10 most influential personalities of English football
Of course, players themselves influence the game of football in England and it’s not hard to guess who they might be. But what about the men who work behind the scenes and off the pitch and make the world of football go round? After all, the sport is a business that involves billions of pounds and without these geniuses, the players would be a bunch of headless chickens who wouldn’t know what they were doing off the field.
These men have shaped the very nature of football in England and each of their contributions is vastly different from the others. They have transformed how the game is perceived, how it is played, how business is conducted and set the tone for the kind of ambition English football should be aiming at.
Here’s a list of ten most influential people in English football who have changed the sport to what we see today:
#10 Kenny Dalglish
Apart from Kenny Dalglish’s legendary status as a Liverpool player, it is his contributions as a manager that makes him one of the most influential personaliti in English football. Named player-manager of Liverpool in 1985-86, he led the club to a double victory in his first year – winners of the League Championship (this was before the Premier League) and FA Cup.
Not only did he help Liverpool win three league titles, FA Cups among other domestic trophies, but also helped the club navigate the horrors of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989.
He resigned as manager in February 1991 and joined second division Blackburn Rovers later that year. Within three three years he had put together the dangerous partnership between Chris Sutton and Alan Shearer that helped them win the Premier League title in 1995.
He became just the fourth manager to lead two different clubs to the league title. However, the one with Rovers was also to be his last. Thereafter, Dalglish went on to manage Newcastle United, Celtic, and Liverpool again where he bought Luis Suarez.
Dalglish’s decorated career spans many decades both before and after the establishment of the Premier League and his contribution to Liverpool especially will remain unprecedented.