Hindsight's 20/20, and all that but this writer was taking the piss.
"@Andrew_Heaton: Fancy a laugh? Read this http://bit.ly/UnluckyKidda 'Kenny Dalglish and Liverpool staring into the abyss' by
@davekidd_people"
Kenny Dalglish and Liverpool staring into the abyss
Jan 16 2011 by Dave Kidd, The People
THEY seem to have nailed one great lie at Anfield these past seven days – the one which said Roy Hodgson was the Âproblem.
The next piece of perceived wisdom to deal with is the one which says Liverpool are too good to go down.
And Liverpool have a fortnight to prove that this one is true – with three critical, winnable Premier League matches against Everton, Wolves and Fulham, as well as the remaining days of the transfer window, to stave off an immediate crisis.
But you certainly won’t hear Joe Cole or Glen Johnson saying that their team cannot be relegated this season.
Cole and Johnson played in what was, man-for-man, the best side ever to go down. The West Ham outfit of 2003, which included Paolo Di Canio, Jermain Defoe, David James, Les Ferdinand, Michael Carrick, Fredi Kanoute and Trevor Sinclair, who had played four times for England at the previous summer’s World Cup.
A team with vastly superior quality to this Liverpool side – a team who had Âfinished seventh the previous season, just as Liverpool did, but who plummeted out of the top flight all the same.
Yeah, but surely Liverpool couldn’t go down when they have such Âpassionate support and such a Âmessianic manager? Well how about Newcastle in 2009?
Yeah, but surely not when they have such a recent Âpedigree of challenging for the title and playing in the Champions League? Well how about Leeds in 2004?
OK then, surely not when they have such a legendary old boss who ‘understands the club’? Well what about Nottingham Forest in 1993?
Liverpool were laid bare at Bloomfield Road on Wednesday night, with a performance as bad as anything produced under Hodgson.
The ‘not playing for the manager’ myth was exploded instantly.
Between them, Tom Hicks, George Gillett and Rafa Benitez left an Âunbalanced, ‘square-pegs-round-holes’ sort of team, hugely reliant on three players.
And without a great team, the Kop is just a large bank of seating, the ‘This is Anfield’ sign is just a note on the wall, the Boot Room is just a room with boots in it and Dalglish is just a Âmanager who won things in the ’80s and early ’90s, like George Graham or Howard Wilkinson.
To anybody outside the rose-tinted Liverpool bubble, the call for Dalglish looked like a desperate move from naive, crowd-pleasing new owners, like It’s A Knockout contestants playing the Messiah card as Stuart Hall roars with laughter.
Victory in today’s Anfield homeÂcoming against Everton is critical if there is to be any lasting feelgood Âfactor from a decision made out of gut-instinct and sentiment rather than logic.
But Liverpool face an Everton team who have beaten Manchester City and Tottenham recently and who look poised for their customary new year surge.
The raw passion provided by the Second Coming hardly looked like a positive factor when Steven Gerrard got himself sent off and suspended for three matches for an ugly challenge on Michael Carrick last Sunday.
Gerrard’s powers are on the wane, the form and fitness of Fernando Torres are flaky, even such a fine goalkeeper as Pepe Reina looks horribly exposed behind Liverpool’s back four.
Dalglish’s answer to Johnson being far shakier at right-back than scapegoat Paul Konchesky was at left-back, was to move Johnson to left-back.
Now, with the absence of any Âwhipping boys in the Premier League this term, an unusually high points total of around 40 is needed to ensure safety.
Liverpool are likely to need 15 points from 17 games, which should not be beyond them – but pressure does strange things to a team so thin on genuine quality and so devoid of confidence.
If they have not significantly Âbolstered their points total and their squad by the end of January, Liverpool will be deep in relegation danger.
Dalglish’s admission, after the Blackpool defeat, that he had not even asked about transfer funds, is Âalarming. It suggests that any signings will be as panicky as the Âsacking of the reigning Manager of the Year last weekend.
By the way, King Kenny’s frankest admission of the week that ‘maybe we could all look at ourselves and ask whether we could have done more to help Roy’ was hilarious for its bare-faced cheek, but he’s got the job he was craving now and doesn’t it look more difficult than it appeared a week ago.
Liverpool will hardly be an Âattractive proposition for potential new recruits. They will not offer European football next term, the new owners do not have the serious money needed to take on the top five, Dalglish’s name would mean little and he is officially just a stopgap anyway.
Meanwhile, transfer fixer Damien Comolli is doing what he’s always done, signing talented teenagers for not insignificant sums in the hope they will bring good service and re-sale value. But the Frenchman somehow needs to snare players who can dig the Reds out of their current hole.
So after the ritual blood-letting, a dose of humility is needed, a Ârecognition of present circumstances rather than too much romancing about a glorious past.
Otherwise the reality check will only arrive when Liverpool roll up for league matches at Barnsley and ÂBournemouth.
"@Andrew_Heaton: Fancy a laugh? Read this http://bit.ly/UnluckyKidda 'Kenny Dalglish and Liverpool staring into the abyss' by
@davekidd_people"
Kenny Dalglish and Liverpool staring into the abyss
Jan 16 2011 by Dave Kidd, The People
THEY seem to have nailed one great lie at Anfield these past seven days – the one which said Roy Hodgson was the Âproblem.
The next piece of perceived wisdom to deal with is the one which says Liverpool are too good to go down.
And Liverpool have a fortnight to prove that this one is true – with three critical, winnable Premier League matches against Everton, Wolves and Fulham, as well as the remaining days of the transfer window, to stave off an immediate crisis.
But you certainly won’t hear Joe Cole or Glen Johnson saying that their team cannot be relegated this season.
Cole and Johnson played in what was, man-for-man, the best side ever to go down. The West Ham outfit of 2003, which included Paolo Di Canio, Jermain Defoe, David James, Les Ferdinand, Michael Carrick, Fredi Kanoute and Trevor Sinclair, who had played four times for England at the previous summer’s World Cup.
A team with vastly superior quality to this Liverpool side – a team who had Âfinished seventh the previous season, just as Liverpool did, but who plummeted out of the top flight all the same.
Yeah, but surely Liverpool couldn’t go down when they have such Âpassionate support and such a Âmessianic manager? Well how about Newcastle in 2009?
Yeah, but surely not when they have such a recent Âpedigree of challenging for the title and playing in the Champions League? Well how about Leeds in 2004?
OK then, surely not when they have such a legendary old boss who ‘understands the club’? Well what about Nottingham Forest in 1993?
Liverpool were laid bare at Bloomfield Road on Wednesday night, with a performance as bad as anything produced under Hodgson.
The ‘not playing for the manager’ myth was exploded instantly.
Between them, Tom Hicks, George Gillett and Rafa Benitez left an Âunbalanced, ‘square-pegs-round-holes’ sort of team, hugely reliant on three players.
And without a great team, the Kop is just a large bank of seating, the ‘This is Anfield’ sign is just a note on the wall, the Boot Room is just a room with boots in it and Dalglish is just a Âmanager who won things in the ’80s and early ’90s, like George Graham or Howard Wilkinson.
To anybody outside the rose-tinted Liverpool bubble, the call for Dalglish looked like a desperate move from naive, crowd-pleasing new owners, like It’s A Knockout contestants playing the Messiah card as Stuart Hall roars with laughter.
Victory in today’s Anfield homeÂcoming against Everton is critical if there is to be any lasting feelgood Âfactor from a decision made out of gut-instinct and sentiment rather than logic.
But Liverpool face an Everton team who have beaten Manchester City and Tottenham recently and who look poised for their customary new year surge.
The raw passion provided by the Second Coming hardly looked like a positive factor when Steven Gerrard got himself sent off and suspended for three matches for an ugly challenge on Michael Carrick last Sunday.
Gerrard’s powers are on the wane, the form and fitness of Fernando Torres are flaky, even such a fine goalkeeper as Pepe Reina looks horribly exposed behind Liverpool’s back four.
Dalglish’s answer to Johnson being far shakier at right-back than scapegoat Paul Konchesky was at left-back, was to move Johnson to left-back.
Now, with the absence of any Âwhipping boys in the Premier League this term, an unusually high points total of around 40 is needed to ensure safety.
Liverpool are likely to need 15 points from 17 games, which should not be beyond them – but pressure does strange things to a team so thin on genuine quality and so devoid of confidence.
If they have not significantly Âbolstered their points total and their squad by the end of January, Liverpool will be deep in relegation danger.
Dalglish’s admission, after the Blackpool defeat, that he had not even asked about transfer funds, is Âalarming. It suggests that any signings will be as panicky as the Âsacking of the reigning Manager of the Year last weekend.
By the way, King Kenny’s frankest admission of the week that ‘maybe we could all look at ourselves and ask whether we could have done more to help Roy’ was hilarious for its bare-faced cheek, but he’s got the job he was craving now and doesn’t it look more difficult than it appeared a week ago.
Liverpool will hardly be an Âattractive proposition for potential new recruits. They will not offer European football next term, the new owners do not have the serious money needed to take on the top five, Dalglish’s name would mean little and he is officially just a stopgap anyway.
Meanwhile, transfer fixer Damien Comolli is doing what he’s always done, signing talented teenagers for not insignificant sums in the hope they will bring good service and re-sale value. But the Frenchman somehow needs to snare players who can dig the Reds out of their current hole.
So after the ritual blood-letting, a dose of humility is needed, a Ârecognition of present circumstances rather than too much romancing about a glorious past.
Otherwise the reality check will only arrive when Liverpool roll up for league matches at Barnsley and ÂBournemouth.
