Good post Thundyr. Although this doesn't apply to you, I think that if I post something reasonable, i.e. 'we should get the best manager possible and that might not be Kenny', a lot of people read into it, that I am against Kenny, and some react as if I've insulted them. It gets ridiculous at times. Who here doesn't want the best manager possible? Is Kenny, it's debatable.
Kenny has done what was needed. Got us back to where we should be in the table, and playing proper football again, as well as lifting the players. I'm pleased about that. If we can't get a better manager, then I'm happy to go into next season with him in charge.
There are a few concerns though:
-If he's not going to be the long term choice, then why not get the long term choice in at the end of the season? Otherwise Kenny will be buying players that the long term manager might not want.
-Why is Poulsen still starting games?
-We had no left back, he got rid of Koncheskey (fair enough), but didn't get anyone in.
-We have no wingers, Kenny spent more time trying to get Adam, who is a fine player and would have improved us, but it wasn't the priority.
-Question marks over the Carroll deal. Could we have waited until the end of the season and paid less for him? Probably.
-Why are we so inconsistent?
As for the 50% win rate, that's decent, but he's currently only at 46% win rate according to wikipedia. To put that in perspective, Hodgson had a win rate of 42%, while Rafa had a win rate over 55%.
I never thought you were against Kenny, merely that you were for the idea that we should consider
all the options regarding our manager come the summer. Just because Kenny is doing a good job now doesn't imply that he's the best choice we have. Look at Hodgson winning 5 in a row in Europe with our second string for proof of how too narrow a view blinds us to the truth.
However if we analyse what it is we need from our manager next season we will see that we don't need an egotist who cares only for his record of winning the CL with as many teams as possible. We're Liverpool FC - we don't care about occasional triumphs in the short term, we care about sustained dominance the way we did it from Shanks to Paisley to Fagan to Dalglish. Glory will come of its own accord in these circumstances. For me, Mourinho simply doesn't fit the bill to manage this club, just as Hodgson did not (though for different reasons obviously). Employing him would be nothing more than a short-term experiment, so I'm pleased he doesn't want to manage us.
To your concerns:
1. If Henry has already scheduled to have talks with Kenny regarding the managerial role, then I suspect they intend to settle on a manager before the transfer window opens. I could be wrong, but hopefully FSG will show sense, though Commolli will act as continuity between managers regardless. I hear you, and it could be a problem, but I have some faith it will all work out well.
2. Who else will play in midfield if not Poulsen? I don't like him either, but we're very thin on the ground, and I'm not convinced Spearing is a better option. Beggars can't be choosers. If nothing else, game time for Poulsen may raise his value to a potential buyer.
3. The way Kenny handled Johnson and Kelly has been nothing short of brilliant, and I honestly feel that Wilson is a better LB than Konchesky, so we have cover. This doesn't mean we don't need a proper LB, but I felt we all came to understand that Konchesky is a worse LB than Poulsen is a DM, which leads to my next point.
4. 3-5-2 doesn't need wingers. Adam would have replaced Poulsen. Kenny had a plan but not enough time to implement it, and Holloway was a pr*ck; that's enough for me.
5. I don't think waiting for Carroll would have been right, especially since the only reason to wait would have been to save money from the Torres sale and force N'Gog onto the pitch in the EL knockout stages. We would also have accepted the label of "selling club" too meekly. This way Carroll has 6 months to get back to fitness and to integrate himself with the side, and gives the side the chance to integrate themselves with a new style of play. I think of this as the longest pre-season ever, with a chance of silverware to boot.
The reasons to buy Carroll far outweigh those to not.
6. Inconsistency is due to fitness and lack of squad depth. We lost against West Ham due to fatigue - pure and simple. We lost to Braga because the man who is making a difference to the side is cup tied, and we are out of options in midfield when SG is injured. I also think that under Hodgson we lost our match sharpness - I got the feeling we had become lazy in every position, so now that we play a higher tempo it's catching up with everyone and we don't have the depth to properly rotate the squad.
7. Win rate is only "bad" because Kenny had 3 games within 7 days of taking the post, and 3 is still a large percentage of games he's been in charge. I'm sure as the season progresses that will smooth itself out. He only won 60% or so with the best squad in Europe, so that he's near enough to 50% without the FA Cup and Blackpool games is fine for now. Obviously we want better, as Rafa has set the high-water mark, but remember the state the squad was in when Kenny took over: the initial LLD is not a reflection on Kenny alone.
Whew! Long post. I understand your concerns, and many are real, but I'm sure that these things are obvious enough to not be overlooked by the LFC brains trust. Baby steps.
