Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish blames poor start to season for missing out on Europa League
Liverpool missed out on Europe by losing their final game of the 2010-11 season against Aston Villa. This was the second consecutive defeat for the Reds in the League and it meant that Tottenham Hotspur overtook them for 5th place and will be
playing in the Europa League next season.
Manager of Liverpool Kenny Dalglish, who took over in January 2011 after Roy Hodgson was fired from the post, believes that the poor start of the season cost Liverpool the place in Europe instead of the final few games. The loss at the hands of Aston Villa
meant that Liverpool finished 6th and for the first time since 1999, missed out on European football.
“We did not qualify for Europe because we lost a game today, it was because we had a bad start to the season, If you start as badly as that you are lucky to be sixth come the end of it,” Dalglish said.
Dalglish paid tribute to his players and said that Liverpool did fantastically well to recover from the position they found themselves in at turn of the year. Liverpool had the worst start to their season in a decade and a half and also lingered on the relegation
zone for a few weeks. However, finishing 6th certainly is an achievement taking all of that into account, and Dalglish believes that the team should be proud of their performance.
He said, “To get so close is a great complement to the players. I'm disappointed we didn't finish on a high as they've (the players) done fantastic to get as far as they have done.”
The season started early for Liverpool in 2010 as they had to play Europa League’s initial games. The change of guard at the managerial post saw Rafa Benitez make way for Roy Hodgson. There were fears of players like Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard parting
company with the club but somehow Hodgson managed to convince both of them to stay. However, on the pitch, Hodgson’s tactics were anything but convincing and the team started to fall apart.
The ownership of the club also changed hands after a court battle that saw George Gillette and Tom Hicks handover the club to new owners Fenway Sports from USA. First order of business was firing Hodgson and hiring Dalglish. Later they signed Luis Suarez
and Andy Carroll by hesitantly selling off Fernando Torres for 50 million pounds.
Dalglish had one big positive and one big negative going for him when he took over. The positive thing was he could not have done any worse than his predecessor. However, the negative was that he could have ruined his image of a Liverpool legend by not being
able to lift the club back up.
However as things stand future is looking bright for the Reds, but the summer transfer window may prove to be an important time for the club to see what changes Dalglish makes to the squad and maybe next season, the Reds can actually make a bid not just
for a Champions League spot but in fact for the title.