Dalglish – The aftermath

Kenny Dalglish is a one-off in modern football. A man who made the transition from star player, to player/manager to manager with ease and led the side to title after title. Life immediately after Dalglish was difficult for Liverpool fans but Liverpool were still reigning champions at the time and locked in a title battle with arsenal. Despite an aging squad, this was a side still boasting the likes of John Barnes, Peter Beardsley, Jan Molby, Ronnie Whelan and Ian Rush – more than capable of pushing for the title the following year. With Ronnie Moran at the helm until the end of the season Liverpool finished a distant second behind arsenal that year but looking to preserve ‘the Liverpool way’, Another passionate Scot was lined up to lead the side.

Souness

Graeme Souness was an icon at Liverpool. He returned to the club he captained to so much glory from a successful stint as boss of Rangers and seemed the natural choice to succeed Dalglish. What did seem unnatural though, was how he quickly dismantled what was in effect a Championship winning side. Molby, Whelan, Beardsley, Nicol, Staunton and Houghton were all shown the day at barley 30 years of age. In came Dean Saunders, Don Hutchinson, Mike Marsh et al, all good players in their own right but not of the title winning caliber of those they replaced. Liverpool finished 8th that year and many fans point to this ruthless cull of one of the leagues strongest squads as a turning point in the history of Liverpool FC. Within a year, Liverpool had gone from title challengers to a mid table side. The one bright spot being the emergence of Steve Macmanaman and Jamie Redknapp.

Back to basics

Despite winning the FA Cup in ‘92, the fans and the board quickly lost patience with Souness and after suffering a serious heart attack he was replaced by one of the famous boot room – Roy Evans. Under Evans, Liverpool became know for their attacking flair and expansive style. ‘Pass and move’ was the philosophy and playing a 3-5-2 formation saw men pile forward as a young Robbie Fowler terrorized defenses. The Reds however, also became know for their soft centre and a string of defensive signings that failed to make an impact. The likes of Phil Babb, John Scales, Rob Jones, Stig Inge Bjornebye and Bjorn Kvarme all made good starts but made little difference to Liverpool’s defensive frailties. Some top four finishes and appearances in the Uefa cup gave brief hope but Evan’s side never really pushed a resurgent manchester united. In 1998, the board moved to bring in former France manager Gerrard Houllier to work along side Evans as ‘co-manager’. The idea was doomed from he start and Evans was gone before the season’s end.

The French revolution

Houllier began what he described as a five-year program to rebuild the team, starting in 1999. That summer, Paul Ince, David James, Jason McAteer, Rob Jones, Tony Warner and Steve Harkness were all sold, while Steve McManaman left for Real Madrid on a free. At the same time seven new players, Sami Hyypiä, Dietmar Hamann, Stephane Henchoz, Vladimir Smicer, Sander Westerveld, Eric Meijer and Djimi Traore were all signed. Also, Liverpool’s training facilities at Melwood were thoroughly overhauled.

The rebuilding continued the following year, with the signings of Markus Babbel, Nicky Barmby, Pegguy Arphexad, Gregory Vignal, Emile Heskey, Gary McAllister, Igor Biscan and Christian Ziege, but the departures of David Thompson, Phil Babb, Dominic Matteo, Steve Staunton (for the second time), Brad Friedel and Stig Inge Bjornebye.

The efforts yielded a result in the successful 2000-01 season, when Liverpool won a cup treble of the League Cup, the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup and finished third in the English Premier League. Liverpool went on to win the FA Community Shield against manchester united and UEFA Super Cup against Bayern Munich. However, Liverpool still failed to trouble the top of the Premiership and the 00/01 season was as good as it got for Houllier.

In 2002-2003 season Liverpool finished in the fifth place in the Premiership, failing to qualify for the Champions League next season. Critics blamed Houllier’s unsuccessful summer signings in 2002, namely El Hadji Diouf (Lens, £10 million), Salif Diao (Sedan, £5 million) and Bruno Cheyrou (Lille, £4 million), and his failure to make Nicolas Anelka’s loan move permanent in favour of signing the ineffective Diouf. Liverpool had gone backwards and in May 2004 Houllier left by mutual consent.

Viva le Rafa-lution

Rafa Benitez arrived on Merseyside with a big reputation. He’d led his valencia side to the La Liga title, breaking the monopoly of Real Madrid and Barcelona and when the Reds had met Valencia in Europe they were out played and soundly beaten.

The 5 year plan under Gerrard Houllier was been torn up and re-written with yet another rebuilding of the squad. However, Liverpool fans expecting the starts of that Valencia side to follow Benitez to Anfield were sadly disappointed. benitez signed a string of average players from La Liga with only Luis Garcia, Xabi Alonso and Fernando Torres having any real impact.

Despite a shock Champions League win in 2005, an FA Cup and finishing 2nd in the Premier League, much of Benitez’s time at Anfield has been marked by poor transfer policy and negative team selection. Out of the 37 senior first team players Benitez has signed since arriving at Anfield, 21 are no longer at the club. Players such at Craig Bellamy and Peter Crouch were ditched while Robbie Keane’s £20m dream move from Spurs was doomed from the start.

So what has actually gone wrong?

Change. Too much, too soon. From the moment Graeme Souness overhauled a title winning squad each Liverpool manager has had a major rebuilding job on their hands but each time one rebuilds the finished article is never what it should be, leaving the next manager to rebuild a squad rebuilt by their predecessor.

Since Graeme Souness took over, Liverpool have spent £355m on transfer and recouped £179m and yet after all that money and 4 managers it looks like another rebuilding job is necessary as Liverpool currently sit in 7th place in the Premier League at time of writing having lost 7 games so far. With the American owners still promising a new stadium but offering no money to fund new players, a change of manager is not even an option this time as Benitez only signed a new 5 year contract in the summer the club simply cannot afford to part company with the Spaniard.

You can’t help but wonder whether things are going to get worse before they get better.

Rich Kinsella is webmaster of http://fantasyfootballinfo.co.uk and an avid Fantasy Football player for more than 15 years.

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Cristiano Ronaldo (Man Utd): The off season found him at the heart of the rumor mill with the ongoing debate of whether the Man United player would switch over to the Spanish league and play for Real Madrid. Speculation arose and was shot down time after time until finally the window shut and the season got underway. Ronaldo missed a few of the opening games which if you were paying attention, managers in salary cap leagues waited to purchase Ronaldo until a couple weeks into the season, when his price had dropped several dollars. Ronaldo returned and brought his goal scoring touch with him. With a handful of games remaining in the 2008/2009 campaign, Ronaldo once again finds himself at the head of the goal scorers list, yet with a significantly lower total this year with 17 netted. He is chased closely by Nicolas Anelka of chelsea who has 15 and then a three split between Robinho of Manchester City, and Gerrard and Torres of liverpool whom have 13 each. However, Ronaldo has once again been a huge fantasy producer and is a consistent source of points week in and week out, though not to the extent of last season. Looking ahead, the speculation is sure to start right up about a transfer but this time I think he will indeed make a switch, likely leaving behind the EPL.

Robinho (Manchester City): As previously mentioned, Robinho has slotted 13 goals so far this season in his first year in the EPL. Expectations remain high as Robinho can be truly brilliant from moment to moment, yet he seems to have not found his full stride as his year has been marked with inconsistency on the score sheet. When all is said and done, I would label his first year as a positive one and a stride forward with hopes of bigger things to come. Looking ahead, a lot of Robinho’s value will be determined by what transfers Manchester City make in the off season. They have declared their desire to bring in the world’s best to Man City, which a flourish of talented supporting players could increase Robinho’s value higher than it is at present.

Frank Lampard (chelsea): Lampard has put together a very solid season for himself, notching 12 goals and 10 assists in his campaign. He has been a consistent contributor to the Blues offense during a season where seemingly more questions than answers have been raised about their core group of athletes. Drogba, Ballack and Deco have been a few that have under performed with their efforts in the ‘08/’09 season and have not produced as the chelsea faithful would have hoped they would. Lampard meanwhile has been the key to the puzzle and the main driving force in chelsea’s late season push towards manchester united in hopes they may be able to win the EPL in a last second flurry.

liverpool / arsenal: It is hardly fair to lump these two teams together when both have a plethora of dynamic players, but the stories underlining their seasons have run similar. Both made impressive runs in the Champions League and both remain in the elite four atop the EPL standings. Injuries have marred arsenal’s year with Cesc Fabregas, Van Persie and Gallas (arguably their two most pivotal players) missing chunks of time during the year. liverpool have been well … liverpool. The never say die mentality has been ever present once again but they too have been bit by injuries to their key players including Fernando Torres and Gerrard. Liverpool is still well within striking distance of winning the EPL away from Man United, while arsenal is looking to finish out the year strong, finish in the top four and try again next campaign.

The Rest: Ok, admittedly it is not fair to lump all the other players, teams and stories into one section but the EPL is typically segregated between the top four of Man U, arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool, and then the rest. Another year will come and go and another year will find the top four unchanged as the rest of the EPL stares upwards. There have been some clutch performers on these bottom sixteen teams such as Crouch, Bent, Davies and Zaki who all put forth solid scoring seasons.

 

It is tough to admit but when it comes to fantasy soccer the season is won and lost by who has more big name players come years end. Unfortunately, in the EPL the most influential fantasy stars are found on the big four teams which cause the remaining teams and performers to be shrouded by the stats the bigger names put forth.

Looking ahead to next season, once again the most influential players that will make up the core of nearly every successful fantasy soccer team will be created from big four teams. It is a sad, harsh reality, but one that must be followed to win a championship.

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Defenders – After the goalie, the defenders are the next line of defense for a team. They linger in the 1/3 of the field nearest the goal, ready to steal the ball from the opponents and pass it off to their own team’s midfielders or offensive line. The defensive line is made up of centerbacks, fullbacks/wingers, and sweepers/liberos. Generally, the centerbacks are the two nearest the goal, and the fullbacks spend their time nearer to the corners. Libero means “free” in Italian. The libero/sweeper goes where he or she is needed to get the ball back into his own team’s hands (or feet, as the case may be). Sweepers are not always used.

Midfielders – Midfielders are neither part of the offensive line nor the defense. These stoppers have the job of keeping the ball as far from their goal as possible. If a team has strong midfielders, there will be little work for the defenders to do. Midfielders can also become additional offenders if their team has control of the ball. If a team has more than one midfielder in play, often one will focus on defense and the other, offense.

Forwards are also called strikers. The goal of the forward is to move the ball towards the opponent’s goal. Forwards work together, passing the ball to line up the perfect shot against the other team. Though midfielders can score, it is usually the forwards who get all the goals. If there is one person who sets himself up to score more goals than other forwards, he is called the finisher.

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Will it be the past champion?

Will Greece hold on to the crown and win another title? The team is arguably even stronger now than the team that won in 2004, and Otto Rehhagel’s side scored more goals than any other in the qualifying rounds. But it will not be easy, as they will face intense competition to become the first team to defend the title.

What about the other strong challengers?

Coach Raymond Domenech could afford to omit David Trezeguet, Djibril Cisse, and Mathieu Flamini, and they would still be ok. That makes the French squad so strong. World champions Italy have the oldest squad in the competition but with Toni in stunning scoring form and Del Pioro back in the fold, can they have another success in this tournament? But these two also have tough matches ahead of them, with the Netherlands and Romania lying in wait.

How about the Spanish Spine?

Spain is a hungry team, and they have not won a major title since Euro 64, but with Sergio Ramos, Cesc Fabregas, Iker Casillas and Fernando Torres providing a formidable spine, could they end that barren run? Michael Ballack’s Germany is also back to his best, and they are among the favourites. Ronaldo will be seeking to add the Henri Delaunay trophy to his accomplishments. Can Portugal go one better than in 2004 in this Euro 2008 competition.

Outsiders can never be ruled out in the UEFA European Championship, as Greece showed in the previous Euro tournament, and Croatia look the pick of the dark horses. Bilic’s Croatia team go all the way?

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Goal keeper

They have been fortunate to have had 43 excellent goalkeepers down the years and one exceptional one.

Marco Ballotta is a very capable goal keeper, maybe he is not a number 1 but he is a very dependable deputy for anybody and served the club with great distinction Claudio Taffarrel is perhaps the best goal keeper to have come out of Brazil and is an excellent goalkeeper. Luca Bucci is very unlucky not to have been chosen as the greatest goalkeeper because he has given so much to the club, but he too would probably accept that Gianluigi Buffon is the greatest of them all. I saw him make his professional debut against Ac Milan, when Bucci was taken off injured. He was just 17 years of age but his display that day was just immaculate as he kept a clean sheet keeping the likes of George Weah at bay all day.

Defense

I have gone for a 3-man defense. I would have to apologize to the likes of Luigi Appoloni who was excellent, Antonio Bennarivo who would definitely have made it if I was going for a flat back four, Georges Grun, the Belgium International defender who was extremely stylish, Fernando Couto, great and combative defender, Nestor Sensini, very unlucky not to have made it and Alberto Di Chiara who was excellent going forward and would have been my choice of left back if I decided on 4-man defense. I have however gone for 3 greats of Parma, and they are Lorenzo Minotti, an underrated defender, whose misfortune is that he played in the same era as Franco Baresi, Lillian Thuram who would surely rank as 1 of the best ever defender to have played in serieA and Fabio Cannavaro, one of Italy’s finest ever defenders. Picking a captain out of these 3 would have been a huge challenge for anyone.

Midfield

I have gone for 4 players in the midfield and while the likes of Daniele Zorratto, Marco Osio, Mario Stanic, Ariel Ortega, Stefano Fiore, Diego Fuser, Dino Baggio, Marco Marchionni and Dominico Morfeo are fantastic players who served Parma with distinction for a period of times, I have gone for Massimo Crippa, a very combative midfielder, Tomas Brolin who is one of Sweden’s best ever players and could play as a striker as well, Juan Sebastian Veron, a great playmaker and fantastic passer of the ball, and Gianfranco Zola who could also play as a forward. He probably never got the kind of popularity as some of Italy’s golden boys like Roberto Baggio, Roberto Mancini, Alex Del Piero and Francesco Totti but he was the equal o f all of them and some would argue that he was better than most if not all of them. It would be cynical suggest that if he was better looking he may have been more popular but he is extremely likeable.

Forwards

I have gone for Alessandro Melli, who served the club with so much distinction and goals, Enrico Chiesa who was and still is a prolific goal scorer and would have been more celebrated if he came in a different era and Hernan Crespo who is Parma’s highest goal scorer. Sincere apologies to Adrian Mutu, Alberto Gilardino and Adriano; who were all great players at Parma but most of all to Faustino Asprilla who was wonderful at Parma and formed an almost telepathic understanding with Zola.

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