Oh well, after looking through the forum the last couple of weeks i find it quite sad that the leading topics of discussion have become bickering sessions among some posters, not a lot to post about really in the off season. Would be nice if some posters could comment on our season gone by instead of scoring points off one another. I've been meaning to do my end of season report for a while now but it's been hard to find time with a new job and shift work, but here it goes. May i also add that it's quite sad that this topic was on page 3 of the Kop board, the obsession with Aquilani becoming a focal point, in all honesty i don't give a F**k. If Kenny wants to keep him then i'll be happy with whatever decision he makes.
What a season it has been and Brian 78 sums it up perfectly with his description of it being a tale of two halves. The first half of the season started badly, pre season saw the departure of Rafael Benitez to Inter Milan. While many fans were upset with his departure, myself included, it seemed the right time for him to go. He had drawn out of this squad all he could muster and it must be said that his Plan A was clearly not working anymore. It was also clear that some of the players had lost their belief in Rafa's philosophy. Combined with the massive debt that Hicks and Gillette had placed on our Club, things were not looking good. Had Rafa been backed with serious money then i believe he would have taken us to the Premier League summit but that was never going to happen. I think the break was needed.
We all waited with baited breath to see who would be the successor to the Anfield throne, the successor was most definitely not who we expected it to be. Step forward the LMA Manager of the Year, Mr. Roy Hodgson. The vast majority of fans were shocked, myself included, i tried to take the positives out of the situation. As a Liverpool fan that is what you do. Even though i felt robbed and dismayed at his appointment i still had to back him, that's what we do isn't it?. He said all the right things on his appointment, how he admired 'The Liverpool Way' and wished to return to the style that made us so famous and brought us so much silverware. These words were great to hear after watching such dire and unattractive football the season before. He was making all the right noises and if he'd just stuck to the simple way of playing football it could have been so different. How could he F**k this up?. he did it with consummate ease.
After the Europa qualifiers and the draw with Arsenal it looked to be a quite steady start for Hodgson, we weren't setting the world alight but we were getting somewhere after the departure of Rafa. Reports were that the players seemed more relaxed but the results and the football soon turned sour. The battering we took off Manchester City, the defeat at United, going out of the League Cup to Northampton Town, this was unacceptable. What really pissed me off and was probably the moment i turned against Hodgson was the defeat at Everton which he described as our best performance of the season, i was F***ing seething!. His constant 'bigging up' of the opposition was making me sick, all a part of his imaginary buffer zone should we lose. His constant 'belittling' of players, especially Johnson and Agger made me want to smash his F***ing face in!.
Queue October and what was to signal the end of Hodgson's brief reign, the removal of Hicks and Gillette. A massive black cloud had been removed, the feeling of relief was overwhelming, the feeling of elation was coupled with tears of emotion as their grip on the throat of our Liver Bird was finally removed. Time was running out for Hodgson, NESV were in town and he had nowhere to hide. Defeats to Blackburn, Stoke, Newcastle, Spurs and Wolves proved to be the death knell, 20 points from 25 games was relegation form and Hodgson knew his time was up. Considering he prides himself on dignity he didn't show much during his time here, he would blame anyone but himself, not befitting of any manager, let alone a Liverpool manager.
NESV drew a lot of criticism for their backing of Hodgson but they knew what they were doing. The fans at Anfield made their feelings clear on who deserved the job and on the 8th January that wish was granted. After growing tired of the poor results and terrible football we were playing Hodgson was sacked and The King returned to his rightful place at the helm of Liverpool Football Club. His first game in charge was against United in the FA Cup and it was a travesty of justice that saw us lose that game narrowly, a game we deserved to win. The presence of Dalglish was immense, the players responded immediately. We started to play with passion, the desire had been restored instantly, truly a mark of a man that commands the utmost respect.
We followed the United loss with a defeat at Blackpool and a draw with Everton. Then followed a win streak against Wolves, Fulham, Stoke and Chelsea. Pride was restored temporarily and the negative football we had played under both Rafa and Roy was gone. We were playing football 'The Liverpool Way', the same way that many media correspondents and forumites themselves said would be outdated and behind the times. I was loving watching this 'new Liverpool' play, which was so ironic because it was actually the 'old Liverpool' way of playing. The style of play that i was used to watching Liverpool play as a young boy growing up.
Dalglish along with Steve Clarke totally turned our goal difference around as we twatted United, Newcastle, Fulham, Birmingham and Manchester City in the run in. What i was seeing unfold before my eyes was like a dream come true. Who'd have thought that our season would end like this after all the suffering we had endured in the season prior and the beginning of this?.
Dalglish has handled himself impeccably since his return, every other fan of every Club is jealous of what we have here, there is no other character like Dalglish around. He has done it at every level, as a player and as a manager. His brain is razor sharp and he has wit to match. You can only love the man. The way he has handled Torres was awesome, we ended up with Suarez and Carroll and screwed Chelsea over. The way he has brought the youngsters through the ranks, promoting Flanagan, Kelly, Robinson and Shelvey to first team duty, something that neither Rafa or Roy had the belief to do. The way he transformed Dirk Kuyt and Maxi in January. The way he has nurtured Spearing and given him the opportunity to get a run of games in the side and a chance to prove himself. The feelgood factor he's brought back to the Club. The way he took us from relegation candidates to possible European qualification in the space of a few months.
Kenny has done what Rafa and Roy failed to do, he placed faith in the youngsters to go out and do a job, he has given the players confidence to express themselves. He has placed his trust in the players to know when to attack and when to defend, a licence to thrill so to speak, combined with a licence to chill.
I'm really looking forward to the Summer. We have the best manager in the League, we have owners who are willing to invest and back the manager. We have youngsters that have stepped up to the plate when called upon and we have players that have been revitalised under Kenny. The Club is buzzing, the fans are buzzing, the players are buzzing.
Thank you Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish, for saving our season. Nobody is bigger than Liverpool Football Club, as Torres and Mascherano found out to their detriment.
2012, number 19, all hail the King
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