But, what’s done is done. I have not hidden the fact that I thought it would be the right decision and going back to last summer I stated much the same then but, as I did with all the previous managers, I was prepared to get behind Kenny and give him all the support he needed.

It just never seemed like he had a proper grasp of what was required in the top division in 2011/12.

The old enthusiasm was there, as was his passion and love for the club and it’s wide fan-base (which was always reciprocated by the fans) but in the modern game, that just isn’t enough, not even when you have one of the most respected and knowledgeable assistants at your side.

So, while I believe it to be the right decision, I can appreciate that some people would be a little p*ssed off, much as I was back in 2010 when Rafa Benitez was sacked. Many fans felt that Kenny had unfinished business at the club and were determined to let him see his contract through. It can’t be nice to see a man you hold up as a god-like figure not live up to expectations, so it’s understandable that reactions would be varied. Not to mention a mix of relief, anger and bewilderment.

But while the list of potential candidates is certainly an interesting one, with a mix of potential and highly sought-after proven experience, I feel there is only one man fit for the job: Rafael Benitez. I can’t deny that the thought of Pep Guardiola being brought in to work alongside the likes of Txiki Beguiristain and David Dein is a seriously, highly attractive proposition but, much like the fans that carried Kenny into his second spell as manager on a wave of love and optimism, I feel like Rafa has a job to finish and this time he’d have the possibility of doing it without one hand always being tied behind his back.

Now, I know from some of the flaming and arguing I’ve seen across other fan-sites and forums in the past few days regarding the new manager that I will get a lot of stick for this so I will just ask this: please try to keep the criticism constructive, guys and avoid personal attacks, it’s unbecoming and a little bit petty. We’re all entitled to our opinions and so am I.

With that in mind, it’s only fair though to present some reason for why I believe Benitez is deserving on another crack. First – and perhaps, most obviously – he was stabbed in the back. To avoid the usual in-fighting surrounding this point, I won’t give my opinions on who or why I believe this was but, in my opinion (and those three words are important here), he was stitched up in his final season and, despite huge protests and marches against the owners Rafa was made the fall guy.

But conspiracy-theories aside, there are a ton of reasons why he is still the best candidate for the job – he loves this club; he may not have intended to but it happened and he is now Liverpool for life. He lives and breathes LFC and has a strong relationship with the City and fans. If you deny this, then you only have to take a glance at this short clip to see what the club means to the man and the man means to the fans. I’ve heard the same sentiments espoused about why Kenny was the man to lead Liverpool forward too so what is good for one must be for the other.

Not only this, but Rafa gave us back our pride between 2004-2010. He made us feared across Europe and England. It was this that led us to a run of 30 consecutive games during which we went unbeaten at Anfield. Only the fourth time in our history that that has happened.

Then there’s the fact that he signed some of the best players that have ever pulled on a Red shirt. There’ll be those trolls that remind us – for the thousandth time – that he sold Alonso but lets not forget that he also signed him and, in doing so, helped create one of the best midfielders in the world. He also gave us the likes of Reina, Torres, Mascherano, Agger, Skrtel, Arbeloa and Garcia and helped make world-class stars out of the likes of Carragher and Gerrard, for all the appreciation he got for that. People forget that when he signed, Carragher and Gerrard were Englishmen that were largely thought of as being very good but he made them into the players they became and neither have been the same since he left.

Likewise, the likes of Alonso, Reina and Torres were thought of as risky buys when we signed them but all three became the best at their trade in the Red shirt and they will all attribute that to Benitez. The players who have since left aside, what has happened to his signings since he left? Barely any of them have performed to the same level; even Reina has seen his form dip this season. And also, can anybody genuinely say that Torres would have been so eager to leave had he still been at the club?  I just can’t see many managers on that supposed list of candidates that would have the sort of pull he has when it comes to attracting top players, despite a lack of Champions League football.

Others will have their own opinions about his signings and I’m sure more than a few will enjoy pointing out where his dealings in the transfer market failed but one thing that nobody can argue with are cold, hard statistics and I have plenty of those too. For a start, Rafa has the third highest overall win percentage (post-war), at 55.43%, just behind Bob Paisley and Kenny Dalglish (this may have changed since 2011-12 season). He also has the second highest league win % which, for what some (Danny Murphy and Jamie Redknapp included) would argue was an unsuccessful period for Liverpool, is not bad going at all.

And for those that like to kid themselves that he was a defensive manager, I’ll just point out that, under Benitez we scored 585 goals, in all competitions over 6 seasons. That’s near enough 98 goals per season – does that sound like a defensive-minded manager to you? Perhaps it’s the fact that we conceded just 281 goals during those 6 seasons, in which time we also kept over 150 clean-sheets (he coached us for around 350 total games) that makes people view him as a defensive-minded coach. This wasn’t a defensive team, this was just a well-drilled team that happened to be good at not letting goals in. So then, during his time as manager we had an overall positive goal-difference of over 300. Based on statistics alone, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more qualified man for the job than Benitez.

So really, the only arguments against can be personal ones and you can’t really argue with those. None of us would want Mourinho or Alex Ferguson as manager but that’s a purely personal thing because they’re two of the top managers in the world. But any arguments that Benitez isn’t suitable based on ability or managerial reasons just don’t wash with me and getting sacked by Inter Milan means nothing; Jose Mourinho was sacked by Chelsea before he took over at Inter and after Rafa left Liverpool he was deemed the only worthy replacement for the current Madrid coach. Some managers just don’t fit with some clubs but with Liverpool Rafa Benitez is the perfect fit. I just hope that FSG and whoever happens to be advising them has pointed them in his direction.

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The dethroning of King Kenny proves again that there are no long term strategies when it comes to the management level of top flight football.

Plan A was given 16 turbulent months; now what we all are anxious to see is what FSG will have in store for plan B.

From the time of writing we have been strongly linked with Roberto Martinez who put the feelers out on his twitter account asking his followers if they want him to stay at Wigan. What followed was a flurry of Reds requesting him to stay put. Having sat in on one or two of his press conferences I found the Latics boss to be an engaging, forward thinking strategist one who is obviously a talented manager but what concerns most of us is that his only Premier League experience is keeping Dave Whelan’s side afloat in the top league which is the limit of their ambitions.

John Henry and co have found themselves in a position where there next move is crucial to their standing in the hearts and minds of Kopites. Parting company with the biggest legend the club have needed to be done in a sensitive delicate fashion. Only a few know what was said in the meeting in Boston: did Kenny go over on his own accord to discuss his future? Or was he summonsed? If it was the latter which I suspect, it was a clear show of intent and ruthlessness by the ownership. The official line from Henry justifies the talk that he was pushed was summed up in a pragmatic but respectful way: “He [Dalglish] is in many ways the heart and soul of the club (but) our job is to identify and recruit the right person to take this club forward”.

But is Martinez the man to do this or what about others who we have been linked with such as Chelsea flop Andre Villas Boaz? This is a man who comes across a few degrees colder than the Wigan man, the Portuguese native never really had a grip on the Chelsea dressing room, albeit a petulant self-serving one at that. He has pedigree – leading FC Porto to the UEFA Cup – and youth on his side but does he fit a side which badly needs unity and direction with self belief hemorrhaging from the side and players unsure where their futures lie.

Whoever gets the nod will certainly be aware that over the last 2 years the club has regressed in reputation. As fans we sneer at clubs like Chelsea and Real Madrid notorious for their trigger happy custodians but I fear that we are in danger of following this trend. Long term planning for short term goals is the way our owners seem to work and I understand that when there is large investment patience and loyalty is severely tested when it does not show value.

What will happen next will be another series of upheavals. The owners have rejected Steve Clarke’s request to leave – this will surely bring complications as the new man will certainly want to have his own people around him which may leave the Scottish coach in the wilderness. With Dalglish gone and Gerrard and Carragher in their twilight years the club’s identity is slowly on the wane. The new man needs to be strong enough to filter his personality through the club like his predecessor did when he lifted us from our post-Hodgson stupor, for him to do this he needs the most precious and rare commodity in football: TIME. Investment is all well and good but if it is not nurtured over a number of years every year will be the same with a clamour to build it up and break it back down with every new manager wanting his own players, staff etc thus further diluting the aura of this great club.

I do hope that next time FSG will find the man to lead us on a long term basis or at least be allowed to honour his contract, this consistency should eventually give us the time to build the club back to where we belong.

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In his article for the Liverpool Echo, Molby believes that Norwich Manager Paul Lambert should be at the forefront of FSG’s mind, ahead – in merit – of the publicly touted Wigan boss Roberto Martinez.

“Lambert would be the only one I would consider. Martinez seems to be being lauded for guiding Wigan to survival, but both Norwich and Swansea finished above them this season,” Molby wrote.

“Lambert, for me, is heading to the top. I’m not sure if he is right for Liverpool at this moment, but he is going to be a top, top manager.”

The Great Dane also had words on the AVB speculation, with the former Chelsea boss installed as new bookies favourite for the hotseat:

“Scores of names have already been mentioned, and I’m sure more will crop up over the next few days. I don’t think Andre Villas-Boas will be far from FSG’s thoughts, for example. And I can understand why. For me, he is the unluckiest man in football. He arrived at Chelsea with a job to do, to try and restyle the club and to make some tough decisions in doing so.”

Molby concluded that although he is generally seen as a failure at Chelsea, he might end up leaving a legacy of sorts:

“He wasn’t given the support or backing to do so, once results began to wobble. He made some mistakes, no doubt about it, but his record – in terms of games won, goals scored and goals conceded – is superior to Roberto Di Matteo’s, and some of the players – think Romeu, Lukaku, Cahill, Mata, will be mainstays of Chelsea going forward.”

In further management news, the boss of Molby’s former club Ajax, has also distanced himself from the vacant role at Liverpool FC. When questioned on the possibility, Frank de Boer stated:

“I am honoured by the request, but I am only just starting with Ajax.”

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The news comes after days of speculation in which a trip to Boston for a meeting with the Liverpool owners was reported to have not gone well. It shook the entire Kop empire which expected Kenny Dalglish to be given at least another season at the helm by the Fenway Sports Group.

The long wait of will he? Won’t he? has ended, leaving millions of Kopites heartbroken when Fenway Sports Group released this statement:

“Fenway Sports Group (FSG) and Liverpool Football Club announced that Kenny Dalglish is to leave his post today as manager after having his contract terminated. After a careful and deliberative review of the season, the club came to the decision that a change was appropriate. It is not a decision that was reached lightly or hastily. The search for a new manager will begin immediately.”

Dalglish, who was handed a three-year contract 12 months ago, having replaced Roy Hodgson on a caretaker basis in January, told the club’s website after the announcement by FSG: “It has been an honor and a privilege to have had the chance to come back to Liverpool Football Club as manager.”

“I feel proud that we delivered the club’s first trophy in six years winning the Carling Cup and came close to a second trophy in the FA Cup Final. “

“I would like to thank all of the staff at the club for their effort and loyalty. I said when first approached about coming back as manager that I would always be of help if I can at any time and that offer remains the same.”

“Finally, I want to put on record my heartfelt gratitude to Liverpool’s fans, who have always given me and the club their unwavering support. Without them neither the club nor I would have achieved anything.”

This season has been record-breaking at Anfield, but for all the wrong reasons. Eighth place in the Premier League, six points down on last year’s disappointment with the worst points total for almost six decades, behind Everton for the first time in seven years, just six wins at Anfield, a goal difference in single figures and striking the woodwork more than any other team in the season. Nobody will pretend that that is a good record for this club. Though, he helped Liverpool to its first trophy in six years by winning Carling cup and lead Liverpool FC to FA Cup final. That however was not good enough to convince the owners that things will improve next season.

His departure leaves the Merseyside Giants with a cloud of uncertainty as to who would be the new manager? What kind of funds will be provided to the new manager by FSG? Which player will leave and who will stay? What kind of tactic will the new manager impose? A lot of questions will need to be answered and a lot of changes will need to be made at Anfield. The coming 1-2 months in the red half of Merseyside will surely be chaotic.

So, what next for Liverpool?

The search for a new manager is on full swing, probably Roberto Martinez, Fabio Capello or Rafa Benitez might end up at Liverpool, unless they get  Pep Guardiola, another manager who has been linked with the job at Merseyside. This is as likely as Liverpool getting Ronaldo or Messi. The other names like AVB, Paul Lambert, and Brendan Rodgers etc. just don’t sound too good for Liverpool neither do they have the experience of managing a big club bar AVB, who managed Chelsea but failed to deliver the results.

With a new manager comes new tactics, and with new tactics arises the need of new players who can fit into those tactics. No doubt money will have to be spent on bringing new players.

Liverpool will be playing in Europe albeit it’s Europa League, the second tier in European Club Competition and to be big name in Europe Liverpool will have to play total football capitalizing on anchor & utility players and hire coach with big clubs experience with networking of 1st class players (and not only relying on scout recommendation), assisted by coaching staff who have trained big club and big name players

What difference will it make?

If the lessons of this season have been learnt then a couple of under performers will surely be sold and new players will be brought in. Improvements in league form, especially home form which has been very disappointing last season, will be made. Better performance from the players, more passion and enthusiasm on the pitch and a better finish to the League, which can be achieved should the new manager get the tactics and players right. If that happens then I don’t see any supporter complaining although I see Kenny still being missed.

Alternatively, it could go all wrong and the same empty vessels will continue to ring, the manager will be under pressure at a big club that expects to be at the top 4, the over-priced players once again unable to perform due to the price tag, the fans would want the title or Champions League spot  not domestic trophies. If that happens then what will be FSG’s action? Sack the new manager? That probably would be the first action. FSG is showing its intentions in re-building Liverpool as a major trophy winning club; their sacking of Kenny was a confirmation of it. Kenny had a mediocre league performance though he achieved success in domestic cups, main target however was to reach Champions League, which he failed to do so and by a substantial margin. If they can sack a legend despite huge and constant calls for supports from all corners then they surely mean business. To them, performance is everything and if you fail to deliver the results you are out. Aggressive but makes sense as well. The only concern however is this might cause Liverpool to develop into a club like Chelsea and City who change players and coaches at will, which would be very disappointing.

I would have liked another season for Kenny but it’s not up to me. So, I will get behind the new man, whoever he will be. But what difference will it make if the new man doesn’t have us in the top four all season? Will the voices shout for him to be sacked? What if the new signings take time to gel? What if we lose one or more of our big players again? Question and doubts still rule my mind but as I have always said “If it’s not happy then it’s not end, It’s just the beginning of good things to come”.

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WITH

Those who have seen my previous posts (and if you haven’t why not!!) will know that I am not jumping on the pro-Carroll bandwagon many media outlets and commentators have started because he scored twice at Wembley in recent weeks. No, I have been very strong in my opinions and support for Andy throughout his tenure at the club so far, and the forms that he has showed in the last couple of months have reinforced my views.

But let’s start at the beginning, and the millstone that unfortunately will always dangle round his neck – his cost. Yes he cost £35 million, but as I have stated in my Jordan Henderson review, SO WHAT!!

The whole transfer saga involving Torres and Carroll was absolutely unique and I seriously doubt that we will ever see anything of its sort again, and kudos goes to Liverpool for getting such a massive fee for a player plagued with injury and inconsistent form in the preceding months and to Newcastle for exploiting this very situation to maximise the money for such a young player, the proverbial troubled genius.

They got top dollar, beyond their wildest dreams for a player that despite his impressive form in the Premier League, had given the club untold headaches during his tenure there. His potential was clear, but like many before him would that be wasted because of off the field antics? Fair to say Liverpool took a gamble but likewise couldn’t have expected to get £50 million for a player woefully out of form and fitness who very clearly wanted to leave, forcing the club’s hand with a transfer request.

It mustn’t be forgotten either that the wages Carroll will have signed on for will have been nowhere near what Torres got. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if Carroll and Suarez combined wouldn’t have been too different to Torres. It is also important to remember to consider that the swift actions taken by Liverpool to bring in a replacement for Torres at such short notice and the willingness to spend the money they received was such a culture shock compared to the H&G era it was simply stunning. The club signed a 22 year old England international on a 5 and a half year deal for what was admittedly an inflated fee clearly driven by the Torres deal, with a clear view to the future and nurturing a serious talent, and anyone who can’t see this perhaps needs further education in football.

As the King said, Andy was signed for 5 and half years and beyond and this is very important to remember as most players take time to settle and adapt, just like one Mr Ian Rush. Patience is the key in football, and as a trait that is sadly growing and growing each year as instant success becomes the driving force. Managerially speaking, two of the greatest managers in history would not have been able to have the impact they had if judged and disposed of in accordance with today’s twitter demands! Step up Messers Shankly and Ferguson.

Other factors that need to be taken into account before getting stuck in to his season are the culture shocks on and off the pitch Andy will have had to adapt to. He will have been taken away from his safety net, from his support network, from a club he has known all his life and supported all his life where he was idolised by the fans as being a homegrown number 9, to a brand new city, with family and friends miles away and to a club with vastly different aspirations, a fanbase mourning the loss of a talisman in the cruellest circumstances to be won over, carrying an injury. Sometimes the acclimatisation of a player into his new surroundings can be instantaneous, especially if the ground is hit running on the pitch, but coming to the club with an injury therefore delaying his debut will have heightened expectation and not allowed the big man the opportunity to ease back from injury let alone ease into a new side.

It’s amazing the effect confidence has on a player and perhaps his rise would have been quicker had it not been for a number of goalkeepers, specifically Joe Hart at Anfield. I think the whole squad has had their confidence affected this season due to the lack of goals with the strikers obviously taking the brunt of the frustration.

Yet we have seen Carroll grow in confidence with his performances on the pitch during the second half of the season and it is plainly obvious that the drive and confidence boosting will be coming from the training ground and the staff working with him daily. It is also worth pointing out that since joining Liverpool there have be no stories about his antics off the pitch [Editor: Apart from going to a Boyzone concert...shocking!], and in my mind this points to a very healthy environment at Melwood where young talented players like Carroll, Henderson, Shelvey and the rest are given the patience they require to thrive and prosper. It is this attitude largely continued by sensible, proper fans that make Liverpool such a wonderful club.

The disappointing reviews on Carroll simply refer to his goal tally and price tag, which is lazy at best, which is frankly the way many media mouths operate today. Of course the goal return this year has been disappointing, but it has been for the whole team, so to single out Carroll is rather unfair, as is to relate this to a price tag.

Aguero went to City for same fee I hear you say, he scored loads for them I hear you say, well bully for them, we have signed Carroll and he gets my support. The goals will come, and as I alluded to before, Carroll would have had more goals this season had it not been for some stunning saves, nods specifically to Hart and Vorm. No, it is his all round performance for me that has impressed, which unsurprisingly (at least till he scored at Wembley) has gone unnoticed by the media.

The work rate he puts in up top, as well as the defensive duties he undertakes at set pieces clearly show a team player hungry to do well. I have lost count the number of times towards the end of games where a Liverpool attack or set piece breaks down and one of the first players back to disrupt a break-away is Carroll. It is however the physicality and dominance he can have over centre backs that have really impressed me. It is clear that he has it in his locker, but the game that sticks in my mind where he brought it to the fore was against Everton at Anfield where he simply bullied and owned the turf that night, only overshadowed by a trick from Stevie.

This is the main asset that he can bring to the table and if he can consistently perform like this, and we have seen it against Everton again, Chelsea twice and Blackburn to name a few, not only will he score more but his game and his confidence will thrive. This is the type of player we have been crying out for, for years and it will free up space for the likes of Suarez and Gerrard to operate in. With a fit and firing Carroll and Suarez up top, a defence will not know where to start as the options Liverpool have to bring their attack will include balls to feet, to Carroll’s head, over the top, into space…the lists goes on.

What can happen with just Suarez up top is our forward play can become predictable and slow, as well as giving the opposition the opportunity to get stuck into Suarez and attempt to expose that fiery temper. By increasing the attacking options the opposition defence can’t afford to focus solely on one forward and given their respective talents I can’t think of a defender able to handle Carroll’s physicality on his own or Suarez’s invention and skill on his own (just ask John Terry!).

So to surmise, I think the Andy Carroll we have seen the back end of this season is the player that the club wanted to sign. He is in shape, fit and happy and that is coming across in his football. The criticism aimed at Kenny for starting him in the Cup final is testament to how far he has come, and let’s not forget he is only 23; his best years are ahead of him and we have him. The lad will need continued patience and support and to be shown what a wonderful club we have and I truly believe he will develop into a top class striker and provide for us the sort of impact that Drogba has brought to Chelsea. His desire, work rate, defensive capabilities and knack for bringing others into the game will help the squad thrive and bounce back from this disappointing year.

Please come find me on twitter @timdibs

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However, given how popular King Kenny is, I think it’s fair to say that everyone associated with Liverpool was desperate to see him succeed as manager.

The fact that he failed in the eyes of Fenway Sports Group is a bitter pill to swallow, regardless of whether or not you wanted Kenny in charge. Dalglish was appointed Liverpool manager 18 months ago with unfinished business and as a result of his dismissal, his work will forever remain incomplete.

The statement released on the Liverpool website confirming Kenny’s departure gave little away; John Henry and Tom Werner talked more about how much respect they had for Dalglish than about their reasons for dismissing him. Henry even called Dalglish “the heart and soul of the club” and so by removing Dalglish from the job, FSG have ensured that Reds fans will be watching them closely, awaiting their next move.

It is not just Dalglish that needs replacing; in addition to finding a new manager, Liverpool need to appoint a new CEO, a Director of Football and a Director of Communications. There is also the “stadium issue” to resolve, whether that means redeveloping Anfield or building a new ground on Stanley Park. Right now Liverpool fans will be most interested in seeing who FSG appoint to build on Kenny’s work at the club, but once a new manager is in place, fans will want to see Liverpool’s other vacant positions being filled and will expect an update on what’s happening with the stadium.

Despite Liverpool reaching two cup finals this season and winning one of them, FSG’s priority is a return to the Champion League. I expect most Reds fans would prefer a return to the top four over winning the FA or Carling Cup, but for that to happen, our squad needs to be improved. Over the last two transfer windows, FSG have approved over £110m in transfer spending. Had they kept Dalglish in charge, it seems unlikely they would have allowed him to spend much on new players, but in appointing a new manager they may feel compelled to give him more money to make the changes he deems necessary.

Most Liverpool fans remain grateful to FSG for ousting George Gillett and Tom Hicks, wiping out £200m of debt in the process. That will buy Henry and Werner time, but in dismissing Dalglish so soon after parting company with Damien Comolli and Ian Cotton, FSG have displayed a ruthless streak. If their ruthlessness brings success, they will be praised, but if it does not then things could get ugly.

The appointment of Liverpool’s next manager is crucial moment in FSG’s running of the club and fans who did not want to see Dalglish go will expect to see an instant improvement from his replacement. If Liverpool struggle next season, it won’t be long before the fans chant for Dalglish as they did when Roy Hodgson was in charge. When FSG bought Liverpool, they promised to restore the club to its former glory. If they do not make the appointments and signings to bring that glory, it will only be a matter of time until the fans turn on Henry and Werner.

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While the man’s contribution and dedication to one club for a major portion of his life is very laudable indeed, some of the decisions he’s made based on the importance and significance of his stature aren’t.

Dalglish is and always will be a legend at Anfield. Anyone who wishes to think otherwise, is clearly mistaken.

However, this is a man who proved extremely stubborn throughout this season in terms of sticking by his decisions and justifying them to the moon and back – even if they were horrendously wrong.

Apologies for mentioning the same few things over and over again – then again King Kenny made the same errors over and over again – and it was painful to watch those as well at the team’s expense.

The endless times when he seemed settled for a draw and refused to bring on substitutes until the dying seconds of the game.

Or maybe he refused to start with an experienced professional like Dirk Kuyt, giving the nod to his supposed boy prodigy Jordan Henderson over and over and over again. Yet he did nothing.

Getting rid of Raul Mereiles – let’s not open up that can of worms. It affected the team bad though and that’s just all his selection decisions. Let’s look at the tactics. Initially throughout the season, there weren’t enough bodies in the box.

Gazillions of crosses went in and no one was there to meet it. Andy Carroll was repeatedly tried out as a lone front man to knock the ball up to. Everyone in football advises against that these days, yet Dalglish went for that anyway. Carroll proved much useful later as a second striker playing behind the front man. Bit too late though.

Then later in the season when there were bodies in the box, the service dried up. One way or another, Dalglish got it wrong. There was no fluidity to Liverpool’s play when they lost matches, and sadly when they did manage to back defences into a corner, they still almost always managed a draw.

Tough luck Kenny, you’re a great loyal servant to the club, but your abstinence wasn’t backed up by results.

Would you have really retained him yourself, if you were John Henry?

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There were plenty of adjectives I could have used in connection with the initials of the company which owns Liverpool Football Club after the news broke on Wednesday afternoon. None would have been quite so clean and publishable so instead, I opted for adjectives which, fairly accurately, summed up my feelings upon hearing the bombshell and which continue to characterize my disposition as I attempt to digest the brick that has been, metaphorically, thrown through my window.

So FSG have relieved Kenny Dalglish of his duty after barely 18 months in charge. Granted, our league position hasn’t been great this season but there are valid reasons why, and no I’m not going to waste my time going through them. The two other competitions we entered this season resulted in us gaining one cup and cruelly losing out in the final of the other. Does this constitute a bad season? Not in my book.

The Americans like Moneyball. Well how nice for them. A cosy baseball story that shows how if you follow the stats and take some simple steps you can, almost instantly, turn a struggling team into winners. Great! Unfortunately for FSG they are discovering, with no disrespect to Baseball, that Football (soccer as they may refer to it) ain’t Baseball and, whilst simply following the stats and trading players as if they were stocks and shares may produce instant success on the diamond, things are a little bit more tricky in a game with so many more variables.

When NESV took over the club they were welcomed with open arms by most and rightly so. After all, they were the ones who saved us from the terrible days of Gillett and Hicks, saved the club from administration, they seemed competent, and, above all, they seemed to know sport, as if they may have the credentials and the recipe to deliver success. Sadly, it seems at this moment as if their knowledge of sport stops a long way shy of football.

Twenty months on and, after the latest sacking/forced resignation, we are no closer to being successful than we were then. We were undoubtedly making progress under Dalglish, he unified the club after the debacle of the previous year and a half, he brought pride and belief back to the fans, he signed promising young English players – important because of the homegrown rule which is due to come into effect – as well as top foreign talent and he won us our first trophy in six years. Not bad for such a short spell in charge.

Some of the transfers fees paid may well look excessive but that wasn’t down to Dalglish and Damien Comolli had already gone to the dogs over those. Ultimately time will tell but to my mind most of those signings will prove their worth in the coming years, certainly, it seems ludicrous to me to put such large investments in jeopardy because of a child-like obsession with instant gratification.

There are many who now feel that prized assets such as Luis Suarez and Martin Skrtel may now leave Liverpool in the wake of Kenny’s dismissal/resignation. Alan Hansen, a Liverpool legend and one of the only pundits who knows what he’s talking about when it comes to our club, wrote this in his column in the Daily Telegraph:

“My concern is that Liverpool will face a problem in keeping hold of their best players now that Kenny has gone. In my opinion, the likes of Luis Suarez, Pepe Reina, Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger would be more likely to stay at the club under Kenny Dalglish than anybody else.”

The majority of the most successful teams in England have long serving managers and most of the very best clubs are not run on the narrow principles of Moneyball. What FSG would do well to remember is that, whilst modern day football may be about business, it is not only about business and whilst the fans may want success, most of them wouldn’t be willing to sell the club’s soul to achieve it.

Liverpool currently stand without a CEO, without a Director of Football, without a Communications Chief and now without a manager, a situation which is highly unlikely to achieve results. So far the Americans have shown themselves to be very apt at pulling the trigger but less than capable of hiring the right man or more worryingly, of showing courage in their convictions – Commoli and Dalglish were both FSG appointments.

All of these positions need to be filled, with some obviously needing to be filled more urgently than others. A new manager must be appointed quickly in order to put players’ minds at rest, to identify and bring in transfer targets and to ensure that the team is properly set for next season. Whoever the next manager will be, it’s pointless speculating at the moment because you can rest assured that FSG haven’t thought that far ahead, they will need to do well and quickly because, in this money driven business model of football, they won’t last long if they don’t.

The future for Liverpool Football Club is, once again, largely unknown. We face the summer holidays with uncertainty and worry, our great club is in the hands of American owners whose priorities for the club may or may not tie in with those of our own. There is no recognisable plan in sight, no plans for the promised New Anfield and our King has been de-throned. It appears that all we can do now is “Walk on, Walk On With Hope In Our Hearts” and trust that our club can rise again, whether it is because of or in spite of, our Moneyball loving, American owners.

You can catch Neil on Twitter @Neil1980 or on his blog http://itsallinthegameblog.wordpress.com/

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The giant Geordie has found it difficult adapting to life as the record signing of Britain’s most decorated football club, and in all honesty prior to the last month of this far from impressive season the odds on Carroll wearing the number 9 shirt post the summer transfer window were extremely slim.

Despite the big, broad shoulders of the Liverpool front man the £35 million resting on them has at times looked more like a £100 million as a combination of fitness, poor form and the obsession of the British tabloids combined to take a considerable toll.

Since his arrival from Tyne-side last year Carroll has been a shadow of the player who burst onto the Premier League scene with the then Premier League new boys Newcastle United and has at times looked a man drained of every ounce of self belief. 30 goals in 60 games had every Premier League manager licking their lips at the prospect of securing a man with all the potential to become England’s future number 9, and at the tender age of 21.

Perhaps it was the manner of Carroll’s departure from Newcastle that has been behind the constant question marks over his desire to wear the famous red shirt donned by messes Rush Fowler and Torres.

It’s fair to say that Carroll didn’t exactly do himself any favours with his choice of language whilst becoming the most expensive British footballer ever. Whispers of him being forced out of Newcastle and the apparent lack of choice over the move to Anfield were gradually becoming louder and louder before the ink on the 5 year contract barely had time to dry….hardly the best preparation for joining one of the world’s most famous football clubs.

The huge price-tag that Liverpool paid for Carroll certainly didn’t help the lad, let’s be honest the whole footballing world knows that if Liverpool hadn’t acquired £50 million worth of Russian oil money from Chelski’s super rich owner Roman Abromavich then the transfer fee wouldn’t have even been half that amount. Cries of “what a waste of money” were being heard before Carroll had even had chance to pull on the famous number 9 shirt.

Reports of homesickness and choice of lifestyle were already rife when the now departed England Coach Fabio Capello chose to heap more pressure on Carroll by publicly criticising his alleged drinking problems. Predictably the press had a field day and another nail was hammered into Carroll’s Anfield coffin.

Yet more unwanted headlines were to follow as team mates Pepe Reina and Dirk Kuyt naively named the reds number 9 as the clubs worst trainer in Sky’s Soccer am team-mates.

Despite all of that Carroll appeared to be destined for greatness when he scored his first 2 goals for Liverpool at Anfield in a 3-0 win at Manchester City in April of 2011.You could feel the buzz around the stadium that night and the fans marching away from the pavements of Anfield road were left drooling at the prospect of Carroll forging a formidable strike partnership with Luis Suarez.

In truth that has never really looked like happening, in fact the Carroll and Suarez partnership has rarely had chance to breathe into life. The pair have started only 12 out of 53 competitive games together this season, a fact that really does tell a story of a season filled with frustration and disappointment. Throw Steven Gerrard into the mix and the picture becomes even more telling. A statistic of only 6 games together as a trio is without doubt the biggest reason behind Liverpool’s stuttering season.

The team itself has certainly taken its time to play to the big man’s strengths. Downing, Adam, Henderson and co. were bought to supply the ammunition for Carroll to score the goals that would fire the reds into the Champions League, but this simply hasn’t been the case.

Andy would be the first to admit that his form and work-rate this season has not been at the level required to succeed at the very top, and this has been the one controllable for him in a catalogue of components that have restricted him to just 11 senior goals since his arrival at Anfield.

Desire, work-rate and a fighting spirit for the shirt are all non-negotiable prerequisites at Liverpool football club and anything that falls short of that is not tolerated by the Anfield faithful. It’s fair to say that at times this season Andy’s performances have fell below those standards and if his Liverpool career is to remembered for the right reasons then the performance levels he has reached over the last month or so will need to be replicated week in week out.

Alongside all the issues already mentioned perhaps the biggest barrier for Carroll has been his relationship and perception of the British press. It’s not too strong to say that Andy has been slaughtered by the tabloids from day 1. The same journalists describing him as England’s number 9 for years to come and Newcastle’s natural replacement for Alan Shearer have since portrayed him as a laughing stock and ridiculed him at every opportunity.

No matter what you say about Andy Carroll one thing that he can never be questioned for is the thickness of his skin. To have experienced the lows, lows and more lows of Liverpool FC life so far and to still be around to continue the fight tells you a lot about the character of the man. The experiences of the last 17 months have given Carroll resilience to be able to deal with anything that is thrown at him for the rest of his footballing days.

However dark the tunnel, there has been a notable flash or two of light beginning to open up over the last few weeks of the season. Fantastic goals and performances against Blackburn and against Everton in the FA cup semi-final were joined by an electrifying cameo from the bench in the Wembley defeat against Chelsea. It was less than a week later that the flash of light became 10 times brighter when quite possibly Carroll’s finest display in a red shirt at Anfield against Chelsea had players and press alike calling for Liverpool’s record signing to be called into Roy Hodgson’s Euro 2012 squad.

With King Kenny relieved of his first team duties this summer, the handling or mishandling depending on your view of Liverpool’s number 9 will be forever known as Dalglish’s Achilles heel in his second spell as manager of Liverpool FC. It seems like Liverpool’s record signing is finally finding the formula for success at Anfield and although the road is long ahead the last month or so have finally given Liverpool fans the belief that the big man has what takes to be a hit at Anfield.

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Rodgers had been one of the Bookies favourites to become the new Liverpool FC Manager after strong rumours suggested he was included in an apparent shortlist of managerial candidates drawn up by FSG.

This has been seemingly confirmed by the latest Swansea City statement:

“The club is pleased to confirm that Brendan has declined the opportunity to speak about the vacant position.”

There is a feeling that Rodgers has turned down the chance of becoming the new Liverpool FC Managers because he is unwilling to be ‘part of a process’ which would see other candidates also interviewed, before the club makes its final decision on who the best man is for the role.

Rodgers believes Liverpool should already be fully aware of what he brings to the table after his Swansea team were applauded off the pitch at Anfield, as well as defeating the Reds in the last Premier League game of the season, in which they gained constant plaudits for their possession-based, footballing style of play.

Reports this morning claim the shortlist drawn up by Liverpool owners FSG was headed by former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola. However his interest in the role would seem extremely unlikely due to his insistence in wanting to take a sabbatical from football management.

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