What Chance of Title Number 19 for the Reds NEXT Season?

Liverpool fans have been mocked in recent times for their annual claims of ‘next year will be our year’. The last league title won at Liverpool was over 20 years ago in the 1989-1990 season when Kenny Dalglish claimed the 18th league for the Merseyside club. The years following this historic achievement have seen their record eroded by Manchester United under the leadership of Alex Ferguson, who recently celebrated their 19th league title following a draw against Blackburn Rovers. So why, with Liverpool likely to finish 6th, is there reason for Liverpool fans to feel positive?

The primary reason for optimism on Merseyside is that the right man is in charge of the club. Kenny Dalglish is a club legend who was a central figure to the incredible success enjoyed by Liverpool in the 1970s and 1980s. Dalglish won the league title five times as a player (1979, 1980, 1982, 1983 and 1984) and a further three times as a player/manager (1986, 1988 and 1990). Dalglish has also won many other trophies including the European Cup three times, and a plethora of personal accolades, but significantly he has won the trust and love of the Liverpool fans.

When Dalglish took over from Hodgson in January there was instantly a new feel around the club, the clouds lifted and a new sense of optimism was evident. Following his appointment Dalglish has engineered a remarkable turnaround. In his first 16 league games Dalglish accrued a very respectable 33 points, with only Chelsea gaining more points in this period (35). Dalglish was clearly delighted when his appointment was made permanent when he talked of expectation stating that:

“The place is much more stable now than it was before, the supporters have smiles on their faces and it is up to us to keep them there as long as we can … But we are not going to sit here and shout our mouth off about what we are going to do.”