Putting the wings back on the Liverbird

Putting the wings back on the Liverbird.

Those of us with our souls buried deep in everything Liverpool FC have seen many revolutions in the last 20 years.
Changes have been made and remade and new promises broken along with hearts.
The latest revolution though, so far, seems to be the big one, we can only hope.
It is of course far too early to start placing eggs in baskets. After two losses, one draw and four wins, Kenny Dalglish’s Liverpool are getting their balance back.

The mixed messages and utter myths blurted out during Hodgson’s reign from each and every angle are forever being busted with each passing day under Kenny Dalglish. When Hodgson couldn’t get the team motivated, people blamed Rafa. They said he left Roy with an impossible task. Now Kenny has them winning and looking like a team again, it’s no longer anything to do with Rafa, now the talk is of Champions League football, who would have thought it?

Of course, those who actually watched and analysed a game in the last 10 years could see that Rafa Benitez had the best interests of the club at heart and had the ability and most importantly the vision to deliver. However, the impact of Hicks, Gillett and Purslow on the club is often overlooked by pundits and journalists.

Most reports on Liverpool, such as a recent piece in the Independent by James Lawton with Ian St. John, is nothing but laziness. They haven’t researched the depth of the problems brought by the owners, so they don’t feel comfortable talking about it. Instead, it’s too easy to blame Benitez and to overlook the evidence in favour of tired old sayings.

There’s been a lot of change recently though, and it looks as though loose ends have been cut.
Roy Hodgson has left, allowing players with flair and talent to rediscover their form such as Agger and Johnson. A rigid 4-4-2 has been cast aside to a fluid, interchangeable formation not seen since the hopefuly days that seem so long ago yet were only in the 08-09 season.
Kenny is hear now and I would be surprised if there was any player who wasn’t behind the manager.

Liverpool were, and still could be, in danger of becoming uncompetitive for a long time.
Credit to Fenway Sports Group though, they made a crucial decision and changed the manager, a new wave of optimism is running through the club.
I admit that, going into the Chelsea match, I thought a positive result would be unlikely, but after 20 minutes my fears were laid to rest. There was a confidence in Liverpool, and a determination and belief that we would not be beat and that we were not inferior.
Players previously derided, Lucas, Johnson and Kuyt all stepped up to be counted.

Lucas Leiva is the epitome of the clubs fortunes over the last few years. He had to overcome harsh and often unnecessary criticism from a lot of people.
I feel that at times, Liverpool fans shamed themselves in their treatment of the Brazilian and I hope that now, his quality, composure and drive will convince those, including ex-pros who said he should never wear the shirt, of his right to be at Anfield.
At just 23 the young midfielder has a lot of time still to develop in a position where players often find themselves peaking in their late 20’s.

As Lucas changes opinions, the team itself are changing opinions.
After the Torres departure, Liverpool and it’s owners where at a crossroads.
This time last year, that £50 million would have been syphoned off to service debts, only a percentage would have been re-invested. Now though, the entirety of it was reinvested.
This puts the power back in the hands of the football people and not the Chief Executive.

Now we see the media are starting to jump on the bandwagon. Talk of the Champions League may be premature, and I don’t think Liverpool fans should expect it now, we are probably too late, but if we continue in the same vein then I think next season the Kop should raise it’s expectations.

If we can catch Spurs, who have a game in hand, that could give us a 9-point gap to reduce in 12 games, then the tide will be in our favour come the summer. The lasting feeling at the end of the season will be one of rejuvenation and that will be important for attracting players and keeping players.

Champions League football is of course the goal, and so is a title challenge. You don’t need to be in the Champions League to challenge for the league though.
The damage this season has more than likely been done by early mistakes, but, if we can go into the summer with good momentum then with some decent investment this team may not be so far from a league win as people thought just two months ago, including myself.

We have a potential forward line that could score goals consistently for the next 5 years at least, and with some shrewd buying in other areas, Liverpool could find themselves an underdog for the league in 2012.

Man United this season have shown that you don’t need to be at your brilliant best to find yourself in a title battle come May. You don’t always need to beat the ‘Top 4’, you just need to beat the other 15 teams in the league and Liverpool should feel that they’re capable of doing that.

In the last two years, Liverpool’s biggest rival has been itself.
Struggling, infighting and disharmony have destabilized the club but now, after the decontamination of the last 6 months, Liverpool can take a big gulp of fresh air and push forward.

So now many fans are asking ‘how far can we go under Dalglish?’.
A king must always be at the top of his game and when Kenny’s been involved that’s where he generally finds himself, so why not be at the top once more, looking down on those who can only come close to him. Like a true king, and the legend he has forged for himself.

Kenny has unclipped the wings of the Liverbird and, at last, the future looks bright.

By Chris Severs