11 May 2012

Chairman insists: 'Top quality' manager deserves big club chance. Future LFC boss?

Wigan manager Roberto Martinez has undoubtedly enhanced his reputation this season, and according Latics Chairman Dave Whelan, the Spaniard is destined to lead one of Europe's top clubs. With Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish under pressure after presiding over an alarming regression in the league, there could conceivably be a vacancy at Anfield this summer. If that comes to pass, should Martinez be on the club's shortlist to replace the King?

Speaking to The Telegraph last week, Whelan enthused:

"I think Roberto has proved once and for all he is absolute top quality, and I believe he will go to one of the top European clubs when the time is right. Hopefully we can hold on to him for another two or three years but he will go eventually with my best wishes"

Martinez reportedly wants to leave Wigan at the end of this season, and if he does, he will surely have no shortage of suitors.

If the Liverpool job became available, would Martinez be a serious candidate, or should the Reds look elsewhere?



I think Martinez is definitely a viable candidate:

* Young, energetic, Premier League experienced manager
* Progressive approach to football.
* Sets his teams up to play positive attacking football.
* Set the template for Swansea's superb style.
* Affable, respectful and good with the media.

I think Martinez is exactly the type of manager FSG would appoint, but the reality is that Liverpool fans would not give him the time to make his mark. Like Roy Hodgson, he'd be hounded out of Anfield after about 6 months; even sooner the club went through a bad spell; and if the treatment of Hodgson is anything to go by, fans would slag off Martinez's lack of trophies, and probably even make fun of his accent.

When Martinez took over at Wigan, the Chairman guaranteed him three years in the role, irrespective of results, and if FSG were willing to do the same for Martinez (i.e. give him time to implement his vision), I think he could be successful at Liverpool.

What do you think?

Jaimie Kanwar


69 comments:

  1. Is it April fools day???.....................LOL!!!

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  2. Def yes! KD please step down!!!

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  3. Why were Wigan in a relegation scrap?

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  4. If you want to give Martinez 3 years irrespective of results, why not Kenny?  You appear confused!

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  5. Not a chance, too risky and theres no history or proof that he can do any better than Kenny is at the moment. For 3/4 of the season Wigan were in the relegation zone and for most of it at the bottom of the table. 

    With the players they have they shouldn't have been there in the first place and their late surge of form while admirable is easily as attributable to the players wanting to stay in this league as it is Martinez managerial skills.

    If we have to replace Kenny at least pick someone with a proven track record and someone definitively better. We might not attract the very top European managers but we can do a lot better than Martinez.

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  6. Holloway did the double on us with players on £20 a week salaries

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  7. Wigan will finish above Liverpool next season anyway.

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  8. i think he would definitely be an option- after all FSG apparently wanted to appoint a young manager from the start before dalglishs initial success put paid to that.

    however, i have to say that we need to stick with dalglish for the remainder of his contact. the football we play is sublime at times, and the  youth development policy is the only way to go in the long term with financial fair play proper arriving in 2015. lets be realistic: we are not going to qualify for the champions league before then, especially with the emergence of newcastle tottenham and man city. we are currently going through a very sticky patch in our clubs history, and i for one think dalglish is the man to guide us through it.

    employing martinez at this stage would be a big gamble which we should not undertake. having said all that, he could very well be the man earmarked to take over from dalglish and lead us to real success once ffp comes into force. as i have said before, our real future success depends on the implementation of ffp, and the long term future at liverpool looks bright. shame the same cant be said of man city and chelski.

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  9. No confused at all; Dalglish belongs in a different era of management; Martinez is a modern, progressive manager, and that's what LFC needs now (IMO). Enough with the dinosaurs - time for a new generation.

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  10. this is a joke!
    cmon... you have Rafa thats already set up whole academy youngster team... he is liverpool through and through.. tactical genius and good man management, it should be him giving the chance.. but after Kenny satisfied with the job.

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  11. JK why keep whining on about LFC fans treatment of Hodgson? He was treated like that coz of genuine reasons on the field.
    benitez first season in the league was awful but did the fans turn on him? NO. Stop trying to label us passionate fans something we are certainly not. I know why I did not like Hodgson but he got a fair crap at the whip in my eyes and YES (IMO) all LFC fans would give any up and coming young manager a chance to prove his worth!!

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  12. No way! Better bring back the proven manager Rafa Benitez. He made us qualify for Champion's League almost all seasons. We bought top quality players for little money: Alonso,Garcia,Mascherano,Skrtel,Agger,Reina,Crouch... He even targeted strongly Daniel Alves but money was not available. He made us beat Real Madrid, Barcelona on their own turf. We won the Champion's League with him. We got a record number of points in the Premier League.
    All this speak for itself. He SHOULD be reappointed manager next season. Not untested Martinez for whom I have much respect. But I think he'll be better suited at lower teams such as Wigan West Brom ... for the time being. Liverpool would prove a step too high for him.

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  13. I don't think Martinez would get the same treatment as Roy. I think most Liverpool fans can tell the difference between a Martinez and a Hodgson. Hodgson wasn't hounded out because he was new, but simply because he was wrong for the job. His football style, his personality etc got him hounded out. Martinez is pretty much the opposite so I don't think he would suffer the same fate. He wouldn't be given as much time as Kenny was if the results were the same as this year but he would still be better treated than Hodge for sure.

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  14. I agree with this post. Hodgson got what he deserved simply because of his style and personality. Nothing more. He was given a chance but crapped all over it. Simple.

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  15. It's a good question I don't agree with 90% of what jk thinks but this article asks a good question . If we needed a new manager at some point do we go for a established manager who will have set ways or a young manager who can deliver the money all system Fenway want. Old dogs new tricks I think so young and dynamic and have a football directed who controls the strategy.

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  16. Decent manager but doubt he will attract top players to play under him. Certainly do not possess the same aura with Guardiola, Benitez, Mourinho, etc. With Liverpool not playing in the European Champions League next season, manager with fame and success history is the key to attract top players.

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  17. out with Wenger so

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  18. Because they're a fairly small club (by premier league standards) with a minuscule budget perhaps?

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  19. Jaime  in the past two days i have posted Roberto Martinez would do a great job as next manager of Liverpool
    Why are people obsessed with having some so called proven manager.
    Look at Chelsea AVB and Scolari, that Spanish bloke Tottenham sacked before Redknapp (sorry his name escapes me) Sven at Man City and on and on.
    A great young manager where do you think Mourinho started he was a translator for Bobby Robson before Porto.

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  20. I agree with you; lots of established managers fail, and Martinez is definitely a good candidate.

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  21. exactly proving why he wouldn't be given a chance.

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  22. I'd favor him over another foreign manager with no EPL experience & who can barely speaka de lingo. He seems a decent bloke, goes about things the right way & his teams try to play attractive football. I think we could do much worse.

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  23. Average Joe Public5:18 pm, May 11, 2012

    Swansea manager n Wigan manager are both in the running inf KD steps down, so is AVB, but id prefere Pep 

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  24. i like martinez,has done a decent job at wigan.his sole objective is to keep them in the premiership and he does that.they have the 2nd lowest gate in the league and that would be lowest if it wasn't for the size of loftus road.i think he'll definitely leave wigan in the next 2 years rather than turn into a moyes and be there forever scrapping away year after year.he has also shown that he can mature young talent james mccarthy and victor moses.

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  25. I've praised him on a number of occasions....but I'm just not sure the time is right....ie if he is "replace" Kenny.
     
    Point to Note: Martinez has NOT stated that he wishes to leave Wigan at the end of the season, and, has actually stated Wigan is a work-in-progress as far as he is concerned, with the aim of establishing Wigan in the top-half of the table, then to progress toward fighting for European Qualification through league position.  

    (Please provide a link to substantiate your claim that he intends to leave Wigan at the end of this season.....)
     
    There are a number of young managers available at the present time....Guardiola (if only!!), Emry, Bilic and Blanc to name a few. FSG should choose wisely.
     
    Martinez is everything FSG are looking for in it's strategy...particularly their objective number 1 of "Improving football performance through positive playing style, excellent football infrastructure and investment in young, talented players."
     
    It would be a big step up for Martinez and the question all involved will ask themselves is can he handle that step up, the pressure and expectation. More importantly, can FSG afford to risk everything by placing so much faith in a realtively un-proven manager....it's evident he has talent, but, is he ready to manage a club like Liverpool?
     
    Finally, speculation is that Kenny "would" be given IRO £20m plus anything he can generate from the players outgoing in the summer. Would Martinez (or any other incoming manager) be given the same budget?
     
    One thing is for sure, the summer is going to be interesting as far as LFC is concerned....

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  26. well said,i think alot of fans think it's our divine right to have guardiola walk into the job,we need to realise we aren't exactly the most attractive proposition in europe at the moment.

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  27. Are you Patrick Collins in disguise as you seem to have the same agenda.
    total negativity and a determination to undermine LFC.
    Like him you brook no criticism and edit such comments.
    Is there anything positive you would like to say about our club

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  28. Please read the article properly. It's not 'my' claim - I stated the following:

    'Martinez reportedly wants to leave Wigan at the end of this season' - the key word here being 'reportedly'. If you click on that word in the article, it takes you through to the source.

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  29. young and energetic. set the template for swansea's style of play. good with the media. you think this makes him a good candidate for liverpool manager? you are seriously clueless about football, thank god you aren't involved in making decisions at liverpool

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  30. I find it difficult to understand why people feel that 'mid-table' players are not worthy of a chance at a big club, whilst a manager who has only ever managed a championship side and a team that have only faced relegation battles under his tenure would be a good punt for the Liverpool job. Are we being blinded by the recent run of results? (Admittedly Liverpool's have been very poor)

    Here's one for all you stats lovers: considering he has a quoted win percentage with Wigan of 26.19%, would Martinez not represent an even bigger risk than some of the players Kenny splashed out on in the summer?

    Who knows, it may work. He would have supposedly better quality players to work with, but can he deal with managing at a 'big' club, with 'big' players and a different kind of pressure? For all Ferguson's success, he may not be able to handle the kind of relegation-based pressure Martinez faced at Wigan. Equally, Martinez may not be able to handle the 'different' kind of pressure that Ferguson faces with a team that regularly challenge for the EPL.

    Too much of a risk considering we're looking for rapid improvement. As someone else said, I find it hard to imagine that he would attract the type of quality player that Liverpool needs at this time. The only attraction then would be a distant successful past.

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  31. I hear what your saying, but my concern is this: Martinez has done a fantastic job in steering Wigan away from relegation. Great performances, great results, great team spirit in the last 8 matches, but where was that for the other 3/4s of the season?

    Whilst the first half of our season wasn't stellar, I feel Kenny is being criticised mainly on the last half of the season (regarding performances), since the form has been relegation standard, so consistency matters. Why has Martinez not been able to produce better performances from these same players for the first 30 games of the campaign? There is no doubt that Wigan can play football.

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  32. The guy at spurs was juande ramos

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  33. Billy Shankley came from Huddersfield
    Alex Ferguson from Aberdeen
    Arsene Wenger from a Japanese club
    David Moyes from Preston
    Alan Pardew from the dole queue
    All have or did do good jobs
    You dont have to come from Barcelona or Real Madrid

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  34. out with alex ferguson too... you know hes been rubbish the last 25 yrs!

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  35. but it helps..

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  36. it was interesting last summer, and look what happened. im all for a boring transfer window to be honest. look at tottenham this time last year.

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  37. I think Martinez changed up his starting line-up quite a bit once it became apparently clear that a relegation battle was at hand. And since then his team has put in some good performances, but this is too soon to have him come to Liverpool, I'd like to see how well Martinez does next season. I remember Roberto Di Matteo had a good touch at West Brom, I couldn't understand why he was sacked and look at him now. You don't know about football sometimes. 

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  38. When Wigan defeated Liverpool this season, it wasn't as if they scraped a goal and then defended like hell, but they toyed with Liverpool with their precise passing, it was like Liverpool were the bottom table team and Wigan were a top table team, and then they did the same with Man Utd and Arsenal. Martinez certainly has done well and against all odds he has again been able to keep Wigan in the premiership. Tactically he has looked good and his team plays great football, he is a young and ambitious manager who could do well for Liverpool but only negative point about appointing him could be that he won't be able to attract big name players and even certain players from squad might not like an unproven manager.

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  39. The team played like boys under Hodgson from the first game to the last. Feel sorry for England. 

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  40. I like martinez but i think it's a huge gamble.... that said it would fit in with FSG's policy of young talent be it managers or players but there has also has to be patience with this as it takes time to develop this... to an extent we have tried this already with the players we bought this season only time will tell if this works out (remember lucas eh).....Mind you look at di matteo at chelski then look at him when he was at WBA sure he got em promoted but it went pear shaped for him once in the prem despite the fact they played nice football.

    IMHO We are already a work in progress for sure we need an out and out goalscorer and more creativity in midfield once we get that we may very possibly end our own version of the crossbar challenge as seen on soccer am which in turn will see a marked improvement on our league form...Long term succsess is based on stability so for me we are playing much more attractive  football nowadays and yes i know that our league form this season has been poor and at times it's been like being on a bucking bronco with a bad case of piles but if all those times we hit the woodwork actually went in i think we would at least at this point be in with a shout for the top four going into this sunday.......A few tweaks here and there will have us going in the right direction and i would give kenny more time as chopping and changing means rip it up and start again i remember man u doing this in the 70s and into the 80s and it never worked for them right up till they appointed the purple nosed man and even then they had to wait 7 more years so for me stability and patience does work just like shankly and paisley did for us.....So be patient and keep the faith lads.....YNWA 

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  41. i think the situations are slightly different, when hodgson was appointed they knew kenny was in the background and most wanted that fairy tale partnership again, me included, unfortunately it not quite as we all dreamed.  i would like to see a young manager, martinez suits, or how about carrager kenny went from player to manager and did well.

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  42. who reported it. It is inconceivable that Kenny Dalglish wont be manager of LFC next season.

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  43. You been drinking jaimie

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  44. Ferguson split the Old Firm in Scotland with a shoe string budget and took a team full of Scots to the Cup Winners Cup & European Super Cup, so he had a track record. 

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  45. Their goals against  Newcastle were all sublime too!

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  46. Sammi Hyypia, anyone, with Hamman as his assistant?

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  47. How is he more modern & progressive than Kenny? All you have to go on is age. A few good results does not make him a Liverpool Manager, he barely escaped relegation, its not as if he made top 6 or come close to winning a trophy. Sheer folly. What happened to your boy Martin O'Neill? Not flavour of the month any more? :)

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  48. Richardmcgill248:17 pm, May 11, 2012

    keep kenny for at least 2 more years. we wont be as unlucky again next season and all you doubters will realise kenny has got us playing well ,creating a huge amount of chances which the strikers have failed to take advantage of and the damn woodwork has been against us too. the defence has been pretty solid too. the signs are there that we can improve greatly. the problem we have got at lfc is that certain fans have got into this instant success mode. lfc are in a rebuild era, one that will take time and money as the owners and kenny have already said. i believe carra will sit alongside kenny in a couple of years and eventually take over but lets not rush things because getting rid will mean another 8 mill pay off like we did with roy and another manager who will want 100 mill minimum to start his own rebuild then next year you will call for his head and we go on again till we are in administration. be patient YNWA

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  49. Why not get Benitez back and give him two years. After all he's the best mngr we had in the last 20 years.

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  50. Richardmcgill248:18 pm, May 11, 2012

    As for Martinez he is constantly fighting relegation he would be another roy who we will have to pay off to get a quality manager in.

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  51. Richardmcgill248:22 pm, May 11, 2012

    give kenny the 3 yrs backing first if that dont work then look elsewhere.if martinez deserves backing then so does kenny

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  52. hitting the woodwork isn't bad luck,it's bad finishing when it consistently occurs

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  53. Richardmcgill248:44 pm, May 11, 2012

    ok so why are we second to barca when it comes to hitting the woodwork this season??????????????

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  54. Richardmcgill248:53 pm, May 11, 2012

    i think if roy evans had of been backed by the board he would of been one of the best of the last 20 years he took a mid table team to 8th added his own players and never went out of the top 4. the board pulled out of his deal to buy zidane for 3 mill from marseille they also pulled out of his deals for thuram and deschamps. we would of been unbeatable with those additions. but thats history like rafa. give kenny a real chance after all he was born a winner especially when it comes to lfc

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  55. Richardmcgill248:59 pm, May 11, 2012

    we are not bloody wigan either ..i know lets hire holloway because we are not barca. martinez will attract players from wigans level is that what we want . have we become fans that will not give managers a go anymore. we need someone like kenny who has played at the top and won numerous trophies as a manager he has the experience to guide us back to the top.

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  56. Richardmcgill249:06 pm, May 11, 2012

    for wigan playing the likes of lfc and mufc and newcastle are like cup games for them. the facts are he has done nothing of any note as a a manager at the top level apart from fight relegation. if that is the standard we go for after kenny then i worry for our future.put carra in the dugout with kenny and clarke and let him learn the trade. he knows more about the prem than the likes of martinez

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  57. Would like Martinez but i want kenny to stay

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  58. Patience is a virtue as you and i know......Sadly in today's throwaway...big brother... jeremy kyle dare i say spoiled brat society so many but not all to be fair want it all and want it now or yesterday.... it's such a shame that traditional kop values and principles are slowly being eroded....what worries me is that  if our fans and future fans carry on like this we will no longer have our twelfth man and they will  just be... well fickle....We have always had outstanding support and that is one of the things that put us where we are today as one of the big names in world club football

    As far as i'm concerned YWNA means exactly that so all you doubters do yourselves a favour and get behind your team or go and support athletico kebab......Rant over

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  59. I like Martinez, he's a very nice guy, undoubtedly a talented manager, young, energetic, professional and all. But can he do it at a big club? Sometimes he comes across as way too humble... sometimes he resembles that Puss in Boots from the Shrek, the way he looks at the reporter from down under. What I am saying is... we need a bigger personality. Or RAFA.

    Yes, We need Rafa back. Rafa knows the ethos of the club, and what is more important, he knows his football. He stayed away from the game enough time to be able to really analyse his mistakes, and the mistakes of the others, and given his tactical abilities, decent owners (I hope they are!) he is going to flourish, and LFC are going to flourish.

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  60. I would rather we went for Martinez than benitez thats for sure, all these people keep banging on about rafa but for me that road is fraught with problems and old issue's......

    I think Martinez would fit the bill nicely.

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  61. Think Martinez would only move on to a big club playing Champions League football.

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  62. Kenny's not leaving,simple as that!

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  63. Richardmcgill247:51 am, May 12, 2012

    Nobody knows the ethos of the club more than Kenny. Kenny always wins as lfc manager even now in his first full season with 6 new players to bed in to the team if has won us our first silverware for 6 years. Rafa has been out of football due to the fact he failed at inter with a winning team. He is a joke that's why no other teams want him.

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  64. I think Monday is D Day, if Kenny is to go it will be then either resigning or pushed or something tarted up to make it look like he has stepped to one side. If Monday goes and he is still here then I think he will remain.

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  65. I don't think it is fair to compare Martinez to Hodgson. You see Martinez HAS a vision of how to play football. Therefore you can give him time to buy into it. Same as Brendan Rogers. Roy had nothing but two banks of four and no pressing until they're in your half. Basically defensive and fearful. That was his problem and it was never going to change. For as much as Kenny has messed up this year, the style of football at least shows some promise.

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  66. I love Kenny, But i think the game has changed since he was manager 20 years ago . And i think MARTINEZ would be a fantastic LFC manager , as his teams play with flair , and ok we know he has been fighting relagation at wigan year in year out , but there has been no money available for him.  If LFC dot get martinez now , there are lots of teams home and abroad who will want his services As he is a up and coming great manager , and also his man management skills are good also . We dont want BENETEZ back . As he was a Control freak and wanted to run Lfc from top to bottom , and knackered up the club. Thank you KING KENNY! you are brill , but you will still be at the club as a Director . Now come on everybody give martinez support , not like you did with Hodgson , We dont want to be like CHELSKIE swapping managers all the time


     Steve WirraL kENNY YOU WILL NEVER WALK ALONE !!!!

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