I know some on here aren't too keen on old Balague... But worth a read.. if anything for the Carragher comment..
The collective sigh of relief I`m hearing from Liverpool fans after Roy Hodgson`s departure is also celebratory: "we got what we wanted, we didn’t like the manager, we got rid of him and we got Dalglish back!â€. Yes, this outcome reflects the power of the fans, the influence of the Kop. I have just left Liverpool after a few days there and the two questions most people asked me were: `when is roy going to be sacked?` and` is Rafa returning soon?` Not a single person- and I spoke to dozens over a few late nights in pubs around the city- asked about the long term strategy of the club, the functioning of the academy, the owners` vision (or lack of it).
The fans I spoke to are only interested in short-termism and Make their conclusions based on what they see on the pitch and hearsay - and there is plenty of that in Liverpool. That is their nature. But they don’t know how the players are, their mental state, their physical state, why technical decisions are taken, the finances of the club, the relationship between the board and the manager, or the manager and the players. So their views are based on a limited amount of information. Based on that they decided that Roy had to be sacked.
For the record, I personally think that some players did not trust his methods, that his authority was diminishing in the changing room and the pressure from the Kop made leaving the only positive outcome. The board followed the demands of the fans even though Comolli was not convinced sacking Roy at this moment was the solution and, as I have been told, he did not think in the first instance that appointing either Dalglish or Carragher as player manager (something that was also discussed) was ideal either. Finally he agreed with everybody else that there was no way out for Roy and ceded to the owners.
But NESV knew from day one that Hodgson was an appointment that came about as a consequence of Purslow and Broughton`s preparations for selling the club. They wanted to Anglicise Liverpool, bring in a steady hand: one that made the club look solid and stable. Once that was accomplished, there was no point in keeping Roy in the long term. So the plan was to make him stay all season, decide who the new manager would be and start working with him now on new signings and the next steps to take regarding the squad. Instead we have a new captain at the helm of the ship due to the pressure from the fans, never interested completely in the long term view. They want results right now - that is also logical and understandable.
I know I have touched on all this in the past, but my last few days in Liverpool have left me with the same conclusions that I drew on previous visits. The power of the Liverpool fans is far superior to the power of fans at Barcelona, Madrid, Milan, Inter, Bayern, Manchester United, Arsenal, clubs that most of us will agree are decently run. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I have the impression the weaker the circumstances at the club, the stronger the influence of the fans- and that cannot be good. Maybe the club could have pointed out behind the scenes that Roy was not there for the long term, trying to calm things down using a mix of politics and some well placed sources. But would that have placated the fans once they had already decided things had to change as soon as possible? Would they have wanted to hear what else was in store for the coming months? Will they be happy now they realize their power? Or will they want to continue determining the line being pursued by the club? Power is addictive. Fans wanted somebody`s head now and an opportunity to paint the club with legendary colours again; in search of solutions too many are looking to the past (what they know best, unable to decipher the future and without much knowledge of the present). That is again their nature.
But should those running the club follow their wishes?
Kenny says he learnt a lot from talking to Rafa Benitez and from having been given a job at the academy by the Spanish manager. So if things go well, the club will owe Benitez a beer or two for having reintroduced Dalglish to Premier League life in the present day. Good luck, King kenny.
The collective sigh of relief I`m hearing from Liverpool fans after Roy Hodgson`s departure is also celebratory: "we got what we wanted, we didn’t like the manager, we got rid of him and we got Dalglish back!â€. Yes, this outcome reflects the power of the fans, the influence of the Kop. I have just left Liverpool after a few days there and the two questions most people asked me were: `when is roy going to be sacked?` and` is Rafa returning soon?` Not a single person- and I spoke to dozens over a few late nights in pubs around the city- asked about the long term strategy of the club, the functioning of the academy, the owners` vision (or lack of it).
The fans I spoke to are only interested in short-termism and Make their conclusions based on what they see on the pitch and hearsay - and there is plenty of that in Liverpool. That is their nature. But they don’t know how the players are, their mental state, their physical state, why technical decisions are taken, the finances of the club, the relationship between the board and the manager, or the manager and the players. So their views are based on a limited amount of information. Based on that they decided that Roy had to be sacked.
For the record, I personally think that some players did not trust his methods, that his authority was diminishing in the changing room and the pressure from the Kop made leaving the only positive outcome. The board followed the demands of the fans even though Comolli was not convinced sacking Roy at this moment was the solution and, as I have been told, he did not think in the first instance that appointing either Dalglish or Carragher as player manager (something that was also discussed) was ideal either. Finally he agreed with everybody else that there was no way out for Roy and ceded to the owners.
But NESV knew from day one that Hodgson was an appointment that came about as a consequence of Purslow and Broughton`s preparations for selling the club. They wanted to Anglicise Liverpool, bring in a steady hand: one that made the club look solid and stable. Once that was accomplished, there was no point in keeping Roy in the long term. So the plan was to make him stay all season, decide who the new manager would be and start working with him now on new signings and the next steps to take regarding the squad. Instead we have a new captain at the helm of the ship due to the pressure from the fans, never interested completely in the long term view. They want results right now - that is also logical and understandable.
I know I have touched on all this in the past, but my last few days in Liverpool have left me with the same conclusions that I drew on previous visits. The power of the Liverpool fans is far superior to the power of fans at Barcelona, Madrid, Milan, Inter, Bayern, Manchester United, Arsenal, clubs that most of us will agree are decently run. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I have the impression the weaker the circumstances at the club, the stronger the influence of the fans- and that cannot be good. Maybe the club could have pointed out behind the scenes that Roy was not there for the long term, trying to calm things down using a mix of politics and some well placed sources. But would that have placated the fans once they had already decided things had to change as soon as possible? Would they have wanted to hear what else was in store for the coming months? Will they be happy now they realize their power? Or will they want to continue determining the line being pursued by the club? Power is addictive. Fans wanted somebody`s head now and an opportunity to paint the club with legendary colours again; in search of solutions too many are looking to the past (what they know best, unable to decipher the future and without much knowledge of the present). That is again their nature.
But should those running the club follow their wishes?
Kenny says he learnt a lot from talking to Rafa Benitez and from having been given a job at the academy by the Spanish manager. So if things go well, the club will owe Benitez a beer or two for having reintroduced Dalglish to Premier League life in the present day. Good luck, King kenny.
