Liverpool owner John W Henry have set a minimum target for Liverpool 2011/2012 season. Henry demands Liverpool boss Dalglish seals top four finish John W Henry has thrown down the gauntlet to Kenny Dalglish by insisting it would be a âmajor disappointmentâ if Liverpool fail to qualify for the Champions League this season. Liverpoolâs principal owner was in Oslo to see Dalglishâs side come from behind to secure a 3-3 friendly draw with Valerenga. Henry witnessed Liverpoolâs latest Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...ands-Liverpool-finish-four.html#ixzz1Tr4iIj00 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...hn-W-Henry-demands-Liverpool-finish-four.html
Whether he said it or not, I think everyone associated with the club will already be expecting to reach Top 4 this season.
Yes, definetly, but by saying it he's putting extra pressure on the players. They're going to be thinking "If we don't get top 4, then Kenny the club legend will get sacked and we might get another Hodgson in." It was pressure that took us down to this point in the first place, I don't want us to drop further due to extra pressure.
I can see what you're saying but this is Liverpool FC. We always aim for the CL no matter what. I rather have Henry saying we should get CL rather than Hodgson saying he hopes we don't lose by more than 3 goals to Man City lol.
errrmmm, this is top flight football!!! If the players can't handle a bit of pressure then they shouldn't be playing for LFC. MU are expected to win the PL every year, I don't see them complaining about pressure.
Pressure is part of playing for Liverpool. History shows this, and it will always be this way. If players can't play with a bit of extra pressure then they don't deserve to wear the famous shirt. Our owners (if they did say it) have every right to expect a top four finish, however if we just miss out i can't see them letting Kenny go after one full season. I also disagree that it was pressure that took us down to this point, the fact our squad has been weak compared to the other teams at the top, along with a bit of dodgy management from time to time was the reason for our decline, not pressure. Liverpool has always thrived off pressure, so long may it continue
So you know him personally do you? You have such an understanding of the man that you can make a truly informed judgement regarding his reactions have you? Thought not! Stupid boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That's corporate life. Every manager will be set targets by his overlords. It's simply stating the obvious to say it'll be a disappointment. It would for everybody. That doesn't mean it'll cost Kenny his job if he fails to hit that target.
I'm not talking about Kenny. Pressure does seem to affect our team, especially (in the past) when Gerrard wasn't there to spur everyone on. After our 2nd place finish, we lost Alonso. Surely, the loss of Alonso isn't the difference between 2nd and 7th? I think it was the pressure of everyone that we were so close to the title, then everyone predicts us to get it the season after and the pressure is too much for everyone to handle. I'm not saying we do badly under pressure, far from it, but the Media in particular have a way of sensationalizing things that do affect the players. The Expectation is there for next season, and with the drop in confidence after the pre-season friendlies I'm not sure this was the right time for John Henry to say it. We are going for the Champions league, but he's contradicting Kenny in a way, as Kenny has always maintained we will try and finish as high as we can, therefore taking the pressure off the team.
If we say the truth we are going to die, and if we lie surely we are going to die.Why can't we say the truth.? Pressure is part of the game, if you cannot stand the heat get out of the kitchen.
I'd like to hear you say that as a Footballer or Manager, fans turn on players and managers quickly. There is incredible amounts of pressure involved and I've often wondered why there are not more heart attacks involved with the managers. What truth is there? The fans think we're going for top 4, the Owner wants us to go for top 4, Kenny wants us to finish as high as possible. I'm more inclined to stick with what the Manager says than what the fans and the Owner says.
To be fair, he's only qouted as saying 'Our main goal is to qualify for the Champions League. If we donât it would be a major disappointment.â It's the usual journospeak that comes up with the "demands" and "throws down the gauntlet" nonsense. They're incapable of constructing a sentence using ordinary words. I like JWH, but I wish he didn't talk so much in public, or at least be very careful what he says. Americans seem to use a different psychology to us, they tend to go in for the sabre-rattling approach and talk everything up all the time. It's meant to be positive, but journos in this country like to bring everyone down so although he means well by what he's saying, they will try to twist his every word to sensationalize it. On the pressure question- yes, pressure is ineviteable, but there's no reason to put any more on yourself than will happen anyway. Some people perform well under pressure, some don't.
At the end of the day if you earn 40k upwards a week then deal with the pressure! I earn a hell of a lot less than that and my job brings a lot of pressure. Personally, without the pressure i wouldn't try as hard, so if you ask me it is a good thing
Like many posters have already said, there is always pressure when you play for Liverpool Football Club. I personally think top 4 is a decent target to aim for.
When has pressure affected us more than it would any other set of players? The players will know the targets, too, and have targets of their own set by the manager. No, it isn't. It's a lazy correlation. We handled pressure in the Champions League when we were fighting to stay in. It could be argued the pressure in 2009 cost us the title; it could also be argued it gave us our best season in ages, another over-achievement with what the muppet wums kept telling us was a squad full of poor Rafa signings ( because he spent "over £200m" on Voronin and Dossena). Kenny doesn't make bold statements but don't be fooled by the smile. He'll be putting a lot of pressure on the players to live up to the shirt they're wearing. It seems like we've had no pressure in the friendlies (apart from panicking fans). No pressure hasn't exactly seen us flying out of the traps, which has been part of the problem. There'll be enough pressure against Sunderland. I certainly don't think JH is the type to go blabbing a load of stuff to the media without Kenny being fully aware of FSG's thinking.
