Liverpool had a disappointing season overall, finishing in sixth place, though the second phase, which saw club legend Kenny Dalglish come at the helm, was full of promise. They started the season under the vastly experienced Roy Hodgson, who endured what can only be described as a disastrous six-month spell in charge. With Yossi Benayoun and Javier Mascherano departing in the summer, Raul Meireles came in on deadline day and settled well in the side alongside stalwarts Carragher, Skrtel, Gerrard, Lucas, Torres and Kuyt. Otherwise, most of Hodgson’s signings, such as Paul Konchesky, Joe Cole, Christian Poulsen or Milan Jovanovic never really settled into the side. Only youngsters Danny Wilson and Jonjo Shelvey made a good contribution during the season. By the turn of the year, Liverpool were already out of touch in the league, with only six wins out of their first 18 games. They had suffered a humiliating exit in the Carling Cup at the hands of Northampton and seemed unable to build any kind of momentum in their season, due mainly to abject away form, with only one win at Bolton. The poor form of Torres and Gerrard remained a problem, as it had been in the previous season. Both star players had spells on the sidelines in the first phase and had little impact, a rare win over Chelsea in November excepted. The home defeat to lowly Wolves at the end of 2010 signalled the end for Hodgson, who was replaced by Kenny Dalglish in early January. The new boss’ reign started rather inauspiciously, with two straight defeats but soon results improved. Raul Meireles went through a purple patch and his goals helped the Reds string four wins in a row to bring them back in the top ten. They lost Torres to Chelsea on deadline day in January and, with the proceeds of the transfer, were able to pay a king’s ransom for Andy Carrol from Newcastle, and also brought in Luis Suarez from Ajax. The Uruguayan had an instant impact upfront but Carroll took time to settle in having joined with an injury. In the Europa League, they made good ground under Hodgson but finally came unstuck, rather disappointingly so, against Braga in the last 16, which meant they had to finish in 5th place of better to secure a twelfth successive European campaign. Gerrard’s season ended at the end of March with yet another injury, along with Agger’s, but the solid Kuyt, Lucas and Maxi could always be relied upon to pull Liverpool in the right direction. The Reds looked odds on to finish in fifth place when they finally caught up with Spurs with three games to go. However, they suffered a shock home defeat to the North Londoners in the penultimate game of the season and lost at Villa Park on the last day, which condemned them to a sixth place finish. Ever the optimists, the Liverpool fans will look forward to next season in anticipation, hoping that it all finally falls in place for their side.
