A year with King Kenny

It has now been more than a year since King Kenny Dalglish returned to the club he has every right to call his, Liverpool. The year has been one of the most exciting years in Liverpool history.

Here is a short review of Kenny’s first year in charge of Liverpool:

January 8th, 2011: Roy Hodgson leaves Liverpool. The inevitable has happened. Many fans have been calling for Roy’s head for months, and the owners have finally lost their patience with the experienced English manager. Kenny Dalglish is appointed as the caretaker manager until the end of the season, but it seems obvious that the owners don’t see him as their long-term manager.

January 31st, 2011: Fernando Torres leaves Liverpool. The most loved player becomes the biggest traitor. Torres was rumoured to leave Liverpool the whole year, but it was quite a shock, considering the timing and the way he left. Liverpool have decided to quickly re-invest the money they got from Chelsea for the striker, by buying Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll.

May 12th, 2011: After a fantastic finish to the season, Kenny gets a new, long-term contract. With the season nearing to the end, all eyes are on the transfer window. The owners have promised Kenny that he will have enough funds available to re-build the squad.

July 1st, 2011: The transfer window finally opens. Liverpools´s goals in the summer are clear: get rid of the deadweight, create a smaller but stronger squad who can achieve the main goal – a return to the Champions League. The likes of Joe Cole and Alberto Aquilani are sent on loan abroad, with players like El Zhar and Degen leaving on free transfer. The only big name player to leave the club is Raul Meireles, who submitted a transfer request and left for Chelsea on deadline day. Sounds familiar?

August 13th, 2011: The new season has started. Liverpool´s first game of the season was a home game against Sunderland, which finished 1-1, with goals from Luis Suarez and Sebastian Larsson. The game showed that it will take time for the team to gel, and start playing like it should.

August 31st, 2011: The transfer window closes. Liverpool had an active deadline day, bringing in Craig Bellamy from Manchester City. Liverpool strenghtened all positions in the squad, and also got rid of all the deadwood. The players that Liverpool bought were: Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam, Doni, Stewart Downing, Jose Enrique, Sebastian Coates and Craig Bellamy. While Stewart Downing still hasn’t justified his price tag, Bellamy and Enrique proved to be real bargains.

October 15th, 2011: Liverpool play against Manchester United. The game finished as a 1-1 draw, but it´s not the result people remember from the game for. Luis Suarez was accused of racially abusing Patrice Evra. Although the player was found guilty, and banned 8 games, the club and Kenny himself continued to defend the player. They claimed that it’s the cultural difference that had caused the incident in the first place, although it is the club’s fault for not teaching their player the rules in England.

November 29th, 2011: Liverpool beat Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge. I know I didn’t put any games in here, but it was the third time Kenny’s men played at Stamford Bridge that year, and the third time they won.

January 8th, 2012: It is a year since Kenny took over as Liverpool manager. The main things we will remember from Kenny’s first year back at Liverpool will be big-money signings, beating the top teams but dropping points against weaker sides and, unfortunately, the controversial Suarez incident.