Dalglish's Dignity Destroyed

How long before we see football making headlines for what happens on the pitch? Yesterday Spurs hammered Newcastle, Norwich and Swansea served up an end-to-end goalfest and, almost unnoticed, Manchester United defeated their arch-rivals Liverpool with two strikes from the in-form Wayne Rooney. Sadly scandal and outrage have once more undermined the efforts of the players to entertain fans growing increasingly tired of seeing the game’s name dragged through the mud.

After weeks of racism, court cases, captaincy rows and red cards, the stage was set for Old Trafford to remind us why it is that football is known as the ‘beautiful game’. Instead, we were served up an ugly and undignified mess which looks set to prolong and exacerbate the mutual enmity between two of the Premier League’s biggest clubs.

All it would have taken was a gesture: a brief touch of flesh on flesh which might have doused the flames of this most combustible fixture. Instead, Luis Suarez’s immaturity ignited the tinderbox and his manager poured fuel on the flames.
Despite myopic Liverpool fans’ protestations there is only one person to blame for the non-handshake: Suarez. His decision to ignore Evra’s offered hand was immature, idiotic and, worse of all, premeditated. Certainly Kenny Dalglish, had seemed convinced the player would make the important gesture: Suarez knew otherwise and, in an instant, undermined his manager and his once-proud club.

Perhaps Dalglish’s fervent and misguided support of the player was inspired partly by embarrassment and anger at him – he certainly lost his cool in a way rarely seen from a man more usually associated with taciturn and monotone post-match interviews. Sadly his reaction was inevitable after the tunnel-visioned support he has offered his player throughout this whole farrago.

From the very outset, Dalglish has fostered a siege mentality which has seen Liverpool FC close ranks to protect their player. In the Scotsman’s eyes, the criticism of Suarez has become a witch-hunt – a media conspiracy propagated by Sky Sports News and designed to deliberately harm and hound his controversial striker. This view is utter nonsense, of course. Suarez is under such scrutiny thanks only to his profile, his behaviour and his refusal to apologise to a man he wronged.

Kenny Dalglish’s half-baked conspiracy theories hold absolutely no water. And he has absolutely no evidence to back them up. When the FA released the water-tight 115 page document proving Suarez to have racially abused Evra, Dalglish hinted that the full truth had not been heard. But he failed to provide the required evidence to prove Suarez’s innocence. And given the club’s utter conviction of his innocence it seems strange that they didn’t lodge any form of appeal.

Instead, we’ve seen ill-advised T-shirts in support of Suarez, heard Dalglish welcome Suarez back from his spell on the sidelines by insisting that “he should never have been out in the first place” and now, an absolutely astonishing post-match attack on Geoff Shreeves, Sky Sports and anyone who would listen. Daniel Taylor summed it up brilliantly in The Observer: “outraged by everything, ashamed of nothing”.

His strident defence of his player was shocking and appalling. Pleading ignorance of Suarez’s refusal of Evra’s hand was silly at best. But furiously suggesting that Shreeves was “bang out of order for blaming Luis Suarez for anything that happened here today” was absurd beyond belief. Seeing one of the game’s greats acting in such a manner was hugely embarrassing – not least because he missed an ideal opportunity to take the sting out of the situation. All Dalglish needed to do was point out that Suarez’s actions didn’t help the atmosphere and that he’d have a word with the player in private. Instead, he fanned the flames.

Admittedly, Manchester United were not blameless. Evra’s celebrations at the final whistle were clearly cathartic – a massive pressure relieved in front of his own fans – but were certainly over the top and hardly likely to calm the situation. Sir Alex Ferguson rightly criticised the left back.

The United manager did go over the top in his criticism of Suarez, however. Having kept his counsel for so long, he then exploded. He was clearly incensed by the striker’s conduct during the day but his suggestion that Suarez ought never play for Liverpool again was an area he ought to have kept his nose out of. Dalglish neither wants nor needs Ferguson’s attempts to destabilise Liverpool FC – he’s doing a good enough job all on his own.

Man Utd 1-0 Liverpool

The triumphant return of King Kenny proved to be something of a damp squib as a contentious penalty decision took the sting out of a potentially combustible encounter at Old Trafford. United were awarded a penalty with just 31 seconds on the clock as Dimitar Berbatov crumpled under minimal contact from Daniel Agger. It was a silly challenge on the touchline with the striker going nowhere and there remains some debate about whether there was even a touch on the Bulgarian. Either way, the current climate will see a player hit the deck any time a player hangs out a leg – and so it proved as Berbatov went sprawling. Ryan Giggs duly despatched the spot-kick.

The half could have ended as spectacularly as it started as the much maligned Jonny Evans – who grew into the game as it went on – smashed a header against the post from a flighted corner kick. It would perhaps have been harsh on Liverpool who had weathered United’s early possession effectively and might even argue that they’d enjoyed the better chances. But in truth it was a scrappy forty-five minutes with nobody covering themselves in glory.

Dalglish won instant credit from the travelling fans by dropping Paul Konchesky from the match-day squad. But his creditable decision to restore Steven Gerrard to an attacking position off Fernando Torres was sadly doomed to failure once the Liverpool captain launched himself into a reckless two-footed challenge on Michael Carrick. Admittedly the ball was there to be won, but Gerrard was off the floor, out of control and clattered into the United midfielder. Only the most myopic Koppite could argue with Howard Webb’s decision.

With United in cruise-control following the interval, Dalglish sent Jonjo Shelvey and Ryan Babel into the fray. At last, the urgency which Liverpool had been lacking was injected into proceedings. A few purposeful runs and forays into Mancunian territory resulted in Fabio Aurelio sweeping a majestic kick towards the top-corner. Tomas Kusczcak was equal to it and turned it around the post.

The substitutions were certainly the catalyst required. Suddenly the game became stretched and Liverpool threatened sporadically. United, however, continued to create the better chances. Javier Hernandez flashed a header wide, Reina blocked Berbatov at close range and from the resulting corner a bout of pinball saw Reds defenders throwing themselves into brave blocks and sliding tackles. Reina ultimately tipped over from Patrice Evra and the danger passed. It will have been heartening for Liverpool fans to have seen a level of desire and commitment which was often missing (even with eleven men) under Roy Hodgson.

In the end, the writing was on the wall for Liverpool following that controversial early penalty. But the Reds’ display really does call into question their professionalism. The same players rarely expended so much energy under their previous manager and it doesn’t reflect well on them that a different face in the dugout elicited such a change in attitude. Carry on like this, however, and the Hodgson-induced malaise may soon be forgotten. United, meanwhile, were able to play within themselves and took the spoils without getting out of second gear - they stroll on unbeaten.

The Return of King Kenny

It’s extremely difficult to argue that Roy Hodgson should have kept his job at Anfield. His apologists would point out that the club was on the slide when he took over, that he has not had time to instil his methods and that he needed more support in the transfer market. They’d also point out that the departure of Liverpool’s finest central midfielders in years – Alonso and Mascherano – were instigated by his predecessor. But the bare facts are that he has failed to get the most from a talented bunch (which teams in the world wouldn’t like to take Gerrard, Reina or Torres on board?) and that under his management Liverpool have gone backwards alarmingly quickly – a sinking ship laden with dead weights like Christian Poulsen, Paul Konchesky and the washed up Joe Cole. Hodgson has been a dead man walking for quite some time and at least now the genial old gent of the game can take some time off and recharge his batteries.

And so to King Kenny. The return of the prodigal son. It’s a move laced with danger. Following his ill-fated spells at Newcastle and Celtic his stock has fallen. And after ten years out of the game he has been almost forgotten everywhere but Anfield. The game has changed significantly in that time and so have the players.

Dalglish’s first task is to negotiate a path into the fourth round of the FA Cup. It’s a no-lose situation for the returning Scotsman: nobody is expecting them to triumph against their old rivals. Get beaten and it’s Uncle Woy’s team. Triumph and he’ll be hailed as a genius. Perhaps his tactical input will be more inspiring than Hodgson’s rigid system. And he’ll almost certainly inspire the likes of Steven Gerrard (it’s a shame for the Reds that Jamie Carragher will be unavailable to represent his new manager on the pitch).

If the players are energised and inspired by Dalglish and provide any kid of improved performance, it does beg the question: what have they been playing at under Hodgson? Fernando Torres, for example, appears to have been playing with lead in his boots for the last five months. Admittedly drained after his World Cup winning exploits in the summer, he was eased back into the side and has subsequently failed to impress for half the season (an outstanding performance against Chelsea not withstanding). He’s not the only Red to have failed to stand up and be counted by any stretch of the imagination – just the highest profile. It’ll be a sad indictment of the Spaniard’s commitment to the cause if he raises his game under the stewardship of Dalglish when doing so under Hodgson might have rescued his club from a relegation fight.

As for the appointment of their former legend, what does that indicate about NESV’s long-term plan for their acquisition? Surely they don’t see Dalglish as manager for years to come? He can only be a short-term appointment – a fire-fighter until a more permanent figure can be installed in the Boot Room? But who would that be? Names like Owen Coyle and Jurgen Klopp have been linked – but they are far less proven than Hodgson was and certainly don’t have the trophy-winning pedigree which Houllier and Benitez brought to the job. Can they attract big name players in their current situation? Probably not. With European football unlikely to be on the agenda for Liverpool next season, things might get even worse before they get better...