QUOTE(Duke Red @ Jan 10 2011, 01:15 PM)
No point prolonging the discussion on both highly publicised incidents. A colleague of mine who is a manc thought it wasn't a penno but there you go, opinions are dime a dozen and we all have our own.
I chose to focus on this issue since you appear genuinely interested. You are right, the club was doing well when Dalglish was player-manager but it had been doing well since Shankly. Its why even though Paisley has the most trophies, the fans still embrace our past and revere Shankly. Having said that, Dalglish was responsible for the signings of John Barnes, Alan Hansen, Peter Beardsley, John Aldridge, Ronnie Whelan, Steve McMahon, Mark Lawrenson and Steve Nicol. When I became a fan, these were names we were synonymous with. He may have rode on the wave of success but it isn't as though he didn't build on the team. One ignorant mate of mine claimed he was dismissed by the club. Rubbish. He chose to leave after the events at Hillsborough and after having to attend numerous funerals along with other Liverpool greats.
At Blackburn, he got them promoted to the Premier league, was given some cash by Jack Walker and a couple of years later he won the Premiership.
He was less successful with Newcastle, finishing runners-up in his 1st season and only a dismal 13th the next. Few (with the exception of Newcastle fans) will remember however that in that same season, they beat Barcelona in the Champions League and got to the final of the FA Cup, losing to Arsenal. He also signed the likes of Nobbie Solano, Shay Given and Gary Speed.
His credentials as a manager however aren't why we're overjoyed at the moment. For me, its nostalgic. When I first became a fan, Dalglish was on the sidelines barking orders. Also, his appointment means that players like Gerrard and Carra who have become very vocal in the dressing room, will be put in their respective places because neither are bigger than King Kenny. Him returning and seeing the old Boot Room in action again will also boost morale amongst both the players and the fans and the "Holy Trinity" will once again come together. It is always being said that we live in the past but I think one needs to draw a distinction between living in it, and remembering it. We look upon our past with a lot of pride, and if the past can help us through trying times, and help the fans renew their passion, then whats wrong? No new manager will command the respect Kenny does and I think NESV saw all this. It was a strategic move on their behalf I believe, to revive the camaraderie within the city and to position themselves in the heart of Liverpool fans. We needed a quick fix if we are to salvage what we can from the season and like many other Liverpool fans, I think Kenny is the answer.
Since you don't want to take any stick back on our thread, I thought filling you in here was worth whatever stick I'll get.
I am not trying to act like a dinosaur and promote Liverpool's history but you really gotta be a fan to remember those moments. The instant rapport between Barnes and Beardsley, the magnificent football, the introduction of small names like Nicol, Whelan who became such vital cog of a glorious team. The funniest thing for me was `How do you replace the legendary Ian Rush?' Kenny bought a player from lowly Oxford that even look like Ian Rush. And believe it or not, at one point, John Aldridge made us forgot who Ian Rush was!!
To summarise, many Pool fans do not see Kenny as a romantic Ice-aged way to solve the modern sickness of Liverpool football (the divisive dressing room, over paid players, American owners, etc, etc). But rather, we see him as the man of the hour, having all the credentials to actually nail these (or some of them) problems head on.
Several seasons ago, when Fergie was struggling to win anything, a hard-core MU fan told me that he feels some younger MU fans are becoming more impatient, calling for Fergie's head despite what he did to the club. He told me that maybe its good for MU to go through a hardtime like Liverpool, so that the fans will learn and appreciate history. Not sure if you guys will like it but we're going through it now.
Added on January 10, 2011, 1:36 pmQUOTE(madmoz @ Jan 10 2011, 01:32 PM)
Lets take this back to the LFC thread guys. The majority here won't quite appreciate the current discussion. And god knows we do need a lively, intelligent conversation back on our end, the thread's been going downhill for a while now.
point taken too.
This post has been edited by nando: Jan 10 2011, 01:38 PM