A question I’m often asked is why I support Liverpool FC. I can’t remember following one particular team through my early years. I loved football and made sure I watched every match I could. When I was on the playground with my schoolfriends I would pretend to be Mark Hughes just as often as I’d pretend I was Ian Rush. LFC were the best team English football still at this point, so I watched them play more often than other clubs, but I hadn’t settled on them as my team at that moment in time.

Then in April 1989 everything changed. Being an avid football fan I was naturally in front of the TV for the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool & Notts Forest. I recall watching the scenes unfold at Hillsborough with total dismay, and that was the first time I really felt an affinity with the club.
As I got older I started to understand football a lot more, and I went from being a blind devotee to a student of the game. Liverpool under Roy Evans were certainly one of the most pleasing teams to watch, and despite the relative lack of trophies in comparison to earlier years I enjoyed watching them play. The winding runs of McManaman and the ever-incredible Robbie Fowler of course being highlights.
Roll on to 2001, and finally my wait to watch the Reds lift some silverware was over! Victory after a tense UEFA Cup final, and an FA Cup/League Cup double to accompany it! Along with a second place final position in the league it seemed like we were ready to hit the big time once again under the guidance of Gerard Houllier, but then it all went wrong with the new faces brought in that summer. The likes of Diouf & Diao had impressed at the World Cup, but never really got going in the Premier League and ultimately led to Houllier’s demise.
One of the most divisive managers in Liverpool history has to be the next man appointed – Rafa Benitez. I was a massive fan myself, he understood the club and did a pretty good job under serious financial constraints. Ultimately results on the pitch let him down but had matters off the pitch not been a distraction I think we would be in a much better position in the present day.
I was told by my mother to say nothing if you have nothing nice to say, so we’ll skip straight past Hodgson and on to the return of the King! I felt like a kid once again seeing Dalglish back in the dugout for the first handful of games back in charge, but there was also a sense of trepidation. Already regarded as a legend he had little to gain & everything to lose – I was fearful that he might damage the glowing reputation he had built up. Returning to Liverpool never quite panned out for Kenny, and whilst some sections of our support were angry with the decision to replace him in some ways I’m happy he departed Anfield when he did whilst he still had his reputation as a legend.
Which brings us to the present day, and the managerial career of Brendan Rodgers. Only time will tell if this is the man to guide us back to the top!
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