Julian Dicks: The end of the “Liverpool culture.”
Graeme Souness has been on Rafa Benitez’s back fearing a “meltdown” of his former club.
Sounds very much like a job audition. In recent days, it has been a tag team with Juergen Klinsmann joining the chorus of doomsayers.
Here is Ian Rush on the last days of Graeme Souness as Liverpool’s manager:
“The Bristol City match was a disaster. City’s Brian Tinnion scored the only goal of the game to ensure we went out of the FA Cup to Second Division opposition for a second successive season. As the players shook hands a section of Bristol City fans began to chant, ‘Liverpool, Liverpool, used to be good, used to be good.’ Rather than walking, I felt I as if if I was staggering off the pitch.”
“Graeme and Liverpool parted company on 31 January. The formal announcement was made by club chairman David Moores.”
“I sensed that not too many Liverpool supporters were sad to see him go. They loved Graeme as a player, but the general feeling was that he hadn’t cut the mustard as manager. Many fans remained upset over the sale of Peter Beardsley to Everton, and the fact that Peter was now doing really well at Goodison only added to their angst. A lot of players were not happy with the quality or style of player that Graeme had bought to the club. Supporters were also upset he’d made so many changes, which many felt had destroyed the time honoured ‘Liverpool culture’. The treatment of John Barnes also left a sour taste, but the bottom line was that results had been nowhere near good enough. Graeme felt this more than anybody, which is why he resigned.”
Rush: The Autobiography.
Souness record at Liverpool: 16 April 1991 to 28 January 1994
157 matches: 65 wins, 45 losses, 47 draws, 41.40% winning percentage
Liverpool won the 1992 FA Cup against second division Sunderland, their only meaningful title under Souness.
There is a distinct distinction between Graeme Souness, the player who was respected and even admired for his fighting instincts. His move to Sampdoria was a huge blow to the club as it came out of the blue. But his removal as manager was greeted with relief, a blight lifted on a proud club that had gone astray in the three years of his managerial career, a reversal of Shankly’s methods that had bred so much success. Players like Julian Dicks who Rush wrote “as not your typical Liverpool player at all” with his poor disciplinary record arriving at Anfield after being elevated to cult status at West Ham
When Souness talks about a Liverpool “meltdown” under Rafa Benitez, his own record proves he is being extremely disingenuous.