Roy Hodgson left Liverpool a few days ago and Kenny Dalglish has taken over as the Reds' boss now. I feel sorry for Roy as he really tried his best to get the team going. He was not given much time to prove what he can bring to Anfield. Unfortunately, that's modern soccer and we are dealing with one of the largest clubs in the world; we cannot afford that much time for him to settle in. We need results now!
And with that said, welcome back to Anfield King Kenny! I became Liverpool fan not too long ago, so my knowledge of Kenny Dalglish is quite limited. All I know is that, he is a Liverpool legend. He played Liverpool and Celtics before. He later became a player-manager for Liverpool. Through out his career, he won many titles and trophies for the Reds. It's definitely good to see someone like that to become the manager. However, one concern is that, he has not managed a club for so long and things have changed dramatically. I hope that he will do well and bring Liverpool back on track.
Liverpool played Manchester United at Old Trafford for the 3rd round of FA Cup. Unfortuately, the Reds came away with a 0-1 loss as Giggs put away a penalty at the first minute of the game. I thought the penalty was quite controversial. Berbatov was in the penalty box, while Daniel Agger was right with him. Agger had his hand on Berbatov and soon enough, Berbatov fell to the ground. The referee, Howard Webb, quickly pointed to the penalty spot even though Liverpool players were protesting. Giggs stepped up and launched a powerful shot. Even though Reina guessed the right direction, the ball still went in. This must have unsettled Liverpool and frustrated some players as Gerrard got a red card at the half hour mark. Gerrard and Carrick both went for the loose ball. However, Gerrard had both feet up and they contacted Carrick's feet. This undoubtedly made getting back into the game impossible and Liverpool was out of the FA Cup.
After watching the replay many times, I thought Berbatov went down way too easily. Sure enough, Agger had his hand on Berbatov back. However, in soccer, I believe that physical contact is unavoidable. In fact, in the Premier League, this kind of contact in the penalty box is normal. For instance, I'm sure you have seen how in a corner kick or free kick, defending players always pull or push the attacking players in the penalty box. How often do we see a penalty being awarded in those situations? For us Liverpool fans, how many times have we seen Kyriakos being dragged down by another defender in the penalty box as he tried to head in a cross from Gerrard? I don't recall Liverpool being awarded a penalty. The way that Berbatov went down was just too weak. As a world class striker, I would imagine that he has better body balance than that. How hard can you push the other person who is running away from you? If Berbatov was not diving, then I am quite disappointed at his ability. He has to work on his balance.
I thought Liverpool did quite well in the match. Despite conceding an early controversial goal and with one man down for one hour of play, they came away only losing one goal. And they were not playing a weak team. Of all teams, they were playing against Manchester United in Old Trafford. Considering that they lost to Wolves in Anfield not too long ago, this is a dramatic improvement. Obviously, we cannot draw our conclusion in one game, but I like how Liverpool played today. I hope this form will continue to improve.
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