King Kenny Dalglish signs new Liverpool deal

Kenny Dalglish has signed a three-year contract to become Liverpool's permanent manager.

The Scot has been in temporary charge since replacing Roy Hodgson in January but such has been the turnaround in results his appointment as full-time boss was never in doubt.
Negotiations have been ongoing for several weeks but the final details have now been agreed.

Coach Steve Clarke, who also arrived in January, has also signed a three-year contract.

Dalglish said: "I said when I took the job on in January that I was just happy to help the club out for the remainder of the season.
"Now the owners have decided in their wisdom that they want me to stay a little longer and it's fantastic news for both myself and Steve Clarke that we have signed these contracts.
"Both (principal owner) John (W Henry) and (chairman) Tom (Werner) have taken their time to assess what was best for the football club and bring in the people they wanted to take the club forward.
"They are both winners, but understand what the supporters want from a Liverpool side and the way that we should go about things. This is a unique football club and I'm delighted to have the opportunity to help build something special here again."
Club owner Henry admitted there was no one else in the frame for the job, and said no one else could have achieved the turnaround in atmosphere at the club after the poor start to the season under Roy Hodgson.
"Kenny is a legendary Liverpool figure both as a supremely gifted footballer and successful manager," Henry said.
"Since returning in January he has shown extraordinary leadership and the ability to bring the best out of so many people associated with the club.
"It was obvious to us very early on that the atmosphere surrounding the club had been transformed by his presence. No one else could have produced such a response. Therefore, I'm delighted we have agreed to a new contract. We didn't need nor want to look elsewhere for the right man to manage the team.
"Working closely with him, we've seen first-hand his love for the club and his determination to do whatever is necessary to produce a winning side again. He has a unique relationship with our supporters and embodies everything that is special about the Liverpool way of doing things.
"Liverpool enjoys a global standing within the sport, but having Kenny in the dug-out will help us in our efforts to bring the best available talent to the club as we continue to move the club forward.
"I'm also pleased we have reached an agreement with Steve Clarke, as his contribution to Kenny's backroom team has been significant over the past four months."

Kenny Dalglish: The Liverpool Years

1977: August 10 - Joins Liverpool from Celtic in a British record £440,000 deal.
August 13 - Makes Liverpool debut in Charity Shield encounter with Manchester United.
August 20 - Scores first Liverpool goal after just seven minutes of league debut against Middlesbrough at Ayresome Park.
August 23 - Nets on Anfield debut as the Reds beat Newcastle 2-0.
1978: Tops the club's goalscoring chart at the end of first full season with Liverpool, his one-in-two ratio bringing 31 goals in 62 appearances.
May 10 - Scores the winning goal in the European Cup final against FC Brugge at Wembley.
1979: Dalglish is awarded the Football Writers' Player of the Year award as Liverpool wrap up the First Division championship.
1980: Wins second league title with Liverpool.
1981: Liverpool win the League Cup, but the big prize comes as the Reds clinch the third European Cup of the Bob Paisley era.
1982: Liverpool claim another league title and a second successive League Cup win.
1983: A third League Cup triumph is capped by securing back-to-back league titles. Dalglish's contribution is recognised as he wins both main player of the year awards.
1984: Now playing under Joe Fagan, Dalglish is again inspirational as Liverpool clinch a famous treble, lifting the European Cup, league title and League Cup.
1985: May 29 - Hours before the ill-fated European Cup final against Juventus at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Fagan announced he would retire at the end of the season, leaving Dalglish to step up to a player/manager role.
1986: With English clubs banned from Europe in the wake of the Heysel disaster, Dalglish secured a league and FA Cup double, scoring the goal which won the First Division crown.
1987: Liverpool finish the 1986-87 season without any of the major domestic prizes.
1988: Dalglish signs Peter Beardsley, John Barnes and John Aldridge and his new-look side win a second title under his tenure as player-manager.
1989: April 15 - Dalglish endures his darkest hour as Liverpool manager when 96 fans of the club die in a crush at Hillsborough ahead of the FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest.
May 20 - Just five weeks after the events of Hillsborough, Dalglish leads Liverpool to an emotional 3-2 win over Everton in the FA Cup final at Wembley.
1990: May 1 - Makes his final appearance for the club at the age of 38, coming on as a second-half substitute in Liverpool's last home game of the season against Derby, by which time the Reds were league champions for the third time under Dalglish and for the 18th time in total. He retired with a record of 172 goals in 515 first-team games for the club.
1991: February 22 - Dalglish ends his long association with Liverpool as he stands down as manager on health grounds.
2009: July 3 - Dalglish is appointed to a senior role at the Liverpool academy and is also to act as a club ambassador.
2010: June - Asked to help find Rafael Benitez's successor and is linked with the job himself. Roy Hogdson is eventually appointed.
2011: January 8 - Following Hodgson's departure, Dalglish takes charge of Liverpool until the end of the season.
May 12 - Signs a three-year deal to remain at Anfield.

Kenny Dalglish : Trophies and achievements

Celtic (Player)

Scottish First Division: Four titles (1972, 1973, 1974, 1977)

Scottish Cup: Four titles (1972, 1974, 1975, 1977)

Scottish League Cup: One title (1975).

Liverpool (Player)

First division: Five titles (1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984)

European Cup: Three titles (1978, 1981, 1984)

European Super Cup: One title (1978)

PFA Player of the Year: One award (1983)

FWA Footballer of the Year: Two awards (1979, 1983)

Liverpool (Manager)

First division: Three titles (1986, 1988, 1990)

FA Cup: Two titles (1986, 1989)

Manager of the Year: Three awards (1986, 1988, 1990)

Blackburn Rovers

Premier League: One title (1995)

Manager of the Year: One award (1995)

Celtic (Manager)

Scottish League Cup: One title (2000)

Scotland

Caps: 102

Goals: 30

this piece first appeared on espnstar.com