LIVERPOOL define Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in their seasons and in general over the entire millennium.
Periods of success have been followed with periods of discontent, with inconsistency being one of the aspects denying Liverpool a return to the top of English football, as their pursuit of that elusive title continues at 23 years and counting.
Nevertheless, even though the title hasn’t yet returned to Anfield, there have been a myriad of great moments that fans have enjoyed and savoured over the millennium, with the 2005 Champions League win being the standout highlight.
A great season means consistency, success in the form of a high league position and/or trophies, strong attacks, strong defences and a strong squad in general and of course those legendary moments to name but a few. Looking through the recent past of the Reds, which seasons have stood out and which ones have been ones to forget?
2000/01 – Premier League (3rd), FA Cup (Winners), UEFA Cup (Winners), League Cup (Winners), Top Scorer (Michael Owen – 24 goals):
The first full season of the Millennium was one of Liverpool’s best, winning every knockout competition they entered for the first time in the club’s history – representing Liverpool’s most successful season since the 1980s.
Three trophies, all won in incredible circumstances, demonstrated the strength that Liverpool had in their squad in maintaining challenges on three fronts. Alaves, Birmingham and Arsenal all fell victim to the Reds in the finals, with the famous golden own goal to win the UEFA Cup, the penalty shoot out to win the League Cup and the ‘Michael Owen Final’ in winning the FA Cup. Moreover, finishing in the top three in the league secured Champions League qualification and ensured Liverpool would return to Europe’s top competition for the first time since the Heysel disaster – financially Liverpool’s biggest success of the season.
Michael Owen’s exploits earned him the Ballon d’Or, while Emile Heskey enjoyed his best goalscoring season of his career with 22 goals. Despite only taking 69 points, which is Liverpool’s 5th best return in this period, the consistent excellence all round means that this is definitely one of, if not the best seasons this millennium for Liverpool. Verdict: A+.
2001/02 – Premier League (2nd), Champions League (QF), FA Cup (R4), League Cup (R3), UEFA Super Cup (Winners), Community Shield (Winners), Top Scorer (Michael Owen – 29 goals):
A return of 80 points was Liverpool’s best yet in a Premier League season and their first real title challenge for quite some time. Furthermore, on their return to the Champions League Liverpool reached the quarter finals, prompting Gerard Houllier to say that Liverpool were ‘ten games away from greatness’, ten wins away from a Premier League and Champions League double.
Unfortunately, like a few of the seasons Liverpool have had since 1990, this was a missed opportunity. Defeat to Leverkusen in the Champions League quarter finals was disappointing, while Liverpool were beaten to the title by Arsenal. The results in the league were brilliant, but sadly we couldn’t cross the finishing line on either front and the domestic cups weren’t great either, with the Reds falling before the quarter final stage in both.
However, there was success in the form of beating giants Bayern Munich to win the UEFA Super Cup and fierce rivals Manchester United in the Community Shield. A good season, especially considering Houllier was ill for a lot of it, but not Liverpool’s best. Verdict: A-.
2002/03 – Premier League (5th), Champions League (3rd in Group), FA Cup (R4), UEFA Cup (QF), League Cup (Winners), Community Shield (Runners-up), Top Scorer (Michael Owen – 28 goals):
This was the season where, if the right signings were made, Liverpool could have won the title. Unfortunately, the grave of Gerard Houllier may well carry the epitaph: ‘Here lies the man who bought El-Hadji Diouf, Salif Diao and Bruno Cheyrou’.
Declining to sign Nicolas Anelka in favour of Diouf wasn’t the wisest decision Houllier ever made, and he was never the same manager after his illness. Liverpool’s start to the season was good, topping the table after 12 games but a disastrous run of from soon after left them fighting for a Champions League place, which they lost on a final day fight with Chelsea (also losing a potential takeover from Roman Abramovich in the process).
Their progress in the Champions League wasn’t much better, falling in the group stage and going into the UEFA Cup, where they lost to Celtic in the quarter finals, while there was a 4th round exit in the FA Cup. However, the season had a silver lining with another major trophy, beating Manchester United to win the League Cup. Once again, a missed opportunity for Liverpool, and despite the win in Cardiff, the failure to finish in the top four meant the season was mostly a disappointment, especially in the context of the previous two. Verdict: B-.
2003/04 – Premier League (4th), FA Cup (R5), UEFA Cup (Last 16), League Cup (R4), Top Scorer (Michael Owen – 19 goals):
A bit of a desperate season for Liverpool, clinging on to a top four place as Gerard Houllier tried to save his job, but was replaced anyway at the end of the season by Rafael Benitez. The runs in the cup competitions were modest at the most, while Michael Owen continued to top the goalscoring charts for Liverpool, but injuries meant even he was down on previous years.
Liverpool’s squad needed rejuvenating, and looked set to be built around captain Steven Gerrard, who was becoming more and more the main man for the Reds. Apparently Diouf danced his way into training the day after Liverpool lost in the FA Cup to Portsmouth (Carragher’s autobiography), which was the beginning of the end for Houllier and perhaps showed the mentality of some of the players too. There was a notable victory over Manchester United in the league, which went a long way to securing a top four place, but overall the season wasn’t one to remember. Verdict: C.
That’s it for Part One, but Part Two will look at the majority of Rafa’s reign, with the notable successes and notable failures and whether the Spaniard guided Liverpool to a season that is remembered as the best the club has had this Millennium, or the worst. But that’s for another day.
In the meantime, out of the seasons listed here, which one was the best for the Reds, and which one was the worst? Also what is your opinion of Gerard Houllier? Was he a good manager, a great manager or a poor one? Is he remembered for 2001, or for Diouf, Diao and Cheyrou? Comment below!
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