Sunday, April 03, 2011

Kenny Dalglish Will Not Be Allowed Rafa Benitez-Style Freedom

Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish will not be allowed to operate in the same way as Rafael Benitez did during his time in charge at the club, once instated as permanent manager in the summer - according to a report in The News of the World.

Dalglish has been linked with the permanent role ever since John Henry fired Roy Hodgson back in January, and will be formally appointed to the post in the summer.

However, the former Reds’ striker will not enjoy the same latitude as Benitez did during his six-year stint with the club, as Fenway Sports Group have made clear they wish to put in place a more collective type of management to govern Liverpool.

The old tradition of the manager having the final say may be over at Anfield, with a new approach being adopted that not only relieves some of the pressure on the head coach but also widens the transfer approval procedure to the Reds’ director of football, Damien Comolli.

This means that all future signings will have to be agreed amongst the board’s appointed staff, limiting the manager’s independence in the market, which the owners feel was the core reason behind failure in the past.

John Henry and his colleagues were apparently astonished at the amount of freedom given to Benitez, which let him loose in a transfer window subject only to keeping within the set budget.

Reports have emerged that conflict has already arisen between Dalglish and Comolli, with Dalglish said to prefer the acquisition of Stuart Downing to the Comolli-favoured Ashley Young in the January window.

No comments: