With each passing day of his reign, Kenny Dalglish twists the knife a little deeper into the ever-twitching corpse that was Roy Hodgson's tenure.
Last night, against the kind of physical, combative team that Hodgson would have struggled to earn more than a draw against, Dalglish's Liverpool rekindled long-dead embers on the fields of Anfield Road. Yep, after crying out for the pass-and-move approach that saw the club dominate on all fronts and being denied by no less than three successive managers more focused on defence and control, it seems the fans' pleas have finally been heard.
If the formation and line-up raised eyebrows amongst the Liverpool faithful, the style of play may have done similar among those clubs who have profited from Liverpool's demise.
Give and go's, players moving into space and actually wanting to receive the ball, red shirts rushing forward to support the striker, hounding the opposition in snarling packs. These are the basics of football. They have been missing for too long.
Poor old Hodgson, out of his depth from the moment he walked through the door, must have felt his heart sink last night. He had all those players starting the game at his disposal, and his tutelage made them look like rank amateurs. For a case study, look no further than Raul Meireles: often deployed as a completely ineffectual right midfielder by Hodgson (the man who bought him, for fucks sake!) the Portuguese looks reinvigorated as an attacking midfielder/support striker, and has rewarded the manager with excellent, incisive goals and effervescent performances full of fizzing threat.
If nothing else, Hodgson should be thanked for bringing in Meireles. Not the best player in the league by any means, Raul is nevertheless a revelation, a player who pops up all over the pitch, wants to get involved, and displays that most often overlooked of attributes: a sharp mind. Often the pivot in our passing triangles, Meireles is an important part of the return of pass and move.
Elsewhere, the Dalglish Effect is apparent in a number of players either deemed not good enough for the club or apparently going through the motions, content to let their LFC careers peter out. Someone has clearly told Lucas Leiva that not only is he allowed to move around the pitch, he's also allowed to fizz balls forward at pace. Yes, forward. Glen Johnson has shifted to the left to accommodate the excellent Kelly and looks a player reborn.
Daniel Agger plays with the swagger that his game requires, surging forward to join attacks, adding a fluidity to the formation that our game has lacked for years. The Dane has a mistake in him, no doubt, but as with every other aspect of his return thus far, Dalglish has clearly told him to play to his strengths, to impose himself on the opposition rather than nervously sit and wait to be picked apart.
Waiting in the wings we have Luis Suarez, who we saw thirty mouthwatering minutes of last night. The Uruguayan is by all accounts a leader in dressing room, one of those plays-for-the-love-of-the-game infectious types. On the pitch he is a sly, clever player, with a natural finishers instinct reminiscent of one R.Fowler.
Where Suarez is the rapier, Andy Carroll will be Liverpool's hammer. I watched the giant geordie several times earlier in the season and heaved a wistful sigh. Exactly the kind of enormous potential that never ends up at Liverpool, I thought. He'll end up in Manchester.
Carroll's arrival has really made this monkey sit up and take notice. Off-field doubts aside, on the pitch Carroll is a colossus. There is not a defence in the country, maybe Europe, that will feel anthing but apprehension at having to face a forward line that includes Carroll. Blessed with speed, size, touch and power, where Carroll ends up as a player really is down to his attitude and the people that develop him. He could just be that good.
Carroll's mere presence will help tip the balance in games, for he is a goalkeepers dream: goal kicks are magnetically attracted to the big man, and his ability to turn them into attacking situations is almost unparalleled in the English game. No longer will teams be able to commit men to attack, safe in the knowledge that we won't hurt them on the counter at speed. Carroll will drag their defences backwards, and we may well see Pepe getting among the assists again.
It's too soon to get carried away, of course, and we all know deep down that some of these players must be improved upon if we are to return to the top. There will no doubt be poor performances and defeats, but Dalglish, almost through the sheer force of his natural charisma, has lit a fire that will furrow brows in London and Manchester. Personally, I believe in the manager again. The last time that happened it was the same fucking man with a few less wrinkles.
Dalglish knows what the liverpool hotseat is all about, and already, he is making the people happy. Long live the King.
Last night, against the kind of physical, combative team that Hodgson would have struggled to earn more than a draw against, Dalglish's Liverpool rekindled long-dead embers on the fields of Anfield Road. Yep, after crying out for the pass-and-move approach that saw the club dominate on all fronts and being denied by no less than three successive managers more focused on defence and control, it seems the fans' pleas have finally been heard.
If the formation and line-up raised eyebrows amongst the Liverpool faithful, the style of play may have done similar among those clubs who have profited from Liverpool's demise.
Give and go's, players moving into space and actually wanting to receive the ball, red shirts rushing forward to support the striker, hounding the opposition in snarling packs. These are the basics of football. They have been missing for too long.
Poor old Hodgson, out of his depth from the moment he walked through the door, must have felt his heart sink last night. He had all those players starting the game at his disposal, and his tutelage made them look like rank amateurs. For a case study, look no further than Raul Meireles: often deployed as a completely ineffectual right midfielder by Hodgson (the man who bought him, for fucks sake!) the Portuguese looks reinvigorated as an attacking midfielder/support striker, and has rewarded the manager with excellent, incisive goals and effervescent performances full of fizzing threat.
If nothing else, Hodgson should be thanked for bringing in Meireles. Not the best player in the league by any means, Raul is nevertheless a revelation, a player who pops up all over the pitch, wants to get involved, and displays that most often overlooked of attributes: a sharp mind. Often the pivot in our passing triangles, Meireles is an important part of the return of pass and move.
Elsewhere, the Dalglish Effect is apparent in a number of players either deemed not good enough for the club or apparently going through the motions, content to let their LFC careers peter out. Someone has clearly told Lucas Leiva that not only is he allowed to move around the pitch, he's also allowed to fizz balls forward at pace. Yes, forward. Glen Johnson has shifted to the left to accommodate the excellent Kelly and looks a player reborn.
Daniel Agger plays with the swagger that his game requires, surging forward to join attacks, adding a fluidity to the formation that our game has lacked for years. The Dane has a mistake in him, no doubt, but as with every other aspect of his return thus far, Dalglish has clearly told him to play to his strengths, to impose himself on the opposition rather than nervously sit and wait to be picked apart.
Waiting in the wings we have Luis Suarez, who we saw thirty mouthwatering minutes of last night. The Uruguayan is by all accounts a leader in dressing room, one of those plays-for-the-love-of-the-game infectious types. On the pitch he is a sly, clever player, with a natural finishers instinct reminiscent of one R.Fowler.
Where Suarez is the rapier, Andy Carroll will be Liverpool's hammer. I watched the giant geordie several times earlier in the season and heaved a wistful sigh. Exactly the kind of enormous potential that never ends up at Liverpool, I thought. He'll end up in Manchester.
Carroll's arrival has really made this monkey sit up and take notice. Off-field doubts aside, on the pitch Carroll is a colossus. There is not a defence in the country, maybe Europe, that will feel anthing but apprehension at having to face a forward line that includes Carroll. Blessed with speed, size, touch and power, where Carroll ends up as a player really is down to his attitude and the people that develop him. He could just be that good.
Carroll's mere presence will help tip the balance in games, for he is a goalkeepers dream: goal kicks are magnetically attracted to the big man, and his ability to turn them into attacking situations is almost unparalleled in the English game. No longer will teams be able to commit men to attack, safe in the knowledge that we won't hurt them on the counter at speed. Carroll will drag their defences backwards, and we may well see Pepe getting among the assists again.
It's too soon to get carried away, of course, and we all know deep down that some of these players must be improved upon if we are to return to the top. There will no doubt be poor performances and defeats, but Dalglish, almost through the sheer force of his natural charisma, has lit a fire that will furrow brows in London and Manchester. Personally, I believe in the manager again. The last time that happened it was the same fucking man with a few less wrinkles.
Dalglish knows what the liverpool hotseat is all about, and already, he is making the people happy. Long live the King.
