Swatting the myth that Kenny is purely a 'lucky' manager

[TheDrowningMan]

I present an article from The Guardian's Paul Doyle circa 2007, which goes some way to dismantling the myth that Kenny merely 'bought' the title at Blackburn. It doesn't mention that once in the Premier League their cash only really lent them something like parity with the other big spenders (unlike Chelsea and City) but other than that, it's good.

 

Oh, and the bit about Sutton failing at Chelsea because he didn't have wingers. We all know why Carroll will be a success if the right players arrive in the summer, and no one can doubt for a second that our manager does, too. :yes:

 

On Second Thoughts: Blackburn's title triumph

 

Forget what the naysayers claim about 'the team that Jack built': Kenny Dalglish achieved more at Ewood Park than Jose Mourinho did in west London.

 

 

Blackburn Rovers' class of '95 - the very mention of them usually elicits dismissive snorts, quickly followed by righteous jibes about "Jack Walker's millions", "buying the league" and "bloody diabolical football". Compare and contrast that reaction to the respect, albeit often begrudging, accorded to Jose Mourinho's Chelsea. Perhaps Kenny Dalglish should have worn a trendier trenchcoat?

 

Though he may never have led cops on a wild goose chase to protect a fugitive dog, Dalglish achieved more at Ewood Park than Mourinho did in fashionable London. Mourinho took over Champions League semi-finalists who already boasted world-class players and a pristine stadium - and after massive investment he shunted them up a few places in the league. Dalglish inherited a ramshackle outfit writhing at the foot of Division Two in front of home crowds of less than 10,000 - and after sizeable investment catapulted them back into the top flight for the first time in 26 years before turning them into national champions for the first time in 81. All in less than half a decade. That incredible rise should be celebrated more than Chelsea's.

 

They may have been relegated four years later, and were rarely anything other than embarrassing in Europe, but Blackburn were undoubtedly deserving champions in 1995. Yes, their win justified Walker's expenditure, but most of all it was reward for eternal qualities such as speed, power, discipline, determination, intelligence, organisation, skill and goals - 80 goals, to be precise, more than any other team in the league (and, at a rate of 1.90 per game, more than Chelsea ever mustered under Mourinho).

 

Most of those goals came from Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton, both of whom had been bought for record fees. But so what? Almost all successful sides spend heavily and they're usually applauded for it - why reserve ridicule for a club who built sensibly after buying wisely when there are so many who've splurged stupidly and flopped? Newcastle, for instance, also set a record when they bought Shearer and what did they win? Nothing, because they were a defensive disaster. And how many goals did Sutton score at Chelsea after being lured there for £10m, double what Blackburn had paid for him? Sod all, because Chelsea didn't deliver any crosses. Any jackass can buy good players; it takes a shrewd eye to know which ones can be compatible, and canny work to ensure that potential is consistently fulfilled.

 

Blackburn had balance. In Stuart Ripley and Jason Wilcox they had wingers who usually raced to the by-line, occasionally cut inside, but, unlike more celebrated widemen, almost always produced a telling pass. As did Tim Sherwood, who marshalled the middle in a way Spurs never managed to make him do, tackling imperiously and probing smartly. Mark Atkins was a competent, cheap stand-in for the crocked David Batty. They were far from long-ball merchants - indeed, Shearer's strike at Newcastle in the FA Cup, for example, was the culmination of a free-flowing move from back to front and a strong candidate for goal of the season; not hit-and-hope, then, but generally fast, powerful and direct, like the Liverpool side of the mid-70s, who, as Dalglish obviously knew, used a similar approach to establish national dominance.

 

Blackburn's defence perhaps represented Dalglish's finest achievement. Here there were no bejewelled recruits - in fact, despite Walker's money, Blackburn had been unable to cling on to David May, who defected to the swisher surrounds of Old Trafford in the summer of '94, which is also when Rovers lost erstwhile stalwart Kevin Moran to retirement. So the back line included Colin Hendry, who had missed much of the 1993-94 season through injury after being bought from Manchester City for £700,000 (exactly what City had paid for him two years earlier); Henning Berg, a bargain buy from Lillestrom; and Graeme Le Saux, salvaged from a see-saw spell at Chelsea, who would be so impressed by his transformation at Ewood Park that they would buy him back four years later for 10 times the price they'd sold him for. That trio formed a formidable understanding, and the fourth member of the back four - until the £1.5m signing of Jeff Kenna in March - tended to be Tony Gale, a freebie from mighty Wealdstone; Robbie Slater, an unheralded Australian; or Ian Pearce, another cut-price Chelsea cast-off.

 

In short, the defensive foundation on which Blackburn's title triumph was built cost roughly the same as Newcastle had paid for Darren Peacock a year previously, and far less than Liverpool had just forked out for Phil Babb and John Scales.

 

There was, of course, another reason why Blackburn had the second-best defensive record in the league: Tim Flowers. The £2.4m goalkeeper was phenomenal all campaign, never more so than in the crucial 1-0 win over Newcastle in May, a result that meant Blackburn could afford to lose at Anfield on the last day if United failed to beat West Ham. People still carp about that Newcastle match - it is, you see, one of football's most enduring, most foolish falsehoods that if you win a game after your goalkeeper makes a string of super saves, you were lucky. Goalkeepers are part of the team; they are there for a reason. If you don't get wet when it rains because you bought an umbrella, are you jammy?

 

Luck was not a significant factor in Blackburn's title triumph. For a start, two of their most expensive signings - Batty and Kevin Gallacher - missed virtually the entire season through injury and another, Paul Warhurst, broke his leg before the run-in. Also, the fact that an unprecedented four teams were to be relegated to accommodate the reduction from 22 to 20 teams meant this was perhaps the most intense season in Premiership history as sides fought for their futures. Blackburn's consistency was all the more impressive for that.

 

What's more, refereeing decisions always seemed to go against Rovers: in the Newcastle game in which they were supposedly fluky, for example, Sutton had a fine goal ruled out for an imaginary offside. In October they travelled to second-placed Nottingham Forest (Blackburn were third) and won 2-0 despite Wilcox being sent off for dropping the ball before a throw-in, a heinous act that the incredibly pernickety referee deemed worthy of a second yellow card ... though earlier Stuart Pearce had escaped a second booking after bulldozing Berg and then taunting his prostrate victim. And in both games against Manchester United, Blackburn were thwarted by injustice. They were reduced to 10 men at Ewood Park after Berg was wrongly sent off for winning the ball cleanly off Lee Sharpe - Eric Cantona scored the resultant penalty and United went on to win 4-2. And at Old Trafford, where United won 1-0, Sherwood had a goal chalked off because Shearer brushed against Roy Keane in the build-up.

 

Despite such setbacks and regular sniping from the media, rival fans and, most of all, Alex Ferguson that Blackburn would do a Devon Loch in the final straight, Dalglish's men remained wonderfully resilient. This team, as Flowers memorably ranted after the win over Newcastle, had bottle. United, who had sought to bolster their bid by forking out £6m on Andy Cole in January (more than Blackburn had paid for Sutton), did not. And not one Blackburn player got himself banned for launching a crazed kung-fu attack on a Crystal Palace lout.

 

On Second Thoughts: Blackburn's title triumph | Sport | guardian.co.uk

[Guest San Don]

They can all fuck off. If the King is lucky as well as being a great manager, all the better for us.

 

The King is back. Believe!

[Section_31]

I've never heard it suggested Dalglish is/was a lucky manager in all honesty, I think the notion is ridiculous. It can't even be suggested that he just inherited a great team at Liverpool because he virtually built his own - which just happened to be one of the best ever.

 

Whether he spent big at Blackburn is irrelevent IMO, he bought players which slotted together and were taylor-made to win the league, it wasn't as if he just spunked millions on any flavour of the month player like city have been guilty of, he bought players who were often limited in ability but who performed a particular role perfectly.

 

He's a great, great manager and anyone who argues differently is probably a taxi driver from St Helens.

[King Emlyn]

I've never heard it suggested Dalglish is/was a lucky manager in all honesty, I think the notion is ridiculous. It can't even be suggested that he just inherited a great team at Liverpool because he virtually built his own - which just happened to be one of the best ever.

 

Whether he spent big at Blackburn is irrelevent IMO, he bought players which slotted together and were taylor-made to win the league, it wasn't as if he just spunked millions on any flavour of the month player like city have been guilty of, he bought players who were often limited in ability but who performed a particular role perfectly.

 

He's a great, great manager and anyone who argues differently is probably a taxi driver from St Helens.

 

Aye, never heard him described as lucky either. His achievements as a manager are underrated, but i'd not heard him described as lucky.

[bizzle10]

if the king lucks his way to no 19 i wont complain

[Faustus]

I've never heard it suggested Dalglish is/was a lucky manager in all honesty, I think the notion is ridiculous. It can't even be suggested that he just inherited a great team at Liverpool because he virtually built his own - which just happened to be one of the best ever.

 

Whether he spent big at Blackburn is irrelevent IMO, he bought players which slotted together and were taylor-made to win the league, it wasn't as if he just spunked millions on any flavour of the month player like city have been guilty of, he bought players who were often limited in ability but who performed a particular role perfectly.

He's a great, great manager and anyone who argues differently is probably a taxi driver from St Helens.

 

This is exactly what I think when I read of our reported interest in Stewart Downing. Don't get me wrong, I don't think the lad's a world beater or anything, but he's got one hell of a left peg on him and can certainly cross a ball. I doubt he'd be a regular starter, but the lad would be another option; somebody who can slot into an orthodox 4-4-2 should we need to go with it in certain games or the odd period in a match, stretch the play and supply Carroll with crosses.

 

It's pretty much the same with Valencia for the Mancs. Not a world beater by any stretch, but another option for them nonetheless and somebody who can do pretty much what I imagine we'd be looking for in somebody like Downing.

[TheDrowningMan]

I've never heard it suggested Dalglish is/was a lucky manager in all honesty, I think the notion is ridiculous. It can't even be suggested that he just inherited a great team at Liverpool because he virtually built his own - which just happened to be one of the best ever.

 

Whether he spent big at Blackburn is irrelevent IMO, he bought players which slotted together and were taylor-made to win the league, it wasn't as if he just spunked millions on any flavour of the month player like city have been guilty of, he bought players who were often limited in ability but who performed a particular role perfectly.

 

He's a great, great manager and anyone who argues differently is probably a taxi driver from St Helens.

 

I hear it from a lot of fans of other clubs, and not just those we consider our rivals. Inherited a great Liverpool team, won purely because of Jack Walker at Blackburn and then failed in his only 'real' job at Newcastle. Now, to be I'd suggest the real truth is that he has a remarkable record, in which he's finished outside the top five in the top flight in only one full season, but that poor, injury wracked year with the Geordies is considered by a lot to be evidence of what happens when he doesn't have all the cards stacked in his favour.

 

I'm not suggesting it's what everyone outside of our own gate thinks - there's plenty of respect out there too, astute fans who recognise what a good job he's done both past and present.

 

I said a while ago that Kenny's winning the title with Blackburn represents probably the biggest single managerial feat of at least the last twenty years and maintain that now. It was a remarkable triumph.

[Section_31]

I hear it from a lot of fans of other clubs, and not just those we consider our rivals. Inherited a great Liverpool team,

 

That's where their argument falls down instantly though, he lost one of our greatest ever strikers and constructed a breathtaking side in place of him. Anyone who says Dalglish is lucky just isn't worth listening to.

[George Costanza]

show me a lucky manager and you will also show me a great one

[Faustus]

History is littered with countless examples of managers inheriting great teams and doing fuck all with them. Who was that joker at the Mancs who replaced Busby? Wilf McGuinness? Look at Ray Harford after inheriting Dalglish's Blackburn side.

 

Kenny did inherit a great Liverpool team and managed to build a better one.

[Il Fenomeno]

How does the side Kenny left in 91, compare to the one he inherited in 85?

 

Were they about the same level in quality, or was there a massive difference eitherway between the two?

[TheDrowningMan]

How does the side Kenny left in 91, compare to the one he inherited in 85?

 

Were they about the same level in quality, or was there a massive difference eitherway between the two?

 

'85 was better. By '91 it needed freshening, that's for sure, but so do the Mancs now with some of their absolute lynchpins on their last legs as top level players. Kenny, like Ferguson, knows how to sign the right player more often than not so I've little doubt he'd have successfully reinvented the side once more.

[Brownie]

 

'85 was better. By '91 it needed freshening, that's for sure, but so do the Mancs now with some of their absolute lynchpins on their last legs as top level players. Kenny, like Ferguson, knows how to sign the right player more often than not so I've little doubt he'd have successfully reinvented the side once more.

 

We had some great kids coming through as well (Redknapp, McManaman, Fowler etc) don't forget. Imagine Kenny with those players! We'd have carried on winning leagues in my opinion.

[TheDrowningMan]

We had some great kids coming through as well (Redknapp, McManaman, Fowler etc) don't forget. Imagine Kenny with those players! We'd have carried on winning leagues in my opinion.

 

Absolutely. The myth that Kenny had failed to stand us in good stead at the time of his departure irritates me. Yeah, there was work to be done but we were top of the fucking league! Three good summer signings and youngsters of such quality and we're rolling again.

[manwiththestick]

Absolutely. The myth that Kenny had failed to stand us in good stead at the time of his departure irritates me. Yeah, there was work to be done but we were top of the fucking league! Three good summer signings and youngsters of such quality and we're rolling again.

 

This. A myth i often hear perpetuated by our blue friends is that he deserted a sinking ship which is about as true as the myth they were going to rule Europe if it wasn't for the ban.

[TheHitman]

People from within football appreciate his achievements, but the national media seem to be rather begrudging in giving him praise that his achievements deserve.

 

On the Blackburn front, it's worth mentioning one of their difficulties that they had was attracting the top players for various reasons. I'm sure I read somewhere he had a deal done for Keane prior to him moving to the mancs. He also wanted to sign Zidane pre Juventus days and Dugarry.

[TheDrowningMan]

. He also wanted to sign Zidane pre Juventus days and Dugarry.

 

Which allegedly lead to Jack Walker saying: "Why do we need Zidane when we have Tim Sherwood?".

 

And the Roy Keane thing is absolutely verified. I believe that Blackburn made the mistake of having no one in at the weekend to complete the paperwork, which lead to Ferguson making one of his infamous phone calls to the player.

[Section_31]

McMahon, Barnes, Aldo, Beardsley, Houghton, all Dalglish signings, and he turned Molby into the player he was. He's a teambuilder.

[King Emlyn]

Absolutely. The myth that Kenny had failed to stand us in good stead at the time of his departure irritates me. Yeah, there was work to be done but we were top of the fucking league! Three good summer signings and youngsters of such quality and we're rolling again.

We were on the decline though, I don't think you can argue with that, he was making some strange decisions as well, the away game at Arsenal when he played something like 7 defenders springs to mind; that said he was clearly not well, understandably so, and that was the reason it was happening, he just needed a break. Look at the pictures of him in the Everton dugout during the 4-4, he looked like an anorexic ghost. Would have been ideal if he had just been given 12 months away to recover and then come back refreshed. He's been away far too long that's for sure.

[clangers]

That's fine with me, who wouldn't want the luckiest manager at their club?

[Durango]

show me a lucky manager and you will also show me a great one

 

Bang on Georgie boy,

 

whose as more luck than Ferguson?

[King Emlyn]

Bang on Georgie boy,

 

whose as more luck than Ferguson?

Roy Hodgson?

[Unrighteous]

Dalglish is the McGyver of Football Managers. You give him a tennis ball, a broken shoe lace, and a monocle and he'll give you a title.

[zigackly]

Would have been ideal if he had just been given 12 months away to recover and then come back refreshed.

 

Or even six weeks ...

[dennis tooth]

This is exactly what I think when I read of our reported interest in Stewart Downing. Don't get me wrong, I don't think the lad's a world beater or anything, but he's got one hell of a left peg on him and can certainly cross a ball. I doubt he'd be a regular starter, but the lad would be another option; somebody who can slot into an orthodox 4-4-2 should we need to go with it in certain games or the odd period in a match, stretch the play and supply Carroll with crosses.

 

It's pretty much the same with Valencia for the Mancs. Not a world beater by any stretch, but another option for them nonetheless and somebody who can do pretty much what I imagine we'd be looking for in somebody like Downing.

 

Yeah, I'm not Downing's biggest fan. In fact I think he's an overrated left footed Beckham clone who just happens to be largely shite. That said, he would fit perfectly in a team put together to win the league with Kenny in charge and he would get him consistently working to put balls in for the forwards. I would be against signing him unless Kenny was in charge.

He can't even get in an England team that has been shite on the left for an extremely long time but then Stuart Ripley............loads of shit players have won the league by doing a basic job and hard work.