Liverpool may regret rejecting former talisman

SIDELINE CUT:Liverpool bypassed so much of the club's old glory when they closed the door on Kenny Dalglish

IT WAS one of the images of the World Cup: Mark Lawrenson clambering up the Spion Kop in the Natal province to visit the famous hill for which the terrace at Anfield was named.

Every so often, the BBC slips into a league of its own in presenting ideas and Monday night, after the cagey Spain-Portugal match, was one such instance. In the studio were regulars Gary Lineker and Alan Hansen and the dazzling guests of the night were Clarence Seedorf and Jurgen Klinsmann, both of whom seemed unsure about the language which Hansen was speaking.

Without much ado, the programme suddenly switched into images of Bill Shankly and suited, mannerly post-war youngsters buying tickets for the Kop and the swaying bodies in song and Lawrenson, first as a ’tached beanpole in red scoring one of his occasional goals and then standing looking out over the veld some 40 miles south of Ladysmith. The idea was to explain the origins of one of the bloodiest – and most pointless – battles of the Boer War and how the name of Spy Hill was carried back to Britain and ended up attached to several football grounds before Liverpool finally claimed it.

There was something marvellous about a Liverpool old boy – particularly one as quietly classy as Lawrenson was as a footballer – actually climbing that forlorn hill.

Set against the golden South African sunset, the Lawrenson barnet was both resplendent and unmistakable and he spoke with such ease and empathy that Michael Palin and BBC’s other regular travel boffins must have spluttered into their tea-cups. Back in studio, Clarence Seedorf could only manage a confused “nah” when asked if he knew about the Kop but Klinsmann was moved by the feature and Hansen was quite rhapsodic, reminiscing about singing “poor Scouser Tommy” in the team bathtub after league and European Cup wins. Seedorf looked frankly uncomfortable as this point.

The future of Liverpool was up for grabs even as Lawrenson made the long trek north from Johannesburg to Ladysmith. Roy Hodgson was officially appointed manager of the club on Thursday but for the past fortnight it was clear the durable Croydon man had been targeted by the Anfield boardroom.

Whether Hodgson proves to be Liverpool’s saviour – for that is what is required over the next two or three seasons – remains to be seen. But as tens of thousands watched Lawrenson summiting the real Spion Kop on television on Monday night, several must have wondered about his former team-mate and manager and how those charged with running the club could reject the return of Kenny Dalglish at what is a critical hour.

Everything that supposedly makes Liverpool a little bit different as a football club – the history, the nostalgia, the mythical figure of Shankly – was contained in the film sent home from the South Africa.

The return of Kenny Dalglish would have been a gamble in that he has not managed at the elite level of English football for 12 years. But it would have been precisely the kind of theatre that Liverpool required. The American ownership, the squabbling Hicks and Gillett, have left the club finances in a mess.

The club is up for sale to whoever has the biggest cheque book. Steven Gerrard, 30 and bitterly disappointed after captaining a disastrous England World Cup campaign, is reportedly undecided about whether his future is at Anfield. The same is true of Fernando Torres and Javier Mascherano, both prize signings under Rafa Benitez and both still playing at the World Cup.

Keeping these three players would surely have been half way achieved simply by appointing Dalglish as manager. The popular reaction to Dalglish’s return, almost 20 years after his emotional resignation, would have been irresistible. The gloom which hangs over the club would have been instantly dispelled.

Expectations might have been unrealistic but the goodwill and optimism would have been unfailing. Dalglish, winner of a combined nine league titles as a player and manager with Liverpool, has many seasons of loyalty banked. He would have been given time, he could have persuaded the neon names to stay and most importantly, his reputation might have attracted new players to Liverpool.

It is a rare thing for a team or club to find someone who is inseparable from what the team represents. Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics; Christy Ring and Cork; Joe Di Maggio and the Yankees; Diego Maradona and Argentina, Colin Meads and the All-Blacks. These are people whose contribution to their teams transcended the time of their involvement. Short of resurrecting Bill Shankly, welcoming Dalglish back is the best that Liverpool fans could have hoped for. So why did they reject Dalglish after he had made plain his desire to return as manager?

The argument that he lacked contemporary experience hardly matters. How much has football changed in 20 years? This recent World Cup has highlighted the caprice which all managers are subject to. Diego Maradona, a laughing stock before the tournament began, has been recast as a maverick genius. Fabio Capello, the disciplinarian and tactician, was reduced to discussing the merits of permitting the boys to have a cold lager or two so that they might rediscover their A game.

Roy Hodgson’s football life is one of perseverance and shrewd judgment and, according to all reports, unfailing decency in what is a cut-throat environment.

You can highlight the miraculous revivals he conjured up in his time with Swedish club Halmstad in the 1970s or his steady hand at the wheel of Inter Milan during a vulnerable phase for that club in the mid-1990s. Equally you could ask why despite being persistently linked with the England job, he never actually nailed down the role.

Or you could point to his cataclysmic season with Blackburn Rovers in 1998, the first club who made serious money available to help spark a title challenge. Twenty million spent translated into a second from bottom finish, with just seven wins and a hasty departure. Guiding Fulham to 12th place last year took no little skill but that record involved just one away win all season; winning on the road will be vital to Liverpool’s rehabilitation.

Hodgson hasn’t got his hands on a trophy in the last decade and if his best achievement – bringing Fulham all the way to the Europa League final – was commendable was it any more impressive than the feat of the maligned Benitez, who won a Champions League with Liverpool and guided them to another final two seasons later?

Hodgson’s initial statements have involved vows of intent to keep the big names at the club. But are his employers more interested in selling them and transforming Liverpool into a steady, mediocre, mid-table club? Right now, that is where the arrows are pointing. Liverpool bypassed so much of its old glory when they closed the door on Kenny Dalglish. “Lawro” might as well have left a number seven shirt up there on Spion Kop.