If the purpose of the documentary ‘KENNY‘ (director Stewart Sugg, 86 mins) was to explain the esteem in which Kenny Dalglish is held by Liverpool supporters, it succeeds on every level.
Wonderful footballer, triumphant manager and more pertinently a compassionate man – in support given to families of the 1989 Hillsborough tragedy victims, he and wife Marina show selfless commitment to help those grieving in the aftermath of the disaster, continuing to be supportive thereafter.
But ‘Kenny‘ is not a biography in the traditional sense, the main focus being his career route to Anfield and fourteen year tenure with Liverpool between 1977 and 1991.
It omits any reference to time spent managing Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United, Celtic and most surprisingly of all a second spell as Liverpool boss (a fifteen month reign ending in the summer of 2012) – something of a surprise as for the moment he remains the last manager to take a trophy back to Anfield, winning the League Cup just nine weeks before his departure.
The documentary begins at the press conference announcing his resignation as Liverpool manager in February 1991 – and from there goes back to his Glasgow childhood.
It advances through a playing career with Celtic, the subsequent transfer to Liverpool and trophy laden years that follow – a period interspersed with the double catastrophes of Heysel and Hillsborough, the latter having a major bearing on his decision to resign twenty two months later.
Given his reputation for being taciturn (in my career as a football writer I found this a somewhat undeserved label – having attended a number of his post-match interviews it was clear he did not respond well to flippant or ridiculous questions, but for the most part was quite accommodating) Dalglish emerges from the programme as someone who speaks only when he has something relevant to say; the views of his wife, children, Sir Alex Ferguson, former team-mates Alan Hansen, Ian Rush and John Barnes along with that of author Phil Scraton, adding valuable insight.
What emerges from his early years is the single-minded determination he possessed to make the grade as a footballer. Born into a Rangers supporting household but crossing the Glasgow divide to play for Celtic, (Dalglish was among the crowd at the Ibrox disaster of January 1971 when 66 people died in a crush leaving the ground near the end of an Old Firm derby), his prodigious talent earning a move to Liverpool in August 1977.
Costing a then British record transfer fee of £440,000, Dalglish was bought by Bob Paisley as a replacement for the departing Kevin Keegan – whose final game before joining German club Hamburg had seen him give an outstanding performance as Liverpool beat Borrussia Monchengladbach in Rome to win the European Cup for the first time.
But Dalglish brought a whole new dimension to their forward play and in various clips of him scoring or creating goals, it becomes evident Liverpool had signed a player with the sharpest football brain around.
An ability to shrug off defenders (in an era when the game was far more physical than it is now) and uncanny knack of finding space in crowded penalty areas became vital components as Liverpool turned into a trophy winning machine – Dalglish scoring the only goal in their 1978 European Cup Final triumph over Bruges at Wembley, their roster added to year-on-year, very often with several trophies.
In May 1985 they arrived in Brussels aiming to retain the European Cup, meeting Italian champions Juventus in a final being played at the Heysel Stadium. But prior to kick-off a charge across the terraces by Liverpool supporters led to 39 people, mostly Juventus followers, being crushed to death. After the match (which Liverpool lost 1-0) Joe Fagin resigned as Liverpool manager with Dalglish offered the post – taking the role as player-manager.
After an inauspicious start to the following (1985/86) season culminates in a 2-0 derby defeat at home to Everton, Hansen confides to him ‘this is the worst Liverpool team I’ve played in.’
Yet galvanised by Dalglish they proceed to become only the third team of the century to win the League and FA Cup double, Hansen now considering this ‘his (Dalglish) greatest achievement.’
During the next twelve months Dalglish built another formidable Liverpool team and with signings such as England internationals John Barnes and Peter Beardsley, played a brand of expansive, attacking football that won admiration even from non-Liverpool supporters.
As they marched toward another league title, when Sir Tom Finney witnessed their 5-0 Anfield demolition of Nottingham Forest in April 1988, he described it as: ‘The finest team display I have ever seen in all my time of playing and watching football.’
Sadly however, the documentary leads inextricably to April 15 1989 and the tragic events at Hillsborough, the subject as emotive to Dalglish now as it has ever been. In the most affecting scene he drives to a hill outside Sheffield and walks to a vantage point where the ground is visible in the distance, but goes no further as if still haunted by what he witnessed – seeing the tragedy up close once again in all its vivid, appalling reality.
‘This is as close as I want to go,‘ he says, voice cracking with poignancy, ‘you can’t forget what happened there.’
In the weeks following the disaster Dalglish led the Liverpool FC response, attending many funerals of the 96 victims and offering unswerving support to bereaved families, ‘only doing‘ what he now describes as ‘what anyone else would have done.’ Despite being a man renowned for choosing his words carefully, the bond between a football club and its followers has never been better described than when he goes onto to add:
‘The fans had always supported the club, this was a time when the club had to support the fans.’
If there was ever a sentence to describe the unique connection between Kenny Dalglish and Liverpool Football Club, it was, appropriately, spoken by the man himself.
Toward the end of ‘Kenny‘ his wife Marina and daughter Kelly speak about the impact Hillsborough had on him, revealing it caused a rash which covered his body, nights of not being able to sleep and sudden mood swings – while in his capacity as Liverpool manager, the inability to make simple decisions also became a key factor behind his shock departure in early 1991.
In one of his several pertinent contributions, author Phil Scraton says: ‘Kenny and Marina Dalglish are real humanitarians – the people of Liverpool know what they sacrificed, what they gave.’
Despite holding the record as the most capped Scottish international of all time, being voted Liverpool’s greatest ever player and having the rebuilt main stand at Anfield named in his honour, one suspects the eternal respect of Liverpool supporters is the recognition Dalglish treasures most.
‘It was a privilege to play for Liverpool and manage Liverpool,’ he says, ‘a privilege to win for those supporters.’
The documentary ‘Kenny‘ goes a long way in explaining why the mutual regard is so defined.
‘KENNY‘ is now available on DVD.
This article was first published on 8/6/2018.
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NEIL SAMBROOK is the author of MONTY’S DOUBLE – an acclaimed thriller now available as an Amazon Kindle Book.
