By Elliott West
“When Kenny shines, the whole team is illuminated”.
Bob Paisley
Introduction
Sir Kenny Dalglish is widely regarded as the greatest player that the Liverpool football club has ever produced, scoring 172 goals and having 167 assists during a career that spanned 515 games. A gifted forward who contributed to Liverpool winning 16 trophies as a player and 7 more pieces of silverware during his two spells as a manager. A player in the glory days of Liverpool when they were an invincible force under Bob Paisley in the late 1970s with teammates such as Ray Clemence, Emelyn Hughes and Tommy Smith to the flair of the 1980s team that included John Aldridge, Alan Hansen, Bruce Grobbelaar, Graham Souness and Ian Rush. This Glaswegian was pure dynamite on the pitch and was every penny of his £440,000 transfer fee from Celtic in 1977. A player who also made 102 appearances for Scotland in 1971 and 1986, scoring 30 goals and the most capped with Dennis Law.
Now 72, Kenny is an honorary member of the Liverpool executive and continues to work tirelessly for numerous charities but has lived through the highs of Liverpool’s pomp to the lows of that fateful day of Hillsborough in April 1989. A disaster that would claim the lives of 97 victims. A man who became the voice for a grieving city and has worked continuously since to keep the fight for justice going. A horrific incident that left him suffering from acute post-traumatic stress to the point that he felt like he was going mad and caused him to retire 22 months later, his self-confidence and decision-making temporarily shredded.
The Player
Kenny Dalglish was described as being “unplayable” as a footballer, a great who shares the heroic plinth with George Best, Sir Bobby Charlton, Bobby Moore and John Charles. His speed of thought and intuition astonished those who played alongside him. That second that Ian Rush knew Kenny was on the ball, he was off, and the pass always seemed to follow. He could find the pass even when he didn’t see Rush from 40 yards back. A ball that is etched in the minds of the Liverpool team in 1982 when they played Watford and won 3-1.
There were the goals, of course. The winner at Stamford Bridge in 1986 which pipped Everton and West Ham to the title. The dinked finish against Club Bruges in the European Cup final at Wembley, eight years earlier. He was operating on a higher cognitive level than anyone else. A time when many a football pitch was a quagmire of mud or littered with a blanket of snow. Rain or shine, he was there, adorned by the numerous advertising boards that fenced the pitch, promoting products such as Dulux paint, Gordon’s Gin and Woolworth.
The Manager
Kenny’s reign as Liverpool manager is second only to Bob Paisley. A reign that is resplendent and often breathtaking. The reigns in the aftermath of the Heysel tragedy in 1985 where 39 people died in the Juventus-Liverpool final. An age where fans were penned into the stands by high fences and chicken wire. A fight between the two opposing fans led to a stampede to escape where the victims were crushed to death. Dalglish stripped out the backroom staff, bringing in people like Steve Heighway and Phil Thompson and signing players such as Peter Beardsley from Newcastle John Barnes from Watford and Ray Houghton from Oxford United. Graeme Souness said his friend had an ingredient for success, he scared people with a growl and even just a look. A strong character who could command respect as a man. He was no soft touch, as his former teammates would discover. Dalglish however, had a poor relationship with the press, was often rude and did not play the media game. The result was that journalists became more critical and less likely to give him the benefit of the doubt before putting the boot in.
Ironically, Dalglish would later be called upon by the media to offer his views on the club, and appear on TV as a match summariser. To his eternal credit, he tries to see things from the perspective of the manager and refuses to land the low blows so common from a number of other ex-players. Kenny liked to be flexible with his line-ups and didn’t go for wholesale changes like other clubs. He also refrained from naming his team until shortly before kick-off. A method of management that the players weren’t always happy with. A style that caused a lot more intensity in training. He was a percentage-winner manager and had an eye for signing good players but lost Ian Rush to Juventus in 1987 for £3.2 million. A manager coped well with scrutiny until the bitter end. An end that left him with painful headaches and a rash that covered his body and spread onto his face. A teetotaler, he even turned to drinking, drinking wine to reduce his irritability at home. This culminated in his resignation from Liverpool in 1991. After a sacking from Newcastle United in 1998 and an interim position at Celtic in 2000, he briefly returned to the club between 2011-12 with limited success.
Hillsborough
The horrors of Hillsborough still linger in Liverpool with a poignant reminder to every Liverpool fan. A shockwave that has left the families of the dead with a hollow outcome, one where true justice is clearly missing. Kenny was there and witnessed this harrowing incident where numerous safety measures were missed and a cover-up ensued. Six days after this tragedy, Dalglish returned to the ground. A mix of floral tributes and two oranges left behind the barriers. A moment that made him weep and brought back flashbacks of that terrible day. An event caused shortly before kick-off, in an attempt to ease overcrowding outside the entrance turnstiles, the police match commander, David Duckenfield, ordered exit gate C to be opened, leading to an influx of supporters entering the pens. This resulted in overcrowding of those pens and the crush.
Afterthoughts
Kenny Dalglish is a true football legend. A brilliant player and manager, he has Liverpool running through his veins and is an honorary member of the city. A man who has true X Factor and a genius as a player and manager. His recent lifetime achievement award at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year shows how much he is revered in football amongst his players and fans. Someone who like Alex Ferguson will never let go of a sport they both adore.
