King Kenny's reign at Liverpool is over.
Kenny Dalglish is out as Liverpool manager after a disappointing season during which the Reds finished in eighth place in the Premier League. The club's Carling Cup triumph and appearance in the FA Cup final could not mask the overall struggles in league play, as the club went 14-14-10 and was nowhere near the race for a Champions League berth for the final months of the campaign.
Dalglish, a former star player at Liverpool and manager from 1985-1991, resumed his prominent place at the club by taking over for manager Roy Hodgson last season and provided a jolt, one impressive enough to earn him a three-year contract just a year ago. He did not live up to the lofty expectations this season, though, and he had traveled to the United States to meet with Liverpool owner John Henry and chairman Tom Werner this week before sealing his fate.
According to Sky Sports, Wigan manager Roberto Martinez is a leading candidate to be Dalglish's replacement. Martinez is also said to be a prime target of Aston Villa in their coaching search.
Here are a few more stories to keep your day rolling along:
BARCA'S ALVES BREAKS COLLARBONE
The U.S. men's national team should not have to worry about gameplanning for Brazilian fullback Dani Alves.
The Barcelona starter fractured his collarbone in training Wednesday and will miss the Copa del Rey final as a result. Alves is slated to undergo surgery later today, and club doctors will provide an update on his prognosis afterwards.
Alves was named to Mano Menezes' 23-man roster for the Selecao's four upcoming friendlies and he was, and may still be, a candidate to be one of Brazil's over-age selections for this summer's Olympics, provided that he recovers in time. The Brazilian federation has not yet announced if it will replace Alves on the roster for the friendlies against Denmark, the United States, Mexico and Argentina.
CAHILL, LUIZ NEAR FULL FITNESS
Chelsea is in a defensive crisis ahead of Saturday's UEFA Champions League final considering that John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic are suspended for the match, but the club did receive some good news on the defensive front.
Centerbacks Gary Cahill and David Luiz are nearing full fitness as they recover from their respective hamstring injuries and should be able to step into Roberto Di Matteo's lineup against Bayern Munich.
Cahill has missed the last five matches, while Luiz has been out since April 15.
SEEDORF LEAVES MILAN RETURN OPEN
Clarence Seedorf is not retiring. He might not even be leaving AC Milan.
Despite speculation that Seedorf had played his final game for the Rossoneri, the veteran Dutch midfielder said that he plans on playing for at least two more years and that he would not rule out a return to Milan.
Seedorf has been linked to a move to Brazilian side Botafogo, and he was thought to be part of a mass exodus of Milan veterans that included Alessandro Nesta, Gianluca Zambrotta, Filippo Inzaghi and Gennarro Gatuso.
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Do you think it was time for Dalglish to go? What do you make of Alves' injury? Do you see Chelsea's defense being strong enough to hold up against Bayern Munich? Where do you think Seedorf will wind up?
Share your thoughts below.
Troll Fail. lolololol hahahaha giggity giggity giggity giggity.
bingo
Nowak can keep his job, but a semi competent manager such as Daglish is sacked. Go figure. Union owners need to wake the Fu@@k up. Nowak is clueless.
Agreed.
I fear that some of the Luster on Martinez will begin to tarnish if he joined “FC Edmund Fitzgerald”
The “Gales of November” have been on LFC for a longtime. I’m surprised it has stayed above water for this long.
didn’t Rafa stay at Liverpool for quite some time. I think at least 4 years(?)
Fact: LFC is Overated
Fact: They are Anglophiles
Fact: They have no long term plan to make LFC a properly proud club.
For now they are an ensemble of has beens, never wases and talented internationals that are being overlooked.
Also their fans can’t sing!
LFC can “Walk On” into the desert and enjoy the accomplishments of years pass cause their best days are behind them (and by some distance).
Better not send him to Livermore …
excuse me Liverwurst …
Oh pardon me. What I was meaning is that
LIVERPOOL is the Worst!
I think cup runs are the appropriate goal for aspiring clubs that consistently finish below the top 6.
Oh, that’s right LFC used to be a “Big” club.
hahahahahahahaha
Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
lololololololol
Martinez to manage would be a nice signing by Liverpool. Too bad it’s with a scumbag club. He’s a class act.
A coaching vacancy at Liverpool should shake things up for Villa in their search, as well. Previously, I’d been thinking about names like Martinez and Lambert or even André Villas-Boas as realistic (if a tad optimistic) managerial goals for the club, but it would be hard to argue that Liverpool won’t be a more attractive proposition for an ambitious young coach than Aston Villa. The main drawback to Liverpool is that the coaching gig seems to be a bit of a poisoned chalice.
I’d still like to see Ralf Rangnick in the Premier League and I’d take him at Villa in a heartbeat.
I was under the impression that they were players that Daglish wanted, hence one of the reasons he kept playing them…
Yeah, and if he does not stay in Milan, sounds like he goes to Brasil.
Chandler can come back to us now – I think he was just afraid of getting embarrassed by Dani Alves flying down the right flank while he was playing left back and getting turned inside out constantly. With Alves hurt, he can feel free to join anytime.
I think it’s a mistake to fire Kenny Daglish. If Liverpool stuck with a manager for more than a season/season & 1/2, they may be better than they currently are.
I won’t make excuses for Henderson or Downing, but remember Lucas was a huge cog in the pool machine. Since his injury they’ve been 75% of the squad.
I posted this on several boards after the Liverpool’s first game this season: Liverpool had a great run last season when Daglish took over, lets see the changes: Merieles (starter for Portugal) sold, Maxi (over 50 caps for Argentina to the bench), Kuyt (starter in for Holland in World Cup Final) less playing time. All in favor of young, expensive English players that don’t start for England.
If you people thought everyone freaked out when Chandler snubbed the US, just go on Twitter and see how the LFC fans react to Dalglish’s exit!
Roberto Martinez is a talented coach. He could do big things with a talented squad.
I was thinking another year as well… but after looking back at how poorly the team did, I think this is the right move. Henderson, Downing, and Adam played so poorly, and yet they started week after week, ahead of some other players with something to offer. He seemed to favor British players to a fault.
Dalglish gave it a good run at the end of last year, but this year was way below par for LFC. Time for some new blood.
How much influence did dalglish have in bringing in those overrated players though?
Most people knew immediately that downing, henderson and carroll were worth nowhere near what liverpool paid for them.
The Seedorf news just confirms what I posted in response to a similar comment last week. Al the talk from Seedorf in years past about MLS was just talk. The dude is thrilled to play at the highest levels of competition. He ain’t coming here. At least, not while he has this option.
Inept management, not coaching seems to be a problem in many, many places.
Except for Philadelphia. Their coach is just inept. And I feel comfortable saying that as some random guy on a blog. It’s that obvious.
Maybe the problem is a lack of stability & some very overrated players; not the coach.
I think Daglish did a subpar job. Cup runs dont mean what they used to, at least not to clubs with the aspirations of LFC. That being said, i would have given him another year.
They keep kicking coaches when the management is the problem. Moneyball all the way to the middle.
Daglish to the Union please!
Seedorf to MLS!!!