Rumours are flying around that Kenny Dalglish is about to lose his job as manager of Liverpool after meetings with Fenway Sports Group in Boston. I've has a think about the arguments for and against letting Kenny go and I've come to the conclusion that FSG can't actually make the wrong decision on this one.
Looking at our league results and the final league table it's clear we're not where we want to be. Despite poor performances and results under both Benitez and Hodgson this season has seen us finish 8th, that's below where we were when Rafa lost his job. The woodwork has been brought up as an excuse for a number of dropped points and while this is a factor you would expect having one of the greatest forwards ever to play football in charge of the team would help to increase the number of goals but as the season has gone on there has been no real improvement in the end result of our attacks. Then we have the signings, Downing, Henderson, Suarez and Carroll are the big money acquisitions Dalglish has made and none of them have been what you would call an unqualified success. Suarez has looked the best of the bunch whereas Downing, Carroll and Henderson have only impressed in short patches.
Taking into account the money spent and the good form at the end of last season when Kenny replaced Hodgson it's fair to say more was expected of this season than was actually delivered. fourteen wins from thirty eight games is a very very poor return and if FSG decide Kenny Dalglish is not the man to lead Liverpool next season I think the majority of fans would accept that and support the search for a new manager.
Looking at our squad something becomes clear. Kelly, Flanagan, Robinson, Shelvey, Henderson, Spearing, Carroll - all young and English. Suarez and Coates are both young and still learning about English football. Charlie Adam is still in the earlier part of his career, as is Lucas Leiva. Agger, Skrtel, Enrique, Downing and Reina all have a large portion of their career ahead of them. In short the squad we have is mainly young and, in a large part, British. We currently have a manager who has worked with these players for a year, and in some cases eighteen months, and changing manager now could mean a lot of these players starting again from scratch. The long term development of the current squad is best suited to happen under the guidance of a manager already familiar with all of the players.
Focusing on improving the team we have, and therefore making the most of the money FSG have already spent, could lead them to think that changing the man at the helm right now could be bowing to media pressure rather than truly looking at what's best for the development of the playing staff. In short if FSG decide the arguments for keeping Kenny in charge are good ones then that is the decision they should make and the fans will come back next season and support the players and the manager the way they always do.
One thing is for certain though, with the amount of speculation currently doing the rounds it's important that a decision is made soon and made public.
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