Liverpool FC manager hunt: James Pearce's analysis on FSG's search for the new Anfield bossTHERE’S a sense of unease among Liverpool FC supporters. Six days after the sacking of Kenny Dalglish, the club’s future remains shrouded in uncertainty.
Fans have been promised the dawn of a bright new era under Fenway Sports Group (FSG) but it seems not everyone is rushing to sign up to it.
Frank de Boer became the third candidate on the owners’ extensive list to spurn the opportunity to discuss the managerial vacancy with the Reds.
The highly-rated Dutchman, who has led Ajax to back-to-back titles, would have been a serious contender to succeed Dalglish but turned down an approach
from FSG.
“I am honoured by the request, but I am only just getting started with Ajax,” De Boer said.
“In Amsterdam we are on a new path and, along with the club and Wim Jonk and Dennis Bergkamp, my colleagues in the technical heart, I want to bring good things. That’s why I will stay loyal to Ajax in the coming years.”
Swansea City’s Brendan Rodgers and Borussia Dortmund’s Jurgen Klopp had already ruled themselves out of the running.
Questions are being asked about FSG’s scattergun approach to their recruitment drive.
Identifying around a dozen candidates across Europe and then contacting them to establish whether they would be interested in discussing the possibility of making the switch to Anfield was never going to be straightforward.
Anyone already employed at a club would be taking a big risk by publicly displaying their desire to work elsewhere in the knowledge they hadn’t even made the shortlist.
However, FSG insist they have no regrets about the way they have gone about finding a new boss. Principal owner John Henry and chairman Tom Werner believe they had a duty to cast the net far and wide and try to speak to a wide range of managers.
They will persist with the pre-planned extensive process and have dismissed reports that the recent rejections have now turned it into a two-horse race between former Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas and Wigan’s Roberto Martinez.
Both are expected to hold talks with FSG later this week but Liverpool’s owners are continuing to sound out other options.
They won’t deviate from their blueprint and it’s expected that it will be next week before a shortlist of around three or four candidates is drawn up. Regardless of outside pressures and the fact the transfer window opens next week, they won’t be rushed.
Managing director Ian Ayre has described the appointment as “absolutely critical” to Liverpool FC’s future and has admitted the Reds can’t afford to get it wrong.
Ayre has been making the approaches following lengthy discussions with Henry, Werner and the advisers the Americans have employed to help find the Reds’ next manager.
Bookies’ favourites Villas-Boas and Martinez fit the bill in terms of young coaches who could slot into FSG’s new structure at Anfield. However, both have their share of detractors amongst LFC fans.
A year ago, Villas-Boas was regarded as one of Europe’s brightest talents and Chelsea paid an eye-catching £13.3million compensation to Porto to secure his services.
However, the 34-year-old lasted just nine months at Stamford Bridge after falling out with a number of senior players, failing to command the respect of the dressing room and overseeing a disastrous run of results.
“I’m still choosing the right project and that decision will take the necessary time,” Villas-Boas said on Sunday.
Martinez, who has been granted permission to speak to Liverpool, has no such blot on his copybook. He got Swansea City promoted into the Championship and, since he took over at Wigan in 2009, his reputation has grown steadily.
The 38-year-old Spaniard has kept the Latics in the Premier League on a shoestring budget playing attractive football – but managing Liverpool would represent a very different challenge. The pressure and expectation levels would be far removed from life at the DW Stadium.
Wigan chairman Dave Whelan believes Martinez is destined to manage one of Europe’s top clubs but it would represent a leap of faith from FSG.
Many supporters want to see former Reds boss Rafa Benitez reinstalled in the job he left two years ago. However, Benitez has yet to be approached.
The names of Frank Rijkaard, Michael Laudrup, Laurent Blanc, Guus Hiddink and Louis Van Gaal have all been discussed by FSG, along with that of Didier Deschamps.
Marseille boss Deschamps was first linked with Anfield following the departure of Benitez in 2010.
The World Cup winner could be tempted away from France after a disappointing season saw them finish 10th in Ligue One. He has distanced himself from speculation linking him with Liverpool FC but that may change if there’s an official approach.
“When it goes badly, there is a need to recharge,” Deschamps said.
“I will leave on vacation but it is expected that I be there (Marseille) for July 2.”
While a number of approaches have been publicly rebuffed, FSG insist others have been privately accepted. They are determined to keep as much of the process under wraps as possible.
Ayre said last week that the role of Liverpool boss remains ‘one of the biggest jobs in world football’ and that ‘a top class manager’ will succeed Dalglish.
FSG insist that promise still stands – despite a hat-trick of high-profile rejections.
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2012/05/22/liverpool-fc-manager-hunt-james-pearce-s-analysis-on-fsg-s-search-for-the-new-anfield-boss-100252-31018365/ Its Martinez and its not even funny any more .
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