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Long live the King - how Liverpool are back on track 50 games into Kenny Dalglish's return to the club
The Reds' manager has given the Kop reason to feel hopeful again after overseeing steady progress and a half-century of games following his return to the Anfield dugout
21-Jan-2012 1:15:00 PM
Getty Images
ANALYSIS
By Jonathan Birchall
Having gone from flavour of the month to joke of the year, Roy Hodgson walked alone out of Anfield in January 2011.
After all, the crown that never quite fit the West Brom boss had been Kenny Dalglish's long before the man who had transformed Fulham made his way to Merseyside. The Kop and their king, you suspected, would always reunite eventually.
Now, 50 games into his return to Liverpool, Dalgish's revolution has reached a pivotal point; was he, with sentiment cast aside, the right choice to lead his beloved club in the chase for Champions League football and, whisper it, back to the summit of English football?
They are not there yet, nor close; but it would be unfair to label his not so-Golden Jubilee against Stoke last weekend as indicative of the 12 months past for Liverpool. Solidity in defence undermined by profligacy up front was the order of the day yet again, but for all the club's frustrations, Dalglish can sit comfortably on his throne.
"I'm going to do the best I possibly can to try to help the club, but everybody has to pull in the same direction," said Dalglish on his return and with it, gave an insight into a squad fragmented by those committed to the Hodgson ideologue and those who, like the fans, felt there was better elsewhere. That not a single signing by the former Fulham boss remains in this season's squad says everything about how brutal the Scot's purge was and it is hard to argue for a departee who is missed.
Those brought in by Dalglish and Damien Comolli have, like his reign thus far, been hit and miss. The likes of Charlie Adam (£7 million) and Craig Bellamy (free) are impressive bargaining chips when the club's owner John Henry moves to question the effectiveness of Stewart Downing and Andy Carroll - a combined investment of £55m to deflate the Moneyball theorem.
The aim of the incomings and outgoings was no doubt to herald a new wave of attractive football at Anfield, and in comparison to late 2010 there can be little argument that Dalglish has been successful. The £23m signing Luis Suarez, second only to the one player to blossom under Hodgson - Lucas Leiva - in terms of effectiveness under Dalgish, has been at the forefront of the revolution.
The Uruguayan's goalscoring record for Ajax prior to his arrival in Liverpool, although impressive, has left some with skewed expectations of the striker. A catalyst behind attacking play certainly, Suarez is not a finisher in the natural sense and a reliance based on such an assumption has no doubt contributed to the Reds' goalscoring malaise. In the transfer market, Dalglish must find a player able to carry the burden if he has genuine ambitions to reach the Champions League.
The Scot's finest acquisition may yet prove to be Steve Clarke, his No.2, who has played a pivotal role in organising Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel into arguably the most consistent central defensive pairing in the league after Vincent Kompany and Joleon Lescott. The man who was to prove part of the brains behind Jose Mourinho's dominance at Chelsea has laid similarly solid foundations.
Similarly to the Special One, Dalglish's attempts to invoke a 'them against us' attitude amongst his squad at Melwood have been evident from the start, with talk of a refereeing conspiracy against his side the proof that even after a decade out of the game, the former Blackburn boss hadn't failed to escape the culture of blaming officials above all else.
In tune as he no doubt is with the current managerial vogue, Dalglish's year will be scarred by his entirely misjudged reaction to the Suarez racism saga, for which the striker received an eight-game ban for abusing Patrice Evra at Anfield in October. Allowed free rein by the owners across the Atlantic, the Reds' boss conducted a campaign of public support for the striker so steadfast that it left the club and Dalglish himself open to mockery and later scorn.
The club's PR has been heavily tarnished as a result and the 60-year-old will surely be keen to draw a line under the affair, regardless of his feelings against the suspension. So long the nation's second favourite club, the Anfield side must win hearts and minds back on the field going forward.
That battle is already won for Dalglish in the eyes of Liverpool fans - the most loyal of subjects. The great fear on Merseyside 12 months ago that he couldn't save the club has been dispelled, with the Reds 10 points better off having played a game less than was the case at this point in 2011 as they travel to Bolton on Saturday evening.
At 50 games not out the progress is clear and Liverpool are steadily heading back to where they want to be. Leading the charge and back on his throne, Dalglish is already there.
Follow Jonathan Birchall on
By Jonathan Birchall
Having gone from flavour of the month to joke of the year, Roy Hodgson walked alone out of Anfield in January 2011.
After all, the crown that never quite fit the West Brom boss had been Kenny Dalglish's long before the man who had transformed Fulham made his way to Merseyside. The Kop and their king, you suspected, would always reunite eventually.
Now, 50 games into his return to Liverpool, Dalgish's revolution has reached a pivotal point; was he, with sentiment cast aside, the right choice to lead his beloved club in the chase for Champions League football and, whisper it, back to the summit of English football?
They are not there yet, nor close; but it would be unfair to label his not so-Golden Jubilee against Stoke last weekend as indicative of the 12 months past for Liverpool. Solidity in defence undermined by profligacy up front was the order of the day yet again, but for all the club's frustrations, Dalglish can sit comfortably on his throne.
"I'm going to do the best I possibly can to try to help the club, but everybody has to pull in the same direction," said Dalglish on his return and with it, gave an insight into a squad fragmented by those committed to the Hodgson ideologue and those who, like the fans, felt there was better elsewhere. That not a single signing by the former Fulham boss remains in this season's squad says everything about how brutal the Scot's purge was and it is hard to argue for a departee who is missed.
Those brought in by Dalglish and Damien Comolli have, like his reign thus far, been hit and miss. The likes of Charlie Adam (£7 million) and Craig Bellamy (free) are impressive bargaining chips when the club's owner John Henry moves to question the effectiveness of Stewart Downing and Andy Carroll - a combined investment of £55m to deflate the Moneyball theorem.
Foes reunited | Sir Alex Ferguson and Dalglish have renewed old rivalries over the last year
The aim of the incomings and outgoings was no doubt to herald a new wave of attractive football at Anfield, and in comparison to late 2010 there can be little argument that Dalglish has been successful. The £23m signing Luis Suarez, second only to the one player to blossom under Hodgson - Lucas Leiva - in terms of effectiveness under Dalgish, has been at the forefront of the revolution.
The Uruguayan's goalscoring record for Ajax prior to his arrival in Liverpool, although impressive, has left some with skewed expectations of the striker. A catalyst behind attacking play certainly, Suarez is not a finisher in the natural sense and a reliance based on such an assumption has no doubt contributed to the Reds' goalscoring malaise. In the transfer market, Dalglish must find a player able to carry the burden if he has genuine ambitions to reach the Champions League.
The Scot's finest acquisition may yet prove to be Steve Clarke, his No.2, who has played a pivotal role in organising Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel into arguably the most consistent central defensive pairing in the league after Vincent Kompany and Joleon Lescott. The man who was to prove part of the brains behind Jose Mourinho's dominance at Chelsea has laid similarly solid foundations.
| RED REVOLUTION |
| January 21 2011 |
January 21 2012 |
||||||
| Pos |
P |
PTS |
Pos |
P |
PTS |
||
| 10 |  Blackpool |
21 | 28 | 4 |  Chelsea |
21 | 40 |
| 11 |  Blackburn |
23 | 28 | 5 |  Arsenal |
21 | 36 |
| 12 |  Everton |
22 | 26 | 6 |  Newcastle |
21 | 36 |
| 13 |  Liverpool |
22 | 26 | 7 | Liverpool |
21 | 35 |
Similarly to the Special One, Dalglish's attempts to invoke a 'them against us' attitude amongst his squad at Melwood have been evident from the start, with talk of a refereeing conspiracy against his side the proof that even after a decade out of the game, the former Blackburn boss hadn't failed to escape the culture of blaming officials above all else.
In tune as he no doubt is with the current managerial vogue, Dalglish's year will be scarred by his entirely misjudged reaction to the Suarez racism saga, for which the striker received an eight-game ban for abusing Patrice Evra at Anfield in October. Allowed free rein by the owners across the Atlantic, the Reds' boss conducted a campaign of public support for the striker so steadfast that it left the club and Dalglish himself open to mockery and later scorn.
The club's PR has been heavily tarnished as a result and the 60-year-old will surely be keen to draw a line under the affair, regardless of his feelings against the suspension. So long the nation's second favourite club, the Anfield side must win hearts and minds back on the field going forward.
That battle is already won for Dalglish in the eyes of Liverpool fans - the most loyal of subjects. The great fear on Merseyside 12 months ago that he couldn't save the club has been dispelled, with the Reds 10 points better off having played a game less than was the case at this point in 2011 as they travel to Bolton on Saturday evening.
At 50 games not out the progress is clear and Liverpool are steadily heading back to where they want to be. Leading the charge and back on his throne, Dalglish is already there.
Follow Jonathan Birchall on
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