They have a very particular way of doing business. It is a business model that has been successful for many years, and while people criticize their lack of experience in football, and their lack of passion for the sport or the perceived idea that they are only in it for the money, people are being short-sided. They hire good people, especially in upper management who are keen observers and they place a great importance in statistical data, using empirical evidence in lieu of word of mouth or instinct to sign players and they hire hungry, young coaches who are good motivators, player's managers to run the every-day play of the squad.
They inherited Roy Hodgson from the previous owners, were forced into hiring Kenny Dalglish as the club were struggling and now by all reports the Liverpool faithful are starting a groundswell of opinion to get Rafa Benitez re-hired at Anfield. None of them fit the bill, and none of them will likely work with the top-down management model that FSG are comfortable with.
A lot of the blame this year fell on former Director of Football Strategy Damien Comolli, who negotiated the transfers and contracts for Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam, Stewart Downing, Cristiano Doni, José Enrique, Sebastián Coates and Craig Bellamy. None of them had any real impact and the club's struggles were blamed on the interloper, the guy who came in and put brakes on the Dalgilsh train, but the reality couldn't be further from the truth. The emphasis was on signing young and primarily British players to provide the spine of a club floundering after years separated from the Shankly/Paisley boot-room. These were clearly players identified by Daglish. Luis Suarez, arguably the highest impact player signed by Liverpool over the last few years, ignoring the off-the-field problems, was a Damien Comoli signing.
While at Tottenham, Comolli signed these players for Spurs: Gareth Bale, Alan Hutton, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Giovani dos Santos, Adel Taarabt, Younes Kaboul, Luka Modrić, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Heurelho Gomes, David Bentley, Vedran Ćorluka, Roman Pavlyuchenko, as well as Dimitar Berbatov. The net was strewn in a wider radius and while the success rate was still give and take, I would rather have had Spurs' signings any day of the week.
The fact is that Kenny Dalglish's tenure was colored by the success he had in the past and people were more than willing to give him far more than any modern manager is allowed. He failed to handle the Luis Suarez affair correctly, he failed to handle the transfer market correctly, and in the end he failed to compete on the field, especially at Fortress Anfield where the won 6 games all year and dropped 21 points to the likes of Norwich and Swansea. It's no wonder that their respective coaches Paul Lambert and Brendan Rodgers were on the short-list to replace Dalglish and why both of them declined the offer to interview at a club with less stability and more volatility in support than the ones they were already at.
Who then to replace King Kenny if not Lambert or Rodgers? Fabio Capello is a wrong choice on so many levels and they're more likely to find a leprechaun's pot o'gold than be able to coax Pep Guardiola out of retirement. Alan Pardew is an interesting fit, he did everything the Moneyball kingpins seem to want to do in Liverpool at an even more unstable club like Newcastle United, but why would Pardew give that success up for Anfield? Tradition? The lure of the Kop and European nights at Anfield? That's ancient history. A manager today wants to work in a safe and healthy environment for his ongoing career and he wants to achieve success and European glory. Right now Liverpool are in no position to offer any of the sort to a top-line coach like let's say a Jurgen Klopp of Borussia Dortmund, a Michael Laudrup or even a Frank Rijkaard. They need to set their sights lower. Here are the names they are mentioning.
- Roberto Martinez: by the way it's Mar-teen-ez not Mar-ti-nez for one. He ticks off all the right cues. He is young and has experience in the Premier League. He has a keen eye for talent and has bought well at a very modest club like Wigan. His only drawback is that he is not a sexy hire for the Liverpool supporters.
- Andre Vila-Boas: a better fit in my opinion. Just one year ago he was the hottest coaching commodity in the world with a handful of clubs willing to offer his former club FC Porto the 15 million euro buyout clause to bring him in to lead their clubs. One year later he is damaged goods, the man who almost dragged Chelsea under and whose firing raised them to Champions League glory. People forget though that he got no help in putting his team in place, he was immediately set-on by back-room vultures and the same players that couldn't adjust to the likes of Scolari and Ancelotti. He would do well at Anfield, but I think his Chelsea connection would go against him unfairly.
- Didier Deschamps: it is odd to think that in the same competition that was making a legend out of Jose Mourinho, the 2003-2004 Champions League run, Didier Deschamps was having an even more improbable run and when their two clubs met in the final it was Deschamps's squad that held the public's interest. Since then he has managed Juventus through their ignominious year in Serie B, but was unceremoniously relieved of his job in their return to Serie A. He has managed Marseilles since 2009, at a club with even higher expectations mind you, but nothing about his managerial stints in two leagues makes me think he is the right man to steer Liverpool to a return and this is not a criticism of Deschamps, but it is of Liverpool though.
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