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October 21
Doctor's warning to Liverpool boss
By Paul Smith/icLiverpool
Gerard Houllier will be advised to quit football by experts supervising his recovery from life-saving heart surgery.
Liverpool have refused to speculate about the long-term future of Houllier, who had 11 hours of emergency surgery last weekend.
But their decision to hand temporary charge to assistant Phil Thompson has led to optimism that the French boss
will make a full recovery and return.
But the Sunday Mirror can reveal Houllier will be strongly warned about the dangers of returning to an environment which contributed to his illness.
And he will be given no guarantees that the condition would not return - with fatal consequences.
Houllier was operated on for an aortic dissection. The aorta is the major artery carrying blood from the heart. In a dissection its wall splits and blood can either leak or block vessels.
The awareness of medical staff at Anfield almost certainly saved Houllier's life. If the condition had remained unnoticed he could have suffered a massive heart attack. The condition is brought on by high blood pressure attributed to stress and is directly related to the patient's working environment and lifestyle.
John Ochsner MD, a world renowned specialist in the field who works out of the cardio-vascular surgery in New Orleans, said: "If the condition is untreated 21 per cent die in the first 24 hours, 60 per cent die in two weeks and 90 per cent die in three months."
Ochsner added: "Given the serious nature of the condition and the surgery that has taken place, the patient will be strongly advised to make radical lifestyle changes.
"If a working environment has conttributed to the condition - which in 99 per cent of cases it has - the patient will be strongly advised to make a change."
October 20
Houllier out of intensive care
Ananova
Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier was today moved out of intensive care as he continues to recover from major heart surgery.
Assistant boss Phil Thompson told the players the excellent news just minutes before they went out and destroyed Leicester 4-1 at Filbert Street.
Thompson told Sky Sports: "It's absolutely fantastic news.
"Gerard has been taken out of intensive care and has been moved to a different room in the hospital. He has had a lot of the wires taken out so the signs are very good.
"I told the players the news before the game and I am sure that gave them even more motivation to go out and perform for him.
"Gerard would have known it was a Saturday afternoon and that his team were playing and it was our responsibility to go and get the result he would want.
"The lads will be reminded of that before every game we play until he returns."
October 19
Houllier still improving in hospital
Reuters
Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier, who had emergency heart surgery last weekend, appears well on the way to recovery, doctors have said.
Houllier, who underwent an 11-hour operation after being taken ill during Saturday's game against Leeds United, is in the intensive care unit of Liverpool's Cardiothoracic Centre.
A hospital statement said: "Mr Gerard Houllier's condition continues to improve although, understandably, he remains tired.
"He is receiving physiotherapy and is now able to sit in a chair comfortably.
"His mood is very positive and we hope and expect that he is well on his way to recovery."
October 18
Houllier: You look worse than me
By Chris Bascombe/Liverpool Echo
Gerard Houllier took another positive step towards recovery by sitting up, joking and watching Liverpool's winning goals in Kiev on television.
The Reds' boss met assistant Phil Thompson last night to congratulate him on a magnificent result.
Thompson was joined at Broadgreen Cardiothoracic Unit by chief executive Rick Parry and said today he was thrilled to see the improving condition of the manager.
Thompson said today: "I, Rick Parry and club doctor Mark Waller went to see Gerard last night. His wife Isabel and brother Serge told us Gerard has been in great form over the last few days. He was sitting up in his chair and talking for three hours yesterday.
"When Gerard saw me he congratulated us for the win and I filled him in on all the details of the game.
"We were only there five minutes and Gerard is not able to talk much so I tried to tell him as much as I could so he wouldn't have to ask any questions. He knew the score already because someone in the hospital had told him. He was then able to watch the goals on television yesterday.
"We were all delighted to see his condition and we were aware he still has all his humour about him. It was the first time Gerard had seen Rick since Rick broke his leg playing five-a-side at the Academy last week.
"When Gerard saw Rick on crutches he actually started laughing and joked 'Rick, you look even worse than I do'.
" This shows his humour is still there and we told him about how much the players are thinking about him.
"Gerard wanted it to be known that the staff there have been absolutely marvellous with him and looking after him. Obviously, we still take this day by day. Yesterday was a good day for Gerard and we know on other days it will be more difficult, but he is in the right hands."
October 17
Houllier "stable" in hospital, pleased with team win
Reuters
Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier was in a stable condition in hospital, following last weekend's heart surgery, and was delighted to hear of his team's win over Dynamo Kiev, the hospital said.
The Frenchman underwent an emergency operation at Liverpool's Cardiothoracic Centre lasting nearly 11 hours after suffering chest pains during last Saturday's league match against Leeds United.
Under assistant manager Phil Thompson, the Reds won 2-1 in Ukraine on Tuesday to go top of Champions League group B.
A hospital statement, prepared by consultant cardiologist Rod Stables, said: "Mr Houllier remains in intensive care but is in a stable condition.
"Mr Houllier is extremely pleased to hear of the performance of his team last night, particularly as they are the first British football team to make history by winning in Kiev.
"Mr Houllier's family wish to thank everyone for their concern but to aid his recovery his consultants have advised complete rest for the time being and only his immediate family have been allowed to visit the hospital."
October 16
Houllier making encouraging progress
Reuters
Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier is continuing to improve after heart surgery last weekend, but remains in intensive care, doctors have said.
Houllier, 54, had an emergency operation at Liverpool's Broadgreen hospital lasting nearly 11 hours after suffering chest pains during his team's league match against Leeds United on Saturday.
A hospital statement said on Tuesday: "Gerard Houllier continues to make encouraging progress following a comfortable night but, as is usual following this type of surgery, remains in the Intensive Care Unit."
The Frenchman, who is being treated in the hospital's cardio-thoracic unit, needed surgery after suffering a dissection of the aorta, the most important artery in the body.
However, doctors said afterwards that the operation was a success and Houllier had already improved enough on Monday to be taken off a ventilator.
Club chief executive Rick Parry said on Tuesday that Liverpool would not be hiring an interim manager in Houllier's absence.
First-team duties are currently being handled by the Frenchman's assistant Phil Thompson, as they prepare for Tuesday's Champions League game in Ukraine against Dynamo Kiev.
Parry said: "We have a very competent team here both in terms of playing staff and coaching staff and we're going to carry on as we are.
"All we're focusing on at the moment is letting Gerard take it day by day. The thing we care about most about is his health. He has got a long way to go before recovering fully but so far so good."
October 15
Houllier 'satisfactory'
Ananova
Gerard Houllier is in a satisfactory condition in the city's Cardiothoracic Centre in Broadgreen.
The Liverpool manager regained consciousness after his 11-hour cardiac operation and has been taken off a ventilator.
More tests will have to take place to ensure the operation has been a success, but a spokeswoman for the centre emphasised that Houllier did not have a heart attack - adding that his heart was "in excellent condition".
She named the medical team who performed the emergency surgery on the Liverpool boss as consultant cardiac surgeons Mr Abbas Rashid and Miss Elaine Griffiths.
They were assisted by consultant anaesthetist Dr Jim Murphy and consultant cardiologist Dr Rod Stables together with a full nursing and back-up team.
The spokeswoman added: "Mr Gerard Houllier sustained acute dissection of the aorta which was satisfactorily repaired.
"The operation was headed by Mr Rashid and assisted by Miss Griffiths and took over 10 hours.
"We are pleased to report that so far the outcome has been extremely satisfactory and he is now off the ventilator.
"The hospital wish to emphasise that Mr Gerard Houllier has not had a heart attack. In fact, his heart is in excellent condition," she added.
October 15
Houllier's condition 'improving'
BBC
Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier has been taken off a ventilator as his condition continues to improve, the club said on Monday.
Houllier, who underwent 11 hours of emergency open heart surgery at Liverpool's Broadgreen cardiothoracic unit on Saturday, is now conscious and breathing unaided.
"The latest news from Broadgreen Hospital is that Gerard Houllier spent a comfortable night and his condition continues to improve," a statement on the club's website said.
"We stated on Sunday that the next significant step would be for Gerard to be taken off the ventilator and we are delighted to say this has now happened and we are encouraged by this positive progress."
The 54-year-old Frenchman had complained of chest pains during half-time of Saturday's game with Leeds.
Tests showed he was suffering from a condition known as dissection of the aorta and had not had a heart attack.
The Premiership club added that a further statement could be made regarding Houllier's health later on Monday.
Jacques Crevoisier, a member of the Anfield coaching set-up, admitted that Liverpool's recent schedule had been hectic for both the players and staff.
"The stress was palpable with the pile-up of matches and cascade of injuries," the Frenchman said on the club's website.
"But there was nothing to let you predict an outcome like this. Gerard seemed calm in the morning."
October 15
Houllier may miss rest of season after heart surgery
By Tim Rich/Independent
Of all the tense faces watching Liverpool's fightback against Leeds, without knowing that their manager was in a cardiac unit, none would have understood Gérard Houllier's predicament better than Kenny Dalglish.
Ten years ago, Liverpool's greatest icon, as both player and manager, retired, overcome by stress, ill health (he had suffered an attack of shingles immediately before the 4-4 draw with Everton that proved to be his final match) and overwhelming expectation.
A year later, while watching Blackburn in a play-off semi-final, he felt pains in his chest and believed he was having a heart attack. When Dalglish left Anfield, the headlines proclaimed Liverpool the "Unmanageable Club".
A decade on, and Houllier, Liverpool's most successful manager since Dalglish, lies in Broadgreen Hospital's cardiothoracic unit.
The 54-year-old spent yesterday unconscious and on a ventilator after undergoing lengthy open surgery on the aorta, the most vital artery in the body which pumps blood from the heart.
He did not suffer a heart attack but, after feeling chest pains shortly after giving his half-time team talk, Houllier was taken to the treatment room by the club physio, Dave Galley, who administered oxygen.
From there, he was taken first to Liverpool Royal and then to Broadgreen, where he underwent 11 hours of surgery.
Liverpool's chief executive, Rick Parry, said Houllier would be unable to return to work for "some time", but it is unlikely to be before the new year and it may not be at all.
Joe Kinnear did not manage Wimbledon again after suffering a heart attack at Hillsborough in March 1999: happily he recovered, but his club did not.
Barry Fry suffered three heart attacks, although most Premiership managers will not risk being struck down, as Fry was at Barnet, pushing a broken-down team bus.
Much will depend on what advice Houllier is given about his rehabilitation. Graeme Souness, who underwent a triple heart bypass in April 1992, immediately following Liverpool's draw with Portsmouth in the semi-finals of the FA Cup, said much hinged on Houllier's character.
"My cardiologist, who is a Liverpool season-ticket holder, told me there are two types of people. I was a type A. He said that if I was told to retire from football, go home, put my slippers on and watch Coronation Street, I would be so frustrated that I would be actually under more stress than if I went back to work. I can't speak for Gérard, but he looks a pretty intense chap."
Although winning five pieces of silverware in less than six months had lessened the immediate pressure on Houllier and won him the affection of the Kop, there were still running sores at the training ground at Melwood, not least the festering dispute between Robbie Fowler and the club's assistant manager, Phil Thompson.
This is before mentioning the plethora of former Anfield greats who use the local radio stations and the press to give Houllier advice about restoring the lost and perhaps irretrievable glory days when Liverpool bestrode English football.
Houllier, who was a teacher on Merseyside during the Shankly years, did not thank them for it and was irritated by references to the past.
Once, when talking to the Leeds manager, David O'Leary, to whom he is very close and who visited his family in hospital, Houllier expressed his frustrations vividly.
"He said to me as we walked out on to the pitch beforehand: 'Dave, it's so hard to deal with the players now – the union, their power, the money they earn'. Life has changed, respect has gone and it's hard to manage players," O'Leary recalled after Saturday's 1-1 draw.
"A lot throw their dummies out at times, over little things. It's hard to keep players. A lot of the successful managers of the past ruled by fear. That fear factor has gone now. Newspapers have changed, the players have become so strong. Football is a very two-faced game. I am lucky I have quality friends. I can survive without football and I don't want to die on the training field."
By contrast, Bobby Robson, who, with Sir Alex Ferguson, represents the last of what O'Leary called "the old-style managers" said he could not think of a better way to go. This, however, is precisely the scenario that terrifies the 68-year-old's family.
However, in August 1995, Robson, then in charge of Porto, was diagnosed as having cancer of the nose and face and told he should not work again.
He returned in November, spurred on by the lure of the Champions' League, where the loss of Houllier's tactical acumen will be most keenly felt by Liverpool, especially in the forbidding arena of Kiev's Olympic stadium.
Thompson takes control against Dynamo Kiev tomorrow and will be "in charge for the forseeable future", according to Parry.
Liverpool do not lack for coaching expertise with Sammy Lee, who is on Sven Goran Eriksson's staff, and Jacques Crevoisier, who worked with Houllier in the French youth system before joining Uefa, European football's governing body, likely to take a more high-profile role.
Ironically, Houllier's immediate predecessor and one-time co-manager, Roy Evans, thought Dalglish might be the man to come to Liverpool's aid. "Kenny Dalglish is not doing anything, although whether he would go back I don't know. I haven't seen anyone go into football on the management side who comes out better than they went in.
"They age quickly. Dalglish, who does not look his 50 years despite all the stress, might be the exception."
"At first you think the pressure is unbelievable but then you learn to cope," observed Arsène Wenger, another of Houllier's close friends. "That is why it is like an addiction."
Plotting Liverpool's downfall in Kiev will be Valery Lobanovsky, approaching his 70s and beset by ill health, who is resisting moves to end his seven-year dual role of managing the champions of Ukraine as well as the national side.
For some, the craving never stops.
