The FA Cup semi-final against Everton ranks a distant second for the American owners to creating the right structure at Anfield
A chairman pinning blame for poor results on a director of football and a manager taking responsibility for the signings – but not the transfer fees – that contributed to the owners' discontent: the "disconnect" in the summer transfer strategy that Tom Werner, the Liverpool chairman, referred to in his reasoning for Damien Comolli's exit from Anfield exists on many levels.
That Comolli took the fall for Liverpool's ludicrous overspending in 2011, even though Dalglish admits he sanctioned every arrival from the £35m Andy Carroll to the free Craig Bellamy, is not surprising. Few lament the exit of a director of football. Most Premier League managers remain unsure about what they do.
That it was officially confirmed 48 hours before the most important fixture in Liverpool's season in Dalglish's second stint as manager, the FA Cup semi-final against Everton at Wembley on Saturday, has created a distraction and sense of turmoil the squad could do without, however.
It is also a little risky to ask the six 2011 signings who are available for the semi-final – Carroll, Bellamy, Jordan Henderson, Stewart Downing, José Enrique and Sebastian Coates (Doni is suspended and Charlie Adam injured) – to deliver against their Merseyside rivals after the clear inference that their employers are distinctly unimpressed with their investment. Would next Monday, when Comolli's sacking could have been portrayed as a mark of ruthless FA Cup finalists or a firm response to semi-final misery, have delayed the search for his replacement by a damaging degree?
Clearly the FA Cup game - "This is not only a semi-final, it is a semi-final against Everton," Steven Gerrard said on Thursday – ranks a distant second in the Americans' eyes to creating a structure they believe will enable Liverpool to bridge the gap on wealthier rivals, return to the Champions League and compete for the Premier League once Uefa's Financial Fair Play rules come into effect. Once the emotions of a Wembley cup derby have subsided, few would dispute they are right.
The decision of Werner and the principal owner, John W Henry, underlines how far Fenway Sports Group are from the vision they held for Liverpool when they replaced Tom Hicks and George Gillett as owners. Their first major appointment was Comolli, initially as director of football strategy in November 2010 before he was promoted to director of football in March last year. They were still extolling the virtues of the former Arsenal scout and director of football at Tottenham Hotspur on their last visit to Merseyside a few months ago.
Comolli, in turn,"nicked" – to use Harry Redkapp's expression – Spurs's France-based scout Steve Hitchen. It is Newcastle United, through the guidance of their chief scout, Graham Carr, who have plundered that market cost-effectively since, delivering the Champions League push that FSG had expected for Liverpool.
There were reservations over how Comolli would work alongside Roy Hodgson and subsequently Dalglish, plus the mixed record that accompanied him from White Hart Lane. Even so his appointment underlined FSG's determination to take a fresh approach with Liverpool, one that may not rigidly follow the "Moneyball" principles that Henry espouses for the Boston Red Sox but, as the Americans made clear at the time of their takeover, would seek to replicate Arsenal's success in delivering consistent Champions League qualification at a fraction of the spend of Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham plus Manchester City. They then went out and spent £75m on Carroll, Henderson and Downing. The Arsenal way was clearly out, although the sight of David Dein alongside Liverpool officials at the club's last two league games suggests it may come back into favour.
FSG acted decisively in hiring and firing Comolli, in relieving Hodgson of the managerial chair last January and in sanctioning Dalglish's signings. But swift action does not characterise their entire Anfield reign. There is still no decision on a new stadium, they had no choice but to drop plans for a younger coach to replace Hodgson on a permanent basis given Dalglish's initial impact and, despite appointing global headhunters to find a new managing director to succeed Christian Purslow, they eventually appointed from within when Ian Ayre was promoted from commercial director.
But there remains a void in the club's hierarchy that Comolli and Ayre have only partially covered; a David Dein or a David Gill to use contemporary names, a Peter Robinson to use one from Liverpool's glorious past, someone with influence in both the football and business worlds who has the authority to tell Dalglish that wearing a Luis Suárez T-shirt is not such a good idea.
The Liverpool manager reacted incredulously when asked whether, in light of the owners conducting a root-and-branch investigation into where this Premier League season has gone wrong, his position had also been discussed with Henry and Werner since their arrival on Merseyside on Tuesday. "Behave yourself!" he replied, before insisting Liverpool have moved forwards in the 15 months since his return.
Success in the Carling Cup and potentially the FA Cup supports Dalglish's assessment. That, and his status at the club, affords him time no other manager languishing 33 points behind Manchester United would get at Liverpool following an outlay of over £110m. But it was a reasonable question to ask and it would be remarkable if Henry and Werner, if only among themselves, had not asked it too.