Liverpool’s Best and Worst Seasons of the Millennium – Part Four

THE final chapter of the saga has arrived. Just three seasons remain to find the best and the worst of Liverpool over a season in the new millennium.

Having dominated football both at home and abroad during the 1970s and 1980s, the Reds have been looking to scale those heights once again.

But do any of the seasons in this millennium come close?

With three managers in three seasons, Part Four certainly wasn’t a period of stability and consistency, but there was success (and failure) along the way.

2010/11 – Premier League (6th), FA Cup (3rd Round), Europa League (Last 16), League Cup (3rd Round), Top Scorer (Dirk Kuyt – 15 goals):

A new era was ushered in following the departure of Rafael Benitez after six years with the arrival of Roy Hodgson. However, that new era was short-lived. Poor signings, a poor start and continued mediocrity before taking on the fans after a December defeat to Wolves at Anfield meant that he was shown the exit door in January, paving the way for the return of a legend – The King – Kenny Dalglish.

His spell as caretaker manager is remembered for uniting the club that had been brought to its knees with the results from Hodgson and the antics of Hicks and Gillett with administration and an ‘epic swindle’. Together with good results in the league, where the Reds climbed from 12th to 6th, the noise from the fans was deafening in unison, demanding a permanent deal for Dalglish.

However, despite the good feeling emanating around Anfield following Dalglish’s arrival and the progress made in the league, it still made for a fairly disastrous season as most of the damage had already been done. Dalglish’s first game was an FA Cup exit away to Manchester United in the 3rd Round, while Liverpool suffered one of their most embarrassing defeats in the League Cup exit to League Two side Northampton Town on penalties at Anfield. The Europa League journey didn’t last too long either, losing in the last 16 to Braga 1-0 on aggregate.

Ultimately, a very disappointing season that had a few highlights in the league once Dalglish returned, and precious little when Hodgson was in charge (the Gerrard hat-trick against Napoli is the only game that comes to mind). The best thing that came out of this season was new ownership off the pitch, finally getting rid of the demons known as Hicks and Gillett. However, that being the highlight demonstrates how poor the season really was.

Verdict: D

2011/12 – Premier League (8th), FA Cup (Runners-up), League Cup (Winners), Top Scorer (Luis Suarez – 17 goals):

Were it not for a goal line clearance that brought technology into the footballing debate once more with Andy Carroll’s header against Chelsea at Wembley, Liverpool could arguably have finished the season with two major trophies in the mantelpiece instead of one, and Kenny Dalglish may still have remained in charge to this day.

But as it is, we didn’t turn up for the first hour, so we were too late and didn’t deserve to win. Therefore, whilst there was success in the League Cup, particularly in the road to Wembley (beating Stoke away, Chelsea away and Manchester City in the semi-finals), a runners-up finish in the other domestic cup meant the end for the legendary Scot. He tried to deliver on what he promised, which was winning trophies, but forgot that if you don’t win the league, you can’t then finish 8th, and he forgot to start Andy Carroll for the FA Cup final, which could have made all the difference.

With the Reds not in Europe for the first time in the millennium, Liverpool had more time to rest between games and go on these cup runs, but a return of 52 points in the league – the lowest for Liverpool in their Premier League history – is completely unacceptable, especially considering the money that was spent. For nearly the same amount as Cristiano Ronaldo, Liverpool bought Andy Carroll, Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing.

To be fair to Dalglish, he didn’t totally negotiate the transfer fees. That was down to Damien Comolli, who was sacked for his efforts. Furthermore, Dalglish did have successes in his transfer policy, bringing in a certain Luis Suarez, Jose Enrique, Craig Bellamy and even Henderson, who is improving and showing signs of progress despite the large transfer fee. However, the Suarez fiasco wasn’t handled well, and once the FA Cup was lost, with the awful, rotten league form despite no European competition to deal with, Dalglish’s P45 was in the post. A very Jekyll and Hyde season, which sums up Liverpool, with success but also big failure.

Verdict: B-
[ad_pod id=”unruly-video” align=”center”]
2012/13 – Premier League (7th), FA Cup (4th Round), UEFA Cup (Last 32), League Cup (4th Round), Top Scorer (Luis Suarez – 30 goals):

The final season in the collection doesn’t finish the saga with a bang at all. Brendan Rodgers from Swansea was the young, dynamic manager the new American owners had been seeking ever since they took control of the club and therefore they had to back him.

The early signings were shaky, with £25m being spent on Joe Allen and Fabio Borini, while the tough start didn’t help matters either. However, despite the truly dire first half of the season, there have been signs ever since of gradual improvement and optimism that Liverpool can get back to some sort of force under Rodgers and his style of play. A more consistent run of form saw the Reds finish in the top seven, albeit below Everton for a successive season, but wins such as the 6-0 away to Newcastle provided memorable highlights in a season which will be one to forget on the whole.

The cup journeys were nothing compared to the season before, losing at home to Swansea in the League Cup and going out away to Oldham in the FA Cup. Meanwhile, despite an inspired fightback, Liverpool couldn’t get over the line and went out to Zenit St Petersburg in the Europa League. The signings did improve from Rodgers massively, with Daniel Sturridge and Coutinho arriving in January, which in no doubt coincided with the upward turn in form.

Luis Suarez provided the highlight of the season for Liverpool on the good, the bad and the ugly fronts, scoring 30 goals in all competitions and biting Branislav Ivanovic. Moreover, Steven Gerrard enjoyed a very consistent season at 32 with 10 goals and 12 assists. Overall, it was a very poor season, but must be placed in context with the poor squad at Rodgers’ disposal that was being shortened to reduce wages, placing the need for youngsters such as Raheem Sterling, who demonstrated what he could do and was one of the very few positives in the opening half of the season. However, the fact that there were more positives in the second half which created some optimism and patience from the fans for Rodgers meant that the season could at least be potentially looked back on as the springboard for greater things.

Verdict: C-

So that’s that. The saga is indeed finished. And after going through all the verdicts, I contend that Liverpool’s best season in the millennium is the very first one – the 2001 treble season. Other seasons such as 2005, with Istanbul at its core, do have a conceivable argument, but for me, nothing has since matched the consistency Liverpool enjoyed under Houllier that year, bringing three major trophies to the club in just one year. Only once before in the entire history of the club has that been achieved and it was back when Liverpool were the best team in the world. Therefore, the 2000/2001 was Liverpool’s best season of the millennium.

But what about the worst? There are a few contenders, but the 2011 is the pick of the bunch in my opinion. Success was nowhere near on any front, while depression had hit rock bottom on the Kop until Dalglish’s arrival, and despite the upturn in league form, it was just to scrap for a top six place, when Liverpool were challenging for the title just two years before. Furthermore, most of the damage had already been done. 2004, 2010 and 2013 could again all be effectively argued to take its place, but narrowly the worst season of the millennium for Liverpool was the 2010/2011 season.

What have been the best and worst moments in this millennium for Liverpool, but more importantly, what do you think was the best season in this period, and the worst? Comment below!

Live4Liverpool is recruiting columnists. For further info contact the site editor at live4liverpool@snack-media.com

Follow us on Twitter here: @live4Liverpool and ‘Like’ us on Facebook