Liverpool 0-2 Tottenham: Lose but all smiles

Liverpool's hopes of Europa League qualification have been dealt a blow after Tottenham Hotspur claimed a 2-0 win at Anfield on Sunday afternoon.

Rafael van der Vaart put Spurs into the lead inside 10 minutes, seeing his volley take a slight deflection and sail into the top corner to cap an impressive opening by the visitors.

Luka Modric made it 2-0 from the penalty spot early in the second half after John Flanagan was harshly adjudged to have fouled Steven Pienaar with a shoulder barge just inside the box - though TV replays proved initial contact occurred outside of the area.

The result means the Reds must now better Tottenham's result against Birmingham at White Hart Lane next Sunday when they travel to Aston Villa if they're to finish fifth in the Barclays Premier League and qualify for Europe.

Despite a heavy pre-match downpour, a carnival atmosphere greeted kick-off inside Anfield following Thursday's news Kenny Dalglish had signed a three-year contract to remain as the club's manager on a permanent basis.

The legendary Scot has helped mastermind a complete turnaround of Liverpool's fortunes since returning to the helm in January and headed into the contest knowing victory over the Londoners would assure his side of a fifth-place finish in the Barclays Premier League and entry into the Europa League next season.

Dalglish made just one change to the side that had dismantled Fulham on Monday with Andy Carroll replacing the injured Raul Meireles.

However, it was the visitors who made the more promising start as they looked to revive their own hopes of securing a Europa berth.

And their early pressure told when Van der Vaart fired them into a ninth-minute lead. Collecting a half-cleared Spurs corner on the edge of the box, the Dutchman controlled on his chest before dispatching a sublime volley beyond Pepe Reina via the aid of a nick off Glen Johnson.

Liverpool were struggling to get out of first gear and it took until the 23^rd minute for them to conjure up an attack of note, but Carroll mis-kicked on the edge of the box when attempting to connect with Maxi's lay off.

Soon after, only a spectacular diving header from Michael Dawson deep inside his own box prevented a Reds chance from Dirk Kuyt's dangerous centre. [Read more…]

Source: LiverpoolFC.tv

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Where Do We Go From Here?

Much has been said about Liverpool Football Club’s record 18 league titles won during its 119-year history. The undeniable fact had always been that those titles in addition to our 7 FA Cups and record 7 League Cups (known for now as the Carling Cup) has established us as English football’s most successful club of all time. It’s given us unending pride as fans of the club, and has been the biggest consolation throughout the last 20 years of not winning the title. The ability to say that no other club in England had been able to overtake us despite being unable to win it for 20 years had inspired such strong feelings of great self-esteem and comfort in us, that it was almost intoxicating.

However, the time soon approaches where we can no longer roost proudly on this lofty pedestal. Manchester United - fiercest rivals for the longest time, fellow Lancashire residents and perennial claimants to being the most famous club in the world - will overtake Liverpool’s glorious tally of 18 league titles for the first time in history this season, if they secure at least a draw against Blackburn this weekend. I won’t need to go into much detail as to how this makes me feel - losing the right to claim be England’s most successful football club is heartbreaking, especially since we have taunted United for decades about our superiority thus far. United supporters now love to point out how Liverpool fans had told them in 1994, to come back when they had won 18 titles too. Now they have, and are almost about to overtake us. To think that in 21 years we have never made the feat any harder for them is a hard pill to swallow and a tougher thing to swallow in the days ahead will be our considerable and decades-old pride. That Man United can win twelve titles in the years since our last title is an appalling fact that surely rankles with the most die-hard of Reds.

In a way, this is a small test of supporters’ faith in the club. United winning their 19th title ahead of us tests the foundations of our faith in the club in each of our hearts. Having faith and belief in a football club is like constructing and expanding a building - the stronger the foundations, the more unshakeable the faith; the older the architecture, the more valuable and cherished it is. As such, those of us whose hearts have buildings that are proud monuments with well-placed foundations that have been strengthened over time, will suffer little from this earthquake; whereas the weaker architectures in some fans’ hearts will make them question their allegiance to Dalglish’s army. But one of the few advantages to dark times is that the faint of heart can be separated from the strong-willed, with greater ease. Personally, I prefer to have fewer of these yellow bellied fans supporting our club and it helps ensure the “purity” of our fan base. Liverpool fans are the best in the world - it’s been said before by the likes of Maradona and Cruyff - and the best fans must have the best spirit. One true measure of a fan is how much they would support the club during its fruitless times, not just the glory days. And in the days ahead where United could have more titles than us, we must stand by the club and uphold its values as much as we have for the decades past where we have been the emperors of English football. If our fans were to consist of glory hunters alone, we’d have been defunct as a club by now. The fact that we haven’t won a title in 21 years but are still one of the most followed clubs in the world means that while we won’t have as many fans as Man United (whose incredible number of glory hunting fans continues to appals me), we can be confident of the fact that the many million fans we do have are proud to walk on through the wind and the rain though their dreams be tossed and blown.

It’s time to look ahead. Nothing can be done about United overtaking us. The past is set in stone - unchangeable and undeniable. We have relied on this deniability to throw our brilliance of days gone by into the faces of our rivals; and we must similarly utilise it to help us realise that while we cannot change the past, we can definitely add on to the past’s triumphs. And the future, right now, looks bright. As I started writing this article, news broke out that the Anfield boardroom have (FINALLY!!!!) signed Kenny Dalglish to a 3-year deal as manager of the squad. The King has returned to the throne, in a fashion as dramatic as Viggo Mortensen in The Return Of The King. Dalglish’s second kick at the management ball has been talked about and discussed at great length - and the reason for this, is that is has been an incredibly successful one, with only Chelsea picking up more points in the league since Dalglish took charge in the first weekend of January. This run has seen us hand Man United their most convincing defeat of the season, beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, beat Man City more comprehensively than when they beat us under Hodgson, thrash our bogey team Birmingham by a resounding 5-0 score line and end the season unbeaten against Arsenal. That’s positive results obtained against each of the top 4 and if we beat Tottenham on Sunday, we will have gotten points off each of the 5 teams above us in the table - four of which were unquestionable victories.

Results aside, what is exciting the Kop more than these aforementioned results (if that is possible) is the swashbuckling style in which Dalglish has had us obtaining them. We have been scoring goals for fun, keeping clean-sheets with ease, and we seem to be able to bring players in and take some out without affecting our final results. Additionally, we’ve flirted with different formations - and within each formation, every offensive player has been given a freedom to express themselves and rotate positions in a way that hasn’t been seen at Liverpool since the days of John Barnes, Steve Heighway, John Aldridge and Ian Rush. And most importantly, the players seem much more motivated to perform well and there is a deliberation and intensity to their approach that had been missing under Roy Hodgson and (sadly) the last few months of Rafael Benitez’s reign. Credit must go to Steve Clarke here as much as it does to Kenny Dalglish. The former Mourinho right hand man at Chelsea was signed by Dalglish as a first team head coach immediately after Kenny himself had signed on. In all my years as a fan, I’ve never seen Liverpool players mention in interviews a coach’s contribution to training as much as they have done for Clarke. Dalglish himself was eager to give as much credit to Clarke as himself, in the press conference made to announce the 3-year deals (which Clarke had signed as well). Clearly, Steve Clarke has been instrumental in the breathtaking football Liverpool have been playing lately.

A truly wonderful thing to see lately has been Dalglish’s introduction of the club’s youngsters into the first team this season. Martin Kelly, Jay Spearing, Jonjo Shelvey, John Flanagan and Jack Robinson have all been great beneficiaries of Dalglish’s placement of faith in the Academy players. It is worthy to note that they are all English players, with all but one of them from Merseyside. Jay has featured in nearly all of Dalglish’s games for which he had been fit and has looked a brilliant player alongside Lucas at the heart of the midfield. Jonjo, Flanno and Robbo are the younger of the set; but whenever Jonjo has been called to action he has shown desire, commitment and quality passing.  Flanno has been composed and slotted in well on the right side of defence, and has even shown quality at left back in the last two games. And Robbo has done at least as good a job as Flanno has in his two appearances for the club this season. In fact, the impact made by Robbo and Flanno in defence has made us almost forget about the best one of them all, Martin Kelly. To be fair, it was Rafael Benitez and Roy Hodgson who gave Kells his first true opportunities in the first team, against Lyon and Chelsea at Anfield - but it can also be said that Kelly’s best showings came under Dalglish, most particularly at Stamford Bridge when he played a bit further forward. But all in all, these 5 youngsters have been a strong testament to the work being done at the Academy, and we can all look forward to seeing them and hopefully a few others (Conor Coady, Raheem Sterling, Suso, Brad Smith and hit-man Adam Morgan come to mind) in the first team in the near future.

Another positive sign for the future is Andy Carroll. The big Geordie has played only 4 league games for the club, but the 2 goals he scored for us in that time have demonstrated the sheer quality and potential we now have at Anfield. His first goal was a sublime strike which is fast becoming a trademark of his and he has scored similar goals for England and Newcastle (remember his goal against us on December 11th?), and his second goal was a clear indication of the impressive aerial threat his physique provides. We haven’t had an aerial threat that imposing since Peter Crouch (Kyrgiakos aside, as he’s a defender). The fact that Big Andy is only 22 years old this year makes him a signing of such immense potential that the prospects are mouth watering. Another aspect of signing Carroll has been the size of his transfer fee. Big Andy is now our record signing at 35 million pounds, and this is important because it shows that the new owners John W. Henry and FSG were willing to break the bank to sign quality players for the club - which is what every Liverpool supporter had wanted to see from the Americans. Whether they will do it again this summer, we shall see.

Saving the best for last, the best thing to look forward to next season (now that Dalglish has signed on for the long term) is the astute, speedy, hard working and simply incredible Luis Suarez. I will not spend any time talking about his controversies with Ajax and the Uruguay national side, because the only controversy he’s caused at Liverpool thus far has been about why he was not signed earlier. If ever the word “selfless” could be used to define an international-level world class striker, it would be used to define Luis Suarez. Hat-tricks for Dirk Kuyt and Maxi Rodriguez (2) came about largely because of Suarez’s assists and efforts, and the scorers themselves credited Suarez for his set-ups. No better example of this exists than when he set up Kuyt’s opener against United; in a series of moves, dribbles and sidesteps that flummoxed the entire United defence and goalkeeper for Kuyt to simply just tap it in. When Suarez sets off, nothing can stop him except a petulant foul or a poor finish. His pace is electrifying (ask Fulham’s defence), his movements dumbfounding (ask Manchester United’s defence), his work rate tireless (ask Newcastle’s defence) and his selflessness heart-warming (ask any Liverpool fan). Purists would hate to admit it, but Suarez was bought as a replacement for Fernando Torres. How unfair has that been to Luis? For instead of replacing him, he’s gone and outshone him completely. Torres was never selfish, but he was not selfless like Suarez; Torres’ work rate does not compare to Suarez’s; Torres’ ball control and sharp movements are lethal, but still inferior to Suarez’s; and Suarez is most definitely faster than Torres ever was. Torres moved to another club within the league and scored just one goal in 12 league appearances, whereas Suarez came in from a far inferior league to notch up 4 goals in his first 11 appearances and neutrals everywhere will agree that Luis deserved plenty more. Many people said that replacing Kevin Keegan had seemed impossible, but it had been done immediately with Kenny Dalglish in a manner that made Kopites forget about Keegan. It seems like Liverpool Football Club have managed to do that again with Luis Suarez. Fernando who?

So where do we go from here? Onward. We have a bright future ahead of us, but we must remember that it is a bright potential future. We must grab the bull by the horns and take the initiative like never before to finally win ourselves the title again or at least secure a Champions League spot. We must tap that burgeoning potential. We have plenty of encouraging signs and good omens, but we must compound that with effective football and positive results. If we do, then with the resources already at our disposal (and a few more class signings), we shall be back amongst the silverware soon enough.

Written by Govind Nayar, who blog at http://govindnayar.tumblr.com/

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Fulham Match Report

MATCH REPORT
Liverpool going into this Monday night match on a tremendous run of form hoping to keep it going at Fulham as they chase a European place. Never an easy place to go to especially this season as they are unbeaten at home in the League this season. Fulham gave Liverpool a very tough match at Anfield earlier in the season as Dalglish recorded his first victory since his return to Anfield with an own goal being the winning goal that night. Fulham also went into the game with a good victory last weekend so confidence with both sides was high.

THE TEAM
With Liverpool having no new injury worries and no players on the injured list back to fitness left Dalglish with an unchanged side from last weeks win over Newcastle. So Flanagan extended his run in the side this time at left-back with Johnson switched to the right-back position. The ever improving engine room of Lucas and Spearing also started and the free-scoring Maxi kept his place in the team. Andy Carroll still unfit to start as Suarez and Kuyt provide the firepower.

THE MATCH
There are good starts to a match and for Liverpool they couldn't have dreamt of a better start when they took the lead inside the first minute, Lucas played a great pass down the left freeing Suarez whose deflected cross was kicked clear by Schwarzer only to find Maxi who smashed the ball home continuing his goal scoring streak.

After taking the lead on 32 seconds Liverpool went for the jugular as Fulham were reeling and they doubled their lead on 7 minutes when once again Lucas sent a defence splitting pass through to Johnson who crossed perfectly to the back post for Maxi to volley into the bottom corner of Schwarzer's net.

Liverpool were rampant now as they dominated proceedings and hemmed Fulham into their own half. Next came a claim for a penalty when Suarez raced behind the Fulham defence only to be impeded by Hangeland as the big defender was caught out, but appeals were waved away.

Then on 16 minutes Liverpool made it three when Kuyt shot low from just outside the box, it should have been a comfortable save for Schwarzer but he uncharacteristically let the ball squirm through him and into the net.

Spearing and Lucas were dominant in midfield and Suarez was virtually unplayable tying the Fulham defenders in knots at times and he almost made it four when he turned Hangeland down the left before firing wildly from close range.

The next chance was created by a good throw from Reina sending Suarez on his way before teeing up Maxi who volleyed into the stands as he looked for his second hat-trick in three matches.

Fulham were unlucky not to pull a goal back as they witnessed Johnson making a great clearance off the goal line from Dempsey.

So Liverpool went in at half-time three goals up and hoped to keep their good form going in the second half.

But early in the second half Liverpool were dealt another injury blow when Meireles had to be replaced by Shelvey. Fulham came out more like the team that has remained unbeaten at home this season as they pressed Liverpool into their own half.

Dempsey had a shot from 20 yards but it flew over Reina's bar. But in the 57th minute Fulham got a goal back when substitute Zamora set-up Dembele who curled a shot beyond Reina from just inside the box, it was only what Fulham deserved.

Zamora then had a header cleared off the line as Fulham felt the game was far from over after getting a goal back.

But the fightback was short lived when in the 70th minute Maxi got his hat-trick with a great strike into the top corner from 25 yards. It took the wind out of Fulham and Liverpool made it five in the 75th minute when Shelvey split the defence with a perfect pass to Suarez and he danced round Schwarzer before passing the ball into the net. It was just reward for his outstanding performance.

With the game now finished as a contest Fulham snatched a late consolation when Sidwell hit a 25 yard strike into Reina's top right hand corner giving the Spaniard no chance. But it could not take the gloss off a magnificent performance from Liverpool.

SUMMARY
I thought we would only come away with a draw from Fulham as their home form has been superb and I certainly was not expecting us to grab such a convincing win as this. I heard you could have got odds of 250-1 on predicting this score line. But obviously the early couple of goals were paramount in the performance and really set the team up for another great performance. The pressure and work rate  we put Fulham under in the first half was impressive as Dalglish continues to have us pressing higher up the park and putting teams under pressure. Spearing and Lucas were dominant in midfield and some of their passing was a joy to watch, Lucas set up the first two Liverpool goals with passes from midfield. Like most people I can't believe the form of Maxi who has now scored 7 goals in his last 3 matches. Suarez was a constant threat as the Fulham defence struggled to deal with his movement and he deserved his goal. It really was one of the best performances of the season if not the best and I'm just disappointed that we are at the end of the season.

Man Of The Match -  Luis Suarez - I thought he was outstanding, his movement his constant threat and the Fulham defence couldn't live with him. Great finish too.

YNWA

Written by Jamie McLaughlin, who blog at http://theliverword.blogspot.com/

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All hails the King: Kenny Dalglish kops three year deal

Anfield legend confirmed as permanent Liverpool manager.

Kenny Dalglish has signed a new three-year contract as Liverpool manager.

The Scot has been rewarded with an extended deal having taken over in January in a caretaker role after Roy Hodgson was sacked in January.

Dalglish and assistant manager Steve Clarke, who has also been handed a three-year deal, have lifted the club from the lower reaches of the table to their current position in fifth.

Dalglish, who was initially given the job until the end of the current campaign, has signed a three year deal with the Reds. It was also announced that First Team Coach Steve Clarke has put pen to paper on a three year contract.

   “Kenny is a legendary Liverpool figure both as a supremely gifted footballer and successful manager. Since returning in January he has shown extraordinary leadership and the ability to bring the best out of so many people associated with the Club. It was obvious to us very early on that the atmosphere surrounding the Club had been transformed by his presence. No one else could have produced such a response. Therefore, I'm delighted we have agreed to a new contract. We didn't need nor want to look elsewhere for the right man to manage the team.

“Working closely with him, we've seen first-hand his love for the Club and his determination to do whatever is necessary to produce a winning side again. He has a unique relationship with our supporters and embodies everything that is special about the Liverpool way of doing things. Liverpool enjoys a global standing within the sport, but having Kenny in the dug-out will help us in our efforts to bring the best available talent to the Club as we continue to move the club forward.

“I'm also pleased we have reached an agreement with Steve Clarke, as his contribution to Kenny's backroom team has been significant over the past four months.” - Principal Owner John Henry.

He has overseen a dramatic improvement in results, with the Merseysiders climbing to fifth in the Premier League from mid-table mediocrity having strung together some impressive performances.

While people outside of the game may have doubted Dalglish's credentials having spent a decade out of management, FSG insists to always had faith the Scot would work his magic and transform the fortunes of the Reds.

   “It was extremely important that we enjoyed a period of stability after some difficult times and Kenny has done a tremendous job over the last three months in bringing the whole Club back together. It's clear how much the players have responded to his leadership, his man management skills and knowledge of the game and that sense of optimism now runs throughout the Club. We have a clear vision of the way a Liverpool team should play and the way the Club should be run and Kenny's inspirational effect on the senior squad and his keenness to involve and feature the younger players from our Academy set-up sits perfectly with that way of thinking.” - Chairman Tom Werner.

The Reds have enjoyed a rapid rise up the league table since Dalglish's return back in January, with only Chelsea sitting above them in the form table over the second half of the campaign.

   “I think we are most pleased for the fans. Bill Shankly once said 'Liverpool was made for me and I was made for Liverpool' and although it's not very often you can compare anything about Shankly with anyone else, I think in this case it is befitting of Kenny.” - Managing Director Ian Ayre.

As well as enjoying much-improved results over recent months, the style of football and attacking intent to win games has also pleased Reds' fans, all of whom will be thrilled with Kenny's permanent appointment.

But Comolli is keen to stress this isn't a decision merely to appease the fans' clamour for the return of King Kenny.

   “It is definitely the right decision and is based on what's happening on the pitch and not taking anything else into consideration.

“The game on Monday was just the perfect example of what we want. It was a perfect evening of great football, great movement, great attacking and five goals.

“This is the tradition of the club. When you're talking about the playing and coaching philosophy, this is what we want. If you see us from U13 through to the first team, it's the same idea and same way of thinking.

“Sometimes games are so tight at the top level that the manager has to make the right decision, the right substitution or the right tactical decision which is going to win the game. Players know each other so well that the intensity of the game and the concentration is so high that sometimes the change you make can make the difference. Kenny has shown several times since he came back that he is able to do that.” – Director of Football Damien Comolli.

Enough said. Now everybody, please rise and all hails the King!

Source: LiverpoolFC.tv

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The King’s Confirmation

At last the news that every Liverpool supporter had been waiting for, Kenny Dalglish today signed a three year contract to manage Liverpool Football Club. To be honest it had to happen, there would have been a lynching of the new owners if they chose somebody else for the job.

Kenny as we all know has legendary status at Liverpool but not even his greatest fan could have anticipated the impact and improvement in such a short space of time with him in charge. It was a tremendous decision at the time by the new owners to bring him back as the club was floundering under the leadership of Hodgson, they gave Hodgson time but things were not working and he had to go and Kenny was the only man that could have steadied the ship.

Dalglish has lifted the whole club, supporters and most importantly the players since his arrival. So many supporters myself included thought our squad of players was not good enough and needed a major overhaul in the summer, but a few months down the line and I'm not so sure that we need to bring in as many players as I thought.

The style of play Dalglish has installed into the team with the famous pass and move style which every player seems so confident to play is like a breath of fresh air. The work rate Dalglish demands of his players to press high up the park is respected by the Anfield faithful as we the supporters want to see our team give 100%.

Kenny is integrating the youngsters into the first team which we have not seen for a few years now. There are so many positives in Dalglish's short time back in charge that for the first time in a while we believe we could actually challenge once again for honours.

I like the way the new owners work they were always going to give Kenny the job on a permanent basis but they were not going to be rushed into any announcement or decision until they were ready. Even with the constant demands from the supporters and the media to give Dalglish the job they waited until the time was right and that was today.

Its so good to finally hear the confirmation today and I don't think we could have a better man to lead us back to the glory days and knock Manchester United off their perch. Kenny has proved that although he has been out of the game for a while that he hasn't lost it. We can all look forward to next season with a renewed optimism.

YNWA

Written by Jamie McLaughlin, who blog at http://theliverword.blogspot.com/

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