Benitez’s departure to Internazionale has prompted a flurry of activity among former players and management, and fans around the world are waiting eagerly as to who will eventually be named in the hot-seat.
Kop legend Dalglish, Fulham manager Hodgson, Mark Hughes and Italy coach Lippi have emerged the top names for the seat. Lippi has denied that he will be involved with the club after the World Cup, so we will look at the other two contenders.
1. Kenny Dalglish:
Benitez himself has given the thumbs-up to Dalglish throwing his hat in the ring. Dalglish, a Liverpool legend, has received support for his decision from many of the former players as well.
After Rafa Benitez left Liverpool last week, the club issued a statement saying that Dalglish would lead the search for a new manager alongside managing director Christian Purslow.
Dalglish, who quit as Liverpool boss in 1991 before going on to manage Blackburn and Newcastle, has taken one look at the shortlist of candidates and decided he could do a better job than those who have so far been identified. Dalglish, 59, won three league titles as Reds’ boss between 1985 and 1991.
Turning to Dalglish also saves any compensation claim, such as the 2.5 million pounds it would need to grab Roy Hodgson from Fulham.
Dalglish’s son, meanwhile, has claimed his father only wants to succeed Benitez at Anfield owing to an absence of credible alternatives.
Paul Dalglish, now head coach of Tampa Bay Rowdies, revealed: “It’s not as though Jose Mourinho is going to come and do the job.
“It’s not as though Fabio Capello’s going to leave England to become the next manager of Liverpool.
“My dad wants to do the job and he feels he is the best person available to do the job.
“If Jose Mourinho was available and he wanted to do the job, my dad wouldn’t have any interest in it because all my dad ever does is act in the best interests of Liverpool Football Club.”
Roy Hodgson - In deep thought
2. Roy Hodgson:
Fulham boss Hodgson was the toast of the last season, leading Fulham to the Europa League finals only two seasons after they were threatened with relegation.
Liverpool are not keen on appointing Kenny Dalglish, but with support growing for the Scot, the club are keen to appoint someone else quickly to avoid being pressured into a decision.
Talks between Hodgson and the club have been scheduled to take place, with Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill also on the shortlist of candidates to replace Rafael Benitez.
Hodgson’s appointment though could be subject to whether he believes the current financial turmoil surrounding the club will affect his ability to manage.
The former Blackburn and Switzerland manager has a £2.5m buy-out clause in his current one-year Fulham contract, but the west London club are said to be doing their best to tie him down further.
The Sun reports that owner Mohamed Al Fayed is prepared to double Hodgson’s £1m-a-year deal, while Fulham are also hoping that the 62-year-old will stay in the hope that he will become the next England manager.
“Leaving Fulham to take over at England would be seen as the pinnacle of Roy’s career,” an insider told the paper.
“And everyone thinks that’s what he would love to do. He could miss out on that if he gets tempted by Liverpool and then the England job comes up not long after.”
Hodgson has been more of a certainty than Dalglish, with calls for an English manager to take up the job coming in.
Whoever take over the job, though, has a lot of issues to take care of immediately, not least the club being up for sale, and also that Torres, Gerrard and Benayoun being in other clubs’ crosshairs for quite a while now. Transfers have been postponed till the new manager is announced. Even Benitez is planning to try and buy Mascherano and Kuyt as his fist signings at Inter Milan.
However, like former captain Mark Wright suggests, any manager who brings success to the club after such a dismal season will be viewd as a ‘God’. Both Wright, and present England defender Carragher have urged the club to finalize the decision quickly.
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