Nice interview:
Former Liverpool FC winger Stewart Downing believes FSG should have given Kenny Dalglish more time after the Scot led the Reds to two cup finals in 2011-2012.
Dalglish was sacked despite winning the Capital One Cup with the Reds and replaced by Brendan Rodgers, a manager Downing says he didn’t see eye-to-eye with.
The 31-year-old said it was “strange” to see Dalglish sacked, and believes the team needed more time to gel after the club splashed out over £100m on signings in 2011.
Downing told BBC Tees: “I played for a very good manager in Kenny Dalglish, he was very good to me. I’ll never forget what he did to get me to that club.
“When I was speaking to Kenny, I was thinking 'this is mad, £20m for me to go there', but it put a lot of pressure on Kenny because he spent big that summer. I went to Aston Villa and said to them 'this is Kenny Dalglish and Liverpool football club, you have to let me go' and they were okay about it.
“I just didn’t think we got time to gel.
“It was strange to see him sacked, they spent a lot of money on players. It’s not going to happen overnight but they sacked him after one year.
“He’s like God at Liverpool, we could be losing but they would be singing his name. That’s how it was at Liverpool, normally the manager would get the flack but he would get his name sang and the players would get the flack!
“He was very good to play for, you could always speak to him and his door was always open. He was just a nice man in general. I was very proud that he signed me to play for Liverpool.”
Dalglish was replaced in the summer of 2012 with former Swansea boss Rodgers, and Downing says the two didn’t get on in the early stages of the Northern Irishman’s reign at Anfield.
Downing would go on to establish himself in Rodgers’ team towards the end of the season, however he was sold to West Ham in the summer of 2014, despite the Reds boss wanting to keep him at Anfield.
Downing added: “I had a fall out with the manager in the second year when I didn’t play.
“When Brendan came in, for me he wanted his own players from day one I could sense that.
“We had our ups and downs early on. I told him how I felt and he said the same to me. We didn’t get on.
“I was out of the team and it was October, I was going to leave but Brendan was never going to allow that. I think he’d rather me sat there doing nothing which is a bit strange.
“The team wasn’t doing well so I kept my head down and when we had a few injuries he put me in at left-back.
It was strange for me but I enjoyed it. I had a lot of the ball, you don’t have to defend as much playing for Liverpool because they have a lot of the ball.
“Come the end of the season I was a regular playing as a right winger, I really enjoyed playing with Suarez, Sturridge and Coutinho. What’s not to enjoy? I finished the season quite well so it was strange to leave in the summer.”
Despite his struggles at Anfield, Downing says he looks back with fondness on his Liverpool career.
He said: “I enjoyed playing for Liverpool, it was a great club and I played with some fantastic players. I look back with good memories, and not that I went there and we struggled.
“They were fantastic fans, a bit like Middlesbrough, very understanding fans. Even if you’re losing, if you pass the ball around they are very patient. It was a great atmosphere in some games and I’ll never forget the cup final. It was a fantastic celebration.
“Playing for Liverpool was an unbelievable experience. In the first season a lot of people said we struggled but we got to two cup finals. I look back on my career and I won a Carling Cup and I should have won a FA Cup against Chelsea. So it wasn’t all doom and gloom.”
Former Liverpool FC winger Stewart Downing believes FSG should have given Kenny Dalglish more time after the Scot led the Reds to two cup finals in 2011-2012.
Dalglish was sacked despite winning the Capital One Cup with the Reds and replaced by Brendan Rodgers, a manager Downing says he didn’t see eye-to-eye with.
The 31-year-old said it was “strange” to see Dalglish sacked, and believes the team needed more time to gel after the club splashed out over £100m on signings in 2011.
Downing told BBC Tees: “I played for a very good manager in Kenny Dalglish, he was very good to me. I’ll never forget what he did to get me to that club.
“When I was speaking to Kenny, I was thinking 'this is mad, £20m for me to go there', but it put a lot of pressure on Kenny because he spent big that summer. I went to Aston Villa and said to them 'this is Kenny Dalglish and Liverpool football club, you have to let me go' and they were okay about it.
“I just didn’t think we got time to gel.
“It was strange to see him sacked, they spent a lot of money on players. It’s not going to happen overnight but they sacked him after one year.
“He’s like God at Liverpool, we could be losing but they would be singing his name. That’s how it was at Liverpool, normally the manager would get the flack but he would get his name sang and the players would get the flack!
“He was very good to play for, you could always speak to him and his door was always open. He was just a nice man in general. I was very proud that he signed me to play for Liverpool.”
Dalglish was replaced in the summer of 2012 with former Swansea boss Rodgers, and Downing says the two didn’t get on in the early stages of the Northern Irishman’s reign at Anfield.
Downing would go on to establish himself in Rodgers’ team towards the end of the season, however he was sold to West Ham in the summer of 2014, despite the Reds boss wanting to keep him at Anfield.
Downing added: “I had a fall out with the manager in the second year when I didn’t play.
“When Brendan came in, for me he wanted his own players from day one I could sense that.
“We had our ups and downs early on. I told him how I felt and he said the same to me. We didn’t get on.
“I was out of the team and it was October, I was going to leave but Brendan was never going to allow that. I think he’d rather me sat there doing nothing which is a bit strange.
“The team wasn’t doing well so I kept my head down and when we had a few injuries he put me in at left-back.
It was strange for me but I enjoyed it. I had a lot of the ball, you don’t have to defend as much playing for Liverpool because they have a lot of the ball.
“Come the end of the season I was a regular playing as a right winger, I really enjoyed playing with Suarez, Sturridge and Coutinho. What’s not to enjoy? I finished the season quite well so it was strange to leave in the summer.”
Despite his struggles at Anfield, Downing says he looks back with fondness on his Liverpool career.
He said: “I enjoyed playing for Liverpool, it was a great club and I played with some fantastic players. I look back with good memories, and not that I went there and we struggled.
“They were fantastic fans, a bit like Middlesbrough, very understanding fans. Even if you’re losing, if you pass the ball around they are very patient. It was a great atmosphere in some games and I’ll never forget the cup final. It was a fantastic celebration.
“Playing for Liverpool was an unbelievable experience. In the first season a lot of people said we struggled but we got to two cup finals. I look back on my career and I won a Carling Cup and I should have won a FA Cup against Chelsea. So it wasn’t all doom and gloom.”
