Roy was out of his depth and today's bottom of the league - Blackpool, Wigan, Wolverhampton and West Ham - we lost to the all. Pride made us perform against the big clubs but clearly the manager was out of his depth and distressed all true reds everytime he opened his mouth. Anfield became as quiet as a church and empty seats sprung up as the season progressed. Bye bye Roy.
Kenny returned with a smile and the goodwill of the fans, inheriting a dispirited team, a woefully lacking squad and a media that had just come off a media-fest of none stop stories about Rafa losing the plot, H&G's appalling ownership and final courtroom drama (g.od bless you Grabbo) and Roy's complete incompetence resulting in the most embarrassing string of results in 20 years peaking at a second from bottom 19th place in the league.
But Kenny could walk into any dressing room and command respect, more than an equal, he was The King (and in some places the King is greater than the God). I dreamed I saw him take a bolshy Torres into the trophy room and say 'I won that at Wembley and I won that in Paris.....' The challenge was down, Kenny was The Kop's man in the dressing room. there was no where for under performers to hide, Kenny didn't read your mind, he read your heart, if it wasn't there, you were out.
Some rose magnificently to the challenge such as Meireles, Lucas, Kuyt others failed miserably, Poulsen, Jovanovic and Torres. Kenny carried the crowd who kick started the revival. We lost against Ure however the fans didnt expect miracles despite turning over Chelsea. Kenny was given time. The January transfer window opened and we waited. Nothing. Then the greatest shock of all, Torres took the Russian gold and left for Chelsea. Surely that was the end of our season? LFC worked quickly and broke the bank to bring in a relatively unknown Luis 'The Cannibal' Suarez and paid top dollar for Andy Carroll. We sat stunned, not knowing what had happened nor where we stood.
The rest is history. Kenny performed no miracles, worked no magic nor made no excuses. He handled the media well, gave the lads their heads when they ran on the field and made a few mistakes that cost us games and points. Kenny gave us back our pride. When he told Wenger to 'Pi$$ off' he spoke for the players and the fans. When he praised the young lads, Suarez, Spearing, he did it virtually as a proud dad. The old Cap'n was probably walking the corridors at Anfield late into the night and the whole club and players knew it.... we'd turned the corner and the scouse pride was coming back. Kenny screaming from the bench - he never took BS as a player nor manager in the past and he sure wasn't going to start now. And other 'lads' became higher profile in the club and media - Rushie, Hansen... it became infectious.
But the pain had to happen.
We had to get H&G out of our system. Rafa was a victim of the situation, so was Roy and Poulsen and Konchesky, we hadn't reached rock bottom until we'd lost to Wolves at Anfield and Torres was on his way.
It wouldn't have happened if Kenny had come in straight after Rafa because fans would have compared the two.
It wouldn't have happened if Torres had stayed as he was burnt out and disillusioned - he had to go - we needed fire and we got fire.
It wouldn't have happened if the fans hadn't been truely ready for Kenny - after we'd got the emotional drain of H&G out of the club and out of our lives.
Timing is everything. We had to get through the worst the world could throw at us until the club, the players and the fans were broken and ready to come together again, unite, forget the past and join together to take on and beat the world.
The season is over, the Mancs have their swansong with their 19th and deserved win. Give them a clap and show them the door, their era is over and Liverpool are ready to take over. What goes around, comes around and the Reds are back.
Carroll and Suarez will stamp their authority on the team, club and league. The lads have shown we're not dependant on StevieG.... the youngsters have given us a glimpse of the future and the engine room of Lucas, Kuyt, Meireles and Gerrard are reinvigorated ready for a title challenge next season. We'll bring in new faces, loyal men will leave with our best wishes but tell me the Greek, Cole or whoever wont look straight for the Liverpool score next season where ever and whatever league they end up in.
Kenny will get his new contract as well as our Stevie Clarke... we've got record breaking sponsership deals, new shirt maker deals and the ability to get top dollar for stadium naming rights. The club debt has gone, Fenway appear to be sensible, mature owners, sensible money - not too little/not too much, will be made available for yer lad Kenny to spend to ensure we're first out of the traps next season.
What a year, what a season, what drama... you couldn't have written it, you couldn't have dreamed it.
The future is RED.
