aberdeen had [Jim] Hermiston and [Ally] Shewan at the back. They’d 3,000 reserve games between them,” laughs Kenny Dalglish. Different times.
His football education was like that. Tough, humble, real. He remembers black gravel pitches and rusting goals and “your mum would be out looking, ‘Whur ah ye?’ You’d be standing in the goal and it was pissing wi’ rain…”
Today’s youngsters “are brought up to expect something better and rightly so”. But he knows what risks being lost. Nobody who has scraped knees on Glasgow’s black gravel, or slogged through north Scotland wind to play, could be mistaken.
Without hesitation he replies, “The proudest thing for me is the family” when asked his greatest achievement. Being tightknit, guarding the clan, has been key to him.
In three weeks he’ll be a pensioner but he hardly looks one. He’s in Motherwell, yes, in wind and rain, doing grassroots work for McDonald’s. How else does he spend his time? “I’m still non-executive director of Liverpool. Family keep you going. I play a bit of golf [seven handicap]. Do bits for Marina’s [his wife] charity. I get on normal like anyone else. Well it’s what I think is normal. You’ve got your family, things that touch your heart, your interests. I’m no different to anyone else except I might get a better seat at Anfield.”
That clan is in good hands, now Jurgen Klopp is manager. They met for the first time last week. “I think the appointment has been fantastic,” Dalglish says. “The satisfaction hasn’t been reflected in results so far but there’s a final to look forward to at Wembley and Jurgen’s been brilliant, the way he’s come in, assessed everything, taken his time about [judging] the players.
“He shares the emotion of Liverpool supporters. Whether scoring a goal or losing — he shares it for everybody. He doesnae keep it to himself. He’s for everybody and that’s what Liverpool supporters want.”
Dalglish’s managers were Jock Stein, Bob Paisley (he died 20 years ago today) and Joe Fagan. Tough, humble, real. He sees Klopp in that mould. “He doesnae tell anybody . . . doesnae need to . . . that he’s good. Everybody knows he’s good. He doesn’t act presumptuously. He’s normal and the punters relate to him.
“They know he’s going to protect Liverpool Football Club. That’s all they want,” Dalglish says. “Next season will be when, if we’re going to make judgments, that he’ll have his own mark on it.”
He likes how Klopp resisted rushing into signings in January. “One thing he wants is total commitment — but that doesn’t define what players he wants. Does he want a left-back who’s right-footed, or 6ft 3in, or what? We don’t know. Give him time to settle. At Dortmund he got players in nobody had heard of, Lewandowski, Piszczek, Kagawa. Maybe that’s to come as well.”
Dalglish was the most recent Liverpool manager to win something, the 2012 League Cup. He also reached the FA Cup final but was replaced by Brendan Rodgers: the owners wanted league progress. Despite his status, and though he was rebuilding the squad, a surprising number of fans agreed. These are different times. “I understand [modern fans wanting immediate success],” Dalglish says. “Everything’s instant now for kids. You send a message on Twitter and you get it back. And they think you can do that with your job, your football club. You send a tweet and get a car built. It doesn’t work like that. [Managing] is like building a car. You start with the frame. Klopp’s doing that, it’ll take time. So give him a bit of time.”
Liverpool supporters have had to stomach a lot of new bosses, five-year plans and jam tomorrow. “Aye, but they can relate to him. They can feel something’s going to happen. That’s the big thing. The perception is ‘things are going to be all right because Jurgen is here’. So, no pressure!”
Christian Benteke also deserves patience. “Maybe he’ll get to understand better what the manager wants,” says Dalglish. “He’s a good player. It’s not a lack of ability, maybe just an understanding. The movement . . . because it’s different to where he came from and what Brendan wanted him to do.
People cannae keep saying Suarez this and Suarez that. Suarez was unbelievable. But you cannae revisit him. So you try to develop someone or find someone else and maybe Christian can make his own impact.”
Dalglish has enjoyed Leicester’s rise. He can see parallels with his title-winning Blackburn side, but differences too. For Leicester to succeed, they must stay in their bubble. “Most people look at Leicester and say, ‘I like that. I can relate to it,’” says Dalglish. What impresses him is that the dressing room is unaffected by success. “Vardy, Mahrez started getting the publicity, but it didn’t affect the rest, or affect them.”
Klopp must battle clubs such as Chelsea and Manchester City with their spending. “By the way, Chelsea are what? Man City are where?” Dalglish shoots back. “The finances are important. But you cannae beat the proper heart of football. And if you’ve got the proper heart, more than somebody else has, you’ve a better chance of being successful than they do by spending money. Jurgen knows that. He’s been through it with Dortmund, up against Bayern Munich. He knows what it’s about.”
He chats more. About Tottenham’s Mauricio Pochettino, whom he rates, and the shoots of recovery he perceives in the Scottish game. Back to the proper heart: “It’s been the same since football started. Even more so, now the game’s financially orientated. If you’ve a good dressing room, you’ve a better chance of winning.”
And back to family. “I played football and loved it. I loved being a manager. Even the times I was sacked, I might not have agreed, but I respected a club’s choice. And I have my winners’ medals. But the greatest thing is family. That’s how I was brought up, that’s how Marina was brought up. And hopefully they [Kelly, Lynsey, Lauren and Paul — his children] do the same.
“As long as they’re OK and doing well, that’s what matters. Maybe when I was a manager I didn’t always think as logically as that.” The Dalglish smile. “You get what you get and you get what you deserve. If I was to moan about anything that’s happened to me, I’d be a bit selfish. We did not too bad.”
