Signed, Sealed, Dalglish? Not Yet

The only story floating out of Melwood is that John Henry, he of the really swank fedorah, let it slip that Kenny Dalglish has not been signed on permanently, and that only the date for when they'll talk about that has been set. While one appreciates NESV's intention to return to the old ways of keeping the business side of it out of the headlines as opposed to the bullhorn and air raid siren that things were under Hicks and Gillette, I think there's more at play here.

NESV does like to take the long view of things. And while Kenny's tenure as manager has seemed like just about the best speed binge ever after the total bad trip that was the Hodgson era, in different terms one could argue it's not all that gleaming. Yes, there victories over Chelsea and ManUre, both showcasing tactical acumen that Ol' Roy couldn't even fathom with many a class. They've been the highlights of the season. But you could point out that Chelsea were mired in a slump at that point anyway, and were trying to shoehorn in some dude that completely unsettled the whole team. It was still a fine performance. You could also point out that it was a pretty banged up United that got horsed at Anfield, and got even more so when one of the main threats Nani got a Carra boot-sized tomahawk in his shin. Darren Fletcher, Rio Ferdinand, and Vidic all missed out. Again, that's what you do when you're seeing an understrength team across from you, you tonk them.

While there was that unbeaten streak, all three of Dalglish's European games have been a slog, and that's putting it mildly. Remember, in addition to having been out of a management post for 19 years, Kenny had never managed in Europe as the English teams were banned. So you wonder if NESV is seriously pondering whether Kenny will eventually be the man to bring European glory back to our museum. No one can answer that for sure right now. It's something Arsene Wenger hasn't even managed.

To go along with all this, there are the losses to Blackpool, West Ham, and the draw with Wigan. All were not vintage. So while the highs have been great, have there been that many more than just the middling? On the other side, Kenny is dealing with a pretty thin squad. When it's deprived of Suarez or Gerrard or both, it can look about as threatening as a slow loris. He's only just gotten the ability to use Andy Carroll.

While it's fun to get caught up in the emotion of a legend returning and making us feel good about the club we love again, that's now how you make sound business decisions. The rest of the season will allow Kenny to show what he can do on the European stage, where he's got a deficit to overcome now. It'll give him the time to figure out what to do with Carroll and Suarez, and more time to see if he can conjure something from the fringe players who haven't shown anything yet. It will be added time to get his injured key players back, and to show what he can do with an extended run from a full, though limited squad.

Kenny isn't going to get poached by another club. He's only ever going to manage Liverpool. There's nothing wrong with using all the time you have to see how long that should be.