Browsing: Kenny

‘Itâ€s whatâ€s in your heart that countsâ€: Kenny Dalglish on his love for Liverpool and the long shadow of Hillsborough | Kenny Dalglish

‘We got the bus and went down to Sheffield to visit the supporters who were in hospital,†Kenny Dalglish says as he remembers how he spent the Monday after the tragedy of Hillsborough in April 1989. “All the players were there so we split up and they walked into different wards to see people. We were trying to give them a wee bit of confidence or belief of anything that could help them. And there was a family around a young boyâ€s bed and he was unconscious.â€

Sean Luckett was 20 years old and one of the thousands of fervent Liverpool supporters who had travelled to Hillsborough to support the team who Dalglish managed and had played for with such sublime talent since arriving from Celtic in 1977. Ninety-seven Liverpool fans eventually lost their lives after the unbearable crush during the clubâ€s FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest.

Luckett had been in a coma for two days when Dalglish stood at his bedside at the Royal Hallamshire hospital. With the Luckett family gathered around him, Dalglish said: “Hi there, wee man. Come on, youâ€ll be all right. We love your support.â€

Thirty-six years later, on a rainy Thursday afternoon in London, Dalglish shakes his head in wonder at the memory of what happened next. “We were walking away and there was a scream. Whatâ€s happened here? I turned round and the wee man was sitting up. Unbelievable.â€

David Edbrooke, a consultant anaesthetist, was quoted in the Times the following day, 18 April 1989, as he described the apparent miracle. “I have never seen anything like it,†Edbrooke said. “[Luckett] opened his eyes and whispered: ‘Kenny Dalglish.â€â€

The Liverpool manager said: “Well done, wee man,†with his familiar wry smile, before moving on to the next ward.

Such vivid moments, and monuments of social and football history, light up Asif Kapadiaâ€s moving new film on Dalglish. The Oscar-winning director, who made an unforgettable trilogy of documentaries about Ayrton Senna, Diego Maradona and Amy Winehouse, has turned his lifelong love of Liverpool into a compelling portrait of Dalglish.

Sir Kenny Dalglish says that watching the new documentary about his life makes him ‘emotionalâ€. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

From a childhood in Glasgow, to his youthful brilliance at Celtic and his magisterial playing career at Liverpool where he won multiple league titles and European Cups, to his compassion as their manager after Hillsborough, the film also captures the toll that death and institutionalised deceit took on Dalglish.

The 74-year-old pauses when I ask what he thought as he watched the documentary. “Iâ€m just emotional,†Dalglish says quietly.

Kapadia agrees. “When I make a film I sometimes donâ€t know what itâ€s about until afterwards. Whatâ€s been really interesting about this film is that itâ€s very emotional. There is the emotion of the people who were there and the emotion of people who are watching. Itâ€s really interesting how people who donâ€t know anything about Liverpool, or donâ€t even watch football, are affected. Kenny and Marina [Dalglishâ€s wife], and all those around them, are just good people. Itâ€s important – particularly now when so many awful people are in positions of power – to tell a story about good people who care about others.â€

Dalglish says simply: “Youâ€re supposed to help.â€

Returning to the film, Dalglish adds: “Some people have said: ‘Oh, Iâ€ve never seen that footage before. [Former Celtic manager] Jock Stein on the pitch and a wee kid of 17.†Heâ€s coaching us. Big Jock was a huge influence on me, and a good fellow.â€

Of the families whose loved ones died at Hillsborough, Kenny Dalglish says: ‘I donâ€t think theyâ€ll ever get closure. History doesnâ€t give you closure, does it? I donâ€t think itâ€s possible.†Photograph: PA Images/Alamy

Kapadia leans forward: “I really love it if you can tell a story about Kenny Dalglish via Jock Stein, Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley and the players. Paul McCartney is in it. Itâ€s full of cultural and sporting icons and moments of history. My kids didnâ€t know this. They hadnâ€t seen Kenny play. So I wanted to tell a story about a period before the Premier League, before the Champions League, before history was rewritten and started from zero. Itâ€s all these amazing people, and amazing football, that I wanted to show.â€

A deadpan Dalglish says: “All that low blocking and high pressing.â€

Amid the laughter Kapadia exclaims: “And xG! The language of football was rewritten and Iâ€m like, letâ€s go back to Roy of the Rovers, Panini, and bring it forward from there.â€

“What does it mean, xG?†Dalglish asks.

“Expected goals,†Kapadia replies, “but Iâ€ve no idea how they calculate that. The chance that Mo [Salah] had was an xG of 0.6 and if heâ€d passed it to [Florian] Wirtz that wouldâ€ve been an xG of 0.8.â€

“He should have passed it,†Dalglish quips.

“Kenny, youâ€ve won more trophies than anyone can count, scored the winning goal in a Champions League final, winning goal to clinch the league, managed the team that won the Double, and you donâ€t even know what xG is.â€

“I left school at 15.â€

“Theyâ€ve embedded things to make you and I go: ‘What does that mean?â€â€ the 53-year-old Kapadia laments.

“New technology,†Dalglish replies.

“Yes,†Kapadia sighs. “None of us can tell what a handball is any more. Whatâ€s going on?â€

“Naebody knows.â€

Kenny Dalglish (centre) celebrates with his fellow Scottish players at Liverpool, Graeme Souness (left) and Alan Hansen, after their win in the 1981 European Cup final over Real Madrid in Paris. Photograph: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Beyond Dalglishâ€s familiar dry wit lingers terrible pain and anger. There is a scene in Kapadiaâ€s film where Dalglish struggles to choke back the tears as he remembers taking his eldest children Paul and Kelly on to the Kop a few days after Hillsborough. The famous old terrace was silent and covered in a sea of flowers and scarves.

“It told me how close the supporters were to each other and the football team,†Dalglish says. “You saw little messages left by supporters for guys they must have stood beside for every home game. Someone left an orange. They must have shared an orange every game. It was hard for Kelly and Paul to take when they were walking through. It was hard for me as well.â€

Paul and Kelly had both been at Hillsborough and it took almost 20 minutes before Dalglish knew his son was safe. Kapadiaâ€s film includes a distressing photograph which captures the horror on Dalglishâ€s face as people die around him. “It was scandalous,†Dalglish says now. “Disgraceful.â€

The FA insisted that Liverpool had to play their abandoned semi-final against Forest just three weeks later. “It was heartless. To say that youâ€re going to be thrown out of the competition? It was absolutely scandalous.â€

Dalglish details the many mistakes the FA and the police made in herding the Liverpool fans into the crammed pens at the Leppings Lane end and says: “It was preventable. And they never took any responsibility whatsoever. Never. The people that needed the greatest care never got it from the FA, not from anybody outside.â€

Is that why Dalglish showed such compassion for the families for decades? “I did it because I thought it was the right thing to do. I was just supporting people who had suffered.â€

Kenny Dalglish and his wife, Marina, at the memorial service in the Metropolitan Cathedral, Liverpool, in memory of those killed in the Hillsborough disaster. Photograph: Manchester Daily Express/SSPL/Getty Images

The Sun newspaper lied systematically about Liverpool supporters, claiming they were drunk and violent and had caused the disaster. Dalglish was telephoned by the Sunâ€s editor Kelvin MacKenzie, who asked him what they could do to end the cityâ€s boycott of his newspaper. “I said: ‘You know the best thing you can do? Just put We Lied in the headline.†He said he canâ€t do that. So I says: ‘I cannae help you.†Put the phone down.â€

It took another 27 years before an inquest in 2016 determined that all those who lost their lives were unlawfully killed by a catalogue of failings by the police and ambulance services. But as Dalglish says now of the families of the victims: “I donâ€t think theyâ€ll ever get closure. History doesnâ€t give you closure, does it? I donâ€t think itâ€s possible.â€

Dalglish was scarred by all he witnessed but he says: “I donâ€t think I looked at myself and thought about the ramifications. I did it because itâ€s what youâ€re supposed to do. Me and Marina were brought up the same way, Glaswegian, where itâ€s whatâ€s in your heart that counts.â€

All these years later it was touching to see, last Sunday at Anfield, Dalglish and Alex Ferguson, another great old Glaswegian, chatting away before and after Liverpoolâ€s surprise defeat by Manchester United. Their fierce rivalry melted away.

“Aye!†Dalglish says with a grin. “Of course I gave him chocolates. He enjoyed them as well. He was like a wee kid going to school. Behave yourself or youâ€re not having any chocolate buttons. He was in good form, before the game as well.â€

Liverpool suffered their fourth successive loss that afternoon and I ask Dalglish if he was worried three nights later when they went 1-0 down to Eintracht Frankfurt before scoring five unanswered goals. “It was never in doubt.â€

The head coach Arne Slot did an incredible job last season, winning the league at a canter while being wise enough not to disrupt the team that Jürgen Klopp had built. This summer Slot spent £450m, including £125m on Alexander Isak while introducing other gifted attacking players in Wirtz and Hugo Ekitiké. “Amazing, isnâ€t it?†Dalglish says. “Arne had a great season last season. And all of a sudden, within two months, everything needs revisiting. Iâ€m not talking about him, Iâ€m talking about peopleâ€s opinions.

Kenny Dalglish after helping Liverpool win the 1986 FA Cup final and complete the Double, a week after he had scored the goal that clinched the league title. Photograph: Mirrorpix/Getty Images

“He only made two signings last year. [Giorgi] Mamardashvili, the [reserve] goalkeeper, and [Federico] Chiesa. This year he spends a few quid and after two months theyâ€re saying he should do this, he should do that. But if he hadnâ€t bought anybody, theyâ€d say: ‘Why didnâ€t he buy?†The only way he can win is to win games. And that was a great result [in Frankfurt].â€

There is no mini-crisis for Liverpool in Dalglishâ€s mind. He is back to his sphinx-like best when I ask if Liverpool will win the league again. “Iâ€m no clairvoyant. But weâ€ll have a go.â€

He describes Wirtz as a “very clever†footballer and picks out Salah as the player he has enjoyed watching most in recent years. “The goals Salah scored, and the assists he made, were very entertaining and exciting. One or two always stick out when the teamâ€s successful. But, in a team sport, everybodyâ€s important.â€

Kapadia is almost as passionate about Liverpool as Dalglish. “My family are all Arsenal fans,†he says. “Weâ€re north Londoners but my best friend was this Turkish boy I grew up with in Stamford Hill. He liked Kenny Dalglish and Liverpool, and I was like, ‘OK, Iâ€ll copy you.†How life-changing that is when youâ€re four, on a tricycle, playing in the street, and trying to write your name on a ball from Woolworths.â€

Dalglish smiles in understanding and Kapadia says: “When we showed the film in Italy a journalist said she really noticed the word that comes up again and again. People. Itâ€s for the people. Itâ€s about people. Thatâ€s what you say, Kenny, and what you do. You do everything for the people.â€

Kapadia turns to me. “Itâ€s nice to have good human beings who stand up for those who donâ€t have a voice, who donâ€t have any power. When everyone seems against them, someone needs to step up. Kenny did that again and again. So Iâ€m glad I made the film. We have this moment while Kennyâ€s here and feels it. Weâ€re not waiting till after heâ€s gone to tell him how much we all love him.â€

Kenny Dalglish will be in cinemas 29-30 October and on Amazon Prime from 4 November

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WWE

Dave Meltzer Explains Apparent Change In Kenny Omega’s Next AEW Opponent

Dave Meltzer during an interview

Inside The Ropes/YouTube

This past Wednesday on “AEW Dynamite,” Kenny Omega returned to in-ring action when he teamed with Brodido to defeat Josh Alexander and The Young Bucks in a Six Man Tag Team Match. However, after the contest, Omega was attacked by a returning Andrade El Idolo, who was just released from WWE two weeks ago and will seemingly feud with the Canadian native going forward. The creative decision to have Omega and Andrade begin a rivalry confused many wrestling fans and pundits, who believed “The Best Bout Machine” would feud with Kyle Fletcher upon his return, especially since it was “The Protostar” who put Omega on the shelf. That said, according to Dave Meltzer in a recent edition of the “Wrestling Observer Newsletter,” AEW has pressed pause on the match between Omega and Fletcher to due the 41-year-old’s health status.

“Plus, it looks like [Andrade is] facing Kenny Omega … That means Omega was injured by Kyle Fletcher, and instead of coming back to face Fletcher, he’s facing someone else. There is a reason that right now they aren’t going to do the match, as basically in a normal situation that would have been the match booked but Omega’s physical situation is not 100 percent and the feeling was it was better right now not to put Omega in the situation of the kind of a match he’d be expected to do with Fletcher.”

Meltzer continued to explain that he was told that Omega and Fletcher would’ve been scheduled for WrestleDream on Saturday, October 18 in a “perfect world,” but it’s expected that Andrade will instead face the former AEW World Champion at the pay-per-view.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Wrestling Observer Newsletter” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

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Kenny Omega Takes Shot At Wrestling Legend Over Recent Criticism

Kenny Omega fired back at a wrestling legend with an insult that was pretty easy to decipher.

Omega wrote the following on Twitter/X on Wednesday, taking a shot at a wrestling “legend†for what he implied was them kissing up to WWE.

“Another day and another “legend†doing the splits on it for the yearly TKO gift basket… ?,†Omega wrote.

Omega didnâ€t directly name his target, but many fans speculated that he was taking aim at Gail Kim, who recently criticized Rihoâ€s believability as a wrestler.

Kim recently came under fire after she criticized a clip of director Michael Philippou competing in an Exploding Barbed Wire Match. The TNA Hall of Famer called the spot, which featured panes of glass and barbed wire, “pure trash†that showed the lack of storytelling ability. Her response was widely criticized by many, including GCW owner Brett Lauderdale. Kim and Lauderdale later agreed that they just had a difference of opinion, but one of Kimâ€s other remarks about believability in wrestling got her into more hot water.

During one related exchange, Gail Kim said that Japanese female wrestler Riho looked like a little girl in one of her past matches, and it made her uncomfortable. Specifically, Kim said that Rihoâ€s presentation and camera shots that showed up her skirt felt improper. In addition, Kim also said that sheâ€s into believable wrestling, and couldnâ€t believe “a little girl†could compete with the other women in the division.

Gail Kim explains what made her uncomfortable about Riho

She attempted to clarify that her criticism was about one specific match years ago, and was not an overall assessment. However, many fans still criticized her, calling her a hypocrite and sharing clips of her own matches against opponents like Awesome Kong.

Now, Omegaâ€s comment seems to imply heâ€s not happy with her comments either. Omega has had a close relationship with Riho for many years. Many pointed out that Kimâ€s remarks must have really been upsetting, considering Omega does not normally speak out in this fashion.

Read More: Masha Slamovich Under Investigation By TNA For Domestic Violence Allegations

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Basketball

Cowboys’ Schottenheimer Praises Kenny Clark After Win vs. Giants Following Micah Trade

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In his brief time with the Dallas Cowboys after being acquired in the trade that sent star edge rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers, veteran defensive tackle Kenny Clark has already made a major impact.

While speaking to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated following Sunday’s dramatic 40-37 overtime win against the New York Giants, Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer praised Clark for stepping up as a leader despite being with the team for just a few weeks.

“Lo and behold, it was Kenny Clark,” Schottenheimer told Breer. “He’s been here nine days and was very much matter-of-fact, being authentic. That’s what I preach to our guys, man—I don’t want to put CeeDee [Lamb], Dak [Prescott], or [Kenneth] Murray in a box, man. Be who you are and be authentic. And he was leading the group today. Big sack and very consistent for us. You can see why Green Bay loved him.”

Clark registered four tackles and recorded his first sack in a Cowboys uniform in Sunday’s win. Dallas won a back-and-forth battle that saw a combined 41 points scored in the fourth quarter, with Brandon Aubrey kicking the game-winning 46-yard field goal as time expired in overtime.

Schottenheimer added that he hopes this win sets the tone for the rest of his first season at the helm for the Cowboys.

“These guys saw in me the work ethic, the warrior mentally to fight to the end,” Schottenheimer said. “They had my back. We’ve built something pretty special here from a culture standpoint. And I’ll remember this one for a long time.”

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