“The club came into existence following a row between the directors of Everton FC and the owner of their Anfield ground, John Houlding. Houlding was a brewer as well as the club’s landlord. He insisted that only his beers be sold inside the ground and, as Everton grew in stature he put up their rent from £100 in 1884 to £250 in 1890. On the 12th March, 1892, Everton quit Anfield and three days later, Houlding formed Liverpool FC. Originally the new club played in the blue and white shirts that Everton left behind (see photograph – Everton changed to ruby red) but in 1896, they adopted the municipal colours of red and white and in 1901, took the city’s liver bird emblem as their badge.” Historical Kits

“While it’s understandable to want to be excited about Liverpool’s transfer activity, I started to wonder if our preconceptions had any bearing on how good the player turned out to be in a red shirt.” Tomkins Times

“THE sporting commentariat are often fond of cliché, and in football there is no phrase more well-worn than the one about it being a game of two halves. But in Liverpool’s case, the 2010-11 season truly was bi-polar. The club’s renaissance under Kenny Dalglish, following a grim six months with Roy Hodgson at the helm, has seen the side tighten up defensively while at times playing some wonderfully free-flowing passing football.” Daily Post

“Aston Villa duo Stewart Downing and Ashley Young have been on Liverpool’s radar for some time and manager Kenny Dalglish witnessed first-hand their qualities as his side slipped to the defeat which ended their Europa League hopes. With Tottenham only drawing the Reds could have leapt into fifth place and secured European qualification with a victory but they rarely troubled their hosts on an afternoon when Villa’s two wingers provided the main attacking thrust.” ESPN

“IT’S the job every supporter wants – and thinks they would be great at. The role of the football scout is one of the most important in the modern game. With stakes high, and pressure and expectation burdening clubs like never before, transfer market prowess has seldom been more crucial. Put simply, a club’s recruitment policy can be the difference between success and failure, boom and bust.” Liverpool Echo

“After months of positively explosive squibs, the performance against Spurs was a bit of a damp one. It disappointed because it came so quickly after the scintillating display at Craven Cottage, that was one of the Reds’ best for a couple of seasons, and several convincing home wins.” Tomkins Times

“Tottenham seized the advantage in the race for the final Europa League spot as Liverpool’s first match since the appointment of Kenny Dalglish as permanent manager ended in a 2-0 defeat. But referee Howard Webb could have been accused of having a helping hand in deciding the outcome with a series of questionable decisions which culminated in the award of a very favourable penalty for the visitors’ second.” ESPN

Liverpool 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – EPL
The 90th Minute

“When Luis Suarez scored his fourth goal for Liverpool on Monday night at Fulham, there were fans typically beside themselves. They now had ‘the best player in the world’. Now obviously this is nonsense, and Suarez himself probably can’t believe his start. In the past, such form certainly wouldn’t have lasted. One thing you could set your watch by – almost without exception – is that whatever happened in the first year or two for a player signed by Liverpool, he’d end up devoid of spark and a lesser player.” ESPN

“Even though I spent November and December 2010 pushing for Kenny Dalglish to be given the caretaker’s role – using what little influence I may have had after meeting John W Henry – I didn’t think it would happen. And when it did happen, months later, I didn’t think it would turn out this well.” Tomkins Times

“Liverpool may be about to be knocked off their perch by Manchester United but they showed they might just mount a serious challenge for a 19th league title of their own next season by destroying Fulham 5-2. The Reds made it 13 goals in their last three games and Maxi Rodriguez completed his second hat-trick over the same period, with Dirk Kuyt scoring his 12th in 13 matches for club and country and Luis Suarez wrapping up the rout.” ESPN

“It was fitting that it should be at the former home of the erstwhile excellent Fulham manager (and subsequently awful Liverpool manager) that Luis Suarez should encapsulate everything that was wrong about Roy Hodgson’s approach between August 2010 and January 2011.” Tomkins Times

“Sami Hyypia called time on his outstanding career yesterday, retiring from Bayer Leverkusen at the age of 37. Even in the twilight of his career, Hyypia gave the Bundesliga club a glimpse of the consistent greatness he displayed throughout his ten years at Liverpool. Sami helped Leverkusen to a 4th place finish in 2009-10, his only full season at the club and was named to the Bundesliga Team of the Season.” Anfield On The Hudson

“Goals continue to flow at Anfield under Kenny Dalglish as Liverpool strengthened their claim for European football next season with a 3-0 victory over Newcastle. The Reds, who have scored 14 in their last three home matches, moved above Tottenham into fifth place having rarely been troubled by the Magpies. Dirk Kuyt’s eighth in his last seven Premier League matches was sandwiched between another for Maxi Rodriguez, who hit a hat-trick in the 5-0 win over Birmingham last week, and one for the impressive Luis Suarez.” ESPN

Liverpool 3-0 Newcastle United – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – EPL
The 90th Minute

Andrea Mantegna, Triumph of Caesar
“A Maxi Rodriguez hat-trick inspired Liverpool to their biggest win of the season and further prove, if anyone was still in doubt, that Kenny Dalglish is the man to lead the club forward. The little Argentinian was not necessarily brilliant but just put himself in the right places to capitalise on some impressive team play by a side brimming with the confidence instilled by the 60-year-old Scot.” ESPN

Liverpool 5-0 Birmingham City – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – EPL
The 90th Minute

“Like most people, I expected Kenny Dalglish to give Liverpool a lift. While he wouldn’t have been my first choice last summer (due to his time out of the game), such was the depression surrounding the team by the autumn that it was crying out for someone inspirational and in touch with the club. If a caretaker was needed, he had to be the man.” Tomkins Times

“This old chestnut is revived thanks to David Anderson of the Daily Mirror, who wrote a peach of a piece this week; taking nonsense to new heights. After all, wasn’t it about time someone wrote a piece criticing Rafa Benítez, for no apparent reason? Here he tells us of the folly of playing Dirk Kuyt out on the wing, after he scored a great goal playing … out on the wing.” Tomkins Times

“He’s been likened to a horse, had semi-serious cannibalism allegations thrown at him, and is theoretically barred from the world’s second largest continent. This could easily be the story of a villain in a bad ‘B’ movie, though instead, is the story of Luis Suarez; the Uruguayan striker spear-heading the new look Liverpool into a new era. A player who could possibly go on to define Liverpool for the next decade, similar to the way in which Steven Gerrard has spent the last decade doing so. That may sound a little optimistic, though after just a handful of appearances in a red shirt, the twenty-three year old has already had to modestly put to one side comparisons with another Liverpool number seven who needs no mention.” Some Team Up North

“A perfect day for an FA Cup semi-final. As Dr Glyn Phillips drove with his brother Ian and two mates from Merseyside to Sheffield, they all agreed the weather could not have been better. April showers had been replaced by radiant sunshine and the Pennines looked stunning beneath the immaculate blue skies. A beautiful day for the semi between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.” Tomkins Times

“Chris Brunt’s second-half penalty double enabled West Brom to win the battle of Liverpool managers past and present at The Hawthorns. Current Reds manager Kenny Dalglish saw Martin Skrtel head his side in front five minutes into the second half. But his predecessor, Roy Hodgson, was indebted to Brunt for initially levelling matters from the spot and then scoring the 88th-minute winner. Albion were worthy of their victory and are now unbeaten in five games under Hodgson.” ESPN

“That’s right: Roy Hodgson was not the worst modern LFC manager. (No, this is not an April fools’ joke.) To my mind, that unenviable honour still belongs to Graeme Souness. But just as Hodgson’s acolytes stress that he wasn’t given time to get things right, to my mind the Londoner arguably only sits above Souness because he wasn’t given the time to get more wrong.” Tomkins Times

Jamie Carragher
“‘You don’t know what you’re doing’ has to be the harshest phrase for a manager to hear from his club’s supporters. (That said, maybe the name of another manager being chanted ranks up there on the hurtometer.)While many will think that Roy Hodgson doing well at West Bromwich Albion proves his critics (myself included) wrong, it seems to merely back up my oft-made point: he’s clearly a good manager, but only in certain situations. He has some great skills, but they are not universally transferable. Just as you wouldn’t play Jamie Carragher at centre-forward, even though he’s a long-proven footballer, you wouldn’t want Roy Hodgson managing beyond his comfort zone.” Tomkins Times

“Finally, some six weeks after signing, Andy Carroll squeezed his considerable frame into a Liverpool shirt and entered the action from the bench. Against Manchester United his introduction appeared to change the game for the worse – although the game was effectively already won – but against Braga his slipped more seamlessly into the action.” Tomkins Times

“West Ham today produced arguably their best display of the season to haul themselves back off the bottom of the Premier League and all but kill off Liverpool’s faint Champions League hopes. Goals from Scott Parker, Demba Ba – rapidly developing into one of the signings of the January transfer window – and Carlton Cole secured all three points at Upton Park and kept the pressure on the Hammers’ relegation rivals.” ESPN

West Ham firepower undoes Liverpool
“West Ham United’s season continues to hint at revival. The Londoners hoisted themselves from the foot and up amidst the clutter of clubs on 28 points either side of the cut-off by bringing to a juddering halt Liverpool’s eight-match unbeaten run here. This was a notable success, achieved in the knowledge that Wolves’ thumping win the previous day had demanded a response. Avram Grant’s team provided just that.” Guardian

West Ham United 3-1 Liverpool – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats
The 90th Minute

“Liverpool’s ambitions of staging a late charge for Champions League qualification suffered an untimely blow as bogey side Wigan ended their four-match winning run in a draw at Anfield. A fifth successive victory would have put the Reds within four points of fourth-placed Chelsea but despite dominating two-thirds of the game they failed to press home their advantage.” ESPN

Liverpool 1-1 Wigan Athletic – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – EPL
The 90th Minute

“1. Kenny Dalglish makes his case for the full-time gig. From flirting with relegation under Roy Hodgson and playing the most unaesthetic style many observers had ever witnessed from a Liverpool team, interim coach Kenny Dalglish has overseen a dramatic turnaround in the club’s fortunes.” SI