Kenny Dalglish, the saviour of Liverpool?

By Sindre Trygsland, writing from Lancaster, England. Sindre is an avid Liverpool supporter, connoisseur of Scandinavian football and business student at Lancaster University.

The appointment of Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish has once again transmitted hope to the millions of Liverpool supporters around the world. Not only is Dalglish one of the greatest players who has represented The Reds, he’s also the last manager who won the league title with the club. He retired as manager on the 22nd of February 1991 because of health problems, and now, almost 20 years later, he is back where he belongs, driving the club forwards.

The start of the 2010/11 campaign was terrible; Roy Hodgson was appointed as the new boss and the financial situation was atrocious. Thousands of supporters were concerned about this appointment, was Hodgson the right man for the job? Could he coach a big club like Liverpool? Liverpool didn’t impress with their summer transfers as they signed Jonjo Shelvey, Danny Wilson, Milan Jovanovic, Paul Konchesky, Christian Poulsen, Brad Jones, Joe Cole and Raul Meireles. To be honest, Joe Cole and Raul Meireles were the only player’s fans had expectations of top performances. On the other hand, the essential Javier Mascherano left for Barcelona alongside Yossi Benayoun, Alberto Aquilani (On loan), Emiliano Insua (On loan) and Albert Riera who followed his footsteps out of the club.

After 8 matches Liverpool sat in the relegation zone and the supporters shouting for Hodgson to step down. The team had no offensive plan, it didn’t matter whether they played Blackpool at home or Manchester United away, they didn’t control any games. Joe Cole was disappointing, Hodgson played Meireles on the wing, Gerrard didn’t shine as he is used to and Torres was busy complaining whilst failing to perform like a world class striker. The new signings Christian Poulsen and Paul Konchesky were not even close to the quality that is expected in a big club like Liverpool. Hodgson’s approach to the games was terrifying; he played with Liverpool like he would with Fulham. In Fulham, Hodgson would be satisfied if they earned a point away from home, in Liverpool, victories are consistently demanded. The performances and results under Hodgson were dismal, and on the 8th of January, he was given the sack by the board.

In 20 league games, Hodgson only managed to win 7 games, draw 4 and lose 9. Liverpool also suffered humiliation at Anfield against Northampton as they were knocked out of the Carling Cup. The only positive result Hodgson achieved during his 6 months spell was to qualify for the next round of the Europa League. 

9 January 2011, the King was back. Kenny Dalglish made his comeback at Old Trafford, in a FA Cup fourth round fixture, and despite Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat, the enthusiasm was back in the dressing room. Kenny knew it was a lot of work to change the form around, after the defeat against Manchester United and to Blackpool in the following game, the team started to look stronger in all areas.

Major changes happened in the winter transfer window. Fan favourite Fernando Torres left for Chelsea in a deal worth £50 million, a new record between English teams. Ryan Babel was sold for £6m to Bundesliga side Hoffenheim. To replace the Spaniard, Liverpool signed Uruguayan starlet Luis Suarez from Ajax and the surprise of the season Andy Carroll from Newcastle for a total sum of £58 million. On the pitch, Liverpool began playing as a team again, there was movement as they adopted a “pass and move” approach played like the legendary Liverpool teams used to do, both before Dalglish and under his last spell as Liverpool manager. The players appeared to be more motivated playing under Dalglish than they were under Roy Hodgson. Luis Suarez made an immediate impact on the team with his brilliant movement, technique and eye for a good pass. Even with the big players such as Steven Gerrard, Daniel Agger and Glen Johnson injured, Liverpool kept on winning games. What looked like a fight against relegation a couple of months ago radically transformed into a race against for a European spot. 

Tactically, Dalglish showed his brilliance by switching formations depending on the opponent. In one match game he could field a 3-5-2 formation, the next a 4-3-3 and after that a classical 4-4-2. By the end of the season only Chelsea and champions Manchester United had picked up more points than Liverpool since Dalglish took charge. Despite failing to qualify for Europe next season, the team will enter the 2011/12 campaign with great confidence and belief. With almost the same squad as Hodgson, Dalglish recorded a point average of 1.83 points per game, whilst Hodgson a 1.25 average. The only disappointment under Dalglish was the early exit in the Europa League against Portuguese side Braga.

Dalglish clearly demonstrated his capabilities to extract results from a squad containing fairly limited quality and I can’t wait to watch what he’ll achieve after signing a selection of class players this summer. The cooperation between the Director of Football Damien Comolli and manager Dalglish will enable the club to purchase some exciting players. There are going to be several changes under the new ownership, Liverpool will finally possess some financial muscle in the market and dispatch the weaker members from the squad. This summer can form the future of Liverpool Football Club under Kenny Dalglish’s experience and leadership.