Year Zero

      39-year old Brendan Rodgers aims for a cultural revolution at Anfield

And so, it has come to this. 22 years after Kenny Dalglish left his throne vacant, with Liverpool still high upon the mountain top of world football, the Reds have been left staring at the dawn of a new, but uncertain, era after the second coming of the king failed to deliver the success of his first. Charged with the task of ushering the club into said era has been the youthful Brendan Rodgers, a man whose past is highlighted by, amongst other things, his tenure as a coach at Chelsea under Jose Mourinho, and whose obsession with ball retention has instantly made Liverpool a club to keep a keen eye on.

Though it had taken a terrible league position - their worst in 18 years - and some controversial, backlash inviting axe wielding - sacking King Kenny Dalglish was never going to be straightforward - to prompt them into making their most recent managerial appointment, in many ways, this is exactly where the club’s owners wanted the club to be.

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How will they fit in? - #26 Charlie Adam

       Adam starred for promotion side Blackpool before moving to Anfield

In the days leading up to Liverpool’s first pre-season friendly against Toronto FC, and right through the rest of their tour, each day we’ll be looking at one (in some cases two) of LFC’s outfield players plus Pepe Reina. After looking at Glen Johnson yesterday, today we turn to Scottish midfielder Charlie Adam.

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May’s most memorable from TheRunningRec

Kenny Dalglish saw his second coming reach an end, but an attempt at a fitting tribute was made. Didider Drogba ended his career on as high as note as possible. The Lakers bowed out of the Playoffs to a surging Thunder squad. Rajon Rondo went off with 44 points in a losing effort, but it’s the way he did it that was most impressive. While we wondered if Mark Teixeira benefited from a double standard in New York.

Kagawa conundrum

        Shinji Kagawa may force Manchester United into a tactical rethink

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Before shapes and formations are even considered, credit must be given where it is due for this latest transfer. For where they have failed in trying to convince Eden Hazard to come to Old Trafford, Manchester United have succeeded tremendously in landing Shinji Kagawa from Borussia Dortmund. And it’s not just that they’ve done it that’s impressive however, but how they’ve done it as well.

Like Bayern Munich a year before, United have gone in for a mercurial talent in the Bundesliga, sold the player on coming to the club, and in doing so, had the luxury of negotiating a fee without having to compete against anyone else. There was no chance of Manuel Neuer going anywhere but Munich last year, as the Red Devils well know, likewise, Kagawa was headed nowhere but Manchester once Sir Alex went hard for the player. 

Now that the pleasantries are over and done with, here comes the hard part. Where do Manchester United play him?

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Mersey misdirection

     Questions regarding Kenny Dalglish’s tactics have begun to proliferate

For fans of any club, when losses come on the bounce, they can provide a gut-wrenching feeling. But what consecutive defeats also tend to do, rather consistently, is cause a frenzy of reports, proclamations, and condemnation of clubs that are sure to be based on an isolated point in time, rather than the bigger picture.

When Arsenal were on a bad run, Arsene Wenger deserved to be sacked, and now that the Gunners have done better, he deserves to stay. A year ago Liverpool were in top 4 form under Kenny Dalglish, and he was undoubtedly the man to lead the Reds forward, now, after suffering six defeats out of seven, the gaffer should get the sack. Such is the rhetoric that has been shouted vehemently from some quarters, conveniently, after a sixth defeat in seven matches for the Reds. But while the focus has been on wins and losses, and a bad stretch of games that accounts for a short portion of the season, the bigger picture seems to be lost on some.

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godzillacomplex asked: What do you think of today's game? I'm not too surprised, nor do I really care. We're not going to get anything out of the league, and we already have Eurpoa. As long as we don't end up finishing like 15th or something, I don't care how this league season goes. I'm just glad Suarez scored. All I want is the FA Cup. And for Kenny, where do you stand on the debate that he should go? I think the only way we can rise to the top is with him. It's a step backwards if we sack him.

You’re spot on about this. The loss at Wigan means little to nothing to the grand scheme of things. Fans have already conceded that there will be no Champions League next year, so it would be self-contradicting for those same fans to throw fits about league games and position when the Europa League is already secured.

As a fan, it’s natural to want to see progress, and from that strand point there’s reason to be upset at this time, but the way fans are reacting just speaks of revisionist history. Contrary to popular belief, what Liverpool are going through right now is what every 4th spot contender (Spurs, Newcastle, Arsenal, & Chelsea) have gone through, which is a run of bad games.

The results against Sunderland, QPR (which was not so much a poor performance as much as it was a freakish meltdown) and Wigan are not representative of the whole season. When Dalglish speaks of the team progressing, who’s talking about the bigger picture, and the bigger picture is that, despite the poor purchases (and non-purchases for that matter), Liverpool are in fact a better team than they were last year. The results are obviously not showing it, but football is not black and white, and cannot be evaluated just by wins and losses. If defining a team’s merit was as simple as looking at the score sheet, we wouldn’t have hours of redundant sky sports coverage with pundits answering the same question after each game, “did such and such team deserve to win/lose?”

Having said that, the difference between Liverpool and the rest of the pack is that Liverpool, did not reap the full rewards of their good stretches. I.E. should Liverpool have gotten the wins they deserved in matches in which they were clearly the better team, (City, Fulham away, Wigan away, Blackburn, Norwich, Stoke away, etc.) they would be going through what Tottenham has experienced. A terrible, and inevitable run of form, but still in decent standing.

All in all, Dalglish, has done enough to stay on as manager. Contrary to what critics who try to diminish the League Cup victory (as shootout win against Cardiff) say, winning away to Stoke, beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge twice in 10 days (the second of which was on two days rest), and defeating Man city over two legs, with an away win at Eastlands, was as difficult a cup run as any team has gone through in both domestic cup, and was a massive achievement. The FA Cup could yet follow, and the league is a learning experiencing, if not for the players, than Dalglish himself. Some perspective is needed to understand the progress of Liverpool. When Dalglish speaks of the club making strides forward, it does not stem from delusion, rather consideration of all aspects at the club. The record sponsorship and kit deals, the signings of some of the World’s best youngsters, the lowering of the wage bill (though accomplished with terrible purchases), the improved defense, stable ownership, that’s progression on all fronts. That is progression of the brand.

Daglish should be on board this season, but what Damien Comolli will have to take a leading role in the recruitment of first team talent as the 2011 summer window was naive business, to say the very least. Paying 16m for a central midfielder only to use him on the right, while ostracizing a just as talented and younger player in Shelvey was wasteful. Planning to play 4-4-2 and spending 20m on a left winger only to not go out and purchase a right was bad planning, while they are not enough words in the English dictionary to describe how naive building the team around Andy Carroll was, let alone his purchase. Despite all this, Liverpool are not a bad team. They are more like a peculiar case. For all that everyone has said about big money busts, a few more inches off of some of those 20-odd woodwork shots would have them in a much better position.

All that is unimportant now. Liverpool should just worry about a few things; Focus on winning a double, integrate Sterling, Coates, and Shelvey, get Andy Carroll goals, get into the off season and take it from there.