Scapegoat: Comolli sacked but Dalglish stays (for now) as Cruyff and Van Gaal top wish-list
By Dominic King
PUBLISHED: 21:48 GMT, 12 April 2012 | UPDATED: 00:14 GMT, 13 April 2012
Kenny Dalglish has been told his job is safe after Damien Comolli was made the scapegoat for Liverpool's wretched Premier League campaign.
Fenway Sports Group, Liverpool's American owners, are actively looking at candidates to replace Comolli and the two early contenders are Johan Cruyff and Louis van Gaal.
On the sidelines: Damien Comolli (right) with Kenny Dalglish and captain Steven Gerrard
Comolli was jettisoned following 18 months as director of football after Liverpool chairman Tom Werner said they did not believe he had utilised the £113million they made available for signings properly.
But, ahead of the club's season-defining FA Cup semi-final against Everton, Werner stressed: 'We've got great confidence in Kenny. We feel the team are going to make strides in the future and he enjoys our full support.'
Early contenders: Johan Cruyff (left) and Louis van Gaal are being touted to replace Comolli
Dalglish confirmed he had spoken to Werner and principal owner John W Henry, saying: 'There's nothing unusual in that. For me, my concern is and always will be this football club. Everyone here will be trying their very best to move us forward.'
On the sacking of Comolli, Werner added: 'We've had a strategy that we have agreed on. There was some disconnect on the implementation of that.
Moving on: Liverpool owner John Henry (left) and chairman Tom Werner (second right) thanked Comolli after the Frenchman departed Anfield
'That strategy is a strong one and it will continue. We need to build a strong system under the first team.
'We're hard at work identifying transfer targets and we will be better next year. We don't have any specific candidates in mind.'
Axed: Comolli, pictured at Ewood Park on Monday alongside ex-Arsenal chief David Dein, has left Liverpool by mutual consent
COMOLLI'S KOP SIGNINGS
Jan 2011
Andy Carroll - £35m
Luis Suarez - £22.8m
June 2011
Jordan Henderson - £16m
July 2011
Charlie Adam - £9m
Stewart Downing - £20m
Doni - free
August 2011
Jose Enrique - £6m
Sebastian Coates - £7m
Craig Bellamy – free
Jan 2012
Danny Ward £100,000
Jordan Ibe – £500,000+
Part of the reason we made this decision was to be in the best possible position to move forward as quickly as possible.'
Cruyff, 64, is one of the biggest names in world football and has been acclaimed for his role in helping to set up the academy system at Barcelona.
He has consultancy roles at Ajax and Chivas Guadalajara but whether he would be enticed by the prospect of working in England is debatable.
Fellow Dutchman Van Gaal, 60, is immediately available, however.
He has been out of work since being sacked by Bayern Munich and has the ideal credentials for the role that Fenway are looking to fill.
He also has an outstanding track record of developing young players.
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