LIVERPOOL OWNER JOHN W Henry says that Alex Ferguson is a genius and it will take years for the Reds to catch up to Manchester United’s level of achievement.
The two sides meet at Anfield on Saturday afternoon for the first time since United overhauled Liverpool’s record of 18 league titles.
“We are still a long way behind them,” the American told The Guardian. “They were well set up going into this year and were then able to insert great, young players.
“Mr Ferguson is a genius.”
Henry has also admitted that bringing Kenny Dalglish back to manage the club he adores was a gamble, and that he initially wanted a far younger man to replace the hapless Roy Hodgson.
“Kenny is certainly charismatic and beloved by the fans,” Henry said.
“I wasn’t convinced when we arrived that Kenny should be back managing and I wanted things to work with the manager we inherited. But the fans knew much more than I did. It took me a while to get up to speed.
“Then Ian Ayre was a catalyst. Damien (Comolli) was a gamble. Kenny was a gamble. But they were both calculated gambles.
“They both have the advantage of being passionate about their work and are both very clever. We didn’t feel we had a lot of time to wait, and we hope things turned around.”
