26 Mar 2013

Ex-BVB Boss claims: 'LFC wanted me' to replace KD. Better option than Rodgers...?

After the termination of Kenny Dalglish's contract last summer, Liverpool sounded out Dutch legend Louis Van Gaal for the Anfield job, an appointment that many Reds fans - myself included - would've loved. FSG ultimately went for the much younger Brendan Rodgers, but it now transpires that Van Gaal was not the only Dutch manager under consideration.

In an interview on Sunday, former Holland, Feyenoord and Borussia Dortmund boss Bert Van Marwijk claimed that FSG also approached him about taking over from Dalglish. He told ELFVoetbal:

"Liverpool wanted me [as Manager] at the time Damien Comolli was technical director.

"It all fell through when he was dismissed.

"I thought that was a real shame, because I had a good feeling about the job"


FSG sacked Comolli at the beginning of April, which means that the John Henry et al were looking for a new manager long before Dalglish actually left in mid-May.

It seems odd that interest in Marwijk would cease simply because Comolli left the club, though having said that, perhaps the Frenchman recommended the former Feyenoord boss to FSG, who ultimately decided not to risk trusting his recommendation.

Van Marjwik has experienced mixed fortunes as a manager - In his 14 year career, his only trophy is a UEFA Cup win with Feyenoord in 2002, though that's still one more trophy than Brendan Rodgers has ever won (!).

He also took Holland to the World Cup Final in 2010, but two years later, the team limped out of Euro 2012 without a single point, forcing the Dutchman to resign his post.

What kind of manager is Van Marwijk? According to Edwin Schoon, who wrote the football philosophy section of the Dutchman's biography, he's a strict pragmatist with a preference for attacking football:

"He’ll never beat around the bush and You’re fine as long as you stick to his rules. When you cross the line, though, you’re in trouble.”

"He has this very simple mantra – "there is always a next game". By constantly repeating his ideas, players and staff have come to radiate what he has in mind, and that ultimately produces the desired effect.

"He’s a big fan of attacking football, and when the game doesn’t sparkle, he blames the opponents who dig in to stop Holland in their tracks.”


Van Marwijk is undoubtedly one of the most successful national coaches in Dutch football history. He attained an overall win percentage of 65%, and prior to World Cup 2012, he oversaw 17 successive wins in international qualifiers, which propelled Holland to the top spot of FIFA’s world rankings.

What do you think? Did Liverpool miss a trick here? Would he have been a good appointment?



NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)


36 comments:

  1. liverpool4life5651:42 pm, March 26, 2013

    No, Rodgers has a vision to make liverpool great again, he just needs time.

    ReplyDelete
  2. either way we would have ended up with a loser some will say we got a younger loser

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jaimie Kanwars biggest fan1:54 pm, March 26, 2013

    you're an idiot

    ReplyDelete
  4. Liverpool have always given managers time and I agree with that philosophy. Given our limited resources (compared to some), it is more important than ever to have stability at the club. You cant blame the manager if we cant afford to fill our ranks with high priced players, so we must source and develop players within our budget.
    Not every player acquired has been an instant sucess and to be fair, may just have been a stopgap where we were short of players. The last transfer window saw Sturridge & Coutino arrive and both have been good buys in my opinion. Our defence is going to need an overhaul this summer and I suspect that if we can get that sorted, we will be closer to qualifying for the CL next season.
    So to answer the question - No - I think Rodgers is better suited to bringing on talent and therefore the right man for the job. From your article, BVB oversaw the decline of a National Team from the lofty heights to dismal performers. Not exactly the qualities I would look for in a manager

    ReplyDelete
  5. Assuming the idea of this article is not to compare Van Marwijk with Rodgers nor imply that one should be favoured over the other, I can only say good things about Van Marwijk. Yes he has "only" won one trophy but fact is that he's exceeded expectations wherever he's managed. He brought Fortuna Sittard, a modest eredivisie club with a few talents (Mark van Bommel being the most high profile one), to the Dutch cup final. Won the UEFA cup with Feyenoord after beating major favourites Dortmund and one of the Milan clubs (I think it was Inter) on their way to the final, against all odds and finally, in fairness, who would have picked Holland for the World Cup final in 2010? The fact that he was left with a lack of quality defenders is what killed any hopes of doing well at the Euros two years later and he was at Dortmund at a time when there was no transfer budget what so ever and it is widely known that he performed beyond his means with that BVB squad. So had he come to Liverpool, I would have been more than happy because I'm sure he would have got the best out of his squad just like he always has. To be honest I think FSG opted against it because they needed to replace KD with a manager the local fans know and would be likely to give the benefit of the doubt. They've seen what a section of our "fans" did to Hodgson and they probably feared the same could happen to a manager from the continent who is not a household name. So realising they could not land the Capello's of this world, they went for a Premiership manager they felt would live up to the challenge and would leave his current club for us. Which quickly left us with Martinez and Rodgers as our only options. So I'm happy with Rodgers but I would have been just as happy with BvM.

    ReplyDelete
  6. i think van maarwijk would have been good, along with any number of managers across the world who have an attacking philosophy and have proved themselves. but we have rodgers and i think we have seen an improvement overall and we have to stick with him now, like it or not, otherwise we are back to square one. continuity is key, because every time we get a new manager they struggle to put their stamp on the team, and arent confident in all the players. i think after this summer, rodgers will have a team of players he actually wants and then we'll see what he/liverpool can do.

    ReplyDelete
  7. klopp was the absolute first choice but was never going to leave a great team for a mid table one full of english clog masters.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I would have preferred Klopp, but that wasnt really ever going to happen. Im happy with Rodgers, I think he just needs a bit more time to bed the team in, and get a few more players. The signs are there, that we can be a top 4 team again. We just need to sort out a few issues, and get a quality defender or 2, and maybe strengthen the bench a bit.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Figured a comment like this would come along. Lol.
    Mr Optimistic!

    ReplyDelete
  10. thats fine if your happy with rodgers you post it ,i am not happy with rodgers so i post it,this would be a very boring site if we all agreed infact there would be no point in having a comments thread as we would have nothing to comment about because we would all agree with jaimie ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  11. M Mahboob Hossain5:34 pm, March 26, 2013

    Mid table wasn't any issue, because when he took charge of Dortmund, they also were mid table. But yes, "English clog" were a real issue (& they were not even masters). I am quite happy that, out of so many names in possible transfer wish list of BR, there are only very few from UK.

    ReplyDelete
  12. M Mahboob Hossain5:37 pm, March 26, 2013

    Klopp would have been fantastic, but not so sure about Merwijk. It's not easy to be successful in EPL & that guy was almost 60.

    ReplyDelete
  13. "Though that's still one more trophy than Brendan Rodgers has ever won(!)"


    JK what is the point of making a comment like that? Don't dismiss this question - you publish your words - you're accountable for them.


    So I am interested why you would state a comment like that a sentence after say Marjwik's career spanned '14 years' where as Rodgers' career as a manager has spanned, what?, four/five years? Hardly like for like.


    But then again if you consider the championship playoff trophy he won taking Swansea up then you're wrong on the figures there too.


    The article itself is poor - once again you're taking a 'what if' scenario from months back and using it to start a 'debate' on here - no doubt the more visitors the bigger your ego or something like that I'd assume.


    My perspective as a fan is to always look forward. Our past is ours to remember when times are bad and results are too. But to have a sly little dig like that at Rodgers - with an unfair comparison - of which you're still wrong - is uncalled for and you should be supporting the gaffer rather than trying to be Mr Clever clogs.


    It doesn't become you.


    Like I said, if you'd be kind enough to reply (doubt you will) then great.


    JD

    ReplyDelete
  14. all managers have a vision to make there respective clubs great its not patented by rogers...they all have a plan to they just dont bang on about it ...or do think when they join a club they have a vision to lose...really all this plan and vision stuff is getting beyond a joke ...was it his vision to play injured players against the saints and send us out of europe

    ReplyDelete
  15. Rodgers won the championship playoff trophy. Get your facts right please JK.

    ReplyDelete
  16. beg to differ kenny and roy h didnt get much time

    ReplyDelete
  17. I'm talking about serious trophies here, not consolation prizes.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I think you're being too dismissive of the prize in question. I wouldn't call a place in the prem a 'consolation' prize, nor would I dismiss the pressure that goes with that game - think Rodgers deserves a bit more respect than you're giving here.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Fair enough. If you can't write an accurate article without sly digs then don't bother at all.

    ReplyDelete
  20. liverpool4life5656:57 pm, March 26, 2013

    Rodgers has impressed me, he knows what he talking about, legends,current players and anfield are backing him because we believe in him, only problem we have is our defence which will be sorted in the summer, success isn't built straight away, takes time.

    ReplyDelete
  21. before the cup final nice way to treat kenny some fans should take a long hard look in the mirror and don't buy the sun

    ReplyDelete
  22. so did kenny with blackburn and then the prem fool

    ReplyDelete
  23. liverpool4life5658:54 pm, March 26, 2013

    Roy brought in crap, Kenny spent money on average players..... For big fees

    ReplyDelete
  24. Roy got no budget to work with and had to buy what he could. Poulsen, Konchesky, Aurelio and Cole were all longshots that didn't work out but he didn't have the budget to go for anything else. He also brought in Meireles who was instrumental to Kenny's team charging up the table in January. Hodgson didn't do too badly with what he was given and the situation the club was in at the time. I'm disgusted with the way he was treated by so called supporters during his spell at the club. Let's see how well KD or BR would have done with those two muppets still owning the club and a moaning Torres in the dressing room.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Liverpool have given managers time alright. A shame the same can't be said about a large, fickle section of our supporters. And that includes the all knowing, all feeling locals with a foreign fan complex.

    ReplyDelete
  26. The Europa league is a consolation prize.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Klopp was my 1st choice for real. But I respect the man's integrity though. I still think BR has a lot to learn.

    ReplyDelete
  28. RH was the wrong appointment, everyone could see that. It was just not going to work out for him. The aim was always to hire a young manager for the long term. After we finished up well in the league when KK came in FSG had no choice but to appoint him but the plan was always to find someone else. Plus there was a lot more involved...Suarez & Evra case, rude to the press etc...


    I think it was right he left although I still love the man.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Your a loser....get a job

    ReplyDelete
  30. RH was not the wrong appointment, it was not the favoured appointment of a certain element within the club's support. When Benitez left, they wanted Dalglish to take over and they would not accept anyone else, whether it was Hodgson, Mourinho or the good lord himself. So from the get go they were on Hodgson's back. The man was then confronted with two owners who were more interested in their power struggle than they were in the best interest of the club. You could of course say that Hodgson should have known that as it had been blatantly obvious during Rafa's last season that something was seriously wrong but who says they didn't lie to him like they did to all of us? So on a shoestring budget, against a hostile Anfield and a dressing room consisting of new players, demotivated players and a few good souls he was expected to bring us Champions League qualification. He was setup to fail from the beginning so when NESV took over the easiest thing for them to do to get that deconstructive element of the crowd on their side was to sack him and cut all ties with the old regime. Leaving only the heroes that rid us of it of course. Kenny took over and immediately spent more on two players in three days than Hodgson was given for a whole summer to replace half a first team. And Suarez, Maxi and Meireles were what made the difference together with ridding us of Torres. As a result, we charged up the table but there is nothing to say that Hodgson could not have done the same thing and without wasting 35 million on the worst transfer in British transfer history. To this day I am disgusted by the way Hodgson was treated by the same people who are now still defending Dalglish's shocking second spell. In a way, that element of the crowd, is responsible for the state this club is currently in. Had the same money been given to a half decent manager, it wouldn't have gone to waste the way it did. KD, fantastic player, love him to bits but shocking, shocking manager.

    ReplyDelete
  31. You cannot spell... go back to school.

    ReplyDelete
  32. I'm not sure exactly how you judge a defence .. Goals against or clean sheets kept ?

    I think clean sheets kept is a fairer reflection, as goals against can be a bit misleading.. for example you could ship 8 goals in one game,like arsenal v utd last year, keep 3 clean sheets on the bounce but still statistically say they've conceded 8 goals in 4 games.

    Liverpool are one clean sheet away from last years clean sheet tally of 12 under KD.. and there's still 8 games to go. so chances are we'll better last years clean sheet mark.

    Is that a bad season defensively ? Or the real question.. Is that better than last season under KD

    Love the way BR detractors are wheeling out the defence side of things to highlight his deficiencies as a manager but none of ye wanna mention the fact we're banging in goals again !

    Nothing to do with him of course...

    ReplyDelete
  33. Rodgers won the championship play off finals which is more prestigious than the uefa cup if your from a galaxy a million light years away

    ReplyDelete
  34. I'm not a Liverpool fan but in my opinion Rodgers is a big risk. Yes he got Swansea promoted but it's not like they were a million miles away before he came along. He benefited from the work that Martinez and Sousa did at Swansea and they were already known for playing good football well before he became manager. I don't think two good seasons at Swansea should be enough for a manager to get a job at a club as big as Liverpool. Also, I wonder where they would be if Suarez wasn't banging them in left, right and center. Rodgers should count his blessings that he has Suarez, if he didn't, I reckon he would be out of a job right now.

    ReplyDelete