When ‘King’ Kenny Dalglish took over the reigns at Liverpool, a wave of optimism spread through the club. It was heralded by some as the return of the Messiah, the boy from Liverpool’s golden era making his return to the club with which he won so much silverware as a player and later as a player/manager in the 1970s and 80s.
Liverpool needed such a positive appointment; Rafa Benitez, despite having many admirers and winning them the European Cup on THAT night in Istanbul in 2005, had gone as far as he could and things had become stale. Dalglish stepped in at the start of this year on a caretaker basis and signed a three-year contract in May 2011 – with many fans eagerly anticipating the 2011-12 campaign, a fresh start with an old, familiar face. As a mark of the effect Dalglish had on the troops upon his return, Jamie Carragher stated: “He’s brought the club together as one. The players and the supporters are all together. Kenny coming in has galvanised the support behind the team again and obviously his record as a manager in the past is fantastic.”
The Reds were in buoyant mood at the start of this campaign and with every reason to feel so, too. New signings were drafted in this summer, Charlie Adam signed on the dotted line from Blackpool to end months of speculation. Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing also signed from Sunderland and Middlesbrough respectively, adding weight to the midfield. Craig Bellamy made his return to the club and Argentinian defender Sebastian Coates was drafted in from Uruguayan side Nacional. With the dangerous Luis Suarez leading the attack and the best keeper in the league between the posts in Pepe Reina, hopes were high and the spine of the side looked perfect.
However, despite the optimism reverberating around Anfield at the start of this season, much of Liverpool’s old inconsistencies have crept back to haunt them. Their home form, something which they have always been able to rely on in the past, has eluded them this season – they’ve picked up only a point against teams which you would expect them to normally dispose of. Sunderland, Norwich and Swansea all walked away from Anfield with a point this season. These are games which the Reds should be picking up three points from if they have realistic title ambitions. There have been games in which they have showed signs that they mean business, namely their 2-1 win at Chelsea and a comfortable 2-0 win at the Emirates at the start of the season against a beleaguered Arsenal. These performances haven’t been frequent enough, though, and you sense that they can’t afford too many more slip-ups.
On Monday night of this week, Liverpool succumbed to a 1-0 defeat at Fulham, ending an eight-game unbeaten run in the league. It was a game in which they created a number of chances but ultimately failed to take any, once again proving the point that they tend to lack conviction against the lesser sides.
You could put their inconsistencies down to the fact that their captain and leader Steven Gerrard is missing through injury or you could say that Kenny’s got a new team, which is yet to gel completely. You could also say it’s only November and with the Reds only five points off the top four, they still look well placed for a strong finish. However, you still feel that they’re a few players away from being a championship challenging squad. As the Manchester clubs pull away at the top, Liverpool will have to make do with another season of playing catch-up in the title race. Kenny Dalglish is, undoubtedly, the right man to take them forward. The players believe in him and he has an inherent knowledge of the club’s heritage and tradition, so he knows what is expected. The fans, though, will have to wait that little bit longer if they want to end their league trophy drought.
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