Last night saw an emotional return for former Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier. A touching banner was displayed for the well respected Frenchman during You?’ll Never Walk Alone but I still feel his contribution as Liverpool manager is sometimes overlooked and not given the time it really deserves.

After taking full control of the club in 1998 after a short spell as joint manager with Roy Evans he had the mammoth task of turning Liverpool into a side that could compete again. After guiding Liverpool to seventh in the league in his first season, he embarked on a managerial journey that saw many ups and downs

In his first full season in charge he let go of seven players,bringing in eight new faces including fan?s favourites Sami Hyypia, Dietmar Hamann and Vladimir Smicer. This season saw the reds finish fourth, qualifying for the UEFA Cup. The next season and no doubt his most successful was the Treble winning year. The season itself doesn’t need any explaining, again Houllier bought well bringing in more players that became fans favourites.

Houllier?s cup wins that year were no mean feet, beating the likes of Barcelona, Chelsea and Arsenal on the way to pick up the three trophies, Liverpool also finished third in the league qualifying them for the Champions League after a long absence from the competition.

Then came illness, Leeds at home on the 13th of October 2001, Houllier didn’t come out pitch side for the second half instead he was rushed to hospital for an emergency heart operation. Houllier returned back to active duty as manager of Liverpool after only 5 months out, this is where people remember him from. The man a shadow of his former self, he made poor judgments on the field and off it in the transfer market brining in several expensive flops. Houllier went on to leave after the 2004 season by mutual consent.

But this is not the man who should be remembered, Gerard Houllier was the manager who rebuilt Liverpool Football Club and turned them back into a side that could compete home and away, he nurtured now club captain Steven Gerrard and fellow Scouser Jamie Carragher into first team regulars. He brought in players that went on to win a European Cup in 2005. He rebuilt and structured Melwood into the world class training facility we see today. So lets remember the man who rebuilt Liverpool and brought joy to the fans.

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