Kenny Dalglish is positioning himself for a sensational Anfield return after 19 years to take over the coaching reins.
He was brought on board by Liverpool’s GM, Christian Purslow to help find a suitable replacement for Rafa Benitez. All indications were that the road led to Roy Hodgson. But the latest news is that Dalglish himself fancies the job.
This suits Liverpool supporters just fine. The man is a legend both as player and manager. At this point Liverpool’s immediate concerns are to get back to the top of the Premiership without adding on more debt, retaining the core of players who can do the job and a few new prudent acquisitions.
For starts a Dalglish appointment might lead to Steven Gerrard rethinking a Real Madrid relocation. The fate of Fernando Torres is less sure but the Spaniard is probably aware of Dalglish’s giant shadow on Anfield and could be persuaded to stay.
The lure of the double, a feat achieved on Dalglish’s managerial debut in 1985 is undoubtedly his strongest selling point. Much like Rafa Benitez’s 2005 Champions League win inured him from further criticism for the next four years.
Dalglish might be disconcerted by the portability of the modern game – in his day, he championed an all England look, discovering John Barnes, Peter Beardsley, and John Aldridge who were the heart and soul of the Liverpool revival. A candidate like Roy Hodgson is probably more in tune with the scope and extant of the present reality, having served as manager of clubs in seven countries, including Inter. He does have plenty of international cache putting Fulham on the map with this season’s Europa Cup campaign.
One suspects that hiring Dalglish over Hodgson will be a recognition of what made Liverpool the mecca of English football. On the other hand, in a sort of counterintuitive way, Liverpool also have to start thinking like Fulham, a small club benchpressing far above its weight.