Kenny was a fantastic manager but you couldn't expect a boxer to come out of retirement 17 years after their last major success and become world champion.
From Kenny's Viewpoint:
Reasons he should stay:
Kenny Dalglish is a Liverpool legend, and will always be. Kenny at the moment has been Liverpool boss for 15 months and in that time he has brought back a positive attacking style that seemed almost gone forever in the Hodgson days, and he has also brought Liverpool their first trophy since 2006. Kenny is in the semi-final of the FA and could complete this season with a domestic double. With Liverpool fans he doesn't have to prove anything, Liverpool are a club in a healthy financial situation so there is probably money available for him to spend. Kenny himself knows that the league form of Liverpool this season has been woeful and Kenny is a man fully self-confident so believes he can turn it around. For Kenny himself to ask for another 12 months where in which he can turn the fortunes of this Liverpool club around surely isn't too much to ask. Bettering almost every team that have come to Anfeild this season will surely give the Scot confidence. He'll look at the team and think with a bit of better luck, and a few better signings we can move onwards and upwards.
Reasons he should go:
Kenny Dalglish is a Liverpool legend and always will be. That is amongst the older generation and any Liverpool fan regardless of age who know the first thing about the club. This reputation however is starting to reduce ever so slightly:
Kenny for fucks sake this is ridiculous.Would have been a phrase no Liverpool fan would have ever uttered however it was a mutual thought when Jamie Mackie tickled home QPR's winner a few weeks back. Kenny at the moment is risking his monumental reputation at the club he loves.
Its also not just in the Liverpool fan base where is reputation is taking a hit, the dealing of the Suarez affair (no matter what your view is on it) lead to Dalglish being label a bigot and a racist (the latter mainly by people who get their opinions made for them by tabloid rags). Dalglish's handling of the media has also lead to public condemnation as the upbeat witty Dalglish of old seem now to be replaced with a more dour pugnacious man.
If Dalglish where to step down I can't see many Liverpool fans being angry at him. His reputation in years to come would still be the man who made it 6-0 in the 77 super cup final, the man who won 3 league titles and then the manager who brought a trophy (or 2) during the post-Hicks transition. Rather than the reputation he may get if he stays and result don't turn around.
From the Club and the fan's viewpoint:
Reasons he should stay:
Similarly to his personal reasons, Dalglish has won a trophy and has brought a more attacking brand of football to the Kop. It would take a very anti-Dalglish Liverpool fan to deny that this season for Liverpool has had its highlights and the FA Cup could provide a few more. Kenny made mistakes in the summer but there is nothing concrete to say that he won't resolve these issue and bring in better players now that he has had 15 months in the job and 15 months in modern day football management. 2012 would argue with me but Liverpool have not been terrible this season they were the better team at home when they faced Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal. So therefore Liverpool fans can hold out hope that next season their luck may change and they could take 3 points in the game where they have been deserving. The next issue comes in the form of Kenny's replacement who would come in? Jose Mourinho? Guardiola? (I'm not sure he'd be as good for a different) No Chance! As Chelsea proved in the summer there is no factory producing world class managers that you can just pick up. The job won't look to attractive either if a manager who's won one (maybe 2) trophie is sacked. Overall Liverpool fans should see signs of progress in their cup runs and also in their attacking football, and many will feel this has earnt Kenny at least one more year.
Reasons he should go:
"For Liverpool football club the league is the bread and butter", John Aldridge
Kenny in the league has not done well enough. In the summer JW Henry said that "4th Place has to be the minimum expectation" Liverpool this season will not finish 4th. At the time of typing Liverpool sit 4 points behind Everton in 8th (albeit with a game in hand) and only 3 points ahead of 14th. If Liverpool kicked it up 100 gears and won every league game they have left they probably still would not finish in the top 6. Kenny Dalglish has to take the lion's share of the blame for this as Liverpool's first 11 normally feature at least 3 of his signings and always plays with his tactics. You can blame injuries and the woodwork but simply put Liverpool have not been good enough. on the form table Liverpool would be 19th. A stat Liverpool fans often like to use is the "If the league started on ...... Liverpool would be ....." well if the League started in January Liverpool would be facing relegation. For a Liverpool side not to be mathematically safe in April is horrific, and Liverpool's worst league run in 50 years would almost certianly see any other manager out of a job.
Lady Luck:
She certianly hasn't shined on Liverpool this season, The above video was made in December when Liverpool had it the woodwork more since August than 90% of Premier League teams had the whole of the previous campaign. They've hit it a few times since. When the "Saves of the Season" compilation is made I would be flabbagasted not to see at least 4 saves made by opposition goalkeepers at Anfield to deny Liverpool a winner in the last ten minutes. Another "what if" for you; If every shot that hit the crossbar this season had actually scored Liverpool would still be in the chase for 4th place unfortuantly this is not how Football works. Liverpool have the same goals to aim at as every other team they're just not very good at doing it. Their finishing has been a horror show. Liverpool will also feel they've been unlucky with refs this season the 1-1 draw with Aston Villa for example saw Liverpool denied 3 penalties incorrectly. Liverpool however are not the only team who feel hard done by by Refs ask Wigan. Yes they've had more than their fair share of bad luck, but good teams make their own luck.
Injuries:
In November 2011 the majority of the world started to realise what educated fans realised a year before and that is that Lucas is a brilliant midfielder at his job. He is in the elite of breaking up play and keeping Liverpool on the ball and controlling the middle of the park. His injury was gigantic as his role has not been filled at all ( Sorry Jay Spearing I know you're trying your best). Another injury that has been Key has been Daniel Agger he and Martin Skrtel (sidenote: he has improved no end) have the most clean sheets of any centre back pairing in the Premiership, it is no coincedence that since his injury in the Carling Cup final that Liverpool have dropped way down the slope, as like Lucas he left a hole (Carragher is no longer good enough and Kenny doesn't seem to fancy playing Coates) Liverpool due to injuries and Suspensions have rarely been able to play Glen Johnson Lucas Gerrard Suarez and Agger in the same team I'm not sure of facts but I doubt its been more than say 10 games in all compettions. But alas Liverpool can't blame injuries they're not an alien concept to other teams Manchester United lost their best player and captian to a knee injury they sit top, Arsenal have missed a key centre mid all year and went 2 months without a full back they sit 3rd.
Dalglish's Dealings:
I say dealings becuase I mean sales as well as purchases, and just to let everybody know "Net" means nothing to be here, If Barca were to sell Messi and Xavi to buy Bradley Johnson and Ricardo Fuller they may have made a huge "Net Profit" but they've still done very bad business(no offence Bardley and Ricardo). Dalglish's signings have been pretty poor on the whole and if he is to find himself out of work he can probably blame this, I'll save Liverpool fans the time of going into every indivdual deal as this is already extremely word heavy, but certian mistakes have been key he sold both Aquiliani and Meireles and due to Injuries Liverpool have had to start many games with a Spearing Henderson( /Adam/Shelvey who I do like) partnership which is frankly nowhere near good enough for LFC. Carroll hasn't got the goals and Downing hasn't got the assists, and even the "better signings" like Suarez and Enrique have come in for righful criticism at times.
Dalglish's tactics:
Liverpool tend to announce their starting 11 around 50 minutes before kick off, however under Dalglish this tends to tell us very little as to how Liverpool are going to set up in formation. To tell the truth after 85 minutes of the game its often just as difficult to what formation they're playing. I've watched 95% of Liverpool's games this season and on many occasions Jordan Henderson has seemingly played CM CDM CAM and RM all in the same game. Things like Downing on the right and Kuyt on the left have left me stratching my head, and at time it's been crystal clear on the pitch that players are unsure of their roles. Yes Dalglish has set up some games perfectly and at times has set us up to attack and dominate teams, but he's also stuck with certian things that have confused an awful lost of people. Suarez doesn't tend to work as a loan striker, Gerrard is best as a CF, Henderson and Dirk playign seemingly regardless of form etc etc.
Conclusion:
Now apologies for those who've taken the time to read this and have been shaking their heads throughout but this is just my opinion and my observations. Alot of you get ready to shake them again becuase I think Kenny should step down at the end of May (not be sacked Step down) despite the positives I've mentioned above the negatives seem to outweigh them. It is often a joke Liverpool have to put up with that they all feel "next year will be our year" but most of the time there is sound reasoning behind it, however I feel this is one of those years where if Kenny stays on even the most tinted spec wearing Liverpool fans will struggle to say the phrase.For Liverpool a new manager new tactics and new ideas could be so so refreshing, and for Kenny he can leave with his head held high as he came in when we needed him and took us to Wembley at least twice. He is and will always be the King but now is the time for Simba ( A returning Rafa, Klopp, I don't know) to take over and lead Liverpool back to where they belong.
