Football League Cup

270px Former Logo as used under the Carling sponsorship of the Football League Cup
Founded	1960
Region	England  Wales
Number of teams	92
Current champions	Liverpool (8th title)
Most successful club	Liverpool (8 titles)
2011–12 Football League Cup

The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from recent sponsorship, the Capital One Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout (single elimination) basis. Unlike the FA Cup, where 762 teams entered in 2008–09, only 92 clubs can enter the League Cup – the 20 Premier League clubs, and the 72 clubs of The Football League, which organises the competition. Also unlike the FA Cup, the semi-finals are played over two legs. The winners qualify for the UEFA Europa League, unless they have qualified for the Champions League through their league position, in which case the Europa League berth goes to the highest-placed team from the Premier League not already qualified for Europe. Liverpool are the current holders.

Although the League Cup is one of the three major domestic trophies attainable by English league teams, it is perceived by some larger clubs as a lower priority than the league championship and the FA Cup. This is largely due to the fact that the winners receive £100,000 prize money (awarded by the Football League) with the runners up receiving £50,000. This makes the competition seem relatively worthless in the eyes of many top flight teams, compared to the £2 million prize money of the FA Cup. Some clubs have made a point of fielding a weaker side in the competition, making the opportunity for giant-killing of the larger clubs more likely. Many of the top English sides, Arsenal and Manchester United in particular, have used the competition to give young players valuable big-game experience.^[1] However, in response to Arsène Wenger's claim that a League Cup win would not end his trophy drought, Alex Ferguson described the trophy as "a pot worth winning".^[2] Since that nadir, the League Cup has recovered somewhat, embracing the 'youth' football ethic, and maintaining its niche as an early season trophy.

The women's game has its own League Cup, which is open to the 36 women's clubs in the three divisions of the FA Women's Premier League, although the women's competition is governed by The FA and not The Football League.

History[link]

During the late 1950s, the majority of senior English clubs equipped their grounds with floodlights. This opened up the opportunity to exploit weekday evenings throughout the winter. The League Cup was introduced in the 1960–61 season specifically as a mid-week floodlit tournament. In the early years of the competition, many of the top teams declined to take part. It was only when automatic entry to the UEFA Cup was promised to the winners that the full League membership took part.

In the last 10 years, following restructuring of European football, and the introduction of the restructured format of the UEFA Champions League, the League Cup was threatened with losing its UEFA Cup berth for its winners. It has retained it thus far, however; England and France are the only UEFA members offering a European berth to the winners of their second cup competitions. This has allowed the League Cup to retain popularity, especially with fans of clubs for whom the League Cup offers the only realistic chance of qualifying for Europe.

Aston Villa were the inaugural winners in 1960–61 defeating Rotherham United 3–2 in the final over two legs. Liverpool have won the cup on the most occasions with eight victories including four successive trophies in the early 1980s. They completed two trebles of trophy wins, in 1984 and 2001. The present holders are Liverpool who beat Cardiff City 3-2 on penalties in the 2012 Final.

Giant killings are less well remembered in the League Cup than the FA Cup due to the absence of non-league sides and the fact that many big clubs have fielded very under-strength sides when knocked out. However, there have been some notable upsets, such as Fourth Division side Chester knocking league champions Leeds United out 3–0 en route to the semi-finals in 1974–75. In 1995–96, Manchester United were beaten 3–0 at home by York City in the second round, first leg; United could only win 3–1 in the second leg and went out 4–3 on aggregate. United have also been knocked out by Southend United and Coventry City in 2006–07 and 2007–08 respectively: in the match against Southend they fielded a strong side, bucking a trend they had themselves started. In 2001–02, holders Liverpool were defeated 2–1 at home by Grimsby Town, then humbled again by Northampton Town in September 2010. Grimsby recorded another giant killing in 2005 by knocking out Tottenham Hotspur. On the 30th of November 2011, Crystal Palace travelled to Old Trafford facing a Manchester United side that boasted 9 internationals, Palace's Darren Ambrose opened the scoring with a stunning 40 yard strike, before United's Macheda equalised from the spot. Palace went on to win 2-1 after extra time in a magnificent quarter-final tie.

Format[link]

Preliminary round[link]

This is only used when the number of teams in European competition affects the number of byes to the third round and it would not be easier to give a club a bye to the second round. Matches involve the eligible clubs who finished lowest in the English football league system last season (normally clubs promoted from Conference National). This has been used twice to date, in 2002–03^[3] and 2011–12.

The ties are single matches, with extra time and a penalty shootout if necessary, with the winners progressing to the next round.

First round[link]

All clubs playing in The Football League (the Football League Championship, Football League One and Football League Two), unless they are competing in the UEFA Europa League, enter at this stage and join any Preliminary Round winners. Sometimes (depending on the number of clubs competing in Europe, whether or not they play in The Football League and whether a preliminary round would be an easier way to even up the numbers) it is necessary to give one or more clubs a bye to the second round. The clubs would be those eligible to compete in the First Round who finished highest in the English football league system last season (normally clubs relegated from the Premier League).

For this round, the clubs are divided in northern and southern sections (though not always equally, so there could be more clubs in one section than another and, strangely, some of the clubs in the northern section are actually located further south than some of the southern section clubs). Half of the clubs from each section are seeded and half are not. First a draw is made to determine whether the seeded club is to play at home or away, and then the club is drawn against an unseeded club from their section.

The ties are single matches, with extra time and a penalty shootout if necessary, with the winners progressing to the next round.

Second round[link]

All clubs playing in the Premier League, unless they are competing in the Champions League or Europa League, as well as any clubs that may have been given a bye to this round, enter at this stage and join the First Round winners, although Manchester City were not exempt in 2008–09, having qualified for the UEFA Cup through the Fair Play league.

The ties are single matches, with extra time and a penalty shootout if necessary, with the winners progressing to the next round.

Third round[link]

All clubs competing in the Champions League or Europa League enter at this stage and join the Second Round winners (making for a total of 32 clubs).

The ties are single matches, with extra time and a penalty shootout if necessary, with the winners progressing to the next round.

Fourth round[link]

The winners of ties in the previous round play single matches, with extra time and a penalty shootout if necessary.

Quarter-finals[link]

The winners of the fourth round ties play each other in single matches in the quarter-finals, with extra time and a penalty shootout if necessary. This stage of the competition is also known as the fifth round.

Semi-finals[link]

The four fifth round winners compete in this round. The ties are played over home and away legs, with the aggregate scores being used to determine the winners. If the aggregate scores are level at the end of the 90 minutes, the away goals rule determines the winner. However if there is no separation here, a penalty shootout takes place until there is a winner.

Final[link]

The two semi-final winners compete to win the cup.

The tie is a single match played at a neutral stadium (which was the Millennium Stadium between the seasons 2000–01 and 2006–07 but returned to Wembley Stadium from 2008 onwards), with extra time and a penalty shootout if necessary. The final is usually staged between late February and early March, in the final third of the domestic football season.

Since 1990, the best player in the League Cup final – as chosen by the Sky Sports television panel – has been presented with the Alan Hardaker trophy, named after the former secretary of The Football League who devised the Football League Cup. The current holder of the trophy is Liverpool's Stewart Downing. Ben Foster is the only player to win the award multiple times (in 2009 and 2011).^[4]

Sponsorship[link]

Since 1982, the League Cup has been named after its sponsor, giving it the following names:

Trophy[link]

The current League Cup trophy.

Rather than the traditional medal, each member of a League Cup winning team used to receive a tankard. These days winning players receive medals

Three different trophies have been presented to the winners of the League Cup since its inauguration:

• The original trophy which is currently given to the winners^[9]
• The trophy presented from the first season of the Milk Marketing Board sponsoring the competition, 1981–82 to 1985–86;^[10]
• The trophy presented from 1986–87 until 1989–90 during Littlewoods' sponsorship of the competition.^[11]

Records[link]

• Most tournament wins (team): 8 wins, Liverpool.^[12]
• Most final appearances (team): 11, Liverpool. ^[12]
• Most tournament wins (individual): 5, Ian Rush for Liverpool.^[12]
• Most final appearances: (individual): 6, Ian Rush for Liverpool (1981–1984, 1987, 1995) and Emile Heskey for Leicester City (1997, 1999, 2000), Liverpool (2001, 2003) and Aston Villa (2010).
• Highest goalscorer (career): Geoff Hurst, Ian Rush 49 goals.^[12]
• Highest goalscorer (season): Clive Allen, for Tottenham Hotspur, 12 goals in 1986–87.^[12]
• Most goals scored in a match (individual): 6 goals, by Frankie Bunn for Oldham Athletic vs Scarborough, 25 October 1989.^[13]
• Biggest win: Liverpool 10-0 Fulham, second round first leg, 23 September 1986 and West Ham United 10–0 Bury, second round second leg, 25 October 1983.^[14]
• Youngest player: Ashley Chambers, 15 years 203 days, for Leicester City vs Blackpool, 2005.^[15]
• Youngest goalscorer in the final: Norman Whiteside, 17 years 324 days, for Manchester United vs Liverpool, 1983.^[16]
• Youngest captain in the final: Barry Venison, 20 years, 7 months 8 days, for Sunderland vs Norwich City, 1985.^[16]

Winners[link]

8 Times

• Liverpool

5 Times

• Aston Villa

4 Times

• Chelsea
• Manchester United
• Nottingham Forest
• Tottenham Hotspur

3 Times

• Leicester City

2 Times

• Arsenal
• Birmingham City
• Manchester City
• Norwich City
• Wolverhampton Wanderers

1 Time

• Blackburn Rovers
• Leeds United
• Luton Town
• Middlesbrough
• Oxford United
• Queens Park Rangers
• Sheffield Wednesday
• Stoke City
• Swindon Town
• West Bromwich Albion

Television coverage[link]

The BBC and Sky Sports are host broadcasters. From 2009–10, the BBC will show one leg of each semi-final and the final live, with Sky showing at least one match from every round live, including the final. Highlights are shown on BBC One and the BBC Sport website.

In its early years, coverage of the competition was split between the BBC and ITV, though the final was usually on ITV (and was only shown as highlights until 1984). From 1988–89 to 2008–09, ITV were the only terrestrial broadcaster covering the competition. They showed it exclusively until 1996–97 when Sky began covering it, and gained the exclusive live rights to the final.

In Australia, two matches from each round, the semi-finals and final are shown live on Fox Sports. In the U.S. and Canada, games are broadcast by Fox Soccer Channel and Setanta Sports (Canada), respectively. In Africa, Super Sport telecast the matches while Ten Sports and TEN Action+ cover the event in India and Pakistan. In Scandinavia, games are broadcast by Canal+.

In Arab countries, most matches from each round, the semi-finals and final are shown live on Al Jazeera Sports channels.

In Asia, games are broadcasted by Goal TV except Japan and Korea.

Finals[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Carling Cup official site
• Full results, 1960–1996
• BBC News and RSSSF for attendance data

Kenny Dalglish

Personal information
Full name	Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish
Date of birth	(1951-03-04) 4 March 1951 (age 61)
Place of birth	Glasgow, Scotland
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing position	Second striker
Youth career
1967–1968	Cumbernauld United
1968–1969	Celtic
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1969–1977	Celtic	204	(112)
1977–1990	Liverpool	355	(118)
Total		559	(230)
National team
1971–1986	Scotland	102	(30)
Teams managed
1985–1991	Liverpool
1991–1995	Blackburn Rovers
1997–1998	Newcastle United
2000	Celtic
2011–2012	Liverpool
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Kenneth Mathieson "Kenny" Dalglish (Scottish pronunciation:  [dɛlɡliːʃ]) MBE (born 4 March 1951) is a Scottish former footballer and manager. In a 22-year playing career, he played for two clubs, Celtic and Liverpool, winning numerous honours with both. He is Scotland's most capped player, with 102 appearances, and joint leading goal scorer, with 30 international goals. Dalglish was voted PFA Player of the Year for the 1982–83 season,^[1] and Football Writers' Footballer of the Year in 1979 and 1983. In 2009 FourFourTwo magazine named Dalglish as the greatest striker in post-war British football,^[2][3] and in 2006 he topped a Liverpool fans' poll of "100 Players Who Shook the Kop".^[4] He has been inducted into both the Scottish and English football Halls of Fame.

Dalglish began his career with Celtic and between 1971 and 1977 he won four Scottish First Division titles, four Scottish Cups and one Scottish League Cup with the club. In 1977, Bob Paisley paid a British transfer record of £440,000 to bring Dalglish to Liverpool. His years at Liverpool marked one of the club's most successful periods: he won seven league titles, three European Cups and five domestic trophies. For these achievements and his style of play he was given the name King Kenny by Liverpool supporters. Dalglish became player-manager of Liverpool in 1985 and in a six-year tenure won three league titles and two FA Cups. He resigned as Liverpool manager in 1991.

Eight months later Dalglish made a return to football management with Blackburn Rovers, whom he led from the Second Division to the Premier League title in 1995. Soon afterwards he stepped down as Blackburn manager to become Director of Football at the club, before leaving altogether in 1996. In January 1997 Dalglish took over at Newcastle United. Newcastle were Premier League and FA Cup runners-up during his tenure, but could only finish 13th in 1997–98. He was dismissed two games into the following season. Dalglish was appointed Director of Football at Celtic in 1999 but a stint as caretaker manager ended in an acrimonious departure the following year.

Between 2000 and 2010 Dalglish focused on charitable concerns, founding The Marina Dalglish Appeal with his wife to raise money for cancer care. In January 2011 Dalglish was appointed Liverpool's caretaker manager, which was made permanent in May 2011.^[5][6] Despite winning the League Cup, Liverpool finished a disappointing 8th in the Premier League and Dalglish was dismissed in May 2012.^[7]

Playing career[link]

Early career[link]

Dalglish, the son of an engineer, was born in Dalmarnock in the East End of Glasgow, and was brought up in Milton in the north of Glasgow. He moved to the docklands of Govan, near Ibrox, home of Rangers football club, when he was 15, and he grew up supporting Rangers.^[8][9] Dalglish attended Milton Bank Primary School in Milton and started out as a goalkeeper.^[10] He then attended High Possil Senior Secondary School, where he won the inter-schools five-a-side and the inter-year five-a-side competitions. He won the Scottish Cup playing for Glasgow Schoolboys and Glasgow Schools, and was then selected for the Scottish schoolboys team that went undefeated in a home nations Victory Shield tournament.^[10] In 1966 Dalglish had unsuccessful trials at West Ham and Liverpool.^[11]

Celtic[link]

Dalglish signed a provisional contract with Celtic in May 1967. Celtic manager Jock Stein sent Sean Fallon to see Dalglish and his parents at their home; on hearing that Fallon was at the door, Dalglish rushed upstairs to remove the Rangers posters from his bedroom walls.^[12] In his first season Dalglish was loaned out to Cumbernauld United, for whom he scored 37 goals.^[13] During this time he also worked as an apprentice joiner.^[10] By the following year Dalglish was a full professional and a regular member of the highly-rated Celtic reserve team that became known as the Quality Street Gang, due to its having a large number of future Scottish internationals, including Danny McGrain, George Connelly, Lou Macari, and David Hay.^[14] Dalglish made his first-team competitive debut for Celtic as a substitute in the 1968 Scottish League Cup quarter-final tie against Hamilton Academical.^[15] Dalglish was in the stands when the Ibrox disaster occurred at an Old Firm match in January 1971, when 66 Rangers fans were killed.^[16]

By the 1971–72 season, Dalglish had become established in the Celtic first team. He scored his first competitive goal for the club, a penalty, in a 2–0 Scottish League Cup tie win over Rangers at Ibrox in August 1971, and that season went on to score 23 league and cup goals in 49 appearances. The following season Dalglish was Celtic's leading scorer, with 41 goals in all competitions. He was made Celtic captain in the 1975–76 season, during which Celtic failed to win a trophy for the first time in 12 years, after Stein was badly injured in a car crash and missed most of the season.^[17] On 10 August 1977, after making 320 appearances and scoring 167 goals for Celtic, Dalglish was signed by Liverpool manager Bob Paisley for a British transfer fee record of £440,000.^[18] Dalglish's departure was unpopular with the Celtic fans, and when he returned in August 1978 to play in Stein's testimonial, he was booed by a large contingent of Celtic supporters.^[19]

Liverpool[link]

Dalglish was signed to replace Kevin Keegan, and Liverpool supporters were initially sceptical that he could perform this task.^[20] However, Dalglish quickly settled into his new club. He made his debut, wearing Keegan's number seven shirt, on 13 August 1977 in the season opener at Wembley, in the Charity Shield against Manchester United. He scored his first goal for Liverpool in his league debut a week later on 20 August, against Middlesbrough. Dalglish also scored three days later on his Anfield debut in a 2–0 victory over Newcastle United, and he scored Liverpool's sixth goal when they beat Keegan's Hamburg 6–0 in the second leg of the 1977 UEFA Super Cup final. By the end of his first season with Liverpool, Dalglish had played 62 times and scored 31 goals, including the winning goal in the 1978 European Cup Final final at Wembley against Bruges.

In his second season Dalglish recorded a personal best of 21 league goals for the club, and he was also named Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year. He did not miss a league game for Liverpool until the 1980–81 season, when he appeared in 34 out of 42 league games and scored only eight goals as Liverpool finished fifth in the league, but still won the European Cup and Football League Cup. He recovered his goal-scoring form the following season, and was an ever-present player in the league once again, scoring 13 goals as Liverpool became league champions for the 13th time, and the third time since Dalglish's arrival. It was also around this time that he began to form a potent strike partnership with Ian Rush;^[21] Dalglish began to play just off Rush, "running riot in the extra space afforded to him in the hole".^[22] Dalglish was voted PFA Player of the Year for the 1982–83 season,^[1] during which he scored 18 league goals as Liverpool retained their title. From 1983 Dalglish became less prolific as a goalscorer, though he remained a regular player.

After becoming player-manager on the retirement of Joe Fagan in the 1985 close season, Dalglish selected himself for just 21 First Division games in 1985–86 as Liverpool won the double, but he started the FA Cup final win over Everton. On the last day of the league season, his goal in a 1–0 away win over Chelsea gave Liverpool their 16th league title.^[23] Dalglish had a personally better campaign in the 1986–87 season, scoring six goals in 18 league appearances, but by then he was committed to giving younger players priority for a first team place.

With the sale of Ian Rush to Juventus in 1987, Dalglish formed a new striker partnership of new signings John Aldridge and Peter Beardsley for the 1987–88 season, and he played only twice in a league campaign which saw Liverpool gain their 17th title. Dalglish did not play in Liverpool's 1988–89 campaign, and he made his final league appearance on 5 May 1990 as a substitute against Derby. At 39, he was one of the oldest players ever to play for Liverpool.^[24] His final goal had come three years earlier, in a 3–0 home league win over Nottingham Forest on 18 April 1987.^[25]

Scotland[link]

Tommy Docherty gave Dalglish his debut for the Scottish national side as a substitute in the 1–0 Euro 1972 qualifier victory over Belgium on 10 November 1971 at Pittodrie. Dalglish scored his first goal for Scotland a year later on 15 November 1972 in the 2–0 World Cup qualifier win over Denmark at Hampden Park. Scotland eventually qualified and he went to the 1974 World Cup in West Germany, where they were eliminated during the group stages.

In 1976, Dalglish scored the winning goal for Scotland at Hampden Park against England, by nutmegging Ray Clemence. A year later Dalglish scored against the same opponents and goalkeeper at Wembley, in another 2–1 win.

Dalglish went on to play in both the 1978 World Cup in Argentina – scoring against eventual runners-up the Netherlands in a famous 3–2 win^[26] – and the 1982 World Cup in Spain, scoring against New Zealand. On both occasions Scotland failed to get past the group stage. In total, Dalglish played 102 times for Scotland (a national record) and he scored 30 goals, (also a national record, which he shares with Denis Law.^[27][28]) Dalglish's final appearance for Scotland, after 15 years as a full international, was on 12 November 1986 at Hampden Park in a Euro 1988 qualifying game against Luxembourg, which Scotland won 3–0. His 30th and final international goal had been two years earlier, on 14 November 1984, in a 3–1 win over Spain in a World Cup qualifier, also at Hampden Park.^[29]

Managerial career[link]

Liverpool[link]

After the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985 and Joe Fagan's subsequent resignation as manager, Dalglish became player-manager of Liverpool. In his first season in charge in 1985–86, he guided the club to its first "double". Liverpool achieved this by winning the League Championship by two points over Everton (Dalglish himself scored the winner in a 1–0 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge to secure the title on the final day of the season^[23]), and the FA Cup by beating Everton in the final.^[30] The following season was trophyless for Liverpool. Before the 1987–88 season, Dalglish signed a number of new players: Peter Beardsley from Newcastle, John Aldridge from Oxford United (who replaced Ian Rush); winger John Barnes from Watford; and Oxford United midfielder Ray Houghton. The new-look Liverpool side shaped by Dalglish topped the league for almost the entire season, and had a run of 37 matches unbeaten in all competitions (including 29 in the league; 22 wins and 7 draws) from the beginning of the season to 21 February 1988, when they lost to Everton in the league. Liverpool were crowned champions with four games left to play, having suffered just two defeats from 40 games. However, Dalglish's side lost the 1988 FA Cup Final to underdogs Wimbledon.^[31] Dalglish guided Liverpool to victory over Everton in the second all-Merseyside FA Cup final in 1989, but was deprived of a second double in the last minute of the final game of the season. In the 1989–90 season Liverpool won their third league title under Dalglish. At the end of the season Dalglish also received his third Manager of the Year award. Dalglish resigned as manager of Liverpool (on health grounds^[32]) on 22 February 1991, two days after a 4–4 draw with rivals Everton^[33] in which Liverpool surrendered the lead four times. At the time of his resignation, the club were three points ahead in the league and still in contention for the FA Cup.^[34]

Hillsborough disaster[link]

Dalglish was the manager of Liverpool at the time of the Hillsborough disaster on 15 April 1989. The disaster claimed 94 lives on the day, with the final death toll reaching 96. Dalglish attended many funerals of the victims – including four in one day^[35] – and his presence in the the aftermath of the disaster has been described as "colossal and heroic".^[36] Dalglish broke a twenty-year silence about the disaster in March 2009. He expressed regret that the police and the FA did not consider delaying the kick-off of the match, a move which might have averted the 96 deaths.^[37] During the Hillsborough Memorial Service on 15 April 2011, Liverpool MP Steve Rotherham announced he would submit an Early Day Motion to have Dalglish knighted, "not only for his outstanding playing and managerial career, but also the charity work he has done with his wife, Marina, for breast cancer support and what he did after Hillsborough. It is common knowledge it affected him deeply".^[38]

Blackburn Rovers[link]

Dalglish returned to management in October 1991, at Second Division Blackburn Rovers. By the turn of 1992 they were top of the Second Division, and then suffered a dip in form before recovering to qualify for the playoffs,^[39] during which Dalglish led Blackburn into the new Premier League by beating Leicester City 1–0 in the Second Division Play-off final at Wembley. The resulting promotion meant that Blackburn were back in the top flight of English football for the first time since 1966.^[40] In 1992, Dalglish signed Southampton's Alan Shearer for a British record fee of £3.5 million.^[41] Despite a serious injury which ruled Shearer out for half the season, Dalglish achieved fourth position with the team in the first year of the new Premier League. The following year, Dalglish failed in an attempt to sign Roy Keane.^[42] Blackburn finished two positions higher the following season, as runners-up to Manchester United. By this time, Dalglish had added England internationals Tim Flowers and David Batty to his squad. At the start of the 1994–95 season Dalglish paid a record £5 million for Chris Sutton, with whom Shearer formed an effective strike partnership. By the last game of the season, both Blackburn and Manchester were in contention for the title. Blackburn had to travel to Liverpool, and Manchester United faced West Ham United in London. Blackburn lost 2–1, but still won the title since Manchester United failed to get a result in London. The title meant that Dalglish was only the fourth football manager in history to lead two different clubs to top-flight league championships, after Tom Watson, Herbert Chapman and Brian Clough. Dalglish became Director of Football at Blackburn in June 1995. He left the club at the end of the season after a disappointing campaign under his replacement, Ray Harford.

Newcastle United[link]

In January 1997 Dalglish was appointed manager of Premier League side Newcastle United on a three-and-a-half-year contract, taking over from Kevin Keegan. Dalglish guided the club from fourth position to a runner-up spot in May and a place in the new format of the following season's UEFA Champions League. He then broke up the team which had finished 2nd two years running, selling popular players like Peter Beardsley, Lee Clark, Les Ferdinand and David Ginola and replaced them with aging stars like John Barnes (34), Ian Rush (36) and Stuart Pearce (35), as well as virtual unknowns like Des Hamilton and Garry Brady.^[43] He also made some good long-term signings like Gary Speed and Shay Given. The 1997–98 campaign saw Newcastle finish in only 13th place and, despite Dalglish achieving some notable successes during the season (including a 3–2 UEFA Champions League win over Barcelona and an FA Cup final appearance against Arsenal), he was sacked by Freddie Shepherd after two draws in the opening two games of the subsequent 1998–1999 season, and replaced by former Chelsea manager Ruud Gullit.^[44] One commentator has since written, "His 20 months at Newcastle United are the only part of Kenny Dalglish's career that came anywhere near failure".^[45]

Celtic[link]

In June 1999 he was appointed Director of Football at Celtic, with his former Liverpool signing John Barnes appointed as head coach.^[46] Barnes was sacked in February 2000 and Dalglish was appointed manager, and he guided them to the Scottish League Cup final where they beat Aberdeen 2–0 at Hampden Park, and he left the club shortly thereafter. Dalglish was unhappy with the departure and Celtic's termination of his contract. He had recommended previous manager Barnes to the club and offered himself as a replacement manager should the young Barnes not succeed in the role.^[47] In spite of the termination of his contract, Dalglish vowed to stay on as Director of football. After a brief legal battle, Dalglish accepted Celtic's settlement offer of £600,000.^[48]

Return to Liverpool[link]

Dalglish managing Liverpool against Bolton in August 2011

In April 2009 Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez invited Dalglish to take up a role at the club's youth academy. The appointment was confirmed in July 2009,^[49] and Dalglish was also made the club's ambassador.^[18]

Following Benítez's departure from Liverpool in June 2010, Dalglish was asked to help find a replacement, and in July Fulham's Roy Hodgson was appointed manager.^[50] However, a poor series of results at the start of the 2010–11 season led to Liverpool fans calling for Dalglish's return as manager as early as October 2010,^[51] and with no subsequent improvement in Liverpool's results up to the end of the year (during which time the club was bought by New England Sports Ventures),^[52] Hodgson left Liverpool and Dalglish was appointed caretaker manager on 8 January 2011.^[53] Dalglish's first game in charge was on 9 January 2011 at Old Trafford against Manchester United in the 3rd round of the FA Cup, which Liverpool lost 1–0.^[54] Dalglish's first league game in charge was against Blackpool on 12 January 2011; Liverpool lost 2–1.^[55] After the game, Dalglish admitted that Liverpool faced "a big challenge".^[56]

Shortly after his appointment, Dalglish indicated he would like the job on a permanent basis if it was offered to him,^[57] and on 19 January the Liverpool chairman Tom Werner stated that the club's owners would favour this option.^[58] On 22 January 2011, Dalglish led Liverpool to their first win since his return, against Wolves at Molineux.^[59] After signing Andy Carroll from Newcastle for a British record transfer fee of £35 million and Luis Suárez from Ajax for £22.8 million at the end of January (in the wake of Fernando Torres's sale to Chelsea for £50 million), some journalists noted that Dalglish had begun to assert his authority at the club.^[60][61] Following a 1–0 victory against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in February 2011, described by Alan Smith as "a quite brilliant display in terms of discipline and spirit"^[62] and a "defensive masterplan" by David Pleat,^[63] Henry Winter wrote, "it can only be a matter of time before he [Dalglish] is confirmed as long-term manager".^[64]

On 12 May 2011, Liverpool announced that Dalglish had been given a three-year contract.^[65] In February 2012, Dalglish led Liverpool to their first trophy in six years, with victory in the 2011–12 Football League Cup.^[66] In the same season he also led Liverpool to the 2012 FA Cup Final where they lost 2–1 to Chelsea. Despite the success in domestic cups, Liverpool finished the season eighth, their worst showing in the league since 1994; they also failed to qualify for Europe's Champions League for a third straight season.^[67] Following the end of the season, Liverpool sacked Dalglish on 16 May 2012, citing that "results in the Premier League have been disappointing". Dalglish's second stint in charge at Anfield proved controversial at times. The Scot consistently defended Luis Suarez in the wake of the striker's eight-match ban for allegedly racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra when the teams met in October 2011. After the Uruguayan's apparent refusual to shake Evra's hand in the return fixture in February 2012, an apology from both player and manager came only after the intervention of the owners. Critics have also questioned whether the England trio of Andy Carroll, Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing represented value for money at a combined cost of approximately £70m.^[68]

Personal life[link]

Dalglish has been married to Marina since 26 November 1974.^{[citation needed]} His best man at his wedding was another ex-professional footballer, Jim Donald of Queen of the South.^[69] The couple have four children, including Kelly, born 1975 and Paul, born 1977. Kelly is now a correspondent for ESPN UK; Paul followed in his father's footsteps as a footballer, and is the current manager of the Austin Aztex. His other daughters are Lynsey, born 1982 and Lauren, born 1988.^{[citation needed]} Dalglish's wife was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2003, but she made a good recovery from the disease. She was awarded an MBE in the 2009 New Year Honours list for services to charity.^[70]

Charity work[link]

In 2004, Dalglish and his wife founded the charity The Marina Dalglish Appeal to raise money to help treat cancer. Dalglish has participated in a number of events to raise money for the charity, including a replay of the 1986 FA Cup Final.^[71] In June 2007 a Centre for Oncology at University Hospital Aintree was opened, after the charity had raised £1.5 million.^[72] Dalglish often competes in the annual Gary Player Invitational Tournament, a charity golfing event which raises money for children's causes around the world.^[73] On 1 July 2011, Dalglish was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Ulster, for services to football and charity.^[74]

Career statistics[link]

Club[link]

National team statistics[link]

International goals[link]

Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first.

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	15 November 1972	Hampden Park, Glasgow	Denmark	1–0	2–0	WCQG8
2	16 May 1973	Hampden Park, Glasgow	Northern Ireland	1–2	1–2	BHC
3	27 March 1974	Waldstadion, Frankfurt	West Germany	1–2	1–2	Friendly
4	14 May 1974	Hampden Park, Glasgow	Wales	1–0	2–0	BHC
5	6 June 1974	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo	Norway	2–1	2–1	Friendly
6	30 October 1974	Hampden Park, Glasgow	East Germany	3–0	3–0	Friendly
7	20 May 1975	Hampden Park, Glasgow	Northern Ireland	2–0	3–0	BHC
8	29 October 1975	Hampden Park, Glasgow	Denmark	1–1	3–1	ECQG4
9	8 May 1976	Hampden Park, Glasgow	Northern Ireland	3–0	3–0	BHC
10	15 May 1976	Hampden Park, Glasgow	England	2–1	2–1	BHC
11	8 September 1976	Hampden Park, Glasgow	Finland	3–0	6–0	Friendly
12	27 April 1977	Hampden Park, Glasgow	Sweden	2–1	3–1	Friendly
13	1 June 1977	Hampden Park, Glasgow	Northern Ireland	1–0	3–0	BHC
14	1 June 1977	Hampden Park, Glasgow	Northern Ireland	3–0	3–0	BHC
15	4 June 1977	Wembley Stadium, London	England	2–0	2–1	BHC
16	15 June 1977	Estadio Nacional, Santiago	Chile	1–0	4–2	Friendly
17	21 September 1977	Hampden Park, Glasgow	Czechoslovakia	3–0	3–1	WCQG7
18	12 October 1977	Anfield, Liverpool	Wales	2–0	2–0	WCQG7
19	11 June 1978	Estadio San Martin, Mendoza	Netherlands	1–1	3–2	WCG4
20	25 October 1978	Hampden Park, Glasgow	Norway	1–1	3–2	ECQG2
21	25 October 1978	Hampden Park, Glasgow	Norway	2–2	3–2	ECQG2
22	7 June 1979	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo	Norway	2–0	4–0	ECQG2
23	26 March 1980	Hampden Park, Glasgow	Portugal	1–0	4–1	ECQG2
24	25 February 1981	Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan	Israel	1–0	1–0	WCQG8
25	23 March 1982	Hampden Park, Glasgow	Netherlands	2–0	2–1	Friendly
26	15 June 1982	Estadio La Rosaleda, Málaga	New Zealand	1–0	5–2	WCG6
27	15 December 1982	Heysel Stadion, Brussels	Belgium	1–0	2–3	ECQG1
28	15 December 1982	Heysel Stadion, Brussels	Belgium	2–1	2–3	ECQG1
29	12 September 1984	Hampden Park, Glasgow	Yugoslavia	3–1	6–1	Friendly
30	14 November 1984	Hampden Park, Glasgow	Spain	3–1	3–1	WCQG7

Playing honours[link]

Celtic (1969–1977)

• Scottish First Division (4): 1971–72, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1976–77
• Scottish Cup (4): 1972, 1974, 1975, 1977
• Scottish League Cup (1): 1975

Liverpool (1977–1990)

• Football League First Division (6): 1978–79, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1985–86
• FA Cup (2): 1986, 1989
• FA Cup Runners-up (1): 1988
• Football League Cup (4): 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984
• Charity Shield (7): 1977 (Shared), 1979, 1980, 1982, 1986 (Shared), 1988, 1989
• European Cup (3): 1978, 1981, 1984
• European Cup Runners-up (1): 1985
• European Super Cup (1): 1977

Managerial honours[link]

Liverpool (1985–1991, 2011–2012)

• Football League First Division (3): 1985–86, 1987–88, 1989–90
• FA Cup (2): 1986, 1989
• FA Cup Runners-up (2): 1988, 2012
• Football League Cup (1): 2012
• Charity Shield (4): 1986 (Shared) 1988, 1989, 1990 (Shared)

Blackburn Rovers (1991–1995)

• FA Premier League (1): 1994–95
• Football League Second Division Play Off Winners (1): 1991–92

Celtic (2000)

• Scottish League Cup (1): 2000

Awards and achievements[link]

• PFA Player of the Year: 1982/83
• FWA Footballer of the Year: 1979/80, 1982/83
• Scottish Premier Division top goalscorer: 1975/76
• Manager of the Year award: 1985/86, 1987/88, 1989/90, 1994/95
• Premier League Manager of the Month: January 1994, November 1994
• Inaugural Inductee to the English Football Hall of Fame: 2002
• Member of the Scotland Football Hall of Fame
• Member of the FIFA 100
• Freedom of the City of Glasgow: 1986
• 1st in the Liverpool Football Club poll 100 Players Who Shook The Kop: 2006
• Scotland: 30 goals in 102 international caps (both national records)
• Balon d'Or 1983: 2nd place

Managerial statistics[link]

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
G	W	D	L	Win %
Liverpool		30 May 1985	22 February 1991	&10000000000000299000000299	&10000000000000182000000182	&1000000000000007600000076	&1000000000000004100000041	&1000000000000006086999960.87
Blackburn Rovers		12 October 1991	25 June 1995	&10000000000000196000000196	&10000000000000103000000103	&1000000000000004600000046	&1000000000000004700000047	&1000000000000005254999952.55
Newcastle United		14 January 1997	27 August 1998	&1000000000000007800000078	&1000000000000003000000030	&1000000000000002200000022	&1000000000000002600000026	&1000000000000003846000038.46
Celtic		10 February 2000	1 June 2000	&1000000000000001800000018	&1000000000000001000000010	&100000000000000040000004	&100000000000000040000004	&1000000000000005556000055.56
Liverpool		8 January 2011	16 May 2012	&1000000000000007400000074	&1000000000000003500000035	&1000000000000001700000017	&1000000000000002200000022	&1000000000000004729999947.30
Total				&10000000000000665000000665	&10000000000000360000000360	&10000000000000165000000165	&10000000000000140000000140	&1000000000000005414000054.14

Bibliography[link]

• Kelly, Stephen (1993). Dalglish. Headline Book Publishing; New edition edition (19 Aug 1993). ISBN 0-7472-4124-4. 
• Dalglish, Kenny; Winter, Henry (2010). My Liverpool Home. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-1-4447-0419-8. 
• Macpherson, Archie (2007). Jock Stein: The Definitive Biography. Highdown; New Ed edition (18 May 2007). ISBN 1-905156-37-5. 

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kenny Dalglish

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Kenny Dalglish

• Kenny Dalglish at scottishfa.co.uk
• Kenny Dalglish management career stats at Soccerbase
• Official past players at Liverpool fc.tv
• English Football Hall of Fame Profile
• LFCHistory.net Player profile
• LFCHistory.net Manager profile
• ESPN Profile

Scotland squad v t e Scotland squad – 1974 FIFA World Cup 1 Harvey 2 Jardine 3 McGrain 4 Bremner (c) 5 Holton 6 Blackley 7 Johnstone 8 Dalglish 9 Jordan 10 Hay 11 Lorimer 12 Allan 13 Stewart 14 Buchan 15 Cormack 16 Donachie 17 Ford 18 Hutchison 19 Law 20 Morgan 21 McQueen 22 Schaedler Coach: Ormond v t e Scotland squad – 1978 FIFA World Cup 1 Rough 2 Jardine 3 Donachie 4 Buchan 5 McQueen 6 Rioch 7 Masson 8 Dalglish 9 Jordan 10 Hartford 11 Johnston 12 Blyth 13 Kennedy (c) 14 Forsyth 15 Gemmill 16 Macari 17 Johnstone 18 Souness 19 Robertson 20 Clark 21 Harper 22 Burns Coach: MacLeod v t e Scotland squad – 1982 FIFA World Cup 1 Rough 2 McGrain 3 Gray 4 Souness (c) 5 Hansen 6 Miller 7 Strachan 8 Dalglish 9 Brazil 10 Wark 11 Robertson 12 Wood 13 McLeish 14 Narey 15 Jordan 16 Hartford 17 Evans 18 Archibald 19 Sturrock 20 Provan 21 Burley 22 Leighton Coach: Stein