28 Oct 2011

Is Kenny Dalglish's irritated reaction over Andy Carroll justified?

In his press conference earlier today, Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish once again displayed his irritation with questions over Andy Carroll, and (unfairly) berated a journalist for asking a perfectly valid question about the striker.

The journalist asked the following question:

"We know Luis Suarez will take the headlines on for Wednesday, but Andy had a really good game. I know there have been one or two questions about his form, ut do you feel vindicated every time he puts in a performance like that?"

Dalglish offered the following withering retort:

"I don't know why he had to ride it. There's always one or wo questions. He was fantastic the other night, just leave it at that, and just leave your question at that as well, and don't keep looking for negatives. We've been through it before with the big fella".

After that, there was a few a seconds of awkward silence, and then Dalglish ended the press conference.

How exactly was the journalist 'looking for negatives'? It was a perfectly fair question - The Journo praised Carroll for his performance against Stoke, and was obviously expecting Dalglish to praise him too.

Carroll is Liverpool's record signing; obviously people are going to be watching him, and questions about his performance are inevitable and should be expected.



Dalglish may be Liverpool manager but he's also a representative of the club, and he has a duty (IMO) to act in a manner befitting the club in all arenas, including press conferences.

I personally don't think his increasingly irritated response to fair questions is the right way to behave. If someone asks a legitimate question about a player then he should either answer it, or decline to answer it in a polite manner.

I don't care if my opinion is unpopular on this - I know the media can be irritating but in this instance, the question was perfectly fair, and didn't warrant such a response.

Yes, I know Dalglish has always been this way (I remember from his first stint in charge), but media scrutiny has increased exponentially since then, and I just feel there's no need to be needlessly combative when answering questions about the club.

Jaimie Kanwar


52 comments:

  1. Tornike Khomeriki3:38 pm, October 28, 2011

    I think he didn't really get the essence of the question - he may have assumed the question was entirely made up of scrutiny as soon as he heard 'Andy'.

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  2. You are perfectly correct JK & in my opinion he should be stopped & asked his opinion on Andy Carroll each & every 5 minutes that pass by out of each & everyday .

    I dont care if Dalglish or anyone else within a specialized field of professionalism has an expertise that way & by far exceeds my own , if I have a rudimentary knowledge on a topic & an ill formed opinion on someone , I believe its my duty to bore the world & all around me by asking the same question over & over again in the hope I will receive the answer I desire .

    It is not for me to stop asking questions if I do not like the answers .

    It is not for me to either support their efforts or stop supporting the club if it isnt how I think it should be or how I perceived it used to be from reading romanticized historical reports !

    It is for the club to adapt to my notions & I wont hear another word about it !

    When I was a kid my parents once grounded me because of the phone bill I ran up , ya see I called the talking clock & I told it the time , it disagreed meaning that my watch musta been 1 minute fast so I simply sat there for 23 hours 58 minutes  repeating myself & guess what ?

    Thats correct I was proven right !

    I am the Champion HA ! HA!

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  3. Jaime, Have you ever thought about serotonin enhancement therapy?

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  4. He who is without sin casts the first stone ... it's easy to judge, and in this case, we don't know the full circumstances in terms of why Kenny replied the way he did. Who was the journalist that asked that question? Has he been asking about Andy repeatedly before, and Kenny recognized him, hence the retort? What was the tone used when the question was being asked? Was it condescending? .... Let's be honest. If Kenny said Andy's performance at Stoke vindicated his selection, his words would still be stretched and manipulated in the headlines tomorrow - "Kenny defends Carroll's poor form", etc. With the form Andy's in, he will attract attention. It's the media job - always looking for a story, and a catch 22 situation for Kenny. Damned one way or the another. The only way to stop the media from writing about him, is for Andy to score goals - starting from West Brom.

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  5.  Well said Willhan .

    You keep on playing like that & yer gonna be considered for a place in tha starting 11 .

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  6. "Dalglish may be Liverpool manager but he's also a representative of the club, and he has a duty (IMO) to act in a manner befitting the club in all arenas, including press conferences. "
    What exactly has he done wrong? He didn't offend anyone, like Roy Hodgson did with a Norwegian reporter, he didn't shout at anyone, or lose his rag. He just didn't want to answer the question about Carroll which i think is perfectly fine. IN fact I prefer it that way. 

    The question was slightly negative because it wasn't actually about Carroll's performance, it was about whether Kenny felt vindicated. Now Kenny has always backed Carroll 100% and has always said that he knows what he is capable off.

    Carroll is being protected at the moment and rightly so. He has this massive cloud above him because of the price tag, and Kenny is protecting him from the media by answering no questions. No answers means no articles about him on websites, in newspapers etc. He is also being protected on the field by not being played in every game. And it seems to be working. Against Stoke I though Carroll was very good in the first half and had a decent second half. Prbably his best perfromance this season. Hopefully his improvmenet will continue. And this is due to Kenny's maangement. keep the pressure of Carroll and allow him to regain his form.

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  7. Kenny does seem to have gone a little over the top with his answer, but as Brehon Law points out, it must get very annoying have the same question even in different guises.
    I think what also should be noted is that reporters often work together, and one asks a leading question, expecting a certain answer. Then the accomplice jumps in with the hard hitting planned 2nd question.

    We all have our ideas of how people should react, mine is. I'm quite happy to have a manager who has a dig at the media every now and then, because no matter how nice you are to them, they'll still stick it to you when the going's rough.

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  8. By God !

    If this keeps up we are gonna have a team to win the Premier League this season yet !

     

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  9. Kenny is doing what Fergie did to Kelly Dalgilsh earlier in the season when asked about De gea, defending his players to the hilt by nipping any negativity in the bud.  A preemptive strike if you will.  The press are scared to ask Fergie about De Gea now because they know what they'll get.  Kenny is old school in very much the same way.  That said Carroll was rubbish the other night and I haven't seen anything in his game since he joined that has convinced me that he can handle life in the LFC pressure cooker.  At the moment he is our Hodgson on the pitch.

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  10. That wasn't the only time in the Press conference that he had a go at someone. In an earlier question about the allegations against Suarez, he got the complete wrong end of the stik re the question being asked and made himself look a bit silly to be honest.

    There's no need for it in my view; he just comes across as belligerent and antagonistic.

    Agree with you Carroll. Saying he played 'fantastic' is a gross exaggeration.

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  11. There were no leading questions; this was an LFC press conference so they have final say on who attends. The journos are always very sympathetic to LFC's cause, and tend to be Liverpool-based.

    Why does it matter if Dalglish gets asked the same question over and over? He gets paid to answer these questions, and if he doesn't want to he can be polite about it.

    Anyway, the truth is he hasn't been asked the same question over and over. I've seen every press conference this season and the questions are varied; he just doesn't want to be asked about Carroll full-stop, probably because deep down inside, he knows he's made a mistake buying him.

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  12. I tried that but it didn't work.

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  13. theycallmemrburt.....were you watching the same game as everyone else on Wednesday. Carroll wasn't outstanding but he did have a good game. His link up play was better than it has been, his first touch and holding of the ball was better, he showed a lot more hunger and desire than he has done so far this season. He had 3 reasonably good chances, so he's getting in the right places. The only thing we need from him now is goals.

    The pressure cooker is created by the media and by the impatient fans, which is what KD is protecting him from. If he is managed properly then we will see the best of him.

    Our Hodgson on the pitch?? Thats a very strange comment. In what way? We won the game and the whole team played pretty well. In fact the last three games he's started in we've won so he's obviously playing his part in a TEAM game.

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  14. It's a total myth that KD is asked the same questions over and over. Carroll is a Liverpool player, and the press and the fans have a right to ask questions about him, and if KD doesn't like it then that's his problem really.

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  15. I take your points but the journo started his question by praising Carroll's performance against Stoke. Is that not a positive? Also, it's true to say that people have been questioning the effectiveness of Carroll this season, so that's a legitimate point of discussion. If a player isn't playing well there will inevitably be massive interest in why, and that should be expected. KD can't censor everyone forever.

    Re your point about KD being responsible for Carroll's improvement (if there has been such a thing), I disagree - I would argue it is KD's mismanagement that has caused Carroll to lose confidence and play poorly. Twice he's scored goals this season and twice he's been dropped for the next game. How is this effective motivation and management? Has this strategy worked? I would argue not.

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  16. Damn  those fiery passionate Scots !

    Rebuild Hadrians Wall & send em all back to tha Highlands once  for all !!!

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  17. And you can read his mind now JK?

    He doesn't want to answer the question because he is protecting him from the media. I don't know if you noticed but Capello said one thing about Carroll and it was in the news for about a week. Negative press about a young lad for no reason. He doesn't need it so Kenny is absolutely right to protect him from it.

    KD gets paid to manage the team, not to talk to the press. If he sees it fit that he doesn't want to give the media much then so be it. He doesn't owe the media anything.

    Do you think he is a mistake? Bit harsh isn't it, as he's only been here for 9 months? 3 goals in 10 starts in PL. Not a bad return considering he wasn't fully fit to begin with and has had an indifferent start to this season.  What happend to fans showing patience?

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  18.  Strange that I never heard Kenny complain about it .

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  19. So what was he supposed to say? He played ok? That would really build his confidence wouldn't it?

    There doesn't seem to any winning with you JK. If he doesn't answer a question you call him belligerent and antagonistic. If he says he played well, you say he's exagerrating.

    At the end of the day, Kenny doesn't owe the media anything. If he wants to sit there in silence then he can. If things are goign well on teh pitchm, whcih the are, I don't care what goes on in the press conferences before and after games.  

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  20. Of course KD gets paid to talk to the media - it's a contractual obligation to have weekly press conferences, and to talk to the press after matches. Any manager going into the job knows that dealing with the media will be part of it, and if they're not willing to do that then perhaps they shouldn't take the job in the first place.

    Instead of being antagonistic, he can turn it into a positive. In response to the journos question, he could've waxed lyrical about Carroll's Stoke performance. Problem solved. During the press conference, he was quite happy to effusively praise Suarez several times over, so why not Carroll?

    I do think Carroll is a mistake, yes. For 35m, we should be getting the finished article (or close to it), not someone who still isn't looking close to fitting in after 9 months.

    The other reason I think it's a mistake is that Carroll doesn't fit into the way this Liverpool team plays. It's set-up for fast, fluid football, with quick-thinking ball-players. Carroll is a lumbering, technically lacking target man, who will only thrive if the team is set-up to serve him.

    He is this team's Emile Heskey; if he stays in the team, he will be there only to serve Suarez, and for 35m, we should have a striker who's on the same level as Suarez, not some water carrier whose role in the team is just to make space for Suarez.

    Sorry if that sounds harsh, but I sincerely doubt we're going to see a Toshack-Keegan style partnership here.

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  21. Gary - he already said that he played fantastic. Twice in the same sentence actually. If he genuinely believes that, he could've just praised his performance more.

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  22. "We know Luis Suarez will take the headlines on for Wednesday, but Andy had a really good game. I know there have been one or two questions about his form, [b]ut do you feel vindicated every time he puts in a performance like that?"

    How can you not see the negative in this? This is what Kenny heard.

    "We all know Luis Suarez is a much better player and cost less, but Andy had a really good game. His recent form has been poor and people have been openly wondering why you continue to play him regularly. Would you like you tell them to go shove it when he does the occasional thing right?"

    So yea he has right to be irritated, however as Manager of LFC I would expect him to rise above it. If he doesn't want to answer a question I would have like to hear him say simply. "Andy's a quality player." and on to the next question. Journo will stop asking such questions if they aren't going to get a rise. They'll continue to be all over this now.

    And are you hiding my comments? I can't see them,in previous articles I'm sure disagreeing isn't reason for censorship, right?

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  23. Simon - none of your comments are hidden. They've probably just dropped onto a second page. If you click your avatar and then click 'activity' you'll find all your recent comments.

    No comment is ever deleted just because of disagreement; if that was the case then there would be no comments on the site! As usual, comments are only ever deleted if they contain insults.

    Re the journo's question - it's a matter of interpretation. You see it one way, I see it another. The point is, KD could've just ignored it and simply praised Carroll, without making reference to anything else. Ultimately, that has to be good, doesn't it? Someone will write about his positive comments, and the positivity will be disseminated.

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  24.  Seems you want Dalglish to be somebody who isnt Dalglish .

    What you see is what you get with a tough kid from a housing estate in Glasgow & guess what ?

    Dalglish is a tough kid from a housing estate in Glasgow .

    I dont see how or why he should apologize for it & I dont see how it serves the clubs interests to allow himself & therefore us to be bullied by a malicious vindictive press .

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  25. I think Kenny was gettin at, If your going to give someone real praise don't put negatives into the praise.
    Other wise Kenny answered questions for 10 minutes in his usual jovial style batting off questions against other clubs whilst defending his own and not singling out any player for criticism.
    No sign he did the club any harm with the interview. 

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  26. The question about racism should n't have asked in the first place seeing Suarez is under investergation.
    Fergie has been told not to say anything so why is Kenny being put on the spot and asked questions over the racist incidents?

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  27. The question was negative. Although he started talking about Carroll, the question was actually about whether Kenny felt vindicated. That is al eading question asking Kenny whether he has made the right decisions. The question is not actually anything to do with Carroll's performance, so quite rightly it was ignored as Kenny has given him 100% backing from the very beginning so whatdoes he have to feel vindicated about.
     
     
    Mismanagament? Are you kidding me? Although he's scored two goals he hasn't actually played all that well this season. If we continued to play him in every game and he didn't score, then the media would be on his back again, talking about his £35m price tag, about whether it was a mistake to buy him etc etc. He's been taken out of the limelight when needed. We're showing that although he was bought for £35m and as a replacement for Torres we aren't reliant on him (like we were with Torres), which takes the pressure off Carroll.
     
     
    Also, KD has emphasised again and again that it is a squad game and not a team. Kuyt has been dropped after playing well, as has Bellamy, as has Henderson, as has Maxi, and kelly, and Spearing. You need to get used to that because we now have a better squad than we have in previous years. Its not bad management, it using your squad. And as long as things are going ok on the pitch and players are happy, there isn't a problem.
     
     
    The strategy has worked because in his last game, which is what he should be judged on, he played quite well, better than in any other game this season in my opinion. Small improvements but improvements all the same

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  28. Andy Carroll seems a touchy subject for both fans and KD. That's probably says something in itself. 

    On the other point, I have no issue with how Kenny conducts himself in dealing with the media. He has brought so much to the club in the past year. The good outweighs the bad significantly. Any perceived irritation in recent news conferences, which is in fairness, is probably a legitimate view, is perfectly normal, he is human, he has an incredible amount of expectation on his shoulders. He wants to succeed. Thats pressure. And he conducts himself much better than much more successful manager at another club not a million miles down the road. 

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  29. Whats yer favourite shirt number JJ ?

    I ask oz I can see you scoring a lotta goals for this club !
     

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  30. Theres some good players on this thread ... I must have a word with Comolli & make sure they are all on long contracts .

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  31. Kenny this season has given reporters a tough time.  Any questions or comments which he perceives as negative, he gets very defensive.  Nothing wrong in protecting your players from criticism, however, with Kenny he's becoming overly sensitive.  

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  32. I'd say Comolli's urgent priority is to transfer you out in the next transfer window.  I will write to him suggesting Ebay for the price of 1p- buy it now!

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  33.  As soon as ya make yer mind up let us kno which it is eh ?

    Kenny is either doin a great job leading the club with superb skill .

    Or he isnt making it easy enough for the bullying press to dictate team selection , tactics , manipulate player performance & then publicly mock us .

    Tick Tock , while yer young ...

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  34.  You would have to save up to buy me at that price .

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  35. I would steal to finance that deal!

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  36. :) Number 10 then!
    Representing the club is important to me as a fan or player and you should n't question or undermine your manager!

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  37. Gary I'm very pleased with yer performances so far , its good to see an attacking midfielder with character , strength , strong tackling , composure in possession & an eye for a killer ball .

    However I'm gonna bring ya to task on yer use of the term "Dropped"

    Its does ya no favors & is gonna let defenders get too close to yer second touch .

    My personal view is that Kuyt , Maxi & Bellamy are very lucky to be at the club  .

    Maxi & Kuyt for playing their hughly disapointing roles in two competent managers getting sacked , one of those the manager who brought them to the club .

    Bellamy is lucky because of his injury record & his use as an impact sub or back up is only wise given his experience , on paper & judging by his performances so far he is an excellent signing for that David Fairclough/Ole Gunner Solskier super sub role & to cover for & take the pressure of Carroll & Suarez if the team needs freshening up .

    Kuyts role within the squad now too is that of a reserve .

    As has become usual with him in recent seasons , the games he starts in he runs out of ideas usualy after an hour but I think he gives us genuine quality from the bench again as a highly experienced & very versatile impact sub .

    Generally speaking his attitude is very good & I rate his two touch pass n move game very highly .

    Maxi is a very clever little player , pass n move is excellent & his attitude isnt bad , he attacks space very well & is always either looking to get on the end of or deliver a final ball , however I dont think he is made of the right stuff to be considered along with Carra  & Gerrard as near automatic 1'st choice .

    The other players you mentioned are young , still gaining developmental experience & none of them are being over exposed .

    Like I said yer posts are a credit to the club & this is just me showing you how I like to turn side on for my 1'st touch before deciding to either go around them on their inside or outside to get a strike on goal .

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  38.  On this field of play yer a Player , not a supporter & I gotta say yer lookin like one for tha future !

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  39. Sometimes I have a feeling that Kenny is being a bit too defensive with the press. That may leave not a very positive impression and lead to the journos being sarcastic in their articles or blogs afterwards. He just makes himself more exposed to extra criticism, and there is no need for that at all.

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  40. Rafa was awesome with press conferences. He don't get irritated he always thinks something to say to shut the journalist up.

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  41. Whats more important a loyal happy squad and dressing room or a happy bunch of journalists?
    Rafa and Hodgson either lost the dressing room or they never had it in Hodgsons case who spent most of the time up setting the fans.
    How many players left after falling out with Rafa or felt unwanted Finnan,Riise,Benny,Hyypia,Crouch, Keane,Riera,Pennant and Alonso.
    Kenny only defends his players or the performance I don't think I have heard one reporter praise the performance of the team just one player, but negativity attracts more headlines.

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  42. First, let's leave Hodgson out of this. His media handling was simply unacceptable for an LFC manager. I feel sick when I remember his pressers. As for Rafa, I am not sure what does his relationship with the players have to do with this either. I don't recall him criticising players in the press.

    As for "Whats more important a loyal happy squad and dressing room or a happy bunch of journalists?" I would say both are important, because when the press are not "happy" they can be right vultures and it backfires on the club and the players.
    I think none of us has any doubts about Kenny's excellent man-management, and that the atmosphere in the dressing room is great and the spirit is high.
    But there is no need to be defesively aggressive towards the press, when they can be given some toffees instead and have not much to write about...
    Journo asked an irritating question? oh well, give him some answer that will shut him up, but not turn him against you...
    Anyway, I didn't see any negative headlines about Carroll today after Kenny's press conference, but journos are being tits with their "Suarez the club's ambassador" stuff... Or I am being a bit too sensitive, I don't know.

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  43. Would we have this problem with Carroll if Capello had n't brought up the problems Carroll was having at Newcastle 8 months after he had left them with drinking and going out, Kenny did do jokes with the press about Carroll after they were both spotted at the Boyzone concert.
     Kenny is still picking up the pieces from the Capello interview with the press
    Lets hope Carroll starts answering back for Kenny by scoring!

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  44. Let's give Andy Caroll some time, OK. Rmeember how patient we are with Robbie Keane. I am more worried about the handicap of Lucas more than anything else.

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  45. Can't blame KD. He did paid 35 mill for what he thought was a top notch striker even though he had only half a season at the top flight at that point. He didn't think he would have got a donkey instead.

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  46. If by some miracle Andy starts to justify just half of what we paid for him i bet KD would want to be asked that question every 5 minutes.
    If KD can't take the heat then maybe he should just abdicate from err.. his throne. Anyway he did that before (for those so called fans who always like to live in the past) and he is certainly most welcome to do it again, fast.

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  47. I am a life long LFC fan and maybe some of you would have realize by now, not a KD fan. I together with millions of fans appreciates his contribution as a player with us but feels that at this day and age, he is just not suitable to be manager at LFC.

    We are just not talking about his dude purchases such as Andy, Henderson, Downing as even Fergie has a couple of dudes in him (think Veron, Kleberson, Bebe, Taibi) even though not all of them in one go.

    We are talking about someone who is bereft of any tactical knowhow in games and despite working with one of the best defensive coach in the BPL in the form of Steve Clarke, we are shipping in goals. For such a supposedly inspiring figure we are quite good at snatching defeat/draws from jaws of victory and KD can't do anything about it.

    We are talking about someone who had spent more than 100 mill and yet languishing in 6th spot with Newcastle occupying 4th (which we covets) despite their upheavals and having offloads some of their best players (we got a gem in Enrique and a donkey form them). Even Mr Henry thinks we should have more bang from our $$$.

    KD was great taking over from Hodgson on a temp basis but i was never convince he would do well on a permanent basis and so far i was proven right. We should not be emotional about this position as it's all about what is best for our beloved club and KD occupying that manager seat is certainly not.

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  48.  Life long fan eh ?

    Been alive 16 years at most .

    12 of those as a conscious Human Being .

    4 of them with a comprehension of Professional Football & at most only 1 year understanding it has intricacy’s .

    Your comment is totally unwarranted & reveals only a prejudice against Kenny because he hasnt done anything to deserve any criticism let alone anything to justify anyone saying he isnt up to the job .

    How old are you ?

    Have you ever seen LFC lift a trophy let alone win a League ?

    Are you even 16 ?

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  49. Everybody knows carol was not worth 35mill, but we bought him because given the time, he will be a great player. there are another 10 players on the field, why always the questions about just one?

    I think kenny is just trying to keep carol out the lime light, be that because of the praise he gets one minute, and the slagging of the next. As kenny said, he was bought for the future, at this moment he is still in development, Kenny knows this, the coaching staff know this.

    look at the cost some teams have paid for a so called established player, and that player could not hack it, ie veron, sevchenko. least caroll has the potential to improve because he is still young. and kenny not soft, if he praises carol, the things he says will be used to bash him at a later date if carol under performs, which is likely to happen with a player that is under development.

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  50. chan your the donkey simple as u have no idea what your talking about

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