The Leaving Behind Of Credibility

Nature, it has been observed, abhors a vacuum, and the natural law of news events is that any vacuum is soon filled with something. In the absence of those pesky things called facts, the filling is speculation, and when it comes to Liverpool FC and their managerial vacancy, the Speculatron has been cranked up to the max, with some positively barking ideas being floated.

Who will replace Kenny? Er, we don't know

It’s thought by those going purely on facts that the Reds have a next to zero chance of luring José Mourinho to attempt to perform another Mission Impossible, following the self-proclaimed Special One agreeing a contract extension at Real Madrid. Brendan Rodgers of Swansea has decided he isn’t interested, as have a host of others. Roberto Martinez has had an informal chat.

And, apart from yet more speculation over former FC Porto and all too briefly Chelsea man André Villas-Boas, that is all that is certain right now. Enter the Evening Standard, aka the London Daily Bozza, to sweep all that away and tell the world earlier this week that Fenway Sports Group (FSG) has decided that the man for Anfield is ‘Arry. ‘E’s their man is ‘Arry. Er, doubt it.

In any case, at the same time as the Standard was giving its readers the Harry Redknapp for Anfield story, the Maily Telegraph knew different: it was going to be Fabio Capello. Granted, Fab has some club silverware to his name, plus the cachet of winning La Liga for Real Madrid only to be sacked as a thank you present, but the LFC faithful might not like the style of play he would bring.

So that’s another in the “doubtful” column, then. In any case, the Tel can’t make their minds up whether Capello is in the frame at Liverpool or Chelsea (and Roman Abramovich doesn’t like that style of play either). No, there are only two names in the frame, but even that doesn’t stop creative interpretation, as an exchange between the BBC and Wigan owner Dave Whelan showed.

Whelan told that Martinez was in Miami “and you can only assume what he’s gone there for” was to talk to FSG. But nothing certain, it seems. That, though, was enough for talk of talks, and speculation that a deal had already been done, to fill the airwaves. Nobody seems to have thought about that shortlist, and who else might be on it, or that there still isn’t a defined management structure in place at the club.

Maybe the Martinez signing is a done deal. But the impression is given that there is more to come from this process yet, and that FSG are good enough at keeping schtum that the usual channels in the UK media haven’t been able to latch on to them as yet. John W Henry didn’t buy in to Liverpool FC other than to get success. That is what he wants to see. And he may not wish to be rushed over it.

But the media has space to fill, so they’ll talk anyway. No change there, then.