Tony Barrett
Published at 12:01AM, January 10 2013
Fenway Sports Group, the Liverpool owner, is considering bringing Kenny Dalglish back to the club only eight months after he was dismissed as manager.
Among the options under discussion is for Dalglish to resume the ambassadorial role that he performed before replacing Roy Hodgson as manager almost two years ago.
The only concern for FSG, in what would be a popular decision, is the need to ensure that Dalglish’s presence would not put any pressure on Brendan Rodgers, his successor.
That potential problem is likely to be resolved easily because of Rodgers’s insistence that his “door is always open for Kenny Dalglish” and Dalglish’s continuing willingness to put the needs of the club before his own.
Dalglish has returned to Anfield only twice since his dismissal last May — for the Barclays Premier League games against Manchester United and Sunderland — and on each occasion he kept a low profile out of respect for Rodgers. There are no suggestions as yet that Dalglish has been contacted by FSG. [Actually, in an earlier version of this article, it was claimed that Dalglish met Henry at a hotel to discuss this.]
Rodgers wants locally produced players to be at the heart of Liverpool’s future, a vision in keeping with his belief that there is as much talent on Merseyside as any other region in the country.
Rodgers believes that if the club’s increasingly productive academy can continue to tap in to a talent pool from which players such as Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher emerged, it will not only prove cost-effective, but increase Liverpool’s chances of being successful.
“My big thing is getting in young players in here from the local area,” Rodgers said. “If you look at the history here, the likes of Carragher, Gerrard, [Steve] McManaman, [Robbie] Fowler, [Michael] Owen, have all come through the ranks.
“If you name me the best two players in England in the last six or seven years — that would be Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney. They are Scousers. One [Gerrard] is from that part of the city [Huyton] and the other from that part [Croxteth]. So you are not telling me there are not top young talents in Liverpool.
“It is sexy to look in Spain and I am one who loves working with European players, but we mustn’t forget what is on our doorstep and, for me, this is a hotbed for footballers who have passion, hunger and incredible qualities.”
Published at 12:01AM, January 10 2013
Fenway Sports Group, the Liverpool owner, is considering bringing Kenny Dalglish back to the club only eight months after he was dismissed as manager.
Among the options under discussion is for Dalglish to resume the ambassadorial role that he performed before replacing Roy Hodgson as manager almost two years ago.
The only concern for FSG, in what would be a popular decision, is the need to ensure that Dalglish’s presence would not put any pressure on Brendan Rodgers, his successor.
That potential problem is likely to be resolved easily because of Rodgers’s insistence that his “door is always open for Kenny Dalglish” and Dalglish’s continuing willingness to put the needs of the club before his own.
Dalglish has returned to Anfield only twice since his dismissal last May — for the Barclays Premier League games against Manchester United and Sunderland — and on each occasion he kept a low profile out of respect for Rodgers. There are no suggestions as yet that Dalglish has been contacted by FSG. [Actually, in an earlier version of this article, it was claimed that Dalglish met Henry at a hotel to discuss this.]
Rodgers wants locally produced players to be at the heart of Liverpool’s future, a vision in keeping with his belief that there is as much talent on Merseyside as any other region in the country.
Rodgers believes that if the club’s increasingly productive academy can continue to tap in to a talent pool from which players such as Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher emerged, it will not only prove cost-effective, but increase Liverpool’s chances of being successful.
“My big thing is getting in young players in here from the local area,” Rodgers said. “If you look at the history here, the likes of Carragher, Gerrard, [Steve] McManaman, [Robbie] Fowler, [Michael] Owen, have all come through the ranks.
“If you name me the best two players in England in the last six or seven years — that would be Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney. They are Scousers. One [Gerrard] is from that part of the city [Huyton] and the other from that part [Croxteth]. So you are not telling me there are not top young talents in Liverpool.
“It is sexy to look in Spain and I am one who loves working with European players, but we mustn’t forget what is on our doorstep and, for me, this is a hotbed for footballers who have passion, hunger and incredible qualities.”
