So much has been made of Liverpool’s season thus far and the ups and downs have almost become predictable over the months. With the Hicks and Gillette shambles of a saga over and done with, can they secure fourth spot?
After a few months of Premier League action and turmoil at the club, they found themselves hovering precariously over the relegation zone. Some even considered the fact they could get relegated, but people with half a brain could see that was never going to happen.
Roy Hodgson brought what seemed like very average players to the club and in some cases, they were exactly that. Paul Konchesky’s shock move to Anfield has been cut short and he is perhaps where he belongs, in the Championship.
Hodgson in fairness was given a raw deal, the owners weren’t interested and neither were the players who he found hard to inspire, they didn’t seem to believe in him as a manager.
He is definitely more suited and comfortable in a team where they are classed as the ‘underdog’. This is now clear as he takes over a sinking ship in the form West Bromwich Albion.
No one would have known Raul Mereiles was secretly hiding a half decent player under his hundreds of tattoos and after the first five months of the season he is like a new signing. Kenny Dalglish’s epic return to the club has lifted every player and now they are on a roll.
The first thoughts that came to my mind when I heard of the ‘Kings’ return were mainly of what Kevin Keegan did on his return to Newcastle and after they lost to Blackpool, even the Kop feared the worse. The respect factor has been crucial (along with the new owners expanding wallet) in reviving what is still a great club.
They are on course to take fourth spot and are doing it with a spark that was missing for far too long, especially after beating Chelsea without Fernando Torres, Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll. You wouldn’t have thought Dirk Kuyt and Mereiles would even scratch the surface of Chelsea’s robust defence, but they did more than that.
The problem they face is that there are more big clubs to contend with, and lesser clubs refusing to be beaten.
It is difficult to see them beating Tottenham, Chelsea or Manchester City to fourth spot, but if they had King Kenny from the start, it would have been far more likely.