In September he was asked about Andy Carroll’s lifestyle in response to Fabio Capello’s comments on his drinking and he used the opportunity to take a huge swipe at the press. He said: “How long you gonna milk it for? You don’t know his lifestyle. Who knows his lifestyle? Andy. I think Andy’s wiser than a lot of you boys and a lot of the people that right about it and I don’t think his lifestyle is anything like what you’d like it to be.”
And after the 2-1 Carling Cup victory over Stoke another reporter asked a much more positive question about the £35 million man, simply enquiring: “We know Luis Suarez will take the headlines on for Wednesday, but Andy had a really good game. I know there have been one or two questions about his form, but do you feel vindicated every time he puts in a performance like that?”
But even then Dalglish reacted angrily retorting: “I don’t know why he had to ride it. There’s always one or two questions. He was fantastic the other night, just leave it at that, and just leave your question at that as well, and don’t keep looking for negatives. We’ve been through it before with the big fella.”
The manager may think he is just defending his players and attacking journalists he feels aren’t worthy of his presence but it is creating a storm around him that is likely to end badly. Dalglish’s plan of action in press conferences and interviews may work well for him but it is going to make him a target for criticism when things go wrong.
Journalists are asking the questions that the public want answers to and getting an aggressive response so they have decided to take a more positive line of questioning with him, only for the mundane and repetitive style of interviewing to be criticised by the Scot in another rage. Doing this will only alienate him from the press and when things start to go wrong he will not be able to get away from the criticism. The media will not go out and target the Liverpool manager but if he is going to argue with them on a weekly basis why would they want to sweep any problems at Anfield under the rug?
Andy Carroll’s form is not fantastic but it is being concentrated on more and more because of the strained relationship that is being created between the club and the press. Stories are there to be found and the journalists mocked by Dalglish will not turn a blind eye to any sight of a problem.
Kenny Dalglish picked a fight with the media that he can only win while his team is winning like they did on Sunday. But if he doesn’t guide them to the top four and begins to struggle, the press will be ready to put the pressure on.
The article was written by Joshua Robbins for FootballFancast.com. Make sure to check out the latest news, blogs and podcasts at FFC – ed.
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would you rather have that or hodgsons inept attempts to deal with the press?
why shouldn’t the manager defend his players against questions that are not football related or have been asked three times already in the same conference?
kenny may not be very polite (in any way, shape or form!) but when you are persistantly asked a question which has already been answered what are you supposed to do? maybe the press should give him a list of questions AND acceptable responses prior to press conferences! or maybe they should just accept his first answer and move on to the next question!
When it’s LFC v the press you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t….the press will spin a story any way that suits them to sell their story.
Seems I’ve seen this exact story somewhere else yesterday, ah yes on Football Fancast:
Dalglish’s Media Battle Will Only End Badly
Date: 22nd November 2011 at 4:42 pm
Glad to see you are all so keen on recycling!
Kenny’s been absolutely fantastic with the press. When you ask rubbish, you get rubbish. If the press ask about performance on the field, he response very intelligently. I think I just wasted 5 minutes of my life reading this nonsense. And for that, you deserve the Kenny retort.
Erm, the fa have asked both clubs and players not to comment on the issue whilst it is still an ongoing case, the press know this and are either being idiotic or think Kenny is an idiot
My favourite was one young journo asking if Kenny had any transfer news for Liverpool fans especially on the subject of Charlie Adam and Kenny went on to castrate him about putting ideas and opinions in liverpool fans stead. When the reality is, we don’t want anyone to know, do the business, fill the holes, then inform the press when the signature is laid.
What part of the first two response did the the third Git not f’ing understand? The press does this on purpose so that any slight variation in responses can be spun and sensationalized into multiple stories to sell. The English press just makes up whatever they want to anyway, don’t know why they bother. KD should read from pre-printed responses for those types of questions picking up the paper and reading it each time the question is re-asked.
But LFC having their own TV station, they also put out the full version of the Press conferneces and stream them live on the web.
So SKY (kenny’s fav target of the stupid questions asked 10 time in 10 different ways) can edit then all they like the LFC fans will know the truth.
Only those who believe in the word of SKY will think Kenny will be in trouble with the press.
Personally I thought he was well within his right to ask the reporter(hack) if he had wax in his ears just because he didn’t get the answer he wanted.
What a dross article..completely lacking in any insight whatsoever…
Do you honestly think Kenny isn’t aware of the repercussions of dealing with the media? He understands a lot better than you appear to that he will get slaughtered if Liverpool fail, either way. He treats the media on merit and isn’t afraid to give certain journos a rough time because all he really cares about is Liverpool’s success not the feelings and tainted self serving scribling of a bunch of corporate gobsh*tes. Any serious writer on the internet should welcome his approach as what weakens the mainstream press should strengthen those decent internet scribes with an insight.
Hi everyone
Long time but on this issue I am on KD’s side How many times and ways can u ask the same question.He wised up on the days of Celtic.
Great result @ Chelsea now if we could at least play like that against smaller (due respect)opposition we would easily be 8 points better no IFFs of course soul destroying sometimes.YNWA
So you think he should be more like Taggart?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/15853955.stm
Just love the line about how the “press” will eventually “win” against Daglish.
Even though I am an Arsenal fan, I had the priviledge of watching Daglish playing in the old English First division when we used to watch Match of the Day etc flown in from the UK.
Basically, Daglish was a great player, and that was based on great intelligence and drive, both of which he has in abundance, unlike his media critics – so I doubt the media will
“win” anywhere other than in their own little minds.
The other pearler is that the media “ask what the public wants to know” – what a crock of sh!t!
The media try and foment strife to peddle to those more celebrally challenged in the football followership, i.e. those more on their own intellectual level, what the public “want” has got nothing to do with it.
To top it off, the only people who didn’t like what Joe Kinnear had to say were the media morons.
The rest of us thought it was hilarious, and very, VERY well deserved.
It would be great if more managers and players treated the “press” like the pond-dwelling, scum-sucking, offal that they truly are.
“The other pearler is that the media “ask what the public wants to know” – what a crock of sh!t!”
Fully agree! Been thinking the same. The self-serving media thinks that they are doing the public a favour, when in fact they think the public are idiots.
“Dalglish’s plan of action in press conferences and interviews may work well for him but it is going to make him a target for criticism when things go wrong.”
Whichever “plan of action” there are always self-righteous and idiotic media hacks out there (such as the ilk of James Lawton) waiting to put a boot in for any man in football trying to do a decent job which these hacks could never dream of doing decently themselves.