Keane feels Gerrard let down Dalglish

By ESPNSTAR.com staff

The former United skipper believes that senior players such as Gerrard as well as Jamie Carragher, Pepe Reina and Glen Johnson did not do "their jobs" properly and are all culpable for Dalglish's departure from Anfield.

Keane wrote in his column for the Sun: "Roy Hodgson did not fit. Even King Kenny did not fit. When will it occur to Liverpool that maybe the manager is not the problem?

"Senior players such as Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Pepe Reina and Glen Johnson need to look at themselves and ask ‘Have I done enough?'

"Maybe I'm stuck in the past but, as a player, your pride should be hurt when a manager loses his job because it means you haven't done yours.

"That's what I felt when Brian Clough left Nottingham Forest after we were relegated in 1993.

"Kenny Dalglish was sacked after Liverpool finished eighth, 37 points behind Manchester City and Manchester United.

"That's not good enough for a club of their standing but winning the Carling Cup and reaching the final of the FA Cup should have bought him a bit more time.

"I've said before that, as it stands, Liverpool are a cup team and, on that score, they've done pretty well.

"Once Liverpool were known as a classy club. Anyone who dealt with them would say they acted with dignity and honour but they seem to have lost that.

"There were two messy takeovers, the poor handling of the Luis Suarez situation, the departure of Damien Comolli and now the ditching of a club legend after only 18 months in charge."

"It seems to me the American owners in the Premier League - at United, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Sunderland - have a different mentality from what we are used to. They want instant success."

Keane is adamant that even if the Reds were to "throw £100million at the Liverpool team tomorrow", the owners can not expect to win the Barclays Premier League next season.

He wrote: "Splashing £100million might bring immediate results in American football but soccer is different and they need to get their heads around that.

"You could throw £100m at that Liverpool team tomorrow, no matter who the manager is, and they still wouldn't be any closer to winning the league.

"In the past, Liverpool used to buy ready-made players like Peter Beardsley and John Barnes. Now they bring in younger ones who might have a higher resale value.

"How that is compatible with instant success, I don't know. These things take time.

"Sure, some of their signings had not lived up to expectations but there were signs towards the end of the campaign that they were getting better and Kenny deserved the opportunity to stay in charge.

"I wouldn't blame the newer players either. Yes, they need to do better but what about the more experienced ones around them?"

Keane's main gripe with Liverpool's senior players is that he feels they did not do enough to help new players settle in on Merseyside.

He added: "Gerrard is a great player and we've all seen him win games on his own. That's fine but a captain doesn't just play well himself, he gets the others to play well.

"Does Gerrard do that? I'm not so sure. Carragher and Reina have been around long enough to know what's required and Johnson is the England right-back. What have they done to help?

"Have they invited new arrivals over for a meal or gone for a game of snooker with them to make sure they're all right?

"When I got to United, living in a flat on my own, Steve Bruce asked me to go out for dinner and Bryan Robson had a few pints with me after games, not that I needed any encouragement.

"I did the same with younger players coming in. It's a simple thing like going for a coffee with someone that can make the difference. I might be wrong but it doesn't look to me like that's happening at Liverpool."

The seach to find a successor for Dalglish continued on Monday as Ajax boss Frank de Boer ruled himself out of the running to take over as Liverpool manager.