Kristján Atli
Það er fullt af athyglisverðum greinum í bresku pressunni í dag. Þar ber hæst nokkur viðtöl við Rick Parry.
Blöðin birta mismunandi kafla úr þessu viðtali eða viðtölum. Koptalk tekur þetta ágætlega saman: Parry on Owen, Gerrard and Houllier.
Ég mæli með því að allir lesi viðtalið, enda gefur það góða innsýn í það hvernig málum var háttað í tengslum við brottför Houllier og ráðningu nýs þjálfara.
Nokkrir athyglisverðir punktar hjá Parry:
>”At the start of the season [Houllier] asked me ‘will the board be under pressure if we finish fifth?’I told him ‘Of course’. He then said: You will tell me early if they want to make a change?’ I promised I would let him no straight away.
>”If there was a suprise, I think Gerard felt a Champions League place was good enough to stay on. That was also the perception outside Liverpool but the board felt that would have been a cop-out – the easy decision but the wrong one.
>”It is very sad but the fact that we have parted company with Gerard will lift our fans. He will never come to terms with that but sadly it is how many feel.”
Einnig síðar úr öðru viðtali:
>”Gerard made some bloody good signings, but some were less good. Though the new manager will have his own ideas, I think it would be hugely unlikely if we are wrong (about which players to jettison) though several will almost certainly still be here because we’re not able to get them out.
>”There are attractions about coming here that maybe other clubs don’t offer a top coach, like the ability to coach and get on with it and be given space.
>”It’s true that we would all like to see a swing back to a bit more Englishness. The players and fans would like it. But if signings are good enough, it (nationality) isn’t an issue.
Hann endar svo á þessu:
>”We have this under control. We know where we’re going. Keep the faith, because next season will be bloody exciting.”
Parry talar svo um það að þeir hafi ekki talað við neinn þjálfara á meðan að Houllier var enn í sínu starfi. Álit mitt á Parry hefur aukist talsvert á undanförnum dögum, sérstaklega vegna þess hvernig hann hefur farið með málin hans Houllier. Eina heiðarlega, sem lið geta gert í svona stöðu er að segja þjálfaranum strax upp og leita að eftirmönnum eftir að þjálfarinn er hættur.
Parry er enn í fríi á Barbados en hann segir að þjálfaramálin verði kláruð fyrir lok júní mánaðar. Þannig að við gætum þurft að lifa við þessa óvissu næstu fjórar vikurnar. Úffff!
