IT has been over a week since Kenny Dalglish was ousted from the Anfield hotseat by American owners Fenway Sports Group.
The King’s de-throning was met with mixed emotions, the overwhelming majority were shocked and saddened, however, there was a vocal minority of, mostly younger, fans who were satisfied that Kenny absolutely had to go.
Whatever your thoughts on the subject, facts are facts, Kenny has moved on and now, so must Liverpool.
The American owners have worried a large number of fans in the last few months, due to a wave of sackings at Anfield which culminated in Dalglish being given the axe. So much so that the Spirit of Shankly fan group felt it necessary to send a letter demanding that Henry and Werner lay out their vision for the club and confirm that there is a plan to move forward, thereby assuring the fans that the club is not in “disarray”.
Despite these fears, it appears that FSG have a plan. In the wake of the dismissals of Comolli and Dalglish, a new structure is to be put into place which will include creating an extra post, that of Sporting Director, and spreading responsibility/risk so as to minimise the chances of, amongst other things, costly errors in the transfer market.
In addition to this, a long-term philosophy is to be implemented at the club, in the mould of Ajax or Barcelona, focussing on an attractive style of playing, youth development and integration and, most importantly, easy identification of potential useful, cost effective signings. A core footballing philosophy which remains constant at the club is also desirable because it means that should the manager have to be replaced, the philosophy at Anfield will remain unchanged rather than being turned 180 degrees with each new boss.
Louis van Gaal is believed to have been offered the job of Sporting Director, so say the Guardian at any rate. Van Gaal would be a great appointment for Liverpool Football Club. The forthright Dutchman is a winner; his managerial record speaks for itself. With league title triumphs in his native Holland, Spain and Germany as well as a Champions League title to his name, van Gaal is regarded as one of the finest minds in the game and his appointment as Sporting Director would not only be a signal of intent from FSG but would also go a long way towards re-assuring fans who’ve lost faith.
Key to the management structure envisaged by Henry and Werner is a hungry, dynamic, young manager who likes to employ an exciting, attacking brand of passing football. Many names have been bandied about in the last ten days as to who may get the job, with men such as Guardiola, Capello and Andre Villas-Boas linked whilst others, including Frank de Boer, have respectfully ruled themselves out of the running.
There are three remaining candidates who I believe fit the bill for FSG, namely: Roberto Martinez, Brendan Rodgers and Michael Laudrup. All are young, Laudrup being the oldest at 47, Martinez the youngest at 38, all are hungry and all espouse a free-flowing, short-passing, attacking style of play. There are question marks over the latter pair however.
Rodgers has done remarkably well with Swansea, guiding them to promotion before steering them confidently through their first Premier League season to end up with a more than respectable 11th place finish. However this was his first season at the top level and often newly promoted clubs/managers suffer with second season syndrome and drop back down. Rodgers has also declined to be interviewed for the Liverpool post fearing an unsuccessful interview may alienate fans of Swansea City, however, the Ulsterman has said he would take the job if offered. This doesn’t seem likely however with FSG keen to follow their process.
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Laudrup, a fantastic player in the 1980s/90s began his managerial career with great success, steering Danish Club Brondby to domestic league and cup victories. After leaving Denmark he moved to Spain as head coach of Getafe where he achieved great things, relatively speaking. Laudrup led Madrid’s third team to a Copa del Rey final and to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup before leaving after one year. Since leaving Getafe in 2008 Laudrup’s star has faded somewhat, unsuccessful stints at Spartak Moscow and Mallorca have put the brakes on his career. This, along with his inability to get on with Mallorca’s director of football when there, may just worry FSG enough to by-pass him.
That leaves Roberto Martinez. With AVB believed to have been a red herring, Martinez is the clear favourite to get the job. Some reports claim that he is due to be unveiled as the new boss as early as this weekend after talks with FSG in Boston. With Martinez known to be on holiday in the Caribbean, the likelihood of this remains unclear, however, stranger things have happened, not least in football.
Roberto Martinez is an ideal candidate to take over the job as manager of Liverpool Football Club and here’s why. Joining former club Swansea City as manager in February 2007 in League One, the Spaniard introduced the short-passing, possession style of football that so many observers have drooled over when watching the Welsh side, under Brendan Rodgers, this season. Rodgers has of course continued with the philosophy and added players to achieve further success but it was Martinez who initiated and nurtured it.
In his first full season in South Wales, Martinez guided the Swans to promotion to the Championship, a feat which hadn’t been achieved in 24 previous years, by virtue of winning the League One title. The same season, Martinez was voted LMA manager of the year. 2008/9 saw Martinez’s Swansea really consolidate their position in their first season in the Championship. Finishing in 8th position just outside the play-off places, the Swans campaign saw them go on a run of just 4 defeats in 30 games.
Martinez left Swansea at the end of that season, becoming manager at Wigan Athletic, the first English club he had played for after arriving from Spain. Taking over from Steve Bruce, Martinez lost several key players, including Antonio Valencia, before he properly got started. Avoiding relegation was the target although Dave Whelan, the Wigan Chairman, was realistic about his club’s chances, guaranteeing Martinez a three year contract whether he was able to keep them up or not.
Not only did Martinez keep them up, he completely overhauled the style of football, from old-fashioned long balls to tall strikers and tough tackling under Bruce, Martinez introduced short-passing, attacking, attractive football and made Wigan one of the most exciting teams to watch, outside of the top six. Despite having a minimal transfer budget, tiny crowds (relatively speaking) and constantly having to ship out his best players, Martinez has kept Wigan in the Premier League to the present day – no mean-feat when you consider that clubs the size of West Ham and with the Premier League experience of Blackburn Rovers have gone down in the same period.
Roberto Martinez is young, hungry, dynamic, plays an exciting, attractive, passing brand of football, wants the job and has great Premier League experience in the toughest, most pressurised part of the division. People say there is no pressure of expectation at Wigan but, for a manager, trying to keep your club up and alive in the world’s best league brings massive pressure, even if it’s mostly self-applied.
On top of all this, Martinez has won a title, is loyal, is well-liked within the game and by the media, speaks Spanish and English – handy given the squad’s Spanish/South American contingent, is massively respected by other managers – Ian Holloway changed his whole footballing philosophy after attending a coaching seminar given by Martinez – and would, I believe, fit perfectly in to the “Liverpool Way” of doing things, where somebody like AVB would not necessarily.
Martinez is also likely to fit into the Fenway project as they look to take on somebody with talent but as yet not a massive name in the game, thereby getting him relatively inexpensively and with a real hunger to prove himself at the top level. Martinez’s transfer activity will also interest the American’s as his ability to sign players cheaply and move them on for a significant profit has been noted, along with the ability to quickly and practically identify and bring in, sometimes on loan, players that can improve his sides, examples being: N’Zogbia, Moses, Cleverly, Maloney.
Who will get the position of Liverpool manager remains uncertain, in fact as I write this, there are stories doing the rounds on Twitter claiming that van Gaal has asked for the job ahead of that of Sporting Director. One thing is certain, however; this is the beginning of a brand new era in the history of Liverpool Football Club, a ‘Brave New World’ with a brand new structure and whoever is to lead us into this dawn, the fans must unite and get behind the club, the owners, the manager et al. Now is the time!
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Hope he comes and we see passing football all the time – football as it should be played
You need player who can pass to play passing football and the money to buy them and we have neither. You also have to be able to change your style Martinez has tried it at Wigan and nearly relegated them, I can see him succeeding at that with LFC.
will he be able to attract quality players ???
Not at first, but that’s where Louis van Gaal comes in. Hopefully, once an attractive & successful style of play is asserted, more player’s will want to play under Martinez in a Red shirt. First and foremost however, player’s should be coming because they want to play ‘for’ Liverpool FC. I fear those days are gone however, in football’s modern era #bringbackthe80’s! 😉
Great choice but not sure re Dutch bloke – might intefere too much – – Gerard Houlier a better partnership ?? but there again knowledge of portugese and dutch youngsters really important – miles better than our lot – miles better
Finally someone who has written a well balanced article on why RM should become LFC manager.
YNWA!
FFS!!
It’s obvious this appointment is never in a million years going to work out and will most likely end in tears. My prediction is that Liverpool will fall even further behind than we already are and this could even be terminal. I will be delighted to be proved otherwise, but for me this shows FSG have no ambition and aspirations to challenge for NOTHING, and this is a statement of intent that shows THAT FSG CLEARLY DONT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING.
Yes he is a young and talented manager but LFC don’t need a young talented manager. We need a manager that is proven at the highest level. Martinez is not proven FULL STOP. The only guarentee Martinez can make is that LFC will not be relegated.
Since when has keeping Wigan in the Prem 2 years on the trot been the minimum requirement to manage one of the biggest clubs in the world? If he was so bloody good then Wigan would have been well clear of the relegation zone in the first place? Paul Jewell deserved more credit for getting Wigan into the PL and for comfortability keeping them up! Maybe we should consider Steve Bruce? Also did a much better job than Martinez.
Pathetic
This is like a bad dream…. oh and be prepared for a load of signings you’ve never heard of and to finish outside of the top 8 for the the foreseeable’s.
This is a complete disaster. AND IT IS SO OBVIOUS
FSG out
That is the dumbest thing I ever read. Get a hold of yourself Spike… You can not be a Liverpool supporter. Who would say such negative things.
“Can not be a Liverpool supporter?” Wind your neck in mate. I am entitled to my opinion as much as the next man, and for me… and I am not alone on this… Martinez is clearly not ready for the Liverpool job and this FSG moneyball experiment is more likely to fail and than work.
FACT: His CV does not stack up. It really is as simple as that. No body can tell me he has the aura, the international reputation, the respect etc needed for this job – because he hasn’t.
If you think otherwise then feel free to enlighten me
The fact is Wigan did not improve under Martnez… Both Paul Jewell and Steve Bruce did a much better job and both finished higher in the league – not a relegation battle in sight.
To me, and I would imagine to the rest of the footballing world, this is a step BACKWARDS not forwards.
The the best man for the job is obviously Rafa. He is PROVEN… Which is exactly what Liverpool needs.
I will gladly eat my words, but this has disaster written all over it
Congrats to Spike the Manure supporter for winning the most stupid comment of the year award!!
Most stupid comment?? Bore off mate. At least have the decency to come back with a counter argument as to why you think he is the right man for Liverpool. But you cant do that, because there isn’t one.
He will be out the door by Christmas
Spike – shut up you moron.
Aslan… You are the moron if you seriously think that Martinez has the skills, influence and experience to lead LFC out of the sh*t hole we currently find ourselves in.
Or have you already accepted that we are a mid-table no mark side who are just happy to make up the numbers?
No Aslan, Spike is right. This is all like a bad (recurring) dream. Wouldn’t surprise me if Taggart had had a hand in recommending Martinez through back door channels just like he did with Hodgson. He’ll have finally driven the final nail in just before he gets off. It’s like a really bad Groundhog Day…..end of season run and all of a sudden flavour of the month and we sign him up. What as disaster that was. FSG appear to be limp and inept and incapable of taking a measured approach to all this; first it’s lets contact every possible manager who’s potentially available and put out that they’re looking to get a short list together then low and behold give the first interviewee the feckin job, what’s that about?? What about the short list and interviewing the rest of them. Idiots.My season ticket is going on a season long loan if he gets the job.
Oh cool. I’ve been on the waiting list for years. I’ll gladly loan your season ticket. Thanks for the offer ‘theguru”.
Do all people who want Guardiola and not Martinez know that Guardiola was a reserve coach at Barca b4 he took over. 4 me Martinez has proved himself at small clubs like Wigan whereas Guardiola hasnt managed any club b4. If Martinez went to Barca I’m sure he’ll do a good job. The only fear I’ve got that Martinez might b undermined from the old players and might not get the respect from them. And first mo things start to go bad we will hear people calling for his head and than back to square one. Hope that will never b the case.
A well written article, quite on the positives of Roberto Martinez. As much as I know that great managers started somewhere smaller I am still not confident with Roberto Martinez especially hearing FSG are asking Louis Van Gaal to hold the Sporting Director/ Director of Football role(whichever). These people are clearly poles apart and Martinez could feel intimidated knowing that a proven European manager is always over his shoulder.
We have heard FSG saying they are here for the long term and they want to build the club with youth, that is a welcoming thought but I would as most fans and supporters would be if instant successes doesn’t materialize. And I hope too that they realize that ‘moneyball’ and statistics would not necessarily work in FUTBOL. If however they want to utilize that philosophy in building a Football Club they would have to have someone who can interpret it for ‘The Beautiful Game’ , hope they have learned from the ‘mistakes’ they have made in recent times.
#Passing football or police balling(long ball)#AVB RM BR LvG pepG or benitez all i want is LFC return †o glory
Mr Henry knows MARTINEZ have become an specialist of keeping team out of relegated zone is RM a believer ?
Blackpool play a really attractive attacking style of football…maybe we should consider Ian halloway. Football is about winning. Lfc is about winning not about taking punts on unproven managers. Its embarrassing that Martinez is being considered. Would the mancs Chelsea city or gunners every consider Martinez for manager? Of course not cos they want to win. This is a nightmare. Martinez is a cabbage. Ynwa
Balance article. Did he managed to beat liv. on our ground as well as m.u, not mention the man. city? passing style with attacking mind. YNWA….