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Henry had doubts about Dalglish for Liverpool

Comment: 0 October 14th, 2011 by: admin

Liverpool owner John W. Henry revealed that he initially did not picture Kenny Dalglish as the ideal man to head the Anfield squad.

According to Henry, his idea when seeking for Liverpool’s head coach was to place Dalglish as a temporary caretaker, and afterwards replace him with a much younger manager.

‘I had been talking with Kenny about his philosophy and initially he was brought aboard just for the remainder of last season,’ Henry said.

Celebrating his first year as Liverpool owner, Henry recalled how it was eventually Dalglish’s philosophy that told him the Scot was the man to permanently occupy the crucial position.

The American further commended Dalglish’s magnetic presence in Anfield, as well as his evident expertise in correcting the mistakes inherited from previous managers.

‘Initially our blueprint was for a younger manager, because you want to have long-term stability in as much of the staff as possible,’ Henry explained.  ‘But it became obvious that Kenny was the right man to lead the club, and in no way did we feel pressured into appointing him.’

By the time Liverpool was purchased by Fenway Sports Group, the club was weighed down by problematic contracts made during the previous regime.

‘By the time we made the purchase of the club, we were aware of a lot of bad contracts and the fact that it could take years to get the club back where it needed to be,’ he said.  ‘But that has not been a surprise, and there has never been a moment when we regretted the decision to buy the club.

Liverpool are set to host league giants Manchester United tomorrow for a Premier League match.  The two clubs’ history has seen the Reds claim victory over United in their last 3 matches at Anfield.

However, Henry presented a more optimistic take on the matter, lauding the club’s performance while acknowledging the lengths they have to go to in order to topple the current table leaders.

‘We know we are still a long way behind [United],’ Henry told reporters.  ‘They were well set up going into this year and then were able to insert great, young players.  Mr. Ferguson is a genius.

‘But overall,’ Henry continued, ‘we are happy with the progress that has been made in the year since we arrived, but we recognise there is still a lot of work to be done.’

More direct expectations recently came from Reds star Luis Suarez, who had cited United, along with Manchester City, as two major factors for considering Liverpool effectively out of the league title contention.

The match will see Reds captain Steven Gerrard join the starters for the first time since his return from a six-month recuperation period due to a groin injury.

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