For starters there are a lot of stressed supporters who take no news as bad news. This idea of 'clueless Americans' is stale though and perhaps a hangover of the H&G era. The owners will have done research before they bought the club. The have had 18months+ since in which they'll have had contact with all sorts of football experts and legends. Do you honestly think in this time they haven't at least built up knowledge on a par with these stressed out fans? Given their sporting pedigree and high financial investment it just doesn't make sense FSG would do a half-arsed job. Here is my take: FSG hire Kenny Dalglish to settle the club, reunite the fans and give them time to put a plan into place. This is a short term measure made tricky by the great success Dalglish enjoys during those few months he's in charge. FSG decide that given popular opinion and Dalglish's success they have little choice but to appoint Kenny on a longer term basis. This may be no bad thing as it gives FSG potentially 3 more years to put a long term plan in place. Dalglish doesn't satisfy FSG's requirements and they decide the best option is to act now. FSG are trying to develop a long term structure at the club. They are trying to grow commercial revenues. They are trying to expand stadium capacity. In order to facilitate this rapid growth and regeneration FSG realize that the traditional division of roles in football gives too much work to some individuals, therefore the club's structure must be adapted. They follow leading European models such as that of Barcelona, which makes total sense, hence the Director of Football etc Now FSG want an attack-minded coach to fit within this model. Brendan Rodgers of Swansea seems to be the leading contender right now. Rodgers has many of the right attributes, but lacks top level experience and the ability to attract top players. FSG therefore combine him with someone such as Louis Van Gaal in a DoF role. Van Gaal has the reputation and knowledge to bring in players etc (comes with high recommendation from our own Pep Segura due to his knowledge of academy structure as well) whilst Rodgers is happy to focus on the coaching side. Now if this works then by the time Rodgers has achieved success then it will not matter if Van Gaal leaves (as DoF's often do) as Rodgers will have his own reputation around Europe. We will have a young manager eased into top level football (without the pressure of signings and a million new things to adapt to that Van Gaal has helped take care of). If, and that is a big if, the combination works, then we will have a young manager who has been allowed to focus on coaching offset by someone like Van Gaal's reputation. Muppets on twitter may slag off our lack of a big name manager but when it comes to attracting players then Van Gaal should negate these issues anyway. As for Roberto Martinez, well apparently it is not necessarily the manager's role he is being considered for. Technical Director? Who knows, but it is said he has done a lot of his best work setting up Wigan's academy etc. Now if he was bored of swimming against the releagtion tide at Wigan then maybe he'd consider such a role. Either way people are going nuts because they haven't got a clue what is going on. That doesn't mean FSG don't have a clue. We don't have a Guardiola in our ranks yet. So what do we do? Find his equivalent in the Premiership and combine him with a big name DoF to support him. If a big name experienced manager won't accept the structure FSG want, then the sensible solution is to find a talented young manager who will and combine him with a big name experience DoF instead. Finally Rodgers said of his time at Chelsea after he became Jose Mourinho's first external appointment: "Jose had learnt from his mentor, Louis van Gaal, and I learnt from him."
I agree - not all yanks are H&G ffs! FSG have acted presisely as you would expect them to do since arriving at the club. They are no mugs and I still trust them (for now) - I would have wanted more info on their plans to this point tbh but can appreciate that's not always a smart business option. Come on FSG - let's be having you! Give us a real show of intent here! YNWA
all i'll say is its very unpopular to say this but guardiola isn't a genius... the guy played 4 wingers, 4 cms and 2 cbs v Chelsea then scratched his head when he didn't win. just sometimes having great players helps... until FSG give the 300mil it WILL required to make it to the top ala city any manger will struggle to meet these expectations.
What a crock. You seriously saying that you knew they would sack Kenny and Comolli after just 18mths?
ESPN are reporting that LFC will announce on Friday who our new manager is, its hardly like they have left it until the last minute? I can't understand the abuse of the owners either there is still months until the start of the season and its very difficult trying to find the best manager for the club- so is bound to take time
Plans??! We don't need plans were we are going........ [video=youtube;PgyvMp5YWcI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgyvMp5YWcI&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/video]
Guardiola fitted perfectly within the club structure and got the best out of his players. That is what we are looking for so he is a great example. You may not think he's a genius but he got Barcelona playing a style of football that translated to the national team. Guardiola's guiding of those Barcelona players won everything domestically in Spain, the Champions League, and was hugely important in winning the Euro's and World Cup. Doing that with Stoke may have been 'genius' but he did a damn fine job.
Bollocks, I just typed out a long reply and as I was finishing off I hit some key combo that got me to Yahoo, then when I hit Back it had all gone. I can't be arsed typing it all out again but the gist of it was FSG know business but they haven't grasped football or this club yet (showed working and examples). And sacking Kenny was a bad business decision as well as a bad football one (showed working and examples).
Er no. Where did I say or even suggest that? I meant given KD and Comoli performance I am saying they did what was expected is all.
Let's have a little bit of realism here. Liverpool Football Club is a major global sporting brand. It requires the stewardship of experienced professional executive management supported by equally professional operational management both on and off the pitch. We call it a club: we consider it to be our club, however it is in reality a business. The days of football clubs being the part-time plaything of local businessmen are well gone. I therefore welcome the actions that FSG have taken - even though I feel very sorry for Kenny. There always has been a plan. It is also highly likely that there has also been a plan B which has been receiving more attention as our league season disintegrated and the Suarez affair played-out. Like all plans that are effective they have to be capable of being changed to meet the realities ( performance) whilst staying focused upon the aim. Now FSG have never changed the AIM - to take Liverpool back to where it belongs. To do that, they set shorter term objectives - CL football in 12/13. That target has not been met. Hence change was inevitable. Now, I am not the greatest fan of US corporates in general. However, I have always been impressed by their ability to learn from their mistakes and adapt their plans accordingly. Particularly in the UK and across Europe we are more likely to stick to a formula even when it has proved not to meet the requirements and hence repeat our mistakes. I would not be surprised to find that FSG are actively considering a new managerial structure than those in operation in other clubs.
I'm going to try again with this because there's been far too much of this Great Hypocrisy from people who claim we had a terrible season and Kenny had to go but we need to be patient with the new guy and FSG. Can somebody define 'patience' for me because I don't see it in their behaviour or FSG's. My patience was borne from the hope and promise on the field, not John Henry's ability to play the stock market based on the numbers. Would these be the experts and legends who sat on pundit panels and pulled out their X Boxes every Sunday evening to dissect why zonal is rubbish, despite getting Pepe Reina three Golden Gloves and a tie with Cech when we came 7th and Chelsea did the double? Are they experts like Billy Bean, who advised Henry to hire Comolli, an appointment they've admitted in a short space of time they ****ed up by sacking him? Where were their media experts and legends who told them to get out from under their desks and in front of the cameras over the Suarez affair? They expressed wholehearted support initially but when it went tits up in media hysteria they were nowhere to be seen. A guy who's worked in US sports business said in US sports image is everything so they must have access to all the media advisors and PR gurus they could need. I honestly think nobody could grasp all the complexities of football and the business of football in 18 months, unless you honestly think John Henry could manage LFC himself. "Tricky" and "little choice" are subjective. I suppose Abramovich has a tricky decision to make whether to keep Di Matteo on after winning the Champions League and FA Cup double. Ancelotti did a double and RA replaced him with AVB. He had little choice, I guess. It's tough at the top, huh? The time to replace Kenny was at the end of that half-season, when Kenny had done his short-term stint. That would've made it seem like they had a plan and it was still on-track. But because of fate's tricky subterfuge Kenny did the one thing they didn't want: bring success on the field. The form of 2nd with a squad every media muppet and her sister said was responsible for poor Roy having us at 19th. Instead, that kind of form left them "little choice". Poor them, a legend with the club everybody said had been out of the game too long gets brilliant results with smiley players and nice football. Boo ****ing hoo. So they reluctantly gave him a three-year contract and Kenny being a decent guy takes them at their word that he's proven himself and he'll get three years to build his plan. Erm, no. Phasing out old players with youngsters only upsets fans, especially when the 21-yr olds he's bringing through aren't the finished article. After all, how many experts and legends said Lucas was pants and would never be good enough to play for Liverpool? Well, there was Ian St John and Graham Souness and Aldo and blah blah di ****ing blah. Tell me how many clubs Lucas isn't good enough to play for now, three years later? So they did have a choice and they chose to give Kenny a three-year contract. He got it on merit. Their preference for a younger man seems to suggest they're willing to give a new manager some time to develop. Kenny got three years but I've always seen five years as reasonable. So are they saying Kenny doesn't have another five years in him? Do you honestly think the next young gun is going to get five years if there's no Champions League place? That is one of FGS's requirements which requires satisfying, right? Nor does it mean they have all the clues. They clearly know business and probably rock at it, though they've had some troubles recently. Just because there's no news on the stadium I don't interpret it as bad news, though "spade in the ground" is starting to leak into media reports again. They've increased income and are branching out - I suspect they're planning a chain of Boot Room restaurants around the world. They're changing the structure without any certainty a DoF can work in English football - the majority haven't but that could be resistance from an old guard of managers. It's still an appointment partly made on reputation for transfers, which Kenny can argue he had, having learned from the great Geoff Twentyman himself - FSG's issue with the recent transfers was not who we signed but the prices paid. And before anybody cites Downing over one season think Beardsley, Barnes, Aldo, Shearer and Sutton. The best managers only get about 50% transfer success. City didn't seem to do too badly in paying top price to ensure they got the players they wanted to fit a team rather than simply the best in every position. But FSG got the club at a knockdown price and the more-than-doubled profit on Torres went straight into their pockets so already the "£120m investment" is bogus. They swapped Torres and Babel for Carroll and Suarez and got loose change back. Some overspending that is. But while taking care of and changing every aspect of the club they've sacked the one man who epitomised this club's Unique Selling Point. I can't stress this enough: Kenny didn't just unite the club and fans, put smiles on players' faces and instill belief, a belief which has never wavered in those who worked closest to him, but he also sold shirts. This is business. People come to us because of who we are, not where we are in the league. That appears to have gone unadvised by the experts and legends and ungrasped by FSG. Any fan who comes to us because we're in the Champions League is likely to disappear just as quickly. They're not fans, they're consumers, which sports businessmen in the US may have a problem grasping, unless the advisors and legends have explained to them you can't just up and move Man Utd to Norwich like a franchise here in the way you can in the US. When FSG came to us they appeared to *get* the club. We all saw the Sox similarities. But not moving Kenny out early and showing belief in him then reneging so soon shows a worrying impatience. The people we thought knew the Liverpool Way behaved the Abramovich Way. The fact they've sacked Kenny so unceremoniously suggests Kenny believed he could do just as good a job as any bright young thing but the experts and legends probably looked at the ages of the most succesfful managers in the world and advised accordingly. Much has been made in the media about the new manager situation, creating panic and demand for info among some fans. FSG haven't handled it well, though. Again, where were their media and PR advisors? Much was made in the media about success and targets and whether our season was a success after the Carling Cup or a failure after the FA Cup. Typical black or white with no gray from the media. But I remember Werner and Henry stood in the Wembley dressing room drinking proudly from their first piece of soccer silverware, which is a tricky thing to do out of a big cup, and they said the bottom line target for this season was progress and we'd clearly seen that. Even if we'd lost that cup we'd still had progress. Naturally top four is always a target for any club in the top half of the table but they never said anything about it being a prerequisite. Sure they're not H&G but I feel lied to after their Wembley words, something Tom Hicks was very good at. Sure, Brendan, but Kenny learned from Jock Stein, Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley so what, exactly, is your point?
General, In your well written and considered post, you have laid out a series of questions that probably only John Henry can answer. I can't answer for FSG as far as Kenny is concerned. I was firmly in the he should be given another season camp but I can see how it may have appeared to FSG and John Henry in particular. He did say that no CL football in 12/13 was "unthinkable". To his mind that was the prime target and the target was missed. Of itself that may have been excusable but when the Suarez affair arose and particularly the handling of it, no excuses remained acceptable. Hence Kenny had to go - only this time with a clean break. It would have made no difference if either he or any other senior executive of FSG had spent the whole time since the purchase of LFC learning to understand football. This was a purely corporate decision.
