Past Players: Volume 3 - Kenny Dalglish

Basics
Full Name: Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish
Nickname: King Kenny
DOB: 4th March 1951
Height: 5"8



Kenny Dalglish was born and raised in the Scottish city of Glasgow and was a huge Glasgow Rangers fan as a boy so it was quite a surprise when he signed for Celtic and broke into the first team for them in 1971, all that remains to be said is that Rangers must have been gutted that he had chosen the hoops.

Dalglish was based at the club from 1968 but it took the three years for him to mature and prove his worth before Jock Stein called him up to the senior side. He did have trials as a schoolboy at West Ham and Liverpool but they came to no avail. Just 4 years after the young Scotsman burst onto the scene he was made captain of Celtic. Dalglish scored 112 goals in 204 appearances for Celtic.

Dalglish collected many honours in his time at the Scottish club and put in some excellent displays of football, his increasing success made him worthy of an international call up and he was a member of the 1974 Scotland world cup side that went unbeaten in the competition, the irony being that they still went out after picking up one win and two draws in the group stages. His time in international football also saw him make two records, firstly by playing 102 times for Scotland and secondly by scoring 30 goals - a record shared with Denis Law.

In 1977 Dalglish signed a contract offered to him by iconic Liverpool manager Bob Paisley, the record transfer fee (£440,000) seems like nothing compared to today's wheeling and dealing but you can make comparisons to the prices asked for the likes of Fernando Torres and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Scottish footballer and Liverpool player/manager Kenny Dalglish.  He later became manager for Blackburn Rovers.  Original Publication: People Disc - HD0036   (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

Dalglish was part of the European Cup winning side in his first season in a red shirt and actually scored the winning goal in the final. He continued to lift silverware with the boys from Anfield and also tallied 31 goals in his 62 matches in his debut season and you don't need a pie chart to work out that percentage of greatness!

His skillful and clever style pleased thousands each week who came to and from The Kop and he is still as much as a hero now as he was then to Liverpool fans old and new.

Anfield folklore shall never forget such a fantastic supplement to some of the greatest football seen in the English leagues and King Kenny can be found in chants, on shirts and on banners on match days. Dalglish scored 172 goals in 515 appearances for Liverpool.

In 1985 Dalglish stepped up to take the role of player manager for Liverpool (in all fairness i could have put him in the "Past Managers" section of my blog just as easily, this is how successful in the footballing world the man was). He did this following the tragedy that happened at Heysel in the ill fated European Cup final in Brussels and the resignation of boot room member Joe Fagan.

Dalglish was also the Liverpool manager 4 years later when the Hillsborough Disaster shook the club. Through tough and emotional times at our football club, he was a superb role model and a gentleman in doing all he could to help those affected whilst keeping the team that linked them all together on track.

Kenny resigned from the managerial post at Anfield in 1991 on health grounds, after an eight month break completely from football he restarted his challenge...

Dalglish had managerial posts at Blackburn, Newcastle and his first club Celtic after his Liverpool days had ended. With Blackburn, he shook up the regularity of Premier League winners and lifted the title with them in the 94/95 season. His time at Newcastle saw him complete a respectable run seeing them finish second in the league, his time at Celtic was not fantastic but this by no means dampens his managerial record.

Outside of football Kenny Dalglish is the same shining example of a man that he is within the game. He has four children - Kelly, Paul, Lynsey and Lauren. Kelly is now a well known presenter and his son Paul manages an American side called FC Tampa Bay Rowdies.

Along with his wife he also founded the Marina Dalglish appeal which helps raise money for breast cancer. He is also a patron of Marine FC - a team based in Crosby, Merseyside. Dalglish also competes in a charity golfing event regularly called the Gary Player Invitational Tournament it raises money for worldwide children's causes.
18 Oct 2001:  Kenny Dalglish tees off during the 2001 Dunhill Links Championships held at Kingsbarns, Carnoustie, and St Andrews in Scotland. \ Mandatory Credit: Andrew Redington /Allsport

Fun Facts
Dalglish took Liverpool to their first ever "double".
Dalglish is only the third manager in history to take two different teams to the football league first division/premier league title.

Honours - Personal
FourFourTwo in 2009 named him the greatest post war British striker.
Topped the list of 100 players who shook The Kop.
PFA Player of the year (POTY) 1983.
Football Writers Association POTY 1979, 1983.
Entered the English Football Hall Of Fame 2002.
Member of Scotland Football Hall Of Fame.
Part of the FIFA 100.
Freedom of the city of Glasgow.

Honours - Managerial
Liverpool
Football League First Division (Now the Premier League) x3 - 85/86 , 87/88, 89/90
FA Cup x2 - 86, 89
Charity Shield x4 (Twice Shared) - 86, 88, 89, 90

Blackburn
Premier League - 94/95
FL Second Division Play-Off - 91/92

Newcastle United
Premier League - Runners Up 96/97
FA Cup Runner Up - 98

Celtic
SPL - Runners Up 99/00
Scottish League Cup - 00

Rest Of The World (Soccer Aid)
Winner - 2010

Honours - Player

Celtic
SPL Winner x4 -71/72, 72/73, 73/74, 76/77
SPL Runners Up - 75/76
Scottish Cup x4 - 72, 74, 75, 77
Scottish League Cup - 75

Liverpool
FL First Division x6 - 78/79, 79/80, 81/82, 82/83, 83/84, 85/86
FL Runners Up x3 - 77/78, 84/85, 86/87
FA Cup - 86
League Cup x4 - 81,82,83,84
Charity Shield x5 (Two Shared) - 78, 80, 81, 83, 87
European Cup (Now The Champions League) x3 - 78, 81, 84
European Super Cup - 78

And i think it's only fair to end on my favourite quote from the great man, in reference to Sir Alex Ferguson - "You might as well talk to my baby daughter. You'll get more sense out of her."

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