[Archived] When Dalglish Stepped Down....

[philipl]

I dont see the relevance in knowing what happened at that time, it only serves to take the sheen off a glorious period in our history that stands on its own as a remarkable acheivement.

94-95 will always read Blackburn Rovers Premier League Champions.

Good enough for me.

...and 92-11 Liverpool weren't

[ftry]

i remember that.. utd made a bid for Shearer, which we rejected and then placed a £1m bid Cantona :-) ... i think that's how it went..?

Shearer was on 5live yesterday talking about his career. Says he agreed to sign for Man Utd while at Southampton but they needed an extra month to find the cash so it didn't happen, he nearly signed for Sampdoria after we won the league and we agreed a deal with both Man U and Newcastle for 15m, he was going to sign for Man U and found a house until he talked to Keegan.

[Tim Southampton Rover]

he was going to sign for Man U and found a house until he talked to Keegan.

I know he goes on about playing for his boyhood team but do you ever wonder whether he regretted never playing for Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson?

[Mattyblue]

I know he goes on about playing for his boyhood team but do you ever wonder whether he regretted never playing for Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson?

He should.

When he left Rovers, he should have moved to a top European club or Man United , got a bagful of medals and then finished his career at Newcastle, Prodigal Son style.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Slightly disappointing comments from Dalglish.

The efforts make by Jack Walker to secure his services and the adulation shown by the fans towards him....did it really warrant him coming out with those honest,yes, but also cutting statements?,it does come across like his heart was not really in the job which is sad to hear.

Basically it sounds like he took his bat and ball home and stamped his feet when Liverpool told him he was not wanted back...his decision to vacate the managers job when Championsleague football was to be played at Ewood seemed odd at very best.

But then again NOTHING surprises me anymore in football.

[Andy]

Just going back to the 'Why sign Zidane...' thing from the last couple of pages - this was cleared up as nothing more than a rumour and something that was never said.

We had agreed a deal with Bordeaux for both Zidane and Dugarry, one of the two agreed but the other pulled out and the whole deal was off.

The reason for not signing Trevor Sinclair (when he was good), however, was apparently very much true...

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

The reason for not signing Trevor Sinclair (when he was good), however, was apparently very much true...

Says who?

[Stuart]

Just going back to the 'Why sign Zidane...' thing from the last couple of pages - this was cleared up as nothing more than a rumour and something that was never said.

We had agreed a deal with Bordeaux for both Zidane and Dugarry, one of the two agreed but the other pulled out and the whole deal was off.

The reason for not signing Trevor Sinclair (when he was good), however, was apparently very much true...

In that case it's a rumour that Sherwood himself is still selling.

[Kei]

The reason for not signing Trevor Sinclair (when he was good), however, was apparently very much true...

.....go on.

[philipl]

Jack had decided to stay loyal to the squad that had won the PL. The agent of Roberto Baggio was practically begging Rovers to sign him that summer as well.

[Gav]

The reason for not signing Trevor Sinclair (when he was good), however, was apparently very much true...

We never signed Trevor Sinclair because Gerry Frances got to him first and despite Kennys efforts to find him he signed for QPR - Thats from the man himself by the way.

We never signed Trevor Sinclair because Gerry Frances got to him first and despite Kennys efforts to find him he signed for QPR - Thats from the man himself by the way.

Kenny can do wrong in my eyes, the man walks on water, despite what he's said in his book.

[Lathund]

Jack had decided to stay loyal to the squad that had won the PL. The agent of Roberto Baggio was practically begging Rovers to sign him that summer as well.

That would've been so, so awesome. I think Zidane was a better player, but in a way Roberto Baggio is someone I'd have liked to see even more in a Rovers shirt. I loved watching him play. It's such a shame that quite a few people seem to know him only as the bloke who missed that penalty in '94.

[thenodrog]

What Kenny put in his book about the start of the 94-95 season makes you think that the parting at the end of the season was no major surprise.

It has also put a different slant on subsequent theories...but only Kenny, Ray Harford and the chairman at the time know more details of what went on.

And presumably Jack Walker.

[thenodrog]

The book is serialised in the Mirror - amazed nobody picked this up on Thursday when it first came out.

Very honest, but slightly uncomfortable read.

Personally I think it's all eyewash. imo Kenny is embellishing events to promote book sales. Rem the scousers still regard him as one of their own and there are lots more of em for birthdays and christmasses than BRFC wallers. But the real kicker is that I seriously doubt that at that time Liverpool could have afforded to take him back if Jack Walker decided that he was staying.

[nicko]

Personally I think it's all eyewash. imo Kenny is embellishing events to promote book sales. Rem the scousers still regard him as one of their own and there are lots more of em for birthdays and christmasses than BRFC wallers. But the real kicker is that I seriously doubt that at that time Liverpool could have afforded to take him back if Jack Walker decided that he was staying.

The meetings with Liverpool are presented as fact. I think that was probably correct.

I wonder if Rovers knew about these meetings? I somehow doubt it.

Very interesting new slant on that season.

The real eyewash was coming from King Kenny back then all right.

[broadsword]

Why is Kenny publishing a book now? It's hardly like he needs a bit of dough. I'm not impressed.

[RevidgeBlue]

Why oh why did Kenny have to piddle all over the Rovers fairytale with these revelations which reflect no credit on either him or liverpool and show a distinct lack of respect for both Blackburn Rovers and the memory of Jack Walker?

He surely can't be that hard up he needs to sell a few more books, and he is already a legend at Liverpool, surely he doesn't have to disparage us in order to improve his approval status with the fans there?

I idolised Dalglish until Friday morning for what he did here. I always remember his first press conference with Uncle Jack and his first appearance in the directors box in the old Nuttall Street stand. - the guy just has so much presence and charisma.

I'll never be able to view him with the same affection now though, knowing he spent seasons 93/4 and 94/5 secretly yearning to go back to Liverpool. Did anyone really need to know that?

Two other random thoughts appeared out of the article:

1) I hope Burnley Bob Coar tried a lot harder to keep him than saying "you'll have to go on gardening leave"

2) Kenny still doesn't specify the exact reason he left in 1995 AFTER we won the League AND he knew Liverpool didn't actually want him.

[philipl]

Agreed Revidge.

Kenny has just said that he cannot see why Liverpool cannot win the title this season.

For the first time ever, I burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of something Kenny has said.

No pwessure Woy.

[thenodrog]

Why is Kenny publishing a book now? It's hardly like he needs a bit of dough. I'm not impressed.

I imagine his agent anticipated him being newly installed in the Anfield managers seat right now. By appointing Woy have they now knocked him back twice perhaps? At this rate he'll have a better garden than Alan Titchmarsh.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Our 'can do no wrong' Premierleague winning manager says he would have left at the drop of a red hat,our current manager now states we are not good enough for him.....'kin ell! anyone else want a pop while the going is (not so) good?

[DE.]

Perhaps Dalglish has a certain guilt over his resignation as Liverpool manager. His leaving prompted Souness's arrival at Liverpool and a slow fall from grace.

Meanwhile, Kenny came back 8 months later - we can only assume because Jack was waving significant cash in his direction - took over Rovers and eventually led them to the Premiership title.

I imagine he often looks back and thinks "what if I hadn't quit?"

For what it's worth, though I will be eternally grateful to Dalglish for helping us achieve what we did in the years he was manager, his quite obvious alleigence to Liverpool means I can never truly love him in the same way as Garner or Uncle Jack. His heart wasn't ever truly at Blackburn, and that means he'll always be a level below the true club legends.

[thenodrog]

Our 'can do no wrong' Premierleague winning manager says he would have left at the drop of a red hat,our current manager now states we are not good enough for him.....'kin ell! anyone else want a pop while the going is (not so) good?

yes the opposing manager yesterday wanted to leave us for NUFC even though they were in a serious financial tailspin!

[Ozz]

Some more interesting revelations from Alan Shearer about his departure from Rovers. Around 8 minutes in or so.

BBCiPlayer from 5Live

[Hasta]

Sorry to drag this back to the top but I never saw the Mirror serialization of Dalglish's book last month. I happened to pick it up and read the Rovers chapter in Waterstones yesterday and was quite shocked. The only purpose these 'revelations' have in that book is to basically try to stress how much he loves the Mousers. To basically say that from the summer of 1992 onwards he always knew his time at Ewood was numbered due to Walker interference is quite surprising and just reading the 8 pages about Rovers left a rather strange feeling in my stomach.

[RevidgeBlue]

Sorry to drag this back to the top but I never saw the Mirror serialization of Dalglish's book last month. I happened to pick it up and read the Rovers chapter in Waterstones yesterday and was quite shocked. The only purpose these 'revelations' have in that book is to basically try to stress how much he loves the Mousers. To basically say that from the summer of 1992 onwards he always knew his time at Ewood was numbered due to Walker interference is quite surprising and just reading the 8 pages about Rovers left a rather strange feeling in my stomach.

Can you expand on what Dalglish said about "Walker interference"? That wasn't touched upon in the serialised newspaper article I saw.