April 2012 Archives

Yesterday was one of those days that will remain in the memory not only of Liverpool supporters for many years to come.  It was of course the day that Luis Suarez announced to the watching football world that he is back to his best.

The day weather-wise was not one of the best and as the team arrived in Norwich they were greeted by a good old fashioned East Anglian down pour?  A down pour, that could quite possibly change the how the game was played in terms of speed and the players chosen.

Unbeknown to us at this point in time Kenny had already done that and the resulting team sheet led to the usual questions being asked about the omission of two players.  These players were Martin Skrtel and Andy Carroll.  Now Martin I suspect was being rested with the view that he will be needed not only for the midweek game against Fulham but also the FA Cup Final on Saturday.  Andy, we were told has a slight groin strain, but I get the feeling there is a lot more to that than we are being told.

Revenge they say can be sweet if aimed in the right direction.  Today it was aimed at Liverpool Football Club who sixteen months ago had sacked Roy Hodgson due to dire football that he had got the team playing.

Today he marked his return to Anfield as manager of West Bromwich Albion.  Now West Bromwich are more suited to the style of play that Roy prefers and it is well known that they have made steady progress since his tenure began, but would that progress enable to them to beat Liverpool at Anfield for the first time since the mid-sixties was one of the questions on everybody's lips. 

The other of course was the type of reception that Roy would receive on his return to the club.  It has been well documented in the media about the so-called hatred aimed at Roy due to  him simply being the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time.

In the life of Liverpool Football Club, this season has been one of those that will be consigned to the history books for several different reasons.  We have watched as our beloved king, Kenny Dalglish has taken the brunt for things that many people believed he and he alone could have prevented.  That of course is totally untrue, as sometimes things can go out of control and in a perfect world, those above him should have stepped in and put a damage limitation exercise in place.  They did not, and ultimately it sent the club and the team into a backward spiral.

That backward spiral was brought to a head during last week when John Henry and Tom Werner flew into Liverpool, having decided between them that something had to be done about the failings of the team in the Premiership. A series of meetings were then set up at the Hilton Hotel and Kenny Dalglish along with Damien Comolli was asked to attend.  They were, it transpired both asked to explain why the signings that had cost so much money, had performed so badly on the pitch.

Now nobody apart from those within the hierarchy at Liverpool Football Club, were aware that John and Tom were already in the country - most of us believed that they would attend the FA Cup Semi Final - let alone that a series of meetings were taking place.  Meetings that if the media was to believed would take place once the current season had finished.

In January of last year things were looking very bleak for Roy Hodgson and Liverpool as their downward spiral continued and although the Kop had been calling for Kenny Dalglish to replace him, John Henry and Tom Werner had decided to stick with their manager in the hope that in the summer a younger man could be brought in.

With the fixture against Blackburn at Ewood Park everyone wondered if there would be a change in the team's fortunes or indeed would it be another wasted journey for those supporters who had bothered to travel.  It was the latter of course and as the team let the pitch after being beaten once more, it became evident that something had to be done and done quickly.

What none of us knew that evening was that three days later Roy Hodgson would depart and the man they call the King, Kenny Dalglish would return to his throne after being called home from a cruise.

Last week I asked I asked if the players still wanted to play for Liverpool Football Club.  Yesterday was the day that two of them proved to me that they do not.

The first of course is Andy Carroll who was returning to Newcastle for the first time, since the events of the 31st January 2011.  Events that most of us know should never have taken place because as yesterday finally proved; to buy a player in panic is a total waste of time and money.

Andy as we know has never really settled in and there have been a plethora of questions hanging over his head from the moment everyone learnt of the extortionate fee that was paid for him.  £35 million for a player that is only worth around £8 - £10 million (if that) was very good business move by Mike Ashley.