8 Kenny Dalglish

Widely regarded to be one of the greatest footballers in the history of the world game, he won every honour at national and European level with Celtic and Liverpool and won 100 caps for Scotland. He became player-manager for Liverpool after Joe Fagan stepped down and his first duty in charge was to navigate the club through the Heysel disaster, which resulted in a ban from European football for the foreseeable future. Dalglish reduced his playing duties to concentrate on management and promptly led Liverpool to the double in his first season - something neither Shankly nor Paisley managed. Over his five full seasons at Liverpool, he won 3 league titles, finished in the top 2 every year and won 2 FA cups and a league cup, coming close to an historic second double. The keys to Dalglish's success as Liverpool manager were continuity, a winning mentality, tactical astuteness and shrewdness in the transfer market. His signings included Aldridge, Beardsley, Barnes and a young Jamie Redknapp. He added some flair to an already accomplished side but his focus on defensive tactics and unpopular decision to drop Beardsley did occasionally bring him into conflict with fans. Dalglish bequeathed his successor a team at the top of the league, some excellent younger players, including Redknapp and McManaman, as well as a youth policy that provided such future stars as Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen and Steven Gerrard. Dalglish gained the respect of all of Liverpool for his dignified behaviour during the Hillsborough tragedy when so many supporters lost their lives, visiting many funerals and leading the club through the human tragedy that scarred everyone associated with the football club. The stress of trying to meet his own very high standards and the emotional tubulence of the Hillsborough tragedy possibly contributed to Dalglish's resignation, which he said was due to the 'pressures of the job.' Dalglish returned 9 months later - batteries recharged - with Blackburn Rovers and managed to spend Jack Walker's millions astutely, guiding them from the second tier of English football to an eventual premiership title, beating Manchester United before he again resigned his duties as manager. During this period, he showed a keen eye for team construction, securing the services of a young Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton, creating a solid defence and trying to purchase Roy Keane and Zinedine Zidane while they were still affordable. Apparently when he approached the chairman for money to purchase a young Zidane, the chairman's reply was, "Why do you want Zidane when you have Tim Sherwood?" Dalglish remains one of the all-time greats, having won 4 league championships with two different clubs, including the double, and having guided a team from the lower divisions to the league title in just four years. He never had the opportunity to compete for European trophies due to the ban imposed on Liverpool in the 80s but any future titles in Britain or Europe would surely propel him into the top 5. After his highly successful period at Blackburn, he had a short spell in charge at Newcastle following on from Kevin Keegan as he had done as a player. He guided them to second place in his first season at the helm and the following season gave Newcastle one of their most memorable European nights, masterminding a classic victory over Barcelona. However, in his second season, he finished a disappointing 13th and was surprisingly sacked just 2 games - both drawn - into the next season. Fans didn't take to his dour persona and negative tactics and some of his signings were much less successful than at his previous two clubs. An ill-fated stint as director of football at Celtic followed, taking over briefly from John Barnes when Barnes was sacked. Dalglish then took several years out of football. He is presently an ambassador at Liverpool football club with a management role at the club's academy. He is being linked with a sensational return to the club as manager as Rafa Benitez struggles to meet expectations. If that were to happen, it would probably be the most popular appointment in Liverpool's history for the man they refer to as 'King Kenny,' Liverpool's greatest ever footballer and one of their finest managers.

British league champions: 4
Foreign league champions: 0
European cup: 0