“We’ve got a bit of silverware back in the cupboard after six years; we’re back in Europe at the first time of asking,” said Dalglish.
“We were near to winning the FA Cup final. Not a bad first season.”
“I think the players will be happy to finish on a high at Anfield,” said Dalglish.
“That performance was on a par with a lot of other performances where we’ve not had the result. Against Chelsea we got that.”
“I have said many times this season how well we’ve played but not had the break to win it,” added Dalglish.
“On this occasion, maybe with Branislav Ivanovic hitting the post for Chelsea early on, we thought we might have got that bit of luck.
“I don’t think it was luck that got us the victory, though. It was a fantastic performance from everyone.
“The two young lads, Shelvey [20] and Henderson [21], in the middle of the pitch were fantastic with the work-rate they got through and both of them scored too.
“It was the same with Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll up front, and I don’t know how neither of them scored. Luis was fantastic for our first goal but so was everyone.
“We had a good day and it was an excellent performance.”
Coming on the back of the defeat against Chelsea, four days previously it was very difficult to get elated, especially with Chelsea’s preeminent players either out injured or sitting on the bench. But four goals against a side with Fernando Torres leading the line was satisfying in away, but given his body language one could only wonder whether he, Kenny and Liverpool supporters in attendance were reminiscing and wishing.
As a Liverpool supporter, this season I was at the semi-final’s and finals of both domestic competitions and one can understand the manager’s pronouncements that this season has been a success because silverware, is silverware, is silverware. That being said, in between the good performances which Dalglish mentions, there have been some of the most dire matches it had been bad luck to see.
We cannot get away from the fact that Liverpool have only won 6 of our 19 home League games. The four goals we scored against Chelsea bolstered our goals at home to 24, unbelievably our lowest total for 108 years.
Kevin Keegan said, “Shanks said football is a simple game over simplified by people”. We need to get back to basics and find the keys to unlock the door, whether that is with Kenny or not that is for Fenway Sports Group to decide.
If this is true Mr Dalglish is truly delusional- pleased with the improved form of Carroll but need better consistency and clinicalness from the whole squad next season with or without Dalglish at the helm!
ReplyDeleteDalglish also needs to remember we were in Europe when he took over so another part of his argument looks misguided - as team manager it is ultimately him who decides who plays or not- if they do not gel or play well its down to his selections and tactical acumen- can't buy that excuse of bad luck all season when u have an opportunity to change things in Jan and stubbornly refuse to do anything about it!
DeleteMy only concern about getting rid of our manager now is the fact that we will be deemed to be no better than Chelsea by getting rid of our manager without giving the project more time.
As they say Rome wasn't built in a day and there are a couple of seeds of progress namely the vast improvement made by Carroll and Shelvey at the end of this season-just hope they are both given the chances to continue their work next season!
As for Dalglish he wil l be a lucky man to survive the summer but if he does will be given until Dec 2012 to show what we hoped we would see this season- that is a progressive, competitive side determined to get back in the Champions League by any means necessary- also a side prepared to fight for every single league point and ultimately a side that plays quality winning football not a side that bemoans every missed chance or a side that knows how to always hit the woodwork instead of the back of the net!
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I know that hindsight is great but for me there were two staringly obvious things that Dalglish could have done throughout our season to improve results and get us closer to our 4th place target
Delete1) Play Maxi Rodrigues - From as far back as the end of last season it was apparent that when Maxi was on the pitch Liverpool scored goals, if he wasn't banging them in himself his intelligent predatory movement around the box was leading to space and goals for others in the team. Our main problem this season from day one was lack of goals yet Kenny continuously opted for the misfiring Henderson, Downing or Kuyt on the wing ahead of Maxi.
2) Buy a stopper in January. The level of performance took a total nosedive following a major injury to Lucas Leiva in late November. Suddenly the previously promising Charlie Adam looked horribly exposed and we deteriorated both in attack and defence. Spearing and Henderson both failed their auditions for this role. FSG said there was money available for the Jan window so why wasn't filling this gap an absolute priority? After Christmas our relegation level form saw us fall away from the pack dramatically.
Kenny and his team can bemoan our lack of luck this season but he can't afford another season where he ignores the blindingly obvious. Put simply - play the players that are in form and will improve the team not just the ones you spent lots of money on, and when injury forces a bloody big hole in the middle of your team pre-Christmas make sure you plug it in January. In fact we should have been looking for back up for the increasingly influential Lucas last Summer!
In my view he get's until Christmas to sort it out, we can't afford another season like this one which was definitely not a success and Kenny knows that.
Baz
Just hope and pray now that Carroll has played his way into Roy's team for Europe 2012, that he returns in one piece and pick up no injury. The issue of KD progress report, is matter for future discussion
DeleteOh yeah as Kenny says after his post match interviews) - "Once we add up the points and see where we are at the end of the season!!"
DeleteI would like Kenny to stay at the club but only as an Ambassador perhaps in a similar role to Bobby Charlton at Man U.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone watch The Apprentice last night? The losing project manager made a couple of errors. He held his hand up and said, I got the strategy all wrong, I took risks which I thought would work. It didn't work and his team lost. He didn't pursue a line of his team being unlucky, neither did he get sarcastic with the questions being raised by Lord Sugar (the investor). In other words, he recognised his own weaknesses.
I used to love hearing Kenny's pre and post match press conferences but since the Suarez issue, they actually make me cringe. I was horrified to hear the post match interview. He rarely accepts that the team has underperformed or that the standard of performances over 38 games has not been good enough. Unlike Tom (the unsuccessful project manager), Kenny refuses to accept that he has got things wrong, and quite often it seems as if he's on another planet.
As David said, "at the end of the season we'll see how many points we have". Well funny enough, we are approaching the end of the season and some 30+ points of the leaders. Our stated aim at the start of the campaign was to challenge for the Premiership - we failed miserably so it can't be allowed to continue beyond December.
I agree with Barry that we have to question some of the decisions taken, even though I think Maxi was injured for some parts of the season, there was some critical moments when quite simply, Maxi should have played, instead of Henderson, Downing or Kuyt. Are we to accept that Kenny was right about Henderson all along because he put in a good performance against Chelsea after the FA cup? His persistence in playing Henderson all season has simply resulted in him scoring. His deployment of Downing or Henderson on the right hand side quite often was stubborn.
I've been really impressed with Shelvey - he seems to have performed well in whatever role has been required of him.
I think there are a few reasons why we did not progress as well this season and many of them, unfortunately, point to Kenny. The things that stir my mind include;
- Poor team selections;
- whole club distracted by the poor handling of the Suarez/Evra issue;
- Lack of activity in the transfer market in January;
- Lack of a stock of strikers;
- I could go on.
One thing I have to say about Kenny is that he came in at a really difficult time for the club and no doubt he has contributed to us having much more unity.
Excellent piece by Karl and Baz respectively.
DeleteJust awaiting Livingstone, Vic, Luke & Leon's comments before we move onto the next point.
Excellent by livi and Baz...
DeleteI've just looked up Downings statistics.....I never realised just how bad he's been for the club in the lge.....
What has Dalglish accomplished to warrant another 5 months in charge? He has presided over the worst Liverpool season in over 50 years. Lowest amount of league wins at home plus one of the worst conversion rates in the league tell you the problem isn't a case of bad luck but fundamental errors within the football system and tactics employed. Its dangerous at any football club when the manager is somehow beyond criticism or is able to play the "legend" card as a means of quieting dissent legitimately questioning his decision making. Dalglish has spent far too much time this season pandering to his own ego, the fab four must play regardless of ability or form simply because they're his boys. In 15 months he's done what Woy couldn't do and turned us into Fulham!
DeleteI used to have a debate with Kop-Post when we had Rafa as manager. Kop-Post was all for Kenny being manager because Liverpool were playing some woeful football. Kop-Post would say that Kenny would get the team attacking. I did agree that Kenny would get the team being more positive, but I always said that he would not be the man for the job. Old managers coming back for second spells never work, he was just an iconic man that fans like to sing about. That is not a credible CV to win games in Europe or compete with teams that can get around 90 points. We have had a mediocre team for a number of years now, and whether we liked Rafa or not, he's still been the best manager we've had for a long time and looking back possibly shouldn't have gone!! Also Kenny's tenure at Celtic was the same.
DeleteAs Liverpool fans we expect success because we grew up on it, and there is absolutely no excuse why we're behind Everton, Newcastle and Spurs, and to be 34 points behind the leaders is beyond believable.
The stats don't lie and if the lge started in January we'd be 3rd from bottom.
After a turgid league season and embarrassing out the pitch statements...Kenny has to stand down and if he loves the club he will do.
Very true. What I thought was that Kenny still knew what a good player looked like. The successful sides of he has managed had three things in common. Power, pace and skill. Often there is no pace or power in the
Deletefirst XI and the skill is left to one player Suarez.
But what I also didn't expect was the defensive attitude and there seems to be a hierarchal structure in terms of who gets picked.
The disappointing fact is his propensity to become ultra-defensive. Three at the back against Stoke at home, two holding midfielders in many home games against teams we should be with respect be dealing with. I don't know
how many games I've attended where Jordan Henderson has been the designated
right sided midfielder and Craig Bellamy has been warming up from midway through the first half when the decision has patently not worked.
His comments after the final about nerves etc., that to me points the finger at Henderson and Spearing. Surely, then that's down to the manager who picked the midfield pairing. Henderson gave one of the worst displays I've
seen in the final of the Carling Cup and he managed to last 55 minutes. Spearing, if it was possible played even worse in the FA Cup Final and could easily have come off before half-time, the fact that he didn't take him off
when he was struggling to cope with the Chelsea midfield cost us the 2nd goal. He played Henderson as if the season was a learning process no matter if it was detrimental to the team. Kenny's after match comment on Tuesday
was like someone who'd proved a point. For me the game had to be taken in perspective. I agree Henderson, Downing and Carroll all had excellent games, but where were the first two in the final when the heat was really
on? Such was the lack of intensity on Tuesday that even Carragher looked backed to his old self...
Every Liverpool fan respects Carragher for what he's done for the club, but even before his injury one could see he was struggling. Two games to go and he brings him back. Why not play Coates for the last two games? I said from
the beginning of the season that I didn't understand how any team could go into a season with just two strikers, even if Kuyt was seen as an auxiliary
striker.
To follow on from some of the points made, Suarez was banned for 8 games, which left us with one out and out striker in January. Why didn't he bring a striker in on loan? Even with Suarez we were struggling to score, but he
got so entrenched in his support for him re Evra, that in my opinion he didn't bring anyone else in case it was viewed as disloyal or a replacement.
On his support for Henderson, can someone tell me how his partner in crime can deliver 263 crosses and not produce one assist and yet is often one of the first names on the team sheets? A couple of times recently I've seen a
Liverpool wideman go passed a defender and put in a serious cross, his name... Sterling.
Charlie Adam - said all season he can't play in a two because he is just too slow, especially as the holding player. Downing, Henderson, Adam and Spearing. Even in a truncated season, Stephen Gerrard and not at his best
he still outscored them!
We've got this much vaunted coaching team, what have they being doing? The owners need to ask themselves if two cup finals and finishing why down the league acceptable? Moreover, was his lack of success in the transfer market a blip and can he be trusted to buy the players we need this time around?
that in my opinion he didn't bring anyone else in case it was viewed as
Deletedisloyal or a replacement.
Spot on Kop-Post!!!!!
Excellent as always Kop-Post !!
DeleteWhere's Luke ???
Need a comment from him then we can move onto the next point !!!!
Surpirsed David is so keen to hear my predictably pro-dalglish view of the season!
DeleteIn all seriousness I've been as frustrated as anyone with the derisory points total we have accrued and the weekly concern about the results of teams like fulham, Norwich and Swansea due to their proximity to us in the league...never mind everton or the fact that newcastle are out of sight.....
But I think considering the position we were in when he took over and some of the performances (city, united and arsenal at home in particular) he's done enough to warrant another season. It's got nothing to do with his status as a liverpool legend, think that is a red-herring and if our league form doesn't improve drastcially next season think there will be few fans who don't want kenny replaced. For me it's just make sense to give him another year, if he's given another year and the team doesn't progress there can be no arguments that a change is needed. Also, think it's bit unfair to write off his transfers as flops after one season and think all of them will do a lot better next season.....only have to consider carroll's impact in last couple of games to think what a difference it will make if he is firing on all cylinders next year from the start.....
In terms of the criticism, I agree with them all - under-utilisation of maxi was criminal given lack of goal-scorers, lack of activity in january was also clearly costly, the suarez affair was dreadfully handled and kenny's post-match interviews have at time made for painful viewing (i just think all managers can be guilty of embarassing out burst when under pressure...)
Thanks Luke for your fascinating insight into why Mr Dalglish should have another season.
DeleteHopefully if he does get another season he can persuade more of us that the massive decision by FSG to keep him was right !!!
Hi Kop Post, just read that blog, all totally true. I went to sleep last night worrying about the future of Kenny! Better not be sacked.
DeleteJan Thomson
What will it take to get us back to the top four next season?
ReplyDelete- It first of all may take a change of manager - new innovative manager with fresh ideas like Roberto Martinez or Brendan Rogers - who will need to be given time which we really haven't got!!!
- Revamp of coaching team – patterns of play to be looked at and analysed.
- Abort this buy British-only players philosophy as this has completely flopped!
- Also ignore stats for the last season and using that as a basis to buy players as the Moneyball strategy does not work in football (soccer) but is perfect for the baseball game.
- Bring more pacey players into the squad – massively needed as we are potentially the slowest team in the top half.
- Focus on more quality players despite the fact we are unable to offer CL football – quality players will get us back near the top not the average, run of the mill players.
- If a player is 22 and not in the first team squad he has to be moved on as we have over the years had too many players just picking up wages or being sent on loan when they are never really going to stand a chance of making it to the top at our club.
- We need two quality players for each position as certain players get complacent that they will play every week despite under performing.
- If you can all let me know what it will take to get us back to the top four next season or whether you think it is a total lost cause – bearing in mind that Newcastle have shown with a squad working together anything is possible.
My recipe for success next season.
Delete1) Look to foreign markets to get good value for money signings, they are out there as Newcastle have shown.
2) Bring in a well qualified director of football to replace Camolli, we need to have someone dedicated to setting out some sort of strategy and advise the owners in the U.S.
3) Sign a midfield spoiler who’s also a ball player can distribute and provide a platform for attacks, a versatile speedy winger, a striker who’s a natural finisher and a properly decent young keeper to provide proper competition for Pepe.
4) Play players on the basis of form not nationality or reputation (that includes Gerrard)
5) Make decisive early substitutions if it’s obvious that our game plan / formation isn’t working
6) Use the Europa League to blood the youngsters like Coady, Sterling, Suso etc.
7) Bring in a really good striking coach to improve our help us avoid the post and score pens.
Baz
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DeleteI think we're really in a quandary. We were behind previously, but now we are languishing. Man United, Man City and Arsenal will go up a level to compete with the Champions League and Chelsea too whatever the result in the Champions League.
DeleteMancini's interview with BBC says it all, "Barcelona and Real Madrid every year buy two or three players and spend a lot of money.
“It's not difficult to manage Tevez. He's a good guy. We had a good relationship always”
"I think for Manchester City it will be the same.
"We need to improve. We need to have the strength to play Champions League and Premier League."
He added: "For this we need to have a good team, a strong team with a good mentality, but I'm sure we will do it."
Just shows the thoght processes Liverpool FC are up against. Then we have Newcastle...
Can we see Adam and Henderson and Downing taking it us to the position of parity? And that's why Dalglish is probably have to justify his position right now, with the belated return to form of Carroll.
If he is going to still be our manager the next round of buys are going to have to be in the stellar category with regards their effectiveness and the previous buys if they are to stay will have to come to the party.
It's unfortunate that once again our washing is being aired in public.
And when you hear Dirk Kuyt's agent Rob Jansen say "We have already spoken to several interested parties, but no decisions have been taken yet. If Dalglish leaves, Dirk would be going nowhere" - it doesn't do Kenny any good particluar as a well respected footballer is having ago at Kenny's rotation system.