Fall of the 'king'

One of the most unpredictable and dramatic English Premier League seasons ended shortly before 5.00 pm on Sunday afternoon. What a season it was!

Who would have thought that Manchester United would beat Arsenal 8-2 or that United themselves would get hammered in their own back yard by their 'noisy neighbours' Manchester City? Who would have thought that Newcastle United would on the final day of the season, have a chance of finishing third, but eventually finish a commendable fifth? And who would have thought that the two Manchester clubs would finish level on points after each of them in turn had held a significant points lead? Who would have thought at 4.50 pm that United would have their 20th championship snatched from them with only seconds to spare? As I said, what a season it was. It's why the English Premiership remains, if not technically the best in the world, then surely the most exciting. Roll on next season!

In the wake of all that excitement I learn that Liverpool have parted company with their manager and talisman, 'king' Kenny Dalglish. And quite right too I say!

The reasons for his dismissal are no doubt the fact that Liverpool finished outside the top six (they finished 8th) and worse still they finished four points behind neighbours and rivals, Everton. True, they won one trophy and reached another cup final but in modern day football for a club like Liverpool, that is not sufficient.

Personally I feel that the departure of Dalglish should have occurred much earlier in the season and have had nothing to do with their results on the pitch. I refer to his total mishandling of what has become known as 'the Luis Suarez affair'. Suarez was found guilty of racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra back in October last year. He was subsequently fined and banned for eight matches. Despite the fact that an independent report found that Suarez gave unreliable evidence and 'damaged the image of English football around the world', Dalglish stood by his player and even appeared in front of TV cameras wearing a tee shirt in support of the Uruguayan. He then compounded the situation in a post match interview after Suarez had refused to shake the hand of Evra. Thankfully Dalglish apologised the following day for not conducting himself in a way befitting a Liverpool manager. Too little too late! In my opinion it was then that the axe should have fallen.

There is no doubting the love and passion that Dalglish has for his club nor that the fans idolise him. However there is no place for sentiment in the running of a football club and the club now have to look elsewhere for a replacement. I for one will not mourn the fall of 'the king'.