Fourteen games as Liverpool manager and the Kop has returned its verdict on Roy Hodgson. It was 11 minutes before five o'clock, and Blackpool were seconds from a thoroughly deserved victory that mired the Anfield club in the relegation zone when it came. "Dalglish! Dalglish! Dalglish!" was the plaintive cry. On current form it may not be the faces in the Liverpool boardroom that change in mid-October but the one in the manager's chair.
Anfield is in despair at its worst start to a season since 1953-54, when Liverpool were relegated, with another protest against Tom Hicks and George Gillett following the appeal for a return of its favourite son. Sandwiched between disgust at the team and the co‑owners, however, was an ovation for those celebrating a famous and perhaps defining result. Ian Holloway's team was outstanding: well-drilled, committed to attack and spirited in the face of adversity. Everything Liverpool, under their floundering new manager, are not.
"Their great result is our nightmare result," Hodgson said, and for the next two weeks there will be no escape from the ignominy of the bottom three. Liverpool resume their relegation fight at Everton on 17 October, two days after the deadline for Hicks and Gillett to repay their loans to the Royal Bank of Scotland. Hodgson's first Merseyside derby will be one he cannot afford to lose.
"The last few results have been very, very bad," he said. "At the moment things look really, really bleak because they are conditioned by our most recent results. There is a lot of work to do, there are a lot of things to sort out. I can't escape that and will not hide from it. Things are difficult."
Asked if chants for Kenny Dalglish – a legend whose application to succeed Rafael Benítez was not considered by the managing director, Christian Purslow, and the chairman, Martin Broughton, in the summer – were unfair, Hodgson replied: "What's fair and unfair? There is no fairness. The fans are frustrated at the moment. There are a lot of things happening, and it's understandable they are frustrated. I am the manager, I am the one who has to take responsibility and I have to accept their right to aim their frustration in my direction.
"I don't think you go from being viewed as positively as I was in May to losing your ability by now. Whether I can turn things around is a question that really shouldn't be asked, but you know it will be asked in football when there are some bad moments. That's the nature of the game."
The biggest indictment of Hodgson's reign is that the scoreline did not surprise. Sotirios Kyrgiakos, who almost salvaged an equalizer with a header in the third minute of injury time – it was saved by Matthew Gilks – was Liverpool's standout defender and forward. Fernando Torres limped off after just 10 minutes with a groin injury and Christian Poulsen, Hodgson's dismal £5m acquisition from Juventus, was substituted to ironic cheers.
Blackpool passed Liverpool into submission in the first half and defended for their lives in the second. They attacked in greater numbers, showed more invention, unsettled Liverpool's defence with the pace of DJ Campbell, and, in Charlie Adam, had the game's best passer. Including David Vaughan, Blackpool had the two most authoritative central midfielders on display until Liverpool's essential second-half revival.
The breakthrough encapsulated the performance of both teams. Joe Cole sent Hodgson apoplectic on the touchline by losing possession on the edge of the Blackpool area. The visitors broke superbly. The ball quickly found Luke Varney, who cut in from the left and tumbled over Glen Johnson's leg for a penalty. José Reina got a hand to Adam's powerful spot-kick but could not prevent the Blackpool captain finding the bottom corner.
The second goal demonstrated Blackpool's confidence and intricacy when outside the Liverpool box. Elliot Grandin surged down the right and found Gary Taylor‑Fletcher inside. The former Dagenham & Redbridge midfielder, who dominated Jamie Carragher at left‑back, delivered a nonchalant flick into the area, where Varney just beat the offside trap and shot low under Reina.
Liverpool capitalized on Blackpool's napping to score in the 53rd minute, when Steven Gerrard's quick free-kick was headed home by Kyrgiakos. Holloway introduced Keith Southern, a player schooled at Everton, to successfully counter the midfield threat, and the visitors squandered several chances to increase their lead on the break. Liverpool finished with Gerrard at centre-back, Raul Meireles at left‑back, and Kyrgiakos up front – a shambles on and off the pitch.
"To be applauded off at what is almost the home of football is so special," Holloway said. "That is what I dreamed of last night. These supporters have seen some of the best football ever, which started when Mr. Shankly had his dream. In my era, there was no better football club in the world." Was, being the operative word.
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