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24 Jul 2025 14:55:50
Is it just me or is anyone else loving this window, only problem is choosing favourite signing. Every few days there are new possibilities.
04 Aug 2025 11:05:40
Even if we get Isak, Wirtz is the most exciting for me. Really looking forward to seeing him play.
Liverpool Article 20 Jul 2025
Former Liverpool Managers - Part 12 - The King Of The Kop
Kenny Dalglish 30th May 1985 - 21st February 1991 & 8th January 2011 - 16th May 2012
It was on the 4th March 1951 in Dalmarnock, in the east end of Glasgow, that arguably Liverpool's greatest ever was born. He was initially brought up in the Milton area, to the north of the city, where he began playing as a goalkeeper while attending Miltonbank Primary School. Dalglish moved up to High Possil Senior Secondary School, where he won the inter-schools five-a-side and inter-year five-a-side competitions, and represented both Glasgow Schools and Glasgow Schoolboys. as well as being called up for Scotland Schoolboys. He was part of the team that went undefeated in a Home Nations Victory Shield tournament. He played as a right-half when making his debut at under-15 level for Scotland Schoolboys, scoring twice on his debut in a 4-3 win over Northern Ireland. His second game for them was against England, where he was referred to by The People newspaper as "a brilliant ball-player" in a 1-1 draw.
His family moved into a newly built tower block in Ibrox, overlooking Rangers ground, the team young Kenny had grown up supporting, in 1965. The following year he travelled down south for unsuccessful trials with two English clubs. The first was West Ham United where, according to Harry Redknapp, a session with the first team players saw them all stop and applaud him: "One of the lads laid a ball to him and it was like fast-forwarding through the next 20 years of British football - he took it perfectly, dropped a shoulder, turned and curled it into the far corner of the net. Our reserves didn't know what had hit them. Both sets of players just stopped and applauded."
The second of those trials was with Liverpool in August which ended after the young Dalglish turned down the chance to extend his trial period, telling the Reds that he had another trial lined up. He had played just one B team match against Southport Reserves in the Lancashire League, which Liverpool won 1-0. The truth was that the 15-year-old just wanted to get home in time to watch the Old Firm match that night!
It was less than a year later that Celtic assistant manager Sean Fallon visited Kenny and his parents at their home, which was decorated with Rangers-related pictures on the walls. It took him 3 hours to persuade the Dalglish family that the young Kenny should sign with Celtic, which did not please his wife Myra, who had been left outside in the car with their 3 kids while he just 'popped in' to get Kenny's signature on a playing contract. She was particularly annoyed as it was the couple's wedding anniversary!
Dalglish was sent off to Celtic nursery side Cumbernauld United for a season on loan. He scored 37 goals that season, also working as an apprentice joiner. Celtic's legendary manager Jock Stein wanted Kenny to spend a second season with Cumbernauld, but the youngster was determined to turn professional. It was Stein who backed down and the youngster joined Celtic's reserve team, which was nicknamed the Quality Street Gang due to all the highly rated players in it. A number of them, including Dalglish, Danny McGrain and Lou Macari, would go on to become Scottish internationals in time.
Early that season he made his competitive first-team debut for Celtic, coming on as a substitute in the second half of a 4-2 Scottish League Cup win over Hamilton Academical in September. The rest of the season he spent playing for the reserves but managed just 4 goals in 17 games. Dalglish was moved into midfield for the 1969-70 season with great success. The reserves won their league and cup double, with Kenny notching 19 goals in 31 games. He also managed to get 4 more first team appearances over the course of the season, but failed to get on the scoresheet, even when he made his first start in a 7-1 win over Raith Rovers in October 1969.
The following season he was in the stands during the January 1971 Old Firm match at Ibrox, witnessing the Ibrox disaster at first hand as 66 Rangers fans sadly lost their life. It did not stop him continuing to impress in the reserves, scoring 23 that season, as well as scoring in both legs of the Reserve Cup final against his boyhood club Rangers, as Celtic won it. The season did have a high point for him personally though as he played in a testimonial against Kilmarnock for long serving Killie midfielder Frank Beattie. Celtic won the game 7-2 and Dalglish scored 6 of the goals.
It was the 1971-72 season that Kenny broke into the first team properly, playing 53 games and scoring 29 goals as Celtic won the league for the 7th successive season. The first of his goals, and the first competitive first team goal for Celtic that Dalglish was to score, was at Ibrox Stadium against Rangers in August 1971. It was a penalty to complete the scoring in Celtic's 2-0 win. November brought him the first of his Scotland caps, as Tommy Docherty introduced him as a sub against Belgium in a 1-0 win in the qualifiers for the 1972 European Championships.
In the 1972-73 season Dalglish was Celtic's top scorer with 39 goals in all competitions. Celtic made it 8 league titles in a row. He also notched his first international goal in a 2-0 World Cup qualifier win over Denmark at Hampden Park. It was 9-in-a-row in the 1973-74 season, with Celtic also winning the cup to make it a double. The team also reached the semi-finals of the European Cup where they faced Atletico Madrid in games that have gone down in football folklore for Atleti's brutality. In the first leg in Glasgow, the Spanish side had 3 sent off and Dalglish later said of it that it was "without doubt the worst game I have ever played in as far as violence is concerned."
The summer was spent in West Germany playing in the 1974 World Cup for Scotland, but he did not give a good account of himself as the Scots were sent packing at the group stage, even though they remained undefeated. The year did improve for him personally as he married Marina in November. The football season ended without the elusive 10th league title in a row, something Celtic have still not managed to do to this day, but they did lift the Scottish Cup once more.
Dalglish was handed the club captaincy for the 1975-76 season, but it was not a successful one for the club under his leadership. That is not down to him though, as the manager, Jock Stein, was badly injured in a car crash and missed most of the season recuperating. Stein was back for the next season and the Celtic fans witnessed another league and cup double with Kenny scoring 27 goals in all competitions. It was to be his last in the hoops as he had decided it was time to move on: "I had to know if I could make it somewhere else," he explained. "I did not want to go through the rest of my life wondering what might have been without putting myself to the test."
That was music to the ears of Liverpool manager Bob Paisley, who had been chasing Dalglish's signature for a while to be the partner to Kevin Keegan. Unfortunately, Keegan was also moving on to SV Hamburg and Dalglish became his replacement rather than his partner, for a record transfer fee for the time of £440,000. He moved to Anfield with 320 appearances for Celtic and 167 goals, plus 5 Scottish league titles, 4 Scottish Cup wins and a Scottish League Cup in his trophy cabinet. Bill Shankly, who had failed to sign Dalglish after his trial, said: "It's the most unbelievable thing I've ever known, I would rather have quit and got out of the game altogether than sold a player of his brilliance."
His impact was almost immediate, as Dalglish scored on his league debut at Middlesbrough on 20th August 1977, just 10 days after he signed. Three days later, on his Anfield debut, Kenny made a big step towards replacing former hero Keegan in the hearts of minds of Liverpool fans as he scored again in a 2-0 win over Newcastle United. Later that season he did completely overtake Keegan when Liverpool faced Hamburg in the European Super Cup and Dalglish ran the game as Liverpool thrashed Hamburg, with Keegan, 6-0. In total, Kenny played 62 times that season and scored 31 goals, including the winner in the European Cup final at Wembley against Bruges.
Once again the national team brought him back down to earth with a bump as he travelled to Argentina with the 1978 World Cup team. It was a disaster for Scotland, who lost the opener 3-1 to Peru and winger Willie Johnston was sent home after failing a drugs test. A 1-1 draw with a very weak Iran side followed. They did finally get a win, a complete shock win, against Holland, with Dalglish scoring at last in a 3-2 win. The manager Ally McLeod was sacked after the tournament and Jock Stein was brought in to replace him. One of Stein's first acts as national team manager was to appoint Dalglish as captain. However, just 4 games later, three of which were defeats, Archie Gemmill was appointed team captain in his place.
Dalglish returned to Celtic Park that August, to play in a testimonial match for Jock Stein, but he was not received warmly at all, in fact he was soundly booed by the home fans, who were unhappy that he chose to leave. It did not seem to affect him too badly though, as he went on to score 21 league goals and win the FWA Footballer of the Year award for the 1978-79 season.
The Scotsman was an ever present in the Liverpool side until the 1980-81 season, when he missed his first league game since joining the club. He played in 34 of the 42 league games, but he only managed 8 goals as Liverpool surprisingly finished just 5th in the old Division 1. They did make up for it to a degree by winning the European Cup and Football League Cup that season. The 1981/82 season was back to normal, with Dalglish an ever-present as Liverpool won their 13th English league title, Dalglish's third. Dalglish had developed a deadly link up with Welsh striker Ian Rush, becoming more of a provider than a goalscorer, as he dropped deeper to take advantage of the space in behind Rush.
Scotland brought him more disappointment that summer in the World Cup, this time in Spain. Despite scoring in a 5-2 opening match win over New Zealand, his performance was so bad, by his own admission, that he was dropped to the bench for the second group match against Brazil. By the time he was brought on, Scotland were already 3-1 down. The final game was a 2-2 draw with the Soviet Union, but he never even made it on to the pitch.
That disappointment was quickly forgotten as Dalglish once again excelled for Liverpool in the 1982-83 season, as he helped the team to retain the league title with 18 league goals. He was once again named FWA Footballer of the Year and also chosen as the PFA Players' Player of the Year and won the Ballon d'Or Silver Award.
Joe Fagan replaced Paisley as Liverpool manager in 1983, but he was not to last long, telling the players on the eve of their European Cup final against Juventus in 1985 that he was retiring after the game. The Liverpool board had already chosen Dalglish to be his successor as a player-manager at the age of 34 years old. Unfortunately, the changeover took place after a tragedy in the Heysels Stadium, the second Dalglish had witnessed at a football match. Fighting broke out between the fans in a dilapidated stadium and as Juventus fans tried to flee a charge from Liverpool fans, a wall collapsed. 39 people died and 600 were injured. Despite the events, UEFA forced both teams to play the game, which Juve won 1-0, but it was a result that mattered nothing at that moment.
Dalglish's first signing was one that had eluded Bob Paisley previously, former Everton captain and Everton fan Steve McMahon from Aston Villa. Paisley had offered to double whatever Villa offered McMahon when he left Everton but he felt it would not be good to move straight across Stanley Park, despite leaving because of his anger at his treatment by the Toffees. McMahon became just the second man to ever captain both Everton and Liverpool, the first being Andrew Hannah way back in the 19th century.
Liverpool went on to win the league by 2 points from Everton, despite Dalglish picking himself just 21 times in the league. He did play in the final day away win over Chelsea and scored the only goal to win the league. He also started himself in the FA Cup final, when they once again beat Everton to win the club's first ever double. According to Mark Lawrenson, Dalglish "was still undeniably our best player".
In the 1986-87 season, he also made just 21 appearances, but looked to transition the team over to younger players. That season he played his final game for Scotland in November, a 3-0 win over Luxembourg in qualifying for Euro 88. Another last came in April, as he scored his last ever goal for Liverpool in a 3-0 home win over Nottingham Forest. Despite the late season arrival of John Aldridge, brought in to replace Ian Rush, who was heading off to Juventus in the summer, Liverpool finished the season without a trophy, losing the League Cup final to Arsenal 2-1.
Despite the loss of Rush, Dalglish put together a fear-inspiring attack for the 1987-88 season, as Peter Beardsley arrived from Newcastle United and John Barnes from Watford, to join Aldridge and Ray Houghton also came in early in the season from Oxford United. It was a completely new-style for Liverpool, no longer was it about possession and grinding down the opposition, this team had flair and were entertaining. It pretty much ran away with the league title from day one, going unbeaten in their first 37 matches in all competitions and lifted the trophy with 4 games still to play, Dalglish featuring just twice. It was not all good though as they suffered the biggest shock defeat in FA Cup final history to Wimbledon.
According to Paul Gascoigne, that summer Dalglish tried to sign him from Newcastle: "I was sitting with my dad and the the phone went and it was Kenny Dalglish first. He said, 'hi, it's Kenny Dalglish' and I looked at my dad, I went, 'dad, it's Kenny Dalglish!' He said, 'I want you to play for Liverpool,' so I spoke to him for half an hour and I put the phone down. And my dad said, 'what did he say?' and I went, 'dad, to be honest, I did not understand a word that he said!' My dad called me an 'f-ing idiot!'"
While Gascoigne may not have understood Dalglish, journalists understood him well enough (though failed to spot his tongue firmly in his cheek) to quote him that Ian Rush had said being in Italy was like living in a foreign country as the Welsh striker returned to Liverpool. It has become a quote that still dogs Rush to this day, despite him never actually saying it.
The 1988-89 season was one that will live forever in the minds and hearts of Liverpool fans, for all the wrong reasons sadly, with even a Wembley win over Everton in the FA Cup final being largely forgotten. This season will forever be remembered for two things, one a real world disaster as the Hillsborough disaster took 97 Liverpool fans from us during the FA Cup semi-final match against Nottingham Forest. That left the club shut down in mourning and all games postponed as it tried to come to terms with what had happened. When they were ready to restart playing, the postponed matches had to be shoehorned into a very short space of time, leaving the players with no chance for rest and recovery. Even so, no one could have expected or predicted the final day against Arsenal at Anfield, with Liverpool just needing to avoid losing by 2 or more goals to lift the title and make it another double for Dalglish. An emotionally and physically drained Liverpool were just unable to hold on and a last gasp Michael Thomas goal made it 2-0 to Arsenal to give George Graham's Gunners the title.
It is little wonder the Liverpool team were emotionally drained as the aftermath of Hillsborough took a massive toll on them all, but none more than Kenny Dalglish, who tried to attend as many of the funerals as possible himself, one day he even managed to attend 4 different ones. He also organised the team to ensure every funeral had at least one player there to represent the club: "We made sure somebody with Liverpool connections was at every funeral and I think the families really respected that. The boys weren't obtrusive in any way, they sat back and let the families get on with the grieving but they were there, their presence was there." The disaster affected him deeply and he never even spoke publicly about it until March 2009, when he admitted his regret that the police and the FA had not considered delaying the kick-off to give fans time to get into the stadium in an orderly fashion.
"They supported Liverpool. Now it is the turn of Liverpool Football Club to support them." - Kenny Dalglish in the days after Hillsborough.
The following season it seemed, on the outside, that things were returning to normal as Liverpool won their third league title under Dalglish. There were some outstanding performances, such as the 9-0 demolition of Crystal Palace. Though the Eagles did get their revenge later that season by winning 4-3 in extra time of the FA Cup semi-final. Despite not appearing at all in the league in the previous season, Dalglish did sub himself on against Derby County on 5th May 1990 for his final ever Liverpool league appearance at the age of 39. As well as his 3rd league title, Kenny also won his third Manager of the Year award.
While outwardly all was fine, inwardly the stress of dealing with the third football tragedy he had been unfortunate enough to be in attendance at, was telling on Dalglish. It all got too much for the King of the Kop after seeing his LFC side lose the lead 4 times to Everton at Goodison Park to draw 4-4 in an FA Cup 5th round tie. Two days later, on 22nd February 1991 Dalglish quit. He had told the board he needed a break but they were reluctant to consider allowing him to have the rest he needed. Instead the board accepted Dalglish's resignation, something that set LFC back years. Liverpool were 3 points clear at the top of the league, as well as still being in the FA Cup, at the time Dalglish left.
Liverpool's loss was Blackburn Rovers gain as, after a few months off to recharge the batteries, Kenny missed football too much to stay away and he took charge of Rovers in October, who were then in the second tier. By the turn of the year, they were top of the table. They did suffer a dip in form, which saw them drop down the placings but they recovered to qualify for the play-offs and beat Leicester City in the final to return to the English top flight for the first time since 1966.
Their owner and benefactor, Jack Walker, who had brought Dalglish to the club, bankrolled a spending spree as Rovers broke the British record transfer fee with the £3.5m arrival of Alan Shearer from Southampton ahead of the 1992-93 season. Unfortunately, the new man suffered a serious injury that ruled him out for half of the season, but Rovers still managed to finish in 4th on their first season back in the big time. Dalglish looked to strengthen ahead of the next season, bringing in England international duo Tim Flowers and David Batty, but failing to get Roy Keane. Rovers finished the season in second behind Manchester United.
The transfer record was shattered again ahead of the following season as £5m was spent on Chris Sutton to create what became known as the SAS partnership up front. Going into the final game of the season, both Rovers and Man Utd could still lift the title, with Rovers set to travel to Dalglish's former home Anfield to face Liverpool, while the Red Devils were travelling down south to take on West Ham United. All thoughts of Liverpool doing their legend a favour went out the window as Rovers were beaten 2-1, but they still won the title as Man Utd failed to get the win they needed against the Hammers. Dalglish was just the 4th manager ever to win the English top flight with 2 different clubs, following on from another former Liverpool manager in Tom Watson, Herbert Chapman and Brian Clough.
That June, immediately after the euphoria around Rovers had settled down, Dalglish stepped down as manager and took up a role as director of football at the club. His assistant Ray Harford took charge in his place, but it was not a success and they both left soon after. Kenny then had a very brief spell as an international talent scout at his boyhood club Rangers, where is reported to have been instrumental in the signing of Chile international Sebastian Rozental.
January 1997, Dalglish was back in management, inheriting Newcastle United from Kevin Keegan, but under very different circumstances from the way Keegan had been able to operate. Gone were the days of big spending, which meant that the team he inherited in 4th place and led to finish second, had to be dismantled in the summer, despite qualifying for the Champions League. Forced to break up the team, which Keegan had walked out rather than do, Dalglish sold fan favourites such as Peter Beardsley, Lee Clark, Les Ferdinand and David Ginola and replaced them with a mixed bunch. The new players were either ageing (and cheap) veterans such as John Barnes, Ian Rush and Stuart Pearce or young with potential, such as Des Hamilton, Gary Speed and Shay Given. The Toon finished the season in 13th and then started the 1998-99 season with 2 draws, which was enough to put an end to Dalglish's reign there.
With a bit of time on his hands now, Dalglish headed over to Darlington to help out his old teammate David Hodgson by doing a bit of coaching for him. Then Darlo goalkeeper David Preece said afterwards that, even though he was 47 years old, he was still a class above his teammates! In fact, Hodgson at one point had to take the players aside to tell them that they could not be expected to be able to use shadows to judge opposition player's positions to give them an edge, like Dalglish was trying to teach them to do. A few months later Preece got a move to Aberdeen and met Kenny, who was now working as director of football operations at Celtic, as he was going out to warm up. With a broad grin on his face, Dalglish said to him: "See Preecey, son. A couple of training sessions with me and you get a move. I'm not bad, am I?"
Dalglish's spell as director of football operations at Celtic was short-lived. John Barnes had been appointed head coach under him but was what can only be termed a disaster. In February 2000 he took over from Barnes as manager and went on to win the Scottish League Cup. Despite that, in June 2000, a year after his appointment as director, he was sacked as new manager Martin O'Neill did not want to work with a director of football. It led to a brief legal battle and Celtic ended up paying a £600,000 settlement to Kenny.
Once again his life was turned upside down in 2003, when Dalglish's wife Marina was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was treated and recovered, but the pair launched the Marina Dalglish Appeal in 2005 to raise money for cancer treatment equipment for UK hospitals. The charity has since gone on to raise millions and continues to do so to this day.
The king was finally back in his kingdom in April 2009 as Rafa Benitez invited him to take a role at the academy. The appointment was confirmed by the club in July and he was also given a role as club ambassador. It was to be Rafa's last season as manager and, when Benitez was sacked in June 2010, Dalglish is asked to advise the club in its search for a new manager. The very first name he puts forward is his own. He was not chosen, but was brought in as caretaker manager by new owners New England Sports Ventures (later to become Fenway Sports Group) after the chosen man Roy Hodgson was sacked in January 2011.
He began his spell as interim manager with a 1-0 defeat against bitter rivals Manchester United in the 3rd round of the FA Cup at Old Trafford. Liverpool, who had looked to be facing a relegation battle under Hodgson, lost their next game, a Premier League match against Blackpool. Despite the results, Dalglish publicly confirmed his desire to take on the role on a permanent basis once again. A week later, new Liverpool chairman Tom Werner stated that NESV were in favour of Kenny taking over on a permanent basis. Despite still being a caretaker, Dalglish was able to bring in Andy Carroll from Newcastle United and Luis Suarez from Ajax in a deadline day double deal, to replace star striker Fernando Torres, who had headed off to Chelsea.
After stabilising Liverpool in the league in the second half of the season, Dalglish was appointed permanent manager in May 2011. However, the 2011-12 season was clouded over by Luis Suarez's actions in October. The Uruguayan was accused of racially abusing Patrice Evra. After Suarez promised he had not done so, Dalglish and the squad stood behind Suarez, making the mistake of wearing t-shirts in support of him at the next match. Suarez then went on Uruguayan TV and told them he had abused Evra, admitting that he had responded to the French player using a racial slur against South Americans in Spanish by calling him the N word repeatedly. That led to embarrassment for Dalglish and Liverpool and Kenny was reprimanded for backing Suarez so publicly.
Liverpool did win their first trophy for 6 years, the League Cup, and reached the FA Cup final, but could only finish 8th in the league. Suarez had continued to be a problem, refusing to shake Evra's hand in the return Premier League fixture, despite having promised to do so. In the end, Dalglish's inability to control Suarez led to his dismissal as manager on 16th May 2012. He was not long away from the club, returning in October 2013 as a non-executive director.
Dalglish's influence still continues to be felt in football, as he, at least according to Andrea Radrizzani himself anyway, started Radrizzani on the path to buying Leeds United when the pair met at a social gathering ahead of a European Champions League quarter final between Man City and PSG: "It was a casual chat at lunch with friends, it was my first time meeting him," says Radrizzani. "We were talking about many things and for two minutes we talked about Leeds, the sleeping giant, the opportunity for someone coming here. He mentioned about the great opportunity if someone had a concrete project with a vision to bring back the passion. He also mentioned about how the city is passionate about the club and this is what I'm finding out."
To read Part 11 - Uncle Joe please click HERE
24 Jul 2025 23:36:55
Great read Ed ta.
{Ed001's Note - glad you enjoyed mate.}
28 Jul 2025 20:41:37
Ed, there is no disputing the impact and eternal affect left by Dalglish on both the club and the city as player and figurehead.
I have always been on the fence with regard to Dalglish the manager. His 87-89 period was phenomenal and included arguably the only transfer window to rival this current one. If next year's team can match the swashbuckling swagger, style, panache and lethal finishing of that one, we're in for a treat! But I think that was the high point and it started to unravel from there. Subsequent recruitment was always a step down from what we had instead of up, presumably with the idea that the players would become like many of previous eras, good players that would form a great team, but it never looked like turning out like that. After his departure, the Souness era failed on many levels but he inherited a squad that, as far as I remember, needed a lot of work.
He obviously did well with a well-backed Blackburn but, as your article points out, other managerial posts never looked like matching the mid-late eighties heights.
The return to Anfield may have given us a fuller picture if it wasn't for Suarez.
Always controversial to say something a bit negative about the great man- and he is the epitomy of that phrase- but curious as to others' thoughts.
Although I suspect I should probably hide in an underground bunker for this.
28 May 2025 15:26:09
Decided to look at Isak compared to Ekitike.
Now Newcastle brought Isak in 2022 for £58m. He was in La Liga and his stats were:-
2020/ 2021 played 34, goals 17,assists 2.
2021/ 2022 played 41, goals 10 assists 3.
At Newcastle from age 23
22/ 23 played 29,goals 11 assists 3
23/ 24 played 40,goals 25 assist 2
24/ 25 played 42,goals 27 assists 6.
Ekitike is now at the same age Isak was when Newcastle brought him.
Frankfurt had him on loan last year and he scored 4 goals in 17 games. This season he's been the main man and has played 48 games scoring 22 goals with 12 assists. He's rarely injured and completes the full 90 aswell. Similar to Isak with less Injuries. If we could get him for £50-60m then it would be worth it.
Liverpool Article 08 Apr 2025
Fulham v Liverpool A Liverpool Perspective
Another in what is becoming a string of poor performances from Liverpool. It felt the team sauntered out there completely complacent and expected to just roll over Fulham on their way to the title, particularly van Dijk, who looks absolutely shot right now. And yes, that is not a typo, though it would have been just as correct with the word you are no doubt thinking I meant instead. Before I go any further, I will have to complain about the officials once again, even though this time their incompetence/corruption (delete as applicable) favoured Liverpool.
Fulham are quite rightly aggrieved as they could have, no actually, should have, had two penalties and possibly seen Liverpool reduced to 9 men as well. The first was as clear as day, Konate decides to try and be clever in the box and messes up, losing the ball to Pereira, who is then wiped out by Kelleher after he plays a pass across the box. I can only think the officials never looked at that challenge as they were intent on checking the next one. Even that is no excuse as you can see Kelleher absolutely wiping out Pereira in the background in the shots of the next challenge. It was one of the clearest penalties you will see. They also managed to completely miss van Dijk swinging his arm/elbow about in the box while defending a corner. Again, it was as clear as day but the officials and VAR somehow all missed that too. If VAR is not going to spot those kind of offences, it would be as well scrapping it altogether.
Tactically, Slot got this game all wrong. For starters, not bringing on Endo as soon as possible was an obvious error, there is just not enough bite in that midfield without him and no one in there has his defensive awareness. That allowed Fulham to overrun the midfield. Without Alexander-Arnold's passing to force Fulham to drop off, they were able to press high and bully Liverpool's midfield. The other potential option, as Endo just seems to be totally off the table for Slot, would have been to send out the team to play with intensity and get at Fulham from the kick-off. Instead of slowly rolling it around at the back, push right on to Fulham and play with high intensity and pace. As usual though, Slot set the team out with low intensity, thinking he can make changes as the game goes on to counter the opponent.
This time it failed badly as he made no changes until half-time. It was clear Jones was being targeted by Fulham, but he left it as it was throughout the first half, only adjusting things at half-time, when it was too late. It is frustrating to see as the change he made at half-time is one that could have been made during the first half, when it could have made a difference. It was such a simple adjustment he made, simply instructing the team to play in the way it usually does, with the right-back pushed onto the opposition full-back, while Robertson sat in as almost a third centre-back. It sets a much more aggressive tone for the defence playing that way, as the midfield and attack have to push on as well, which would have helped counter the complacency.
It did feel a bit like Slot was a bit on the complacent side as well, he was waiting too long to make changes, then sent the same eleven back out for the second half with no substitutions. That decision felt like a huge mistake at the time, Liverpool were getting absolutely hammered in the first half and there were eleven players in need of being changed, a couple of changes could have given that team a jolt. Instead, another ten minutes were wasted before changes were made. It is little wonder the game ran away from Liverpool, everyone seemed to have expected a stroll and no one was quick enough to react when Fulham did not roll over.
The one good thing from a Liverpool point of view is that the team must have had a wake up call from this performance. They must now realise that they still have to win the points needed, they are not just going to get them handed out for free. They have to be better next weekend, surely?
Fulham
Fulham were truly excellent and Silva showed some tactical nous to exploit Liverpool's weaknesses. Unlike Moyes last time out, Silva went for the jugular in an attempt to win. Where Moyes used Liverpool's lack of a genuine right-back as a way of trying not to lose, Silva saw it as a chance to win. He had his team attack down that flank and it put Liverpool on the back foot right from the start of the match. Added to that, he sent his midfield and striker out to be as physical as possible from the kick off, clearly having spotted how much Beto had unsettled Liverpool's centre-backs simply by being physical.
It worked really well, up until they started to retreat in the second half, as often happens when a team has a lead to hang onto. But, for me, it was a big relief when Muniz and Lukic were taken off as they were both excellent, bullying Liverpool while they were on the pitch and winning most of their battles.
I guess I should also point out that their goals were down to Liverpool's individual errors, but they were very good value for their lead and were far and away the better team in the first half. In the second half, after starting well they did gradually begin to retreat as Liverpool improved, but overall they were the better side and it was a well deserved win. Liverpool were awful, the worst performance of the season in the first half, but that was in huge part due to how well Fulham played and the tactics they employed.
Tactically, they got very tight in midfield, pressing high and hurrying the Liverpool midfield into many mistakes. They also attacked down the flanks, particularly their left, committing bodies to get forward whenever the opportunity arose. Clearly they knew that, without Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool lack a player who can put the ball in behind them with quality and that Bassey had the pace and power to ensure the main threat, Salah, was shut out of the game. That is in part why the game changed so much when Elliott came on, as they had then to worry about quality passing from him and he was constantly pulling into space to look for a pass. When that happened, they started to drop off, which allowed Liverpool to take control of the midfield as Fulham were no longer first to all the loose balls.
Liverpool
Kelleher - terrible game, his legs are open wider than the Mersey Tunnel and he inspires absolutely no confidence in the team at all. Far too slow to move the ball on as well, whether at his feet or in his arms, missing chances to launch a quick counter. I know he suffers by being compared to Alisson, who is the best in the world, but even putting that aside, he simply is not, right now anyway, good enough to be Liverpool goalkeeper. How he got away with wiping out Pereira in the box, right at the start of the game after Konate's disastrous attempt to do a drag back, is beyond me. That was a very clear penalty for Fulham.
Jones - was put under pressure from the off and found wanting at right-back. He did improve when asked to defend similarly to Alexander-Arnold, at the start of the second half. Instead of dropping back to form a flat 4 at the back, he was pushing on to allow Salah to push more central in the press. That certainly helped as he was not being asked to do anything that was not natural to him then. Much better after moving into the midfield after Bradley came on, but it was a very low bar.
Konate - a disastrous performance again, he has dropped so far off the level he was at earlier in the season it is hard to believe it is the same player. He has not looked right since coming back from injury. He was physically imposing and dominating attackers, now he is being dominated by them, even average ones like Beto last week and now Muniz. It is not like he is up against the power of Drogba, these are players he should be able to handle but his head does not seem right. He is no longer anticipating the balls in, even though he is not being asked to be responsible for the right-back area as well. Maybe it is a concentration issue and he needs that extra little bit to think about in order to keep himself focused? It is hard to see any other reason for his form crashing so horribly off a cliff in recent weeks but he has been abysmal for a little while now and seems to be getting worse rather than better.
van Dijk - on the basis that he played the worst game I have ever seen from him last time out, this match was at least an improvement. However he was still absolutely woeful. He does look complacent. When Liverpool won the league under Klopp, his form dipped badly then too in the second half of the season, but he had Gomez come in and play out of his skin alongside him, as well as every forward avoiding him like the plague due to how well he had performed in the first half of the season. It was clear he got complacent then, it was all too easy for him and this season seems to be following a similar pattern, but this time out his defensive partner is also having a nightmare. He needs to wake himself up before it is too late. Also very lucky not to get sent off swinging his arm about like that, which would have also been a penalty for Fulham. No idea what he was thinking then.
Robertson - is it possible that he is actually getting worse as the season goes on? He was among Fulham's best players, which is really a shame to see from such a great servant to the club. It is clear that he is no longer capable of being first choice at this level, the legs are just not there any more. But then that was also clear last season, so questions need to be asked of the recruitment team that a replacement was not brought in during the summer, if none of the academy full-backs were deemed ready and clearly Tsimikas cannot be relied upon.
Gravenberch - going forward, he still looks really good right up until the final ball, when he tends to make the wrong decision. It is defensively that he is a worry. It is fine dropping in to the right-back area and he does that well, but he is not spotting gaps in the centre or runs from the opponents. He is still young, but there has been no sign of him even being instructed to think about that, as his reaction to Jones being right-back has shown that he follows instructions well. He is not being paired with someone to provide protection to the back four, which means he has to do it, but there just seems to be a trio of midfielders who are all looking to go forward in there, with often Szoboszlai having to chase back from his position as the furthest forward midfielder to provide cover. Someone in there needs to do the dirty work and his mobility, height and the position he is playing should make him that one. In the early weeks, he did so much more harrying of the opposition and winning the ball back, it seems to have fallen away as the season has gone on. Which is why it is odd that it works so well when he moved into centre-back, as he did late in the game. It just shows he is capable of doing the defensive work when he has to.
Szoboszlai - had a poor game, most of his passes went astray, though you do have to wonder why it is that he is constantly making that same pass from the wings into the centre where there is no one. Is there always someone there in training? If so, why not during the games. If there is no one there in training, why is he doing this in matches? Surely it should be ironed out of his game in training sessions? It happens far too often for it not to be worked out of his game or for the rest of the midfield not to have figured it out and position themselves for that ball when he gets it out there. It is not like they are giving him a lot of options instead, which is a big part of the problem.
Mac Allister - showed for his goal that he can handle the physical side of things when there is a chance of getting forward, the problem is that he just does not seem the same when asked to do it defensively. The goal was brilliant, I have to say, but it just shows why he should be playing higher up, as he was weak defensively again. The same player, Berge, that he brushed off when running towards the box to take a shot, was able to overpower him when he was defending. He just does not have the appetite for it that he has for attacking. Added to that, his skillset is best suited by playing higher, where he can thread balls into the box.
Salah - really struggled up against Bassey, who was outstanding (possibly man of the match), though Salah was not helped by the quality of pass he was receiving. When Alexander-Arnold is in the side, the balls he gets from him favour Salah, he is able to collect them with little difficulty and get them under his control before the defender can put pressure on him. Without him, the balls Salah gets are ones that force him to battle for them and not many players are going to win a physical battle with Bassey. You are not going to outrun or outmuscle him, so the ball needs to go into feet or a space that angles it away from the defender. Unfortunately, Liverpool failed to do enough of that and it meant Salah barely got a sniff of the ball. When he did get the ball, it was rarely in a position that he could threaten to score himself, though he did put some good quality balls into the box.
Jota - another abysmal performance but this time not rescued by a goal. The problem is that, other than for those moments he scores, Jota is a liability who constantly loses the ball, no matter how simple the pass is that he tries to make. This was one of those days, when even putting the ball on a plate for him was not enough for him to score. Most of the game he was just a passenger.
Gakpo - was not at his best, but he got little service. He did at least offer some kind of threat in attack, though he was not offering much protection to Robertson behind him. Probably lacking a bit in match sharpness by the way he played.
Diaz - replaced Gakpo in the 55th minute. While Liverpool had improved in the second half already, his arrival, along with Elliott, changed the game. He was everywhere and pulled one back to make it an uncomfortable finish for Fulham. He was very much up for it, chasing everywhere. Lucky not to get booked for a horrible dive in an attempt to win a penalty though.
Elliott - was brought on in the stead of Szoboszlai in the 55th minute. He was one of the few bright spots in the match and was unlucky not to score. It was also pleasing to see him not shirking his defensive duties, chasing back to mop up when Liverpool were caught trying to sort themselves out after the second pair of substitutions. He constantly got out wide, which allowed Salah to play more centrally, where he could be more of a threat.
Nunez - replaced Jota in the 66th minute. It looked like a game tailor made for his brand of chaos, but he looked like a player who just was not at all bothered and he was anonymous. It is difficult to come on and not improve over Jota in that game, but Nunez managed it.
Bradley - also came on in the 66th minute, taking the place of Konate. His driving runs created some threat and it was that which led to the Diaz goal.
Chiesa - Robertson went off so the Italian could come on in the 82nd minute. Showed some much needed fire and aggression, even if he is a bit on the lightweight side, he still put himself about and looked to make something happen. Did come close to equalising, but he needed to be on earlier to really make a difference.
Liverpool Article 15 Mar 2025
Liverpool v Paris Saint-Germain A Liverpool Perspective
Slot has been brilliant this season, but the lack of squad players that he trusts came back to bite him in this match. The big run of games in a short space of time with little to no rotation has run the players into the ground and sapped their energy. When they needed to raise their game and attack a team there for the taking, they had nothing left in their legs. I also think Slot's substitutions were poor and far too late in this game, making the wrong changes and leaving it so late that the team had run out of legs anyway.
It did start so well, with Liverpool overrunning PSG in the early few minutes of the match, on another day they would have scored enough goals to win the game comfortably. In fact they made more really good chances, rather than just good quality strikes from distance, in those first ten minutes than I can remember PSG making in the entire tie. That is what makes it so frustrating to lose, as Liverpool had the chances to have it won and done before the Parisians scored.
A lot did come down to that PSG goal, as Liverpool had dominated until that moment but that saw the energy drain out of them and the high, aggressive press they had been using so successfully to pen Paris in during the opening minutes faded. The players lost all cohesion in the press, lacking the adrenalin that they had been running on to begin with. Instead, you could see them struggling with tiredness and they felt every one of those 5 games in 15 days.
What was needed was an injection of energy from the bench at half-time, some fresh legs and running to take the game back to PSG, but Slot waited. He seems to lack faith in the options that were on the bench to change things. After two transfer windows at the club, where nothing was done to strengthen the options, it finally caught up with the team. Thankfully, the team was still strong enough to be in with an extremely good chance of two trophies, something every Liverpool fan would have been happy with before the season began.
Paris Saint-Germain
Once again they struggled to create clear cut chances, but that was more down to the set up Enrique went with. I know Dembele is the new flavour of the month right now, but his unwillingness to put effort in and make runs into the box left them bereft of any option in the middle to put the ball into. All he needed to do was get into the box, but he was usually strolling around somewhere in midfield. That was what cost them badly, not having a focal point to create for.
Personally I was disappointed with PSG, this was a very tired Liverpool side, reeling after going one down and they were completely unable to take advantage. They should have been looking to win that game in normal time, but they seemed content to ensure they did not concede. It was a very odd performance, especially considering most of their team had rested over the weekend to be ready but they did not really make the most of their freshness.
Liverpool
Alisson - unfortunately could not replicate his heroics from the first leg by saving any of the penalties but had made a couple of decent saves during the match.
Alexander-Arnold - had a good game which was getting better as the match went on. I would say though, he was probably trying a bit too hard to make things happen. Unfortunate to pick up an injury, which could cost Liverpool badly over the final few weeks of the season.
Konate - overall it was a good game, but his horrible error cost the team. It was idiotic. Why try and control it to the keeper there? Just get it clear and reset. The fact they got there in the first place was down to him getting his positioning wrong, he was way too far to the right anyway, which left a gap. Even though the rest of his game was very good, that was such a horrendous passage of play that it meant he had a poor game in actuality. A defender is there to keep the ball out of the net and he failed to do so at the only point of the game PSG truly threatened.
van Dijk - overall a very good game, but there were a couple of times he was caught on his heels busy shouting and directing his teammates and not noticing an attack immediately. He has become an excellent captain, as well as centre-back, but he does need to learn from that and save the instructions until an appropriate time.
Robertson - defensively he was passable, not great but at least he did nothing stupid or rash. It was offensively that he was truly woeful. It took him over 90 minutes before he produced any half decent quality balls into the box at all. He did make a few good runs and linked up will with Diaz at times, only to mess up good opportunities to get the ball across almost every time.
Gravenberch - he really struggled as the game went on and showed clear signs of fatigue, it was a surprise he was not taken off. His whole game is very reliant on his physical abilities, which are not anywhere near their previous levels. He just looks in need of a break, with the lack of rotation really affecting him now. Slot will need to find someone he trusts to play in his stead if the team are going to mount a challenge for every trophy next season.
Szoboszlai - started well but faded as the game went on and it was clear his energy levels dropped massively as he was unable to maintain a press after the early stages.
Mac Allister - Liverpool's man of the match, with only Alexander-Arnold rivalling his performance. Put himself about really well and showed a lot of energy, was one of the few bright spots on the ball too.
Salah - early balls to him showed a lot of promise, but he was finding himself short of support, which required him to take more touches than he would have wanted. That allowed PSG to get midfielders across to cover, particularly Vitinha, who did really well in covering when Mendez got forward, similar to how Milner used to do for Robertson in the past. Before the midfield did that, in the early part of the game, Salah was running havoc and Liverpool created enough chances to put the game to bed.
Jota - an absolutely terrible game. It is hard to understand how he stayed on the pitch longer than the first few minutes. He was abysmal. The ball was bouncing off him, he was too slow and sloppy in the press and offered nothing until he was taken off. By that time it was too late, as the whole team looked finished.
Diaz - another who was terrible. It just shows how little Slot rates Chiesa that he left him stinking up the left wing for so long. His delivery was appalling, despite numerous good chances to put a ball into dangerous areas. One decent ball could have changed that game, but everything he touched was poor.
Nunez - replaced Jota in the 73rd minute. He should have come on much sooner, when there was still some energy left in the legs of the team. By the time he came on, the team was so tired that he was never going to get any real service and his high energy pressing was not possible, as everyone else was too slow to back up the press.
Quansah - came on for the injured Alexander-Arnold in the 74th minute. Did a decent job, got forward well and tried to make a difference. He looked a lot more comfortable in the right-back role than he has done previously.
Jones - was brought on in the stead of Mac Allister at the start of extra time. There was no energy left in the rest of the team by the time he came on. He replaced the one guy who had actually been playing well and showing a bit of energy as well. He was well off the pace and caught on the ball repeatedly. I am sure he was trying to be calm and composed and help to control the pace of the game, but all he did was dally on the ball and lose it.
Gakpo - took Diaz's place in the 101st minute. He is clearly not fit and offered nothing.
Elliott - replaced Szoboszlai in the 106th minute. Too late for him to do anything, the game was done at this point.
Endo - he came on in the place of the injured Konate in the 111th minute. Same as Elliott, there was little he could do to change the game, especially at centre-back.
Liverpool Article 11 Mar 2025
Liverpool v Southampton A Liverpool Perspective
Almost the perfect example of a 'game of two halves'. It had started out really well for Liverpool, with them dominating the ball and penning Southampton in, right up until the clash of heads between two Saints' defenders. The stoppage and substitution disrupted Liverpool's rhythm and afterwards they seemed sluggish, lethargic even, and very passive. It is one thing being given a bit of a doing against Paris Saint-Germain, but when it is Southampton that are all over you, it is a worry, especially when they manage to score.
This is when your manager has to earn his corn, and Slot did just that by making a surprising triple substitution at half-time. Mainly surprising because he changed three players and one of them was not Darwin Nunez! Nunez had been having such a poor game and was walking a disciplinary tightrope, I think pretty much everyone expected him to be one of the players to make way. As usual, it was Slot who was right and it turned out to be another great decision by him.
The second half was a dominating, smothering performance. Slot said he had to make the players angry at half time and it showed. They were absolutely fired up and completely in charge of the match for the full 45 minutes. Nunez scored the equaliser and then won the penalty to give Liverpool the lead. While it was certainly at least partly down to the increased tempo and attitude of the players, the subs made a huge difference. Each of them contributed massively to the improvement.
Tactically, the game was fairly simple. In the first half Liverpool started off in control of the ball, passing it around and probing the Saints' defences. But after the stoppage, Liverpool got put on the back foot and simply never recovered. Some players were clearly fatigued and were unable to get about the pitch to win possession back, which made it difficult. The second half saw Liverpool be more aggressive and get onto the front foot, chase down possession and kept Southampton held in. It was clear that Slot had managed to fire the players up at half time and it made all the difference.
The key thing to come from this game, and the weekend as a whole, was the mentality of the team. This team is made up of humans, who make mistakes and play badly at times, but they are also winners. They make a mistake and they work harder to make up for it. When they concede a goal, it fires them up. Most importantly, when they equalise, it is just a quick celebration and then get on with the business of hunting for another. They are not satisfied with second place or second best.
Southampton
There are clear signs of improvement by the Saints, they still have the odd moment of messing about at the back and putting themselves under pressure, but they are much more forward thinking now. For a long period, after Bednarek went off, they looked very good and put Liverpool under a lot of pressure. Certainly the team spirit seems good, there is no lack of desire and there was no sign of heads dropping until Liverpool got their third. Though it did look different the last time I saw them, where Fernandes was constantly just throwing his arms up in the air and giving up or standing round with hands on hips watching. He is very much a weak link for them, I believe.
They are still miles off being good enough to even challenge to stay in the Premier League. They dominated for a long period, but their only goal came courtesy of a silly mix up between van Dijk and Alisson, rather than something good they did themselves. In my opinion, that is their biggest problem, their lack of any kind of firepower and creativity. Sulemana is quick, but his end product is almost non-existent and that is pretty much all they have in the attacking third.
Liverpool
Alisson - was part of a mix up with van Dijk, other than that he did not really have a lot to do, despite Liverpool being under the cosh for most of the first half.
Alexander-Arnold - defended well in the first half but struggled to create anything. In the second half, he was given a lot more freedom to roam and made the most of it to ping the ball about well.
Konate - a good game, defending well and doing well on the ball.
van Dijk - was badly at fault for the Saints' goal, but other than that he played very well. He was exceptional in the second half. Mistakes happen, but what makes the like of van Dijk into winners is the way they respond to those mistakes or other setbacks.
Tsimikas - it was little wonder he got hooked at half time, he had a terrible half. The worst thing about his game is his runs. He constantly runs into Diaz's space, while the winger is on the ball, leaving him nowhere to go and allowing the opposition to double up easily.
Gravenberch - struggled a bit for him, looked very tired and leggy. It was clear he is a little fatigued again as he was very loose with his passing as well.
Szoboszlai - unsurprisingly, after all the mileage he has put in, he looked way off the pace too. It was little wonder he was taken off at half time, he clearly needs a rest.
Jones - had a fairly decent game, but he is just not aggressive enough and does not play on the front foot, slowing the play too much. I believe that is why he was also brought off, as Mac Allister is much more direct.
Salah - not so good in the first half, but in the second half he was much better. Also added two more goals, via penalty, to his total for the season. It is insane just how good he has been this season at his age.
Nunez - in the first half, like pretty much everyone else in red, he looked well off the pace, with his touch horrible and the ball bouncing off him. Added to that, he was walking a disciplinary tightrope picking up a yellow card and being the wind up merchant we know he can be. Though he was still bringing the chaos, so to speak, chasing things down and not giving the defence a moment's rest, it just was not coming off for him. In the second half, it was like a different player. The aggression was still there, but it was channelled in the right direction and he was there to slot home the equaliser like a number 9 should be. Suddenly, after that goal, he looked lifted, like the Nunez that the Kop adores was back. Brilliant management from Slot. His industry then, within a couple of minutes, got him in position to win the first penalty.
Diaz - had a poor first half, but was not helped by Tsimikas constantly blocking the space and leaving him nowhere to go. In the second half he was much better, with Robertson sitting deeper and letting him attack the full-back, which led to the opening goal.
Robertson - replaced Tsimikas at half time. The team looked so much better with him there, he has a much better idea of where to go and stays out of the way for Diaz to make his runs.
Elliott - came on for Szoboszlai at half time. Added energy and creativity with his range of passing and vision giving Liverpool much more points of attack. Looks like a player finally finding his form again after injury at just the right time of the season.
Mac Allister - was brought on in the stead of Jones at half time. I would personally credit him for having equal effect on the scoreline, along with the increased tempo and aggression, in the second half. He pushed right on Southampton, with their midfield lacking the pace and movement to exploit any gaps in behind he was free to get in their faces and play in areas he can create danger. He really was excellent.
Jota - took Nunez's place in the 68th minute. He came on early enough to allow Nunez to be rested ready for the PSG return leg, to give Slot the option of either of them in the centre.
Endo - replaced Gravenberch in the 81st minute. In the supporters club I was watching the game in, the moment Endo was brought on saw an eruption of noise like the game was already over. And it was. He did not just shut the door on Saints' hopes of coming back, he locked and bolted it too. If only he was younger!
Quansah - the sixth substitute, due to concussion protocols, he came on in the place of Alexander-Arnold in the 89th minute. Never had time to do much at all.