John Henry's warning to Suarez & Dalgleish

[Dunny]

'No-one is more important than Liverpool'... Henry's warning to Suarez and Dalglish in bid to resolve race storm



By Sportsmail Reporter

Last updated at 10:47 AM on 13th February 2012

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Liverpool's owners are stamping their authority as they bid to clean up the mess left by Luis Suarez's race row with Patrice Evra.

Angered by the behaviour of Suarez and manager Kenny Dalglish at Manchester United on Saturday, Fenway Sports Group chief John Henry - who has monitored the scandal unfolding from America - forced the pair into apologies.

And Henry has now made it clear that he will take firm action to finally banish the saga that has overshadowed the club.


Flashpoint: Luis Suarez refuses to shake the hand of Patrice Evra





'No-one is more important than the club,' a senior Fenway source told BBC Sport. 'Apologies were necessary.'
Suarez's Liverpool future has been plunged into doubt after he was accused by Anfield officials of deceiving them over his intentions to shake hands with Patrice Evra.

The controversial striker was hauled over the coals by managing director Ian Ayre and Dalglish on Sunday after he pointedly snubbed Manchester United defender Evra in the pre-match ceremony at Old Trafford.
Suarez was forced to issue a grovelling apology. Dalglish also expressed his regret for the confrontational interview he gave to Sky Sports after United’s 2-1 win on Saturday. United issued a statement accepting the gestures.

Having assured Dalglish and director of football Damien Comolli last Wednesday that he would shake Evra’s hand, Suarez dismayed Liverpool when he ignored the Frenchman, whom he was found guilty of racially abusing last October.

Ayre said: ‘We are extremely disappointed Luis Suarez did not shake hands with Patrice Evra. He was wrong to mislead us and wrong not to offer his hand.’


Joy unconfined: Evra celebrated wildly in front of Suarez at the final whistle



Suarez, 25, said: ‘I realise I got things wrong. I’ve not only let the manager down, but also the club and what it stands for. I should have shaken Patrice Evra’s hand and I want to apologise.’

Dalglish has been steadfastly supportive of Suarez ever since the initial allegation of racism was made by Evra on October 15 but he did not attempt to defend the former Ajax striker. Sir Alex Ferguson described him as a ‘disgrace’ and said he ‘should never play for Liverpool again’.

Dalglish said: ‘I was shocked to hear the player had not shaken hands having been told earlier in the week that he would do.

'All of us have a responsibility to represent this club in a fit and proper manner and that applies equally to me. I did not conduct myself in a way befitting a Liverpool manager during that interview. I’d like to apologise.’


Conduct: Kenny Dalglish apologised for his controversial post-match comments

United defender Jonny Evans said: ‘We had been talking in the changing room about whether he would shake his hand. Myself, and a few other players said to Patrice, “Just shake his hand because you have nothing to be ashamed of or hide”. I said I think if you offer a handshake then you will come out with a lot of respect.’

PFA chief Gordon Taylor revealed that his attempts to mediate in the matter had been rebuffed by Liverpool and encouraged the FA to step in.

Taylor said: ‘The FA must get around the table with the clubs because we are getting into a state of anarchy. If he [Suarez] is going to ignore a decision, he needs to be disciplined or we are going to have the tail wagging the dog.

‘Kenny has been supportive of Suarez but to some extent that has encouraged what has happened.’


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo...#ixzz1mGFV5Gj6

[Sir X]

Selling papers with an inflammatory headline.KD says this every day,no one is bigger than LFC.

Whats new ?

[Dunny]

Selling papers with an inflammatory headline.KD says this every day,no one is bigger than LFC.

Whats new ?

His action should've spoken louder than his words, he shouldn't have needed a slap from the bosses to see some sense should he?

[Dunny]

It's just too late Kenny, you've left a stain on your club



By Ian Ladyman

Last updated at 12:12 AM on 13th February 2012

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One hundred and twenty days. That was how long it took for Kenny Dalglish and Liverpool to finally get something right.

That’s 120 days to work out how to do the decent thing.

When they came - midway through Sunday afternoon - statements from Dalglish, Luis Suarez and managing director Ian Ayre served their purpose and, for once, delivered a clear message.

Finally, four months after Suarez and Patrice Evra clashed in the penalty box at Anfield on October 15, Liverpool declared themselves ready to move on. Finally, there was some contrition, some responsibility. It was all long overdue.

Long time coming: Suarez and Evra clashed back in October

Forget all the other low days this club have endured since mid-autumn. Forget the days of the silly T-shirts and the rambling, bemusing statements. For none has been lower than Saturday.

A visit of one of England’s flagship clubs to Old Trafford remains one of the stand-out fixtures of the year. Manchester United v Liverpool on a winter’s Saturday. What is there not to like?

Here, though, Liverpool - clumsy, arrogant Liverpool - failed by the curled lip of their striker and by a floundering manager buried deep in denial, shoved a great spectacle into the shadows. In its place they revealed their darker side and how ugly it looked. Self-serving, out of touch, paranoid, delusional. Take your pick.

How important is a handshake? Suarez clearly thinks it means little. To him, dignity remains optional. Saturday at Old Trafford presented the Uruguayan and Liverpool with an opportunity. Take a deep breath, put out your hand and put the past to bed.


Making matters worse: Liverpool wore t-shirts in support of Suarez at Stoke

What they're saying on Twitter...


Shaking of hands before n after games shouldn’t be eradicated ...teaches our CHILDREN RESPECT to OFFICIALS and PLAYERS.
Tim Cahill, Everton midfielder

Good to see Suarez and LFC issue an apology...first step has been taken towards moving on from this!
Jason Roberts, Reading striker

Hopefully this will allow all concerned to move forward
Mark Bright

Well done Suarez for apologising am sorry for calling u a wasteman Now u have made Liverpool Fans defending u look like the clowns.
Emmanuel Frimpong, Arsenal

Liverpool Football Club have now pulled the rug from under any idiot who looked for Suarez excuse on the handshake. Well done LFC.
Stan Collymore

Pleased to see that Suarez has apologised, every journey needs a first step.
Ian Wright


Just do the right thing.

It was a goal as open as the one Suarez volleyed the ball into late in this undistinguished game. He wasn’t interested, though, and, to make matters worse, his manager didn’t - at that point - really seem to care.

On Sunday it emerged that Suarez had been willing to go along with Dalglish’s suggestion last week that he would shake Evra’s hand. He had been instructed to swallow his substantial pride. It seems he changed his mind, ignoring his manager and effectively calling Dalglish’s authority into question. It appears it was this, as much as anything, that prompted Suarez’s apology and Ayre’s subsequent criticism.

Still there was no contrition or explanation from Dalglish after the game, though. And no website statement, no Sunday afternoon apology will make us forget that.

Instead of addressing the issue with Sky’s impressively persistent interviewer Geoff Shreeves, Liverpool’s manager once again sought refuge in sneering, condescending aggression. It was as embarrassing as it was offensive.


Flashpoint: Suarez refused to shake Evra's hand on Saturday



On Sunday, Dalglish apologised, though not to Shreeves. In doing so, he appeared to suggest he wasn’t aware of Suarez’s actions when beginning his interview. That seems extraordinary. As painful as it is to acknowledge, the spirit of Dalglish runs right through the middle of this saga. It has done right from the moment he saw Sir Alex Ferguson accompany Evra to the referee’s room after the 1-1 draw on Merseyside last year.

Suarez is a young man of 25. A South American gun for hire already playing at his fourth professional club. He has no great understanding of the English game or all that Liverpool and United have done over the past 40-odd years to advance its cause.
Dalglish, though, has been in the vanguard of this. His goal brought England only its third European Cup in 1978. He managed Liverpool to a League and FA Cup Double less than 10 years later. He dragged the club through the horrors of Hillsborough.

So what has happened since? How has it taken him so long to understand the damage the past four months have done to his club and its reputation?
Away from the field, Dalglish remains desperately out of his depth.

Too late: Dalglish finally apologised on Sunday


Foolishly, Liverpool have allowed him to drive their defence - if it can be called that - of Suarez and he has let them down. Dalglish admitted his conduct on Saturday was not befitting of a Liverpool manager. The point is, though, that it hasn’t been so for quite some time and nobody inside Anfield has been brave enough to tell him.

On Saturday, Liverpool owner John W Henry seemed more preoccupied with lunch than soccer. ‘At Boston Bagel Cafe in Ft. Lauderdale’ he tweeted. ‘Great sandwiches.’

Henry and chairman Tom Werner, his fellow American, rarely come to Anfield. On Sunday, the Liverpool FC section of the NESN (New England Sports Network) website part-owned by Henry claimed that Suarez had shown ‘strength of character’ to ‘score in the face of adversity’. There was no mention of what had preceded the match.
Elsewhere, though, there are signs that the stench of the Suarez-Evra issue is finally beginning to drift across the Atlantic. Sunday’s edition of the New York Times carried an article under the headline, ‘Another Ugly Incident Mars Liverpool’s Good Name’.

The editorial ended by posing the question: ‘Is it time for Henry and Werner to state the direction the club will take on this issue?’

Anyone who has watched this saga unfold will know the answer, of course. Who knows how much input Henry and Werner had in the statements. It is certainly interesting that they didn’t come until America - five hours behind - had ‘woken up’.

What is indisputable, though, is that Sunday’s movement came far too late.

To repeat, Liverpool have had 120 days to educate Suarez, 120 days to drag Dalglish into line. In that time, the club’s reputation has been allowed to nosedive.

On Saturday night, Match of the Day showed replays of the Suarez-Evra ‘handshake’ three times once their main highlights package of the action was over. They never once referred back to the goals.

Liverpool may ask themselves why that was.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo...#ixzz1mGNKpGwD

[Gamma]

Because he did not walk that walk in this case!

[Gamma]

En punto!

[Sir X]

You guys are showing your skirts....KD isnt going anywhere soon.

[Dunny]

You guys are showing your skirts....KD isnt going anywhere soon.

Don't be so sure Mr X, he got to be on best behaviour from now on or else........

[Sir X]

Like who Fergie? Mourinho ,Arse ,Rafa ?.....KD is Liverpool and Liverpool is KD , he comes and goes on his own terms, not the media.

[OJ]

Kenny has been supportive of Suarez but to some extent that has encouraged what has happened.’

[Jangle]

tsk....tsk..tsk...Xcuse my "friend" (in quotation because you are a Loserfool fanatic), KD has to win trophies to be in the same ilk as SAF. He will not be allowed to do his own thing as he pleases. He will be fired soon. A club of Loserfool's stature will not stand for a eigth place finish, which is where you guys will end up.

[Gamma]

i don't care if he stays or not. he is no-one to fear!

[Gamma]

upon this utterance, KD was safe .... once goat mout' intervene, say a prayer for dalglish!