Steve Clarke leaves Liverpool and is in contention to become WBA new manager

The League Managers' Association has announced that Steve Clarke has left Liverpool, clearing the way for Brendan Rodgers to bring in his own assistant.

Clarke was taken to Anfield in January 2011 by former Reds boss Kenny Dalglish.

Having forged a reputation as one of the finest coaches in the business during spells at Newcastle, Chelsea and West Ham, the Scot was offered the opportunity to work alongside Dalglish as he attempted to bring the good times back to Merseyside.

Liverpool disappointed, though, in 2011/12, with a Carling Cup success not enough to paper over the Premier League cracks.

Dalglish was relieved of his duties by the Reds board as a result, leaving Clarke facing up to an uncertain future.

Liverpool moved quickly to fill their managerial void with the appointment of Rodgers, and he will be allowed to bring in his own backroom team.

That means Clarke's services are no longer required and he has officially vacated his post.

Rodgers has yet to name a number two but Liverpool and the 39-year-old's former club Swansea have agreed a compensation package which sees three of his trusted staff move to Anfield, including his Liberty Stadium assistant Colin Pascoe.

Performance analyst Chris Davies and head of sports science and medicine Glen Driscoll have also linked up with the Reds.

West Bromwich Albion have moved quickly to sound out Clarke after he left Anfield and sources close to the club believe he could even be appointed by the weekend.

Former Schalke boss Ralf Rangnick had looked set to take charge at the Hawthorns, but he appears to have now dropped out of the running to succeed Hodgson.

Clarke has gained plenty of experience working as number two at Chelsea, West Ham and most recently at Liverpool under Kenny Dalglish.

But the 48 year-old is believed to be keen to step in to a managerial role and Albion fit the bill.

Clarke will have a hard act to follow in Hodgson, who guided West Brom to a top-10 finish in the Barclays Premier League last season.

Source: Sky Sports, Telegraph Sport

This story has been reproduced from the media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club or Red's Fury™ blog.

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Sack Dalglish and Liverpool FC will become a mid-table club in years to come

Don’t get me wrong, I’m neither a pro-Dalglish regime nor against him. Yes, we must admit that finishing eight in the league are unacceptable for a club like Liverpool. Building a team needs time. Fenway Sports Group has invested heavily on their club and the project are just half baked. My question is, why stop now?

Dalglish still has two years to run on the contract he was given by FSG just over 12 months ago. Club officials refused to comment on intense speculation that Dalglish had been relieved of his duties following the summit but the we understands no decision has yet been made.

Speculation reached fever pitch on internet and social networking sites around late yesterday morning with unsubstantiated claims ranging from him being sacked to resigning.

Without a public show of support from FSG, Dalglish's job will remain a subject for debate even though just over a month ago Werner stated that the owners had "great confidence in Kenny and he enjoys our full support".

Dalglish is now set to embark on his summer break, but doubts remain as to whether he will be in charge at Anfield at the start of next season.

Clarke was pictured alongside Henry and Werner at Boston Red Sox’s baseball match against Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park on Monday evening.

Dalglish was absent as he was preparing to fly back to Merseyside. Clarke stayed on longer because he was travelling on to Miami for a family holiday.

Let’s not embarked in more speculations until the club has made an official statement on the whole situation. Let’s give Dalglish another 12 months to get his plans back on track and if things doesn’t worked out then we can start pushing the panic button.

Many rumours has linked Roberto Martinez to Liverpool. Frankly speaking, do you think Martinez can manage Liverpool? I, personally doesn’t think so.

This story has been reproduced from the media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club or Red's Fury™ blog.

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Steve Clarke appointed as Liverpool first team coach

Liverpool have appointed former Chelsea assistant manager Steve Clarke as first team coach.

Clarke, who played over 500 senior matches for St Mirren and Chelsea, is the first addition to new manager Kenny Dalglish's backroom staff following the departure of Roy Hodgson on Saturday.

"Steve is a great addition to our backroom team and I'm delighted we've been able to bring him into the club," the Scot said.

"I am looking forward to working with Steve alongside Sammy Lee (assistant manager) and our other technical staff."

The appointment of the well-respected Clarke will go some way to silencing the critics who claimed Dalglish, who has not managed for more than a decade, had been out for too long and was not equipped to deal with the modern-day demands of the game.

Clarke, who was at the club's Melwood training ground this morning, was a part of the coaching set-up at Chelsea under Jose Mourinho when the Blues won two Premier League titles, an FA Cup and two Carling Cups over three seasons.

Mike Kelly, who Hodgson brought with him from Fulham as coach in the summer, was not involved with the team in their FA Cup defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford yesterday and his departure from Liverpool will be confirmed in due course.

Source: Premier League.com

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