An article that appeared on Anfield Road on Friday discussed an email received the day before from Liverpool’s Chairman, Martin Broughton. The BA man had replied to a note that had been sent to him just a matter of hours after manager Rafael Benítez had been declared the club’s former manager.
In light of the predictable kinds of response the article got (here and on other websites) this is probably a good time to clarify a few points.
- The email replied to had been sent a matter of hours after Benítez was sacked/released.
- The email reply was received a week after Benítez was sacked/released.
- It was good to receive a reply of any kind.
- The delay in replying is not an issue and has never been claimed as such.
- The length of the reply is not an issue and has never been claimed as such.
- Rafa has gone, but the board haven’t. Therefore it remains relevant to debate their successes and failures, whether that relates to the former manager or not.
- Rafa has gone, as was just said. But don’t worry – finding fault with anyone else at the club will not bring him back. Relax. Now you’ve relaxed, try accepting that there have been failings by the club’s hierarchy.
- It is difficult to take seriously comments along the lines of “This is not Rafa FC, go and support Inter if you’re that bothered”, when it comes from someone posting it from underneath their Peter Crouch avatar or using their Xabi Alonso username.
- You do not need to see the original email to be able to discuss the reply. You are probably just being nosy, or clutching at straws to try and protect your long-standing stance on Rafa (who left last week and won’t come back just by you being slightly critical of the club’s hierarchy).
- A senior member of the Anfield hierarchy, some weeks before the departure of Benítez, had been at pains to point out repeatedly that Broughton was “only here to sell the club” and would have no say in the future of the manager.
- This site will not implicate certain people by revealing full details of the correspondence with Martin Broughton. Furthermore, and following on from that, this site does not wish to jeopardise something it is aware is currently going on.
It can’t be emphasised enough – Rafa has gone. But that does not mean that everything the board or owners did relating to the manager should now be forgotten. He won’t be coming back, so why such fear of discussing matters relating to the hierarchy’s dealings with the former manager? If it was previously because of a worry it would weaken the campaign to see him gone, it can only be about saving face now because (believe it or not) he really has gone.
In time we might look back at the decision with as much regret as we look back on the decision to accept the resignation of Kenny Dalglish in 1991. We might look back on it as the right decision made at the wrong time, we might look back on it as the right decision made at the right time. Only time will tell. But the decision was made and we move on.
But where we are up to now is trying to prevent a repeat of the next big decision of 1991. That was the decision to give the manager’s job to Graeme Souness, a decision that most Liverpool fans wish had never been made.
The club told fans Rafa’s replacement would be chosen by Purslow and Dalglish. Then Dalglish was reported to have stepped aside from that search, considering himself to be a better option than any of the names on the shortlist, so now Purslow looks for the replacement all by himself.
Last week Kenny’s opinion was important. He was the man guiding Purslow and the board. Now we learn that at least one member of the board is angry about Dalglish’s decision to tell friends and family and in turn allow his wishes to be made public. And now all of a sudden Kenny’s opinion seems less important.
We know now, of course, that Purslow can’t appoint the replacement all by himself, so perhaps there’s a little bit of reassurance. Except that two of those involved in the final decision actually thought Jurgen Klinsmann might be a good Liverpool manager. He wasn’t a good manager for anyone, let alone Liverpool.
But as misguided as they were in preparing to sack Benítez at that time, and as bad as the choice of Klinsmann was, at least they actually looked at some options for his successor. They referred to it as an ‘insurance policy’. Perhaps Rick Parry, for all his faults, pointed out that they should find a replacement before they sacked him.
Those now running the club have little football experience and it should come as no surprise to learn there was no such insurance policy in place this time. At least one member of the hierarchy was making noises about his distaste for Benítez in the first half of the season, letting it be known he didn’t see Benítez still at the club next season, but still no move seems to have been made to get a suitable successor lined up.
Kenny Dalglish made it clear that the names on the shortlist weren’t good enough for Liverpool Football Club, according to recent claims. If the owners, the chairman and the managing director overrule him and still choose one of those names it would show a startling lack of respect for the opinion of a man so important to the club and its fans. If they didn’t respect or want his opinion, they shouldn’t have asked for it in the first place. If they expected him to just go along with their opinions, they don’t know him very well at all.
They now have no option but to hand the job to Kenny or find the funds that would attract some more suitable names to the club.
Go with the original list and there is a real sense that a backlash awaits the next manager.
I support Kenny Dalglish as manager of LIVERPOOL
I didnt read any of the comments connected to the original email so I wouldn’t dream of passing comment on that.
The rest of this artical hits home for me. Actually I wasn’t overly concerned at Rafa’s departure and I was happy to see Kenny’s involvement in the ensuing recruitment process. There was always the chance that Kenny would want to be considered for the role. Liverpool, as a club, is losing its identity and heart. Its my view that Kenny would be the right person to bring back the good times. I offr no logic as to why he would be better than Hodgson or O’Neill or any of the other worthy candidates linked. As a season ticket holder for 22 years, I want my club back. Clearly the top end of the football world is driven by money. We need desperately to see the end of the Hicks/Gillett reign at Liverpool. They did some good things – Torres being a key example. However, they have not come through with their promises and owners with the club at heart would have seen where Rafa took us at the end of last season and backed him at the right time. Why prevent the purchase of Barry who Rafa wanted and then agree to buy Keane for two million more when the manager clearly didnt want him. Where is the stadium they promised. Rafa made big mistakes and you don’t have to be an insider to know that the players were largely unhappy last year and results reflected this. Time for Kenny to rediscover our soul and new honourable owners. Maybe we wont ever be the world force we have been. It will certainly be a long road. The sooner we take the first steps the better.
hurry up and confirm king kenny as the boss or god help any other manager Purslow and the board roll out Y.N.W.A.
what i can see of this mess Mr Martin Broughton he as come in and he his ripping our wonderful club apart yossi he being signed by Mr Martin Broughton club who next is going to chelsea torres, i thought he was brought in to sell the club not sell al our good players.
Its inevitable at this stage that Hodgson is going to be appointed manager.
I still believe Kenny is the sensible choice but if the board favoured Kenny he would have been appointed by now.
I would support Hodgson as I have done loyally with every other Liverpool manager before now. However with Kenny the overwhelming favourite with the fans for manager I question whether Hodgsons position may be untenable from the very start.
One situation nobody has thought to question is what happens if Hodgson is offered the position and turns it down. With the uncertainty at Anfield its not inconceivable to think he may say no. Where does that leave us. Would the board crawl back to Kenny. I don’t see O’Neil wanting to get involved in this mess.
The board are playing a dangerous game here by seemingly putting all their eggs in the Hodgson basket.
Whos knows maybe Brougton or Purslow fancy a crack at the managers job themselves.
Maybe they think Hodgson is a yes man that they are looking for and willing to go along with them selling the players they want to sell. If Kenny leaves the club i feel there is going to be a backlash and so there should be its never a good thing when the board decide who gets bought and sold and this looks the case with Benayoun who looks like he is going to be sold.
i vote for ian rush …
Bring Sven in, he would love the Grafton!
Lock your grannies up!
God help our club, by the time these yanks and Broughton are done with it, we will be aspiring to Leeds.
Hasn’t Hodgson already made noises to the effect that if he did move from Fulham it would have to be for an offer he couldn’t refuse? With that in mind I was already thinking he would turn us down due to the lack of transfer funds, likely player exit and idiot owners.
With Kenny now being linked with the job I’d say it has become even more of a poisoned chalice for any manager outside of the club. There is no chance Hodgson would want to put himself in this position at his age. So we’re good to go Kenny – smart play by the King!!
Sign the petition now:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/dalglish/
Kenny will not take the job .
the short list must be very average managers for kenny to be disgruntled
looks like 6 points for each of the big 4 next year from liverpool 🙂
also everton should expect 6 points plus spurs and villa
Broughton is selling our club…… piece by piece….Too hard to sell it in one job lot as a going concern.
Yet another website making out that it knows something about Liverpool.
More tripe above and more idiotic comments from unknowledgeable fans.
Sign the petition and pay for it in DOLLARS, i think not, the yanks are tacking enough ta!
Lee its a sad state of affairs when you don’t have anything good to say about fellow Liverpool fans.
Since when couldnt a Liverpool fan express their opinion without being the subject of a verbal attack that you’ve just dished up.
I thought that the in fighting between fans might go with Rafas departure but clearly some fans don’t want unity amongst the clubs supporters.
@ Lee
What did I say that was idiotic?
Sven would love the Grafton and the Grafton would love Sven!
Yes the Grafton is now shut, but I have heard rumours that if Sven gets the Liverpool job then they are going to open it, as it will be right up his street.
And once again
LOCK UP YOUR GRANNIES SVEN IS COMMING!
Pressure needs to be put on RBS to force Tom and Jerry to accept a realistic offer for the club. I hear about supporters boycotting club store etc. Why not boycott RBS, close bank accounts etc.
See Rafa has come out and said that Kenny is the best man for the job and they should give it to him.
Hes also claimed it would ease the pressure on the owners
Mischievous Rafa…
They wont appoint anyone now when the (bankers running the club) have time
to sell some players to reduce the debts first and make the club a better asset to sell, There’s no Rafa in their way anymore to stop them doing that.
Even when new manager is appointed he won’t see the money recouped from sales. (mascherano, riera, degen, cavalieri, el zhar, possibly kuyt, babel, even one of torres or gerrard). Same like with Alonso and Keane before. That money will go the reduce the debts. The money he WILL get to buy players will come from Tom & Jerry’s Cayman Islands company which has 20-30 banks funding them. They loan money from there to the club and interest will be added to that loan. And they will rise and has rised year after year. Those loan arrangements will take time this summer also so we can’t expect any new signings anytime soon. The world cup thing is just a good excuse. Thats also why torres etc arrived so late after Athens final. The money was not there because the kop-holdings cayman loans needed time arrive. And Rafa was angry and we missed the chance to sign Malouda and others he wanted. There was no money available no matter what the custodians lied during that summer. All players we have signed are with loan money. They havent invested a single penny of their own money and they never will.
As for the next manager, for me Kenny would be the best choice. Hodgson one of the worst possible. With Roy in charge we would play the same defensive minded, over cautious diesel-robot football what we were being used to under Rafa.
Just hope the new manager is no yes-man for the destroyers and would want to buy players with pace/ flair.. instead of character/hard-work.. (we have them enough) and would buy players he want, not the ones the hard-working scouting team has seen and reported.
And hope Broughton is correct that the sale is done in months not what Hicks recently said 12-18months..
Benitez was not sacked for one poor season or for bad results. He was sacked for his disloyalty to the club and behaviour towards players. The constant leaks to the media and washing of dirty linen in public is a trait that can be traced to his stewardship as manager. Notice how since the end of the season when he was effectively pushed aside the leaks have stopped. So stop being muppets & start using yours brains again. Our players are all assets, if we sell them we will buy better ones. There is better times ahead. The rotten apple is dealt with.
Club first.com
Jim any chance you will email Martin Broughton again and tell him that we dont want Roy Hodgson as manager.
I still cant believe hes now odds on favourite for the job
Jim,
What does this mean?
– This site will not implicate certain people by revealing full details of the correspondence with Martin Broughton. Furthermore, and following on from that, this site does not wish to jeopardise something it is aware is currently going on.
What’s going on? E-mail me if you don’t want to put it on here.
Why do you think the manager situation has gone quiet? All the reports in the press were of an approach to Hodgson imminently, but it hasn’t materialised (?)
Oh dear Joe.