Manager – Kenny Dalglish
Stadium – Anfield 45,362
2010/2011 – 6th
Liverpool began last season under Roy Hodgson, with the former Fulham manager entrusted to bring the glory days back to Anfield after a successful spell in charge of the West London side. He replaced Champions League winner Rafa Benitez, with some fans sceptical over his appointment after a long yet unglamorous managerial career. His start at Anfield proved to be a busy one, with Europa League qualification needed, causing a onrush of fixtures early on. Despite comfortably advancing through the rounds, the league was proving a different matter, in the first eight games of the Premier League season, Roy Hodgson’s men only managed to win once, at home to West Brom. This run of poor form saw Liverpool pick up 6 points out of a possible 25 and included defeats to newly promoted Blackpool, arch rivals Everton and a cup exit at the hands of League Two club Northampton Town, at Anfield. Unsurprisingly, Liverpool fans were not satisfied and the pressure mounted of Hodgson as they entered the busy Christmas period. Many people questioned Hodsgon’s transfer policy as big name players on even bigger wages such as Joe Cole, Paul Koncheskey, Christian Poulsen and Milan Jovanovic failed to perform, if they were even selected, as they warmed the Anfield bench. As the New Year came about, Liverpool found themselves in 9th, one of their highest positions all season. However, a 3-1 defeat at Blackburn Rovers, after losses against Newcastle and Wolves, sealed Hodgson’s fate, as he left via ‘mutual consent’. Kenny Dalglish took over for the remainder of the season, in his second spell at the club, and saw his side lose 1-0 at Old Trafford in the F.A Cup in his first game in charge. Despite following this with a 2-1 defeat at Blackpool, Liverpool then went on to win ten of their last 17 games, including victories over Chelsea, Man Utd and Man City. This run of good form saw Liverpool secure a total of 36 points out of a possible 51, seeing them rise to sixth place. A player, who alongside Kenny Dalglish was seen to influence Liverpools season massively, was Luis Suarez. Signed from Ajax for £22million alongside £35million Andy Carroll, Suarez scored 4 goals in his 13 appearances, most notably ripping Manchester United to shreds alongside Dirk Kuyt at Anfield in the 3-1 win. Suarez has been welcomed by Liverpool fans as the perfect replacement for £50million striker Fernando Torres who jumped ship to Chelsea in January. The end of season form proved priceless to the reds, as they marched to a 6th place finish. Without the distraction of Europe and the huge investment made in the club over the past 6 months, the potential of this club is beyond doubt, with only time able to truly say how King Kenny’s second season pans out
2011/2012 Highlights – Return of King Kenny, form of Luis Suarez, Lucas and Dirk Kuyt as well as the strong end to the season.
2011/2012 Lowlights – Poor start under Roy Hodgson, Cup exits at first hurdles against Northampton Town and Man Utd. Disappointing Europa League exit to Braga.
What to expect in 2011/2012.
Already this summer, under the full time management of Kenny Dalglish, Liverpool have spent in excess of £50million. This large sum of money, on top of the £50million spent on Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez in January has proved to be a huge investment by the American owners, pleasing the Anfield faithful. The current batch of Liverpool’s squad has been brought together with the help of new director of football Damien Comolli. Comolli who previously worked at Tottenham Hostpur is regarded as an imperative part of the foundation at Anfield, and has already transformed Liverpool’s transfer policy. With the level of talent in the new squad so high, after the introduction of introduction of Charlie Adam and England internationals Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson, Liverpool are miles ahead of any other Premier League side in the transfer market as they look to win their 19th league title. To further fuel their title ambitions, Liverpool will not be competing in Europe next year, and will therefore have an upper hand on their rivals who may be distracted. In my opinion, Liverpool will not only challenge for the league title, they will also succeed in either of the domestic cup competitions. This upcoming season for Kenny Dalglish’s men is proving to be an exciting one, as he shapes his squad for an assault on Manchester United’s championship. The potential within the Anfield camp is frightening, with the last five signings costing more than £100million. With so much investment made, Chairman Tom Werner will expect a successful return this season, increasing the pressure on Dalglish to get his squad to gel and play as a team consistently in the forthcoming campaign.
Signings –
Charlie Adam, Blackpool - £8million
Jordan Henderson, Sunderland - £20million
Stewart Downing, Aston Villa - £22million
Alexander Doni, AS Roma – Free
Marco Bueno, Pachuca – Undisclosed
Nacho, Albacete - Undisclosed
Other potential targets –
Jose Enrique, Newcastle United - £8million
Scott Dann, Birmingham City - £8million
Gary Cahill, Bolton Wanderers - £10million
Leighton Baines, Everton - £10million
James McCarthy, Wigan Athletic - £10million
Emilio Izaguirre, Celtic - £7million
Aly Cissokho, Lyon - £12million
Lee Cattermole, Sunderland - £8million
Christian Eriksen, Ajax - £15million
Elijero Elia, Hamburg - £11million
Departures -
Paul Konchesky, Leicester City – Undisclosed
Peter Gulacsi, Hull City – Loan
Stephen Darby, Rochdale – Loan
Chris Mavinga, Rennes - £1million
Other potential departures –
Alberto Aquilani, Juventus/Fiorentina/AC Milan/ Sunderland – Loan/£12million
Joe Cole,WestHam/Tottenham/QPR/Hamburg – Loan/£3million
Jonjo Shelvey, Blackpool – Loan
Raul Meireless, Juventus/Inter Milan - £14million
Christian Poulsen, FC Copenhagen - £4million
Jay Spearing, Newcastle/Wolves – Loan/£4million
Milan Jovanovic, Al-Shaab/Anderlecht – Free
David N’Gog, Wigan Athletic/ Sunderland/Aston Villa - £6million
Possible Starting XI’s
4-3-2-1
Reina
Kelly, Carragher, Skretl, Johnson
Adam, Lucas, Gerrard
Kuyt, Suarez
Carroll
Alternative, If Aly Cissokho/ Jose Enrique is signed
4-3-2-1
Reina
Johnson, Carragher, Skretl, Cissokho/Enrique
Meireless, Lucas, Gerrard
Suarez, Downing
Carroll
Change In formation/personel
4-2-3-1
Reina
Johnson, Carragher, Agger, Cissokho/Enrique
Lucas, Gerrard
Kuyt, Suarez, Downing
Carroll
Second XI
4-3-2-1
Doni
Kelly, Kyrgiakos, Agger, Aurelio
Meireless, Aquilani/Spearing, Henderson/Adam
Cole, Rodriquez
N’Gog
Prediction
2nd
The upcoming season for Liverpool is proving to be a very exciting one. Their pre-season tour of Asia has attracted a lot of attention with some exciting, high scoring games, as they add flair and creativity to the already solid foundations at Anfield. I personally feel that under Dalglish Liverpool will be able to mount a serious title challenge, especially due to no European football at Anfield this season. Without the added distraction and pressure of Europe, the squad will be able to stay fresh and dedicate more of their energy into the Premier League title push. Not only do I feel that Dalglish’s men will challenge for the title, but I can also see them winning, if not doing well in the domestic cups. Big money may have been spent on big name players, but if all of the new arrivals play to their full potential, there is no reason why Liverpool can’t win the Premier League title this season. In my opinion, Liverpool will end the upcoming season with a piece of silverware, if not more.