In the current era, it would be almost unimaginable for one of the world’s leading clubs to appoint a permanent player-manager, but that’s exactly what Liverpool did with Kenny Dalglish in 1985.
Merseyside was not thriving on an economic level in the 1980s, but their football teams were doing the business on the pitch.
The year 1984 saw Liverpool beat Everton in the League Cup final before winning the First Division and European Cup. The following season, the Blues won the league and lost the FA Cup final to Man United.
Meanwhile, the Reds reached their fifth European Cup final in nine years but lost 1-0 to Juventus in a match that was played in tragic circumstances following the Heysel Stadium disaster.
This was to be Joe Fagan‘s final game as Liverpool manager. Devastated by the events in Brussels and feeling it was the right time to leave, he retired that summer.
Liverpool had followed the Boot Room tradition of making internal appointments following Bill Shankly‘s resignation, first making Bob Paisley manager before Fagan succeeded him in 1983.
The likes of Ronnie Moran and Roy Evans were favourites to take over, but one man at Liverpool thought Dalglish was the right man.
Joe Fagan, Liverpool manager, 1985 (Image: Trinity Mirror / Mirrorpix / Alamy Stock Photo) 1980s
Speaking ahead of The Red Weekender‘s 40th anniversary of the 1986 FA Cup final, broadcaster Clive Tyldesley explained how the club decided to appoint Dalglish and what changed as a result.
“It is difficult to imagine in the modern era, a player in charge of a club of that standing,” Tyldesley told This Is Anfield.
“There was a very influential man at the football club whose title was General Secretary, but in modern terms he was the CEO (chief executive), a guy called Peter Robinson.”
Who was Peter Robinson?
Liverpool chief executive Peter Robinson
Robinson was a key figure at Liverpool from 1965 until 2000. During his time at Anfield, the Reds won 29 trophies including 12 league titles and four European Cups. Tyldesley explained:
“Peter took all the decisions at Anfield really.
“He did all the negotiating with incoming players. Obviously Bob Paisley and Joe Fagan would recommend players, but all the negotiations were done by Peter.
“He pretty much worked the media. We didn’t say or print anything without Peter’s nod. It was Peter’s decision [to appoint Dalglish]. He saw something in Kenny which I don’t think anybody else had seen.”
Working with chairman John Smith, Robinson helped oversee the club’s progress from sleeping giant to the country’s most successful.
Kenny Dalglish’s transition from player to manager
G4JKAR Liverpool player/manager Kenny Dalglish (left) and Ian Rush acknowledge their fans after they defeated Chelsea 1-0 at Stamford Bridge. Dalglish scored the winning goal in the 23rd minute, clinching. the First Division championship for Liverpool. 1986. 1980s
Having been appointed player-manager in 1985, Dalglish initially left himself out of the team.
However, as the season progressed, the 34-year-old began to play more regularly and this coincided with a brilliant run to pip Everton to both the title and FA Cup.
While results were good on the pitch, it wasn’t necessarily easy for Dalglish to transition, and he had to change his approach to the dressing room.
Tyldesley said: “What all of us saw in the wake of the Hillsborough tragedy, the intensity and the stature of the man and indeed Marina, his wife – I’m totally in awe of how they handled themselves in the two weeks after the events in Sheffield.
“And that was the man that was emerging: very strong-willed, very single-minded. From our point of view, a total nightmare because he didn’t want to do interviews.
Kenny Dalglish scored the goal which won the Division One title in his first season as player-manager on his way to the league and FA Cup double, 1986 (PA). 1980s
“When he did interviews they were monosyllabic. The words that he did say we couldn’t really understand.
“I knew him. I played golf with him when he was a player, but when he became manager he almost like drew up a blind between us.
“He wasn’t difficult but clearly everything had to be on a different footing and I think he was the same with the players.”
Clive Tyldesley was speaking ahead of The Red Weekender‘s event with Dalglish, Ian Rush and more Liverpool Legends, marking the 40th anniversary of the club’s double-winning campaign of 1985/86.
*The event is being held this Sunday (May 10) at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool. Find more details here.*