Gerard houllier. - A little rememberance thing.

Liverpool Football Club - General Discussion

Postby Gareth G » Mon May 24, 2004 5:02 pm

Taken from LFC.TV, i enjoyed reading this, hope you do.

In the summer of 1998 a Frenchman breezed into Anfield having just played a major role in helping his country win the World Cup. He had the look of a teacher so it was no surprise to hear that he had taught at a school in Liverpool in the 1970's. 

His name was Gerard Houllier and he had been appointed by the Liverpool board to work alongside Roy Evans and try and help the club catch Manchester United at the summit of the Premiership table.
 
That wasn't Houllier's only task. A drinking culture was evident amongst the playing staff at Liverpool and also a lack of respect for management. Evans arguably had the knowledge but lacked the necessary qualities to discipline his team.
 
Houllier was on the verge of joining Celtic until a phone call from Peter Robinson persuaded him to change his mind and take up the reigns at the club he had followed avidly ever since he stood on the Kop while living in the city, teaching French at a local school.
 
"I'm off to meet my new family," he famously quipped at the end of the press conference that announced his arrival alongside Evans.
 
And that he did. The player stood in a line as Houllier introduced himself to each one. An early indication that things were about to change came when Houllier introduced himself to former centre-back Neil Ruddock.
 
"And who are you?" asked Houllier. Ruddock asked the former Paris St-Germain boss if he had been living under a rock. Ruddock's time at Anfield was soon to come to an end.
 
Houllier didn't tolerate back chat or indiscipline form the players. The players were forbidden to drink before a match and everything from the pre-match meal to the warm up was changed.
 
Things started well for the Houllier - Evans collation but the same old defensive problems crept in and Liverpool slid down the table and out of the League Cup, losing 3-1 at home to Tottenham Hotspur in November.
 
It was obvious that the joint-manager plan wasn't working and Evans soon resigned. Many at the time, felt Houllier should have gone with him.
 
Houllier was now in full control of the side but while some expected miracles, others realised that he was still going to have the same old sub-standard players at his disposal and Liverpool finished the seasonin seventh, with Steve McManaman leaving for Real Madrid on a bosman.
 
One of Houllier's key moments in his first few months was the arrival of Jean-Michael Ferri for £500,000. Ferri, a French midfielder, played roughly 30 minutes of football for Liverpool but during his time at Anfield, he weeded out the troublemakers. Some of the first team however, were well aware of Ferri's real role at the club.
 
Houllier also brought in Phil Thompson as his assistant manager. He said he wanted to work alongside someone who knew the club inside out.
 
One famous story is that of when Thompson, a successful player with Liverpool in the 70's, brought in his large collection of winners medals from his playing days.
 
"This is what it means to play for Liverpool Football Club," he declared. Club captain Paul Ince thought otherwise and produced a cheque book from his pocket...
 
The players found it hard to adjust to Houllier's new styles. They didn't take well to some of the training methods and that summer, Houllier knew exactly who was trying to undermine his authority and he wielded his axe. Out went Ince, McManaman, David James and Jason McAteer.
 
Houllier brought in several players as replacements. Sami Hyypia and Stephane Henchoz were a steal at at combined £6m. Sander Westerveld was drafted in as a replacement for James and Titi Camara and Erik Meijer were also snapped up. Liverpool also beat off interest from Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund to sign Newcastle's Dietmar Hamann in an £8m deal.
 
Liverpool faced a trip to Sheffield Wednesday on the opening day of the new campaign and for those present, there was a vast difference in the playing style. Robbie Fowler and Camara handed the Reds a 2-1 victory.
 
The 1999-2000 season also saw the emergence of Steven Gerrard. Houllier had brought both him and Stephen Wright into the first team squad from the Academy for a UEFA Cup tie with Celta Vigo the previous season.
 
Hamann picked up an ankle injury in Liverpool's opening day win over Wednesday so Gerrard was given his chance in central midfield having previously been deployed as a right-back.
 
For long periods of that season, Liverpool held second position and were well on course to secure a place in the Champions League.
 
In March 2000, Houllier shelled out £11m to Leicester City to sign striker Emile Heskey to propel them into the Champions League.
 
However, a run of five games at the end of the season without scoring a single goal saw Liverpool slip down the table and they were humiliated on the final day as they were beaten 1-0 by Bradford City and allowed Leeds United to sneak into the Champions League.
 
The only positive note was that Liverpool finished the season with the best defensive record in the league, after having such a leaky defence for so long prior to that campaign.
 
The summer saw Liverpool invest heavily in the transfer market again. Markus Babbel arrived on a free transfer from Bayern Munich. Nick Barmby broke Evertonian's hearts by agreeing a £6m switch across the park. World Cup winner Bernard Diomede was snapped up from Auxerre. Pegguy Arphexad was snapped up from Leicester on a free.
 
But the most strange signing of all was that of 35-year-old Gary McAllister from Coventry City. He would later prove to be an inspiration...
 
Houllier also brought in Christian Ziege in a controversial £5.5m move from Middlesbrough in September 2000 and later in the season signed Jari Litmanen on a free transfer from Barcelona. Igor Biscan was signed for £5m.
 
The 2000-2001 season will never be forgotten. Although league form was patchy, Liverpool did the league doubles over arch-rivals Manchester United and Everton as well as hammering Arsenal 4-0 at Anfield.
 
But it was the Reds' well documented performances in the cup competitions that made this a historic season.
 
First, the Worthington Cup was won in February 2001. It was Liverpool's first major trophy in six years.
 
Liverpool met first division Birmingham City in the final and were eventually taken to penalties after a 1-1 draw. Westerveld, however, was the hero as his spot-kick save from Andrew Johnson brought the trophy home.
 
The reds were still going strong in the UEFA and FA Cup's too. Liverpool were drawn against Wycombe Wanderers in the semi-finals of the FA Cup and after a hard fought match, won 2-1 before taking on the mighty Barcelona in the semi-final's of the UEFA Cup.
 
A 0-0 draw at the Nou Camp set up the second leg perfectly for one of the greatest European nights Anfield has even witness. McAllister broke the tension with a first half penalty and Liverpool held out for a 1-0 win to move into the final where they would meet Alaves in Dortmund.
 
In between, McAllister had written his name in Mersey folklore and put Liverpool's Champions League qualification hopes back on track.
 
A 2-1 home reverse against Leeds meant that Liverpool had to win the derby match against Everton at Goodison Park to keep their hopes alive.
 
Things started well, but David Unsworth's late penalty, levelled the score at 2-2 with Biscan having already been sent off.
 
Deep into stoppage time, Gregory Vignal won a freekick just inside the Eveton half. While everyone expected McAllister to toss the ball into the area, the Scot had other ideas and from fully 44-yards he placed the ball into the bottom corner to give Liverpool a 3-2 win.
 
In May 2001 Liverpool made their second trip of the season to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff for the FA Cup final against Arsenal.
 
For 70 minutes, Liverpool were run ragged and made no-less than three goal-line clearances before Freddie Ljungberg put Arsenal 1-0 up.
 
But, this was not the Liverpool of the previous era and they had a fighting sprit. Michael Owen scored twice in the final seven minutes to gift Houllier the cup.
 
Four days later, Liverpool were in Germany taking on Alaves in what turned out to be probably the greatest European final of all time.
 
After 90 minutes, the score was tied at 4-4, with Alaves having equalised in the final minute. But, in the second half of extra time McAllister's cross was headed into his own net by Geli and it was the the golden goal that Liverpool needed to complete a historic cup treble.
 
The following Saturday, Liverpool travelled to Charlton. Victory would finally secure a place in the Champions League. Houllier read his players the riot act after an awful first half which saw Liverpool lucky to go in at 0-0.
 
The second half was much better and Liverpool ran out comfortable 4-0 winners and Houllier finally had that place in the Champions League he had craved.
 
That summer weren't that active in the transfer market. John Arne Riise was snapped up from Monaco for £4.5m while Ziege left for Spurs.
 
Liverpool started the season where they'd left off. Manchester United were beaten 2-1 in the Charity Sheild while Bayern Munich were turned over 3-2 in the UEFA Super Cup final in Monaco. Qualification for the group stages was also achieved with victory over FC Haka.
 
Houllier once again demonstrated his ruthlessness by axing goalkeeper Westerveld after a costly mistake away at Bolton Wanderers. Jerzy Dudek and Chris Kirkland were signed as replacements. Houllier also agreed deals for Milan Baros, Anthony Le Tallec and Florent-Sinama Pongolle.
 
Anfield was rocked in October 2001 when Houllier suffered a suspected heart attack in a league match against Leeds at Anfield.
 
The Reds boss underwent a life saving 13 hour operation and was out of football for five months, in which time assistant Thompson took control of the team.
 
'Do it for Gerard' became the club's motto as they cruised to the top of the Premiership table and into the second group stage of the Champions League.
 
In November of the same year, Houllier made one of his most daring decisions as Liverpool manager. Fowler was a Kop favourite and despite his poor form, he was adored by supporters.
 
But Houllier took the decision to sell him to rivals Leeds for £11m. It caused outrage in certain sections, as Fowler enjoyed a brief return to form at Elland Road.
 
Houllier replaced him with French forward Nicolas Anelka, who signed on a loan-deal until the end of the season.
 
January saw Liverpool struggle in the league and a succession of home draws ultimately cost them the title that season, but things were still going well in the Champions League and in March 2002 Houllier made his long awaited return to the bench in a match against Italian champions Roma at Anfield.
 
The Kop went wild and Liverpool produced a sensational performance to steam roll past Roma and win 2-0 to book a place in the quarter-finals of the European Cup.
 
But perhaps the cracks were starting to show. Houllier made the cringe worthy statement that his side were 'ten games from greatness' while in the second leg of the quarter-final against Bayer Leverkusen, he took off Hamann with Liverpool in control of the game and from there the Reds fell apart.
 
Leading 1-0 from the first leg at Anfield, Liverpool recovered from the set-back of an early goal to level the score at 1-1. But after the restart they found themselves 3-1 down however Litmanen scored a goal that would have been enough to see Liverpool through when Houllier then decided to replace Hamann.
 
Leverkusen struck a goal late on to seal Liverpool's fate but it was no disgrace. In their first season in the new-look European Cup, Liverpool had reached the quarter-finals. However, had they held on that night in Germany they would have faced Manchester United in the semi finals and, at the time, they held the Indian sign over their rivals.
 
Liverpool also lost 1-0 at Tottenham later that same month to end their title hopes but secured second place with a thumping 5-0 win over Ipswich Town at Anfield on the final day of the season.
 
As the players embarked on their lap-of-honour on that warm May afternoon, many inside the ground felt that Liverpool were well and truly on course to secure number 19...
 
However, the summer of 2002 is well regarded as a failure in the transfer market for Houllier. Anelka wasn't given the permanent deal he was hoping for and instead, in came El-Hadji Diouf for £10m. Salif Diao and Bruno Cheyrou were also snapped up as was goalkeeper Patrice Luzi.
 
The following season started in brilliant style but eventually faded. It was 13 matches before Liverpool tasted defeat in the league and from then on, it all started to go wrong. They had been dumped out of the Champuions League prior to that game thanks to a humiliating 3-3 draw with FC Basel in Switzerland.
 
Houllier also took at swipe at Gerrard's performances on the pitch, claiming that perhaps he needed to stop reading his own press.
 
Diouf started well but delivered little in the long run while the likes of Cheyrou, Biscan, Diao and Djimi Traore were awful at times and nowhere near Liverpool standard.
 
Liverpool's only bright spark was the 2-0 Worthington Cup final win over Manchester United in March 2003. Otherwise, it was a dull season. Dumped out of the UEFA Cup by Celtic. Knocked out of the FA Cup by Crystal Palace at home and Liverpool even missed out on the Champions League by losing 2-1 away at Chelsea on the final day of the season.
 
Houllier however, could not be accused of failing to deliver in the transfer market that summer. Harry Kewell chose Liverpool ahead of Arsenal, Manchester United, Barcelona and Inter Milan and in came Steve Finnan from Fulham. Le Tellec and Pongolle were also brought over from Le Harve.
 
But the season followed pretty much the same patter as the previous one. Although, it is fair to say that Liverpool didn't have the best of luck with injuries.
 
Liverpool clinched fourth spot and a place in the Champions League but it has been suggested that this was only because the other teams around them had been so inconsistent. The reds also finished 30 points behind champions Arsenal.
 
So in May 2004, Liverpool took the decision to bring Houllier's reign to an end at Anfield and appoint a new man with a fresh approach.
 
Houllier was tearful as he left this morning. He took one last look around the Anfield stadium before holding an emotional press conference. Even the biggest Houllier critics must surely have felt a tinge of sadness.
 
Houllier brought the club into modern times. Liverpool now have some of the most exciting young footballers in world football and not to mention, the finest central midfielder in Europe.
 
They have a training complex that is the envy of everyone else and the drinking culture that once plagued Anfield is no more.
 
It may have gone stale in the end, but one thing is for sure - Gerard Houllier has written his name in Liverpool's history books.
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Postby DrLiverpool » Mon May 24, 2004 5:04 pm

I love you man....

no i really do.....



you've always been there for me and I really really love you...










I'm so drunk right now

but sooooooooooo HAAPPYYYY
*I'm not always right, but I'm never wrong*
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Postby JohnBull » Mon May 24, 2004 5:12 pm

What a load of ******!!!
Grow Up will you - He was given everything and did not produce and never would have!!!
JohnBull
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Postby DrLiverpool » Mon May 24, 2004 5:18 pm

I toast to that


Cheers mate




7 bottles down 3 to go














should i not be in work today?

I love you all
with all my heart
if i was dead i still love
love all you
i love all of you
by the way
i love you all
*I'm not always right, but I'm never wrong*
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Postby Gareth G » Mon May 24, 2004 6:03 pm

JohnBull wrote:What a load of ******!!!
Grow Up will you - He was given everything and did not produce and never would have!!!

Hey ****** off, will you. No need to make that comment to me. I never wrote it you goat. If you had of read the opening line it would have told you were i got it.
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Postby Gareth G » Mon May 24, 2004 6:10 pm

And just so you know, i think Houllier should have been given another season.

I think it was unfair the way he left us, why didn't the ****** gutless board get rid of him when thing's were at there worst instead of letting the man get us CL football, letting him think it was all good then hit him one hell of a kick in the ball's?

I did want Houllier out when thing's were bad, but he deserved another chance, one the gutless board lead him to believe he had. You heard it yourself, he was 100% sure he was going to be here next season.

Well done board for having BIG ball's you ****** pussies.
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