So ‘King Kenny’ has returned to rescue his beloved Liverpool from a season of embarrassment.
And what a job he has on his hands.
Seeing Liverpool fans dig out their ‘Dalglish’ shirts from the bottom of their cupboards and proudly sing his name for the trip to Old Trafford yesterday highlights just what a hero he is in their eyes.
But if they think he is going to drastically change the current fortunes of the club they are deluded beyond belief.
The current squad of players simply is not good enough to be challenging for the top six of the Premier League. Take Steven Gerrard, Pepe Reina, and (the increasingly uninterested) Fernando Torres out and you are left with a group of players no better than that at the disposal of Tony Pulis at Stoke City.
To be fair to outgoing manager Roy Hodgson he inherited the likes of Lucas Leiva, David Ngog and Sotirios Kyrgiakos, but did not do himself any favours by spending the money he did have on Paul Konckesky and Raul Meireles.
Overall though, it is Rafa Benitez who is to blame for the current mess at Liverpool.
Listening to former Liverpool striker Michael Owen talk yesterday, it is clear that under Benitez everything changed at Liverpool.
From the coaching staff, to the scouting system, to the way the academy is run. It’s all changed. Even the tea lady probably changed under Rafa’s regime
As a result, it is clear Benitez was allowed to put his stamp on the club he managed for six years.
And because of his fluke of a Champions League triumph he is thought of fondly by the majority of Liverpool fans despite failing to win the Premier League and guiding the club to 7th place in his final season in charge.
Just look what he’s done at Inter Milan.
Taking over a side that won the Champions League and the treble last season, Benitez was sacked after less than six months in the job with the team 7th in Serie A (which they’ve won for the last five seasons) and having finished behind Tottenham in their Champions League group.
Think Ian Holloway would have done a better job.
But it is Hodgson that has been made the scapegoat for Liverpool’s dismal season so far.
And so he should to a certain extent.
Defeats at home to Northampton Town, Wolves and Blackpool are inexcusable for a club like Liverpool.
But their fans have to remember that they are not the same club they were 30 years ago. The glory days of Dalglish and Hanson were over a long, long time ago.
Now for Dalglish a successful second half of the season would be to simply get Liverpool into the top half of the Premier League.
Should he do that, he will surely be rewarded with the job on a permanent basis.
But Dalglish will know already from following the club closely over the past couple of years under Benitez and Hodgson that he has a massive job on his hands if Liverpool are to start competing at the top end of the Premier League any time soon.
For now Dalglish has to stop the run of defeats, especially away from home.
After all in the whole of 2010, Liverpool won just two league away games.
As one Liverpool fan said to me recently: ‘these days I’m looking out for Stoke and Bolton’s results more than Chelsea and United’.
That just about sums it up.
Images from BBC Sport website
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