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Posts Tagged ‘hodgson’

The caretaker has mopped up the last drops of doubt after a successful deadline day stamped his authority on Anfield

Now Liverpool and Fernando Torres have ended the pretence that a) their jewel is not for sale and b) he has Anfield etched on to his soul, it cannot be long before Fenway Sports Group banishes another uncertainty over the club’s future direction. That would be the “caretaker” prefix before “manager” in the job title of Kenny Dalglish.

The strategy of John W Henry and Tom Werner, Liverpool’s principal owner and chairman, has been muddied by their first foray into the transfer market, though there is no mistaking their ambition. They approached January with a reputation for using Sabermetrics – a statistical system used to assess players that was developed in baseball – to make considered purchases and a stated aim not to make the kind of rushed judgments that had cost Liverpool dearly before their arrival. They spent £35m on Andy Carroll within 24 hours of Torres showing up at Melwood with his representatives to say there was no way

The new Liverpool manager says there are no divisions at Anfield but accepts the players have been underperforming

The King has returned to the throne at Liverpool but not to a kingdom. For all the unifying, uplifting benefits of installing Kenny Dalglish as Roy Hodgson’s replacement, evident the moment he stepped out the Old Trafford tunnel on Sunday, the significant matter of producing results with an average yet still under-performing squad remains. The point has not been lost on Dalglish despite the emotional drama surrounding his Anfield return.

One of the accusations thrown at Liverpool since dispensing with Hodgson and turning to the one man with a messianic aura at Anfield is that they have turned into Newcastle-by-the-Mersey. Dalglish’s first two days in charge have shown he is on a mission to revive Liverpool’s self‑belief as well as form, talking up the players at every opportunity.

He is anxious, however, to avoid his return being categorised as a sentimental journey, the kind Kevin Keegan bought into at St James’ Park, and knows the expectations that weighed too heavily on Gérard Houllier, Rafael Benítez and Hodgson also apply to him.

“We have got to manage expectations. At the moment it’s a wee bit romantic, to be honest,” said Dalglish as he was officially unveiled as Liverpool manager for a second time yesterday.

“The romance is brilliant, it’s romantic for me to be back, and it’s a wee bit romantic for some of the

• Comolli says Dalglish fits criteria for permanent manager
• Caretaker says he would be OK if Liverpool turn elsewhere

Kenny Dalglish has admitted he would be “delighted” to accept the Liverpool manager’s job on a full-time basis after Damien Comolli, the club’s director of football strategy, confirmed the club legend will be considered for the post at the end of the season.

The 59-year-old was officially unveiled as Liverpool’s temporary manager yesterday, 24 hours after his first game in charge for almost 20 years ended in FA