Dalglish leaves post as Liverpool boss
442 Staff - Wednesday 16 May 2012, 16:21
Kenny Dalglish's second stint in charge
of Liverpool was ended by the club's American owners on
Wednesday as the Anfield great paid the price for his side's
worst Premier League finish for almost 20 years.
Once the dominant force in English football, Liverpool have
not won the championship since 1990 and the club's eighth-place
finish this season, when they finished 37 points behind
champions Manchester City, forced the Fenway Sports Group to
act.
"Fenway Sports Group (FSG) and Liverpool Football Club
announced that Kenny Dalglish is to leave his post today as
manager after having his contract terminated," the club said in
a statement on their website.
"After a careful and deliberative review of the season, the
club came to the decision that a change was appropriate. It is
not a decision that was reached lightly or hastily."
Dalglish, who guided Liverpool to a League Cup triumph in
February and also an FA Cup final appearance, is likely to
remain a firm favourite at Anfield after a glorious career as
player and then manager in his first spell which ended in 1991.
"It has been an honour and a privilege to have had the
chance to come back to Liverpool Football Club as manager," said
the Scot.
"Of course I am disappointed with results in the league but
I would not have swapped the Carling Cup win for
anything as I know how much it meant to our fans and the club to
be back winning trophies."
As a Liverpool player, Dalglish won numerous honours,
including six English league titles and three European Cup
trophies.
In his first spell in charge between 1985 and 1991 he won
three league titles and two FA Cups.
Dalglish, 61, returned to the club to replace Roy Hodgson in
January 2011 in a caretaker capacity with Liverpool 12th in the
standings and four points above relegation.
He led them to sixth place last year and signed a three-year
contract in May 2011.
Chairman Tom Werner said disappointing Premier League
results meant Liverpool needed to "make a change".
Despite just four home defeats, Liverpool won just six out
of 19 league matches at Anfield and recorded their fewest wins
in a top flight season since 1953/54 with 14.
They also ended the season with their lowest ever Premier
League points total and their fewest top flight goals (47) since
1991/92.
The club said the search for Dalglish's successor would
begin immediately.
Wigan Athletic manager Roberto Martinez has been strongly
linked in the media after piloting the north-west club out of
relegation difficulty with a strong finish to the season, while
fellow Spaniard Rafa Benitez is second favourite among British
bookmakers to make an Anfield return.
Benitez took charge in June 2004 and his first season ended
in triumph with the unforgettable Champions League final victory
over AC Milan in Istanbul. He also won the FA Cup in 2006 but
left by mutual consent four years later.