It's suspicious (IMHO) that the Guardiola name was thrown out there after the twitteraties questioned LFC's ambition, approaching someone like Roberto Martinez and Brendan Rodgers...So it's probably a smoke screen. It will not happen.
I agree. I'm sure they stuck the name in there to get press, and may have even sent out feelers, but Guardiola is not going anywhere for awhile, since he made it clear he wants time off.
If that system is what the owners want (I am not convinced but I don't have £500m to buy the club off them), then we have to play under those conditions. Thus my vote would be for Rafael Benitez as DoF with perhaps a younger ambitious manager coming under him. From the names mentioned, the one that excites me the most (but only under the stewardship of Rafael Benitez) would be AVB or even Samy Hyypia. But by the sounds of it, Rafa is too fractious to be considered for the job, so he's seemingly out of it.
In which case, I would want Klopp (but there are NO signs that he would give up the Dortmund project to come to Liverpool without champions league football).
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I disagree
The reason I think Kenny had to go is
precisely because of the system and the plan you mention. FSG has, from day one, intended to put in a young, promising manager and pair him with an experienced director of football. Kenny Dalglish is the
exact opposite of their desired profile for a manager. He was brought in to plug the hole after Hodgson's departure. I'm sure that FSG would have kept him (and Comolli) around had he done well, but after this season's results FSG is probably more convinced than ever that their original plan is best.
As for Rafa, Liverpool needs to look to the future, not the past. Rafa is a good manager and he won silverware. But I don't think he'd work well with (or as) a director of football at Liverpool. In his last stint he demanded total control over football operations. FSG won't want to give him that. Also, his transfer history is checkered. Was he a bad manager? Absolutely not. But I'm not convinced he's where we should be looking.
FSG need to take risks in order to find an up-and-coming manager they will stick with through thick and thin. A guy who will make mistakes but come out of it more experienced and committed to Liverpool for the long-term. Unfortunately, most Liverpool fans will not want to wait for this. They want to finish in the top four next year and be challenging for the league immediately. They want a manager with Mourinho's brain and Kenny Dalglish's body. And they want FSG to spend Abramovich-levels of money. That is totally unrealistic. I think our goals for next year should be to strengthen the squad in a couple areas, lose some deadweight and aim for 5th-6th in the league plus a cup or two.
Of course we'll shoot for a top four spot, but it should not be expected. Many supporters would call me crazy, but for as big as Liverpool is, we are in no way
entitled to success. It must be purchased/earned.
