24Jan

Pivotal week threatens to undermine Dalglish’s authority

by Mike Calvin

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Kenny Dalglish is the exception which proves one of football’s most sacred rules, that no individual is bigger than the club. He is Liverpool Football Club, warts and all. An iconic player, successful manager and spiritual leader, he embodies the strengths, and shortcomings, of a club which prides itself on its humanity.

Dalglish has seen the worst of times, Heysel and Hillsborough, and the best of times, European and domestic dominance. His power at Liverpool is absolute, and his personality is uniquely intimidating. But not even he can avoid the implications of failure over the next five days.

His unprecedented attack on his players has raised the stakes in Liverpool’s attempt to reach a first final in almost six years. Defeat in the Carling Cup by Manchester City at Anfield tomorrow night would lead to the first stirrings of rebellion. The mood in an already-flammable FA Cup tie against Manchester United on Saturday lunchtime will be manic.

That occasion will be fuelled by the enduring passions of the Luis Suarez affair, which Dalglish has done nothing to dilute. No one seriously doubts his central role in Liverpool’s extraordinary contempt for the FA and its disciplinary processes. Defiance is in his DNA, and he knows how to play to the gallery. Yet we live in changing times.

Owners John W Henry and Tom Werner, who flew into Merseyside yesterday, are emissaries from a different culture. They are businessmen, with a vested interest in developing Liverpool as a global brand. They literally cannot afford a maverick manager who fails to think through the consequences of his actions.

Dalglish’s outburst at Bolton stunned the football world because, like Arsène Wenger, he reserves his strictures for the privacy of the dressing room. It defied the culture of the boot room, established by Bill Shankly and embellished by Bob Paisley. It was the act of a man under pressure to justify himself.

I am convinced Liverpool’s long-term future is healthy. The quiet revolution at the Anfield academy leaves them well placed to excel in a climate of greater financial scrutiny. Yet football is a short-term game.

Champions League football is as far away as ever. The frustration at the failings of marquee signings like Andy Carroll, Stewart Downing and Charlie Adam is dangerously corrosive. Like Wenger, Dalglish needs quick wins to prevent the masses making a previously unthinkable challenge to his authority.

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Watch Liverpool live on BT Vision:
Liverpool v Man City (agg 1-0), live 7.30pm, 25 January, Sky Sports 1 (Carling Cup semi-final, 2nd leg)
Liverpool v Man Utd, live midday, 28 January, ITV1 (FA Cup fourth round)

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