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OK Liverpool may still be in both domestic cups but the real barometrical indicator of veracity is league position and anything falling short of a top four position can only be deemed as failure.
When Dalglish was appointed amidst much furore and unenlightened anticipation it was abundantly obvious to me that he was always going to fall well short of expectancy, I certainly wasn’t alone in that belief on here, there were others who thought the same, Martin, Micky and Indigo immediately spring to mind.
Now with the damage done to the Liverpool brand with the events of recent weeks or to be more precise the handling of said events it is entirely conceivable that the inevitable could come to be perhaps even more quickly than at first thought.
I certainly think that there are a couple of occurrences over the last few days that could hasten FSG’s hand.
Firstly the global reaction to recent events have seemingly forced the owners to intervene and in a classic case of damage limitations forced Suarez and more damningly Dalglish to issue formal apologies for their actions.
Secondly Liverpool’s shirt sponsors who pay some £20m a year for the privilege) have reportedly had “robust” dialogue with the owners expressing their dissatisfaction with recent events and the negative effect it could indeed have on their own brand.
Now the American owners of Liverpool are clearly good businessmen and will not be hogtied by the near messiah like adulation that is bestowed on Dalglish by the Anfield faithful and if he is perceived as not being up to the job both in terms of on and off the field management (which to me clearly he isn’t) he could well be out sooner rather than later. To this end I would not be surprised if there is now a contingency plan to move him out this summer should he fail in that probable prerequisite of a top four position.
Of course they couldn’t just give him his walking papers, should they do so they would risk losing the fans. However as I have mentioned already I believe them to be astute business men and in all probability have an understanding with Dalglish that should he not achieve the necessary, he will step down by his own choice and volition (or at least that will be story and appearance for public consumption)
Either way I expect the machinations of business are currently in full swing.
