2010–11 Liverpool F.C. season

The 2010–11 season was the 119th season in Liverpool Football Club's existence, and their 48th consecutive year in the top flight of English football. Liverpool were sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank, after their deal with long-running sponsors Carlsberg finished after 18 years of sponsorship. Pre-season saw a change of manager for Liverpool, with Rafael Benítez leaving the club by mutual consent on 3 June 2010.

On 1 July 2010, Roy Hodgson was officially announced as new manager.^[1]

On 22 September 2010, Liverpool exited the Football League Cup, going out at Anfield to Northampton Town of League Two on penalties after a 2–2 draw. They also exited the FA Cup losing 1–0 to Manchester United at Old Trafford in the 3rd round. In the last competition in which they were active in, the UEFA Europa League, they were knocked out in the Round of 16 by Portuguese side Braga, losing 1-0 on aggregate.

On 8 January 2011, Liverpool announced that Roy Hodgson had left the club by mutual consent, and Kenny Dalglish was appointed as manager until the end of the season.

Under Dalglish, the squads' fortunes improved, taking popular wins against top sides Chelsea and Manchester United, and the resurgence saw Liverpool rise up to fifth in May. Despite their resurgence Liverpool eventually finished sixth in the Premier League, having failed to qualify for the Europa League.

The season also saw Liverpool's record purchase and departure, as Fernando Torres left for Chelsea, being replaced by Newcastle United's target man Andy Carroll. Liverpool received £50 million for Torres, and paid £35 million for Carroll's services. Both transfers occurred during a busy transfer deadline day on January 31, where Liverpool also broke its previous transfer record, paying £22.5 million for Luis Suárez.

During the season, John Flanagan and Jonjo Shelvey both made their top flight debuts.

Pre-season

On 1 July, Liverpool announced that their fixtures for pre-season would start in Austria against Al-Hilal on the 17 July. The game, however, was cancelled due to heavy rainfall days before the match, which left the pitch in unplayable conditions. Liverpool continued with their pre-season preparations with a 0–0 draw with Grasshopper Club Zürich on 21 July and a 1–0 defeat at the hands of FC Kaiserslautern on 24 July thanks to a first half goal from Iliyan Mitsanski. Liverpool completed their pre-season programme with a 1–0 defeat to their 1977 European Cup Final opponents Borussia Mönchengladbach on 1 August. Karim Matmour's early goal meant that Liverpool completed their pre-season without victory.

Season review

(For match reports, see matches section)

August

Liverpool started their season with a pair of wins against Rabotnički of Macedonia already on 29 July. In front of a largely empty stadium, the side won their first competitive fixture under Roy Hodgson, 2-0 being the final score, following a double salvo from David N'Gog. In the return leg, Steven Gerrard scored from the penalty spot, and N'Gog scored another to make it 2-0 once more.

On August 15, Liverpool entertained title contenders Arsenal on Anfield. The away side had the lion's share of the possession, and looked to be well on their way to gaining control of the fixture, when Joe Cole got sent off on his Liverpool Premiership debut for a late tackle on Laurent Koscielny. In the second half, want-away star midfielder Javier Mascherano set up N'Gog, who made a blistering run, before firing the ball into the back of the net. At the end of the game, the one-man deficit took its toll, and despite several spectacular saves from Pepe Reina, he eventually fumbled in an equaliser, in a rare mistake from the Spanish international. Koscielny then got sent off for a second yellow, before Gerrard fired a stoppage-time free kick just inches wide. Fernando Torres returned from injury and was greeted with a standing ovation while coming on.

On the Thursday that followed, Trabzonspor came to Anfield for the playoff round of the UEFA Europa League. A less than convincing first half-display from Liverpool turned into a sudden success, as Cole assisted Ryan Babel, who made no mistake with the finish. Cole then had the chance to score from the spot in the second half, but blew it, the shot going right at the grateful goalkeeper. Cole later admitted it was his first ever penalty kick as a professional. Christian Poulsen made his debut for the club, the Dane international being signed from Juventus for £4.5 million. At the same time, Italian playmaker Alberto Aquilani went in the other direction, in his case on loan with a public buyout clause.

On August 23, Liverpool travelled to Eastlands to face Manchester City. Prior to the match, Mascherano handed in a transfer request and was dropped from the squad. Just days afterwards, he was presented at FC Barcelona. In the wake of the Mascherano saga, Liverpool struggled against the cash-boosted blue club of Manchester. City won 3-0, a score that could have been even higher. The goals were scored by Gareth Barry and Carlos Tévez, two former Liverpool transfer targets.

The poor season start looked to go from bad to worse as Trabzonspor scored the opener in the return leg thanks to Teófilo Gutiérrez, but thanks to a late own goal and a strike from Dirk Kuyt, Liverpool managed to just scrape through to the group stage.

On the Sunday, Liverpool capped the week off with a second win, narrowly defeating West Bromwich, who surprisingly dominated the possession in the first half. Liverpool got out of jail thanks to a moment of genius from Dirk Kuyt and Fernando Torres, Kuyt playing a nice cross in, which Torres rifled into the corner for the winning goal. In spite of the victory, the performance was criticised by the fans, not content with the way Hodgson set up his tactics. The response was the signing of Raul Meireles for half of the money the Mascherano transfer brought in. The Portuguese international made his first foreign foray, following four league titles with Porto. On deadline day, Liverpool landed Paul Konchesky from Fulham for a couple of millions + young players Lauri Dalla Valle and Alex Kačaniklić.

September

In September, Liverpool struggled, and recorded a winless month in Premier League matches. On September 12, the away match against Birmingham City ended goalless, with Pepe Reina being named Man of the Match following several key saves, in a match where Birmingham had the upper hand. Liverpool could have won regardless, Steven Gerrard having his penalty claims waved away in the first half.

Four days later, the side started the group stage phase of the Europa League with a comfortable victory against Steaua Bucharest at Anfield. Inside the first minute, Joe Cole took advantage of a defensive slip to score the opening goal. Despite Steaua drawing level within a quarter of an hour, Liverpool cruised to victory in the second half, with N'Gog scoring twice, including his first ever penalty goal for the club. Lucas Leiva also scored his first of the season.

The following Sunday, September 19 was the first North West derby of the season, with Liverpool travelling to Old Trafford to face Manchester United. Two goals from Dimitar Berbatov, including a bicycle kick, saw United go into a 2-0 cushion with half an hour left, when Fernando Torres won a penalty, being pulled down by Nemanja Vidić. With Steven Gerrard scoring from the spot, Liverpool's hopes were reinvigorated, and when Torres was pulled down outside of the box, Gerrard took the free kick with great precision, drawing Liverpool level, kissing the TV camera in celebration. The Liverpool joy was short-lived, as Berbatov scored his third goal from a header less than ten minutes from time. This meant Liverpool had only five points from five games, but with two home matches against unfancied sides coming up next.

In mid-week, Liverpool lost to minnows Northampton Town in the Carling Cup on Anfield. It was the first time ever Liverpool had lost to a fourth-tier team, and the team was heavily criticised by the fans, following the display from what essentially was the second XI. The loss was on penalty kicks, following 1-1 at full time and 2-2 after extra time. Following David N'Gog's late equaliser, Liverpool was lucky to scrape through to the shootout, where N'Gog himself missed his penalty and the side went out in humiliating fashion.

As courtroom battles over the right to sell the club to new investors intensified, Liverpool at least got a gift against Sunderland at home, as a brief touch on the ball by a Sunderland player was deemed enough for the play to have started. Torres snapped up the ball and assisted Dirk Kuyt for a controversial goal, ironically in the same minute as the controversial beachball goal the previous season between the sides on the opponent's ground. The referee was not awarded with any more Premier League matches for the rest of the calendar year, as a result of the goal. Sunderland turned the deficit, thanks to a brace from Darren Bent, one of them from the penalty spot. Liverpool was spared the embarrassment of a third consecutive defeat thanks to a header from Steven Gerrard, following Torres's second assist of the afternoon. Controversially, Gerrard and Torres celebrated the goal on separate locations, sparking further rumours of differences between the two. A few days later, Liverpool claimed a clean sheet and a point away from home against Utrecht in the Europa League.

At the end of the month, the prospect of the club going into administration was dismissed, and even if Royal Bank of Scotland had to take over the shares, the side would not be docked the nine points as stipulated by the Premier League.

October

The crisis continued with a shock defeat to Blackpool, where Fernando Torres limped off with a groin injury in the first half. One penalty kick and a defensive mistake caused a 0-2 deficit at the interval, and in spite of Sotirios Kyrgiakos header, and a big chance for Joe Cole a minute later, the pressure faded, and Blackpool had no problems holding on. The defeat left Liverpool in the relegation zone.

The imminent takeover looked to stall, in spite of Fenway Sports Group agreeing a fee with chairman Martin Broughton, who along with Christian Purslow and Ian Ayre had a majority in Kop Holdings, the group in charge of selling the club, where co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett also held seats. Hicks and Gillett took the other board members to court, and on the Friday prior to the Merseyside derby, the High Court in London, declared that the process was against British law, and that the juridical process in Texas was not going to stop the affair taking place. New owner John W. Henry immediately travelled to Liverpool, watching the derby in attendance, being joined by future chairman Tom Werner.

The derby itself saw Liverpool sink deeper into the relegation mire, with Mikel Arteta and Tim Cahill scoring Everton's goals. Following the defeat, Hodgson praised the performance in the second half, which led to demands of his resignation from prominent supporter groups. Henry and FSG gave Hodgson a vote of confidence, in spite of fan demands of Kenny Dalglish to be appointed in a clean slate following the shift of ownership.

A deeply pressured manager went to Naples to face Napoli, with a B-spec side. Napoli was fighting in the top of Serie A. In spite of Liverpool being tipped by fans and media alike to lose heavily, a goalless draw was eventually a fair result. Three days later, the side also turned a corner, by winning against Blackburn at Anfield. It was not quite enough to escape the relegation zone, but the performance was relatively convincing, and Torres's winner came as an immediate response to an own goal from Jamie Carragher that took Blackburn right into the match.

October ended with Hodgson's only domestic away victory with Liverpool, when the side scored a late winner at Bolton. The match did not provide much spark until a flick with the heel from Torres put Maxi Rodríguez through five minutes from time, and the Argentine blasted the ball in with a toe-hit. In the same match, Cole got injured and was set to miss out on a whole month. The most important effect of the two-match streak was that it meant Liverpool left the relegation zone for good, albeit they were never in a safe distance from it until 15 matches later.

November

Liverpool continued their winning streak in to November, with what was easily their best performance under Roy Hodgson in a 2-0 win over Chelsea at Anfield. Ironically, it was future Chelsea player Fernando Torres who scored both goals for Liverpool. One being a well taken finish, the other a sublime piece of skill which saw him curl the ball past the helpless Petr Cech. Despite coming under serious pressure from Chelsea in the second half, Liverpool held out for a shock win. Some say that this defeat for Chelsea sparked their dreadful mid season form which cost them the title.

However, the recovery was halted somewhat after a surprise 1-1 draw against Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium just a few days later. Torres was once again on the score sheet with a well taken opener, before Charles N'Zogbia equalised for the Latics.

There would be further frustration for the Reds on the road, after a dismal performance and a deserved 2-0 loss to Stoke City on a Saturday evening. Liverpool recovered from the defeat though, with a deserved 3-0 victory against West Ham at Anfield thanks to 3 first half goals from Glen Johnson, a penalty from Dirk Kuyt, and header by Maxi Rodriguez.

Liverpool ended the month in disappointing fashion. Despite leading Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 at half time, thanks to a rare goal from Martin Skrtel, Liverpool collapsed in the second half and lost thanks to an injury time winner through Aaron Lennon.

Liverpool played only one Europa League game in this month. A 3-1 win over Napoli was not as easy as it looks on paper. Liverpool went in to half time losing 1-0, but Steven Gerrard rescued his team in the second half with an excellent hat trick. A penalty, and a superb chip over the Napoli goalkeeper, as well as capitalizing on a dreadful error by former Liverpool player Andrea Dossena guided Liverpool to 3 points in their group.

December

Liverpool stormed to their fourth consecutive home victory, a 3-0 Monday night win against Aston Villa. First half goals from David N'Gog and, soon to depart, Ryan Babel set the Reds on their way. This would be Babels last goal for the club. Maxi Rodriguez added a third in the second half after an excellent Liverpool counter attack. Gerard Houllier claimed afterwards that he "didn't mind" losing to Liverpool which provoked a furious response from Aston Villa fans.

On another Saturday evening game, Liverpool were torn apart by Newcastle and beaten 3-1 at St James Park. Ironically, future Liverpool player Andy Carroll scored the third goal for Newcastle. Dirk Kuyt managed to draw the Reds level after Kevin Nolan had fired Newcastle in front, but Joey Barton put the Geordies in front.

Liverpool played only three games in December, after the scheduled game at Bloomfield Road against Blackpool was canceled. Liverpool ended the month with the visit of Wolverhampton Wanderers to Anfield, although Liverpool had lost their last game, fans were reasonably confident of a good result in this game. Raul Meireles should have put Liverpool in front after 9 minutes when presented with a one-on-one opportunity after a quick free kick from Fernando Torres and this proved to be by far Liverpool's best chance of the night. Wolves gradually grew in to the game and restricted Liverpool to long, and hopeful hoofs from Pepe Reina to give them a chance. Stephen Ward deservedly put Wolves in front after an hour and Liverpool fans visibly became more distressed. Chants of "Dalglish" grew louder, and ironic chants of "Hodgson for England" (in reference to Roy being linked with the position after England's disastrous World Cup campaign) were echoing round the stadium. Some home fans even joined in the away supports chants of "You're getting sacked in the morning" and booed when David N'Gog was substituted for Ryan Babel, despite the Frenchman being Liverpool's best player on the night. As well as cheering ironically when Paul Konchesky was substituted for Fabio Aureilio, the faas booed at the final whistle and the content for Roy was stronger than ever.

Liverpool drew both of their Europa League games in this month, a 1-1 away draw against Steau Bucharest and a 0-0 draw against Utrecht at Anfield meant that Liverpool qualified comfortable for the knockout stages of the Europa League.

January

January began in dramatic fashion for Liverpool. On the traditional New Years Day fixture, they fell behind at home to Bolton Wanderers in the 43rd minute thanks to a Kevin Davies goal. An unsurprisingly, nowhere near full Anfield, rallied and got their rewards through a 49th minute goal by Fernando Torres. Liverpool secured a league double over Bolton, and once again scored late against them, with Joe Cole getting on the score sheet for the first time in his Liverpool career in the Premier League. This would be Roy Hodgson's last game at Anfield.

In what would prove to be Roy Hodgson's last ever game as Liverpool F.C manager, his team were torn to shreds by a stunning performance from Blackburn Rovers. First half goals from Martin Olsson and a rare goal for Benjani, set the tone for the rest of the evening. Things went from bad to worse for Liverpool after Benjani got his second goal, and Blackburn's third to make the score 3-0 after just 58 minutes. Liverpool were clearly shell shocked, but did manage to pull a goal back through Steven Gerrard. Liverpool also got a penalty with only a few minutes to go, but Steven Gerrard uncharacteristically skied the ball miles over the bar. Gerrard appeared to show little emotion after missing the penalty that would have got Liverpool back in to the game, sparking rumours that he missed the spot kick on purpose to get Hodgson sacked.

On 8 January 2011, just one day before Liverpool were due to kick off their FA Cup campaign against bitter rivals Manchester United, the club announced Roy Hodgson had left by mutual consent. Kenny Dalglish was due to take charge on a temporary basis until the end of the season. The news was welcomed by most Liverpool fans and the FA Cup game somewhat took lesser importance given Dalglish had not even had a days training with the squad he had inherited.

Liverpool lost their third round FA Cup game to Manchester United at Old Trafford thanks to an early penalty from Ryan Giggs, the spot kick was awarded after Berbatov had gone over from a Daniel Agger challenge. The debate still rumbles on as to whether Berbatov had actually dived to win the penalty. Steven Gerrard was to be sent off by Howard Webb in the first half after a reckless challenge, and this would mean he would miss Liverpool's next three games (including the derby game against Everton at Anfield)

In Dalglish's first ever Premier League game in charge of Liverpool Football Club, his side lost to Blackpool 2-1, despite first taking the lead. Raul Meireles finally scored his first goal for the club, against Everton, which ended 2-2, in Dalglish's first home game back in charge. Anfield was stunned though by a Sylvain Distin goal from a corner in the first minute of the second half. Jermaine Beckford then put Everton in front with a well placed finish. Liverpool won a penalty in the 68th minute which Dirk Kuyt duly slotted home. Despite the result, this was a definite improvement to performances under Hodgson.

In Liverpool's second league away game under Dalglish, they stormed past Wolverhampton Wanderers. Winning by a 3-0 margin, soon to depart Fernando Torres scored his last goals for the club. The first was from an excellent break away move which saw Meireles slip in the Spaniard who had an easy task to convert. It was Meireles who added a second on the say, and doubled his tally for the season, with a stunning volley that was voted 'goal of the season' by Liverpool fans. Torres rounded off the day, and his Liverpool career, by finishing a 31 pass move to give Kenny Dalglish his first win in charge of Liverpool. On 31 January, came Dalglish's first signings for the club since taking charge for the second time, Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll joined Liverpool for £22m and a club record £35m respectively. Fernando Torres left Liverpool for Chelsea for £50m the same day.

Players

First Team

Starting 11

Only Premier League starts considered

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

Last updated on 2 February 2011.^[2]

Top scorers

Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal.

Last updated on 9 May 2011

TOTALS

Disciplinary record

Updated 08/05/11

Last updated: 30 October 2010
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/squad_profiles/default.stm
Only competitive matches

Y = Number of bookings;  YY = Number of sending offs after a second yellow card;  R = Number of sending offs by a direct red card..

|} Last updated: 27 January 2011
Source: Squad stats and Start formations.
Only competitive matches.
Using the most used start formation.
Ordered by position on pitch (from back right to front left).

Team kit

The home strip for the 2010–11 season was revealed on 8 April 2010 bearing the Standard Chartered logo.^[3] The Adidas strip represents a modern interpretation of the one worn during the 1989–90 campaign in which Liverpool won their eighteenth league title. The away strip was revealed on 8 June and is white with a red trim, with black shorts accompanying it. The third kit was revealed on 15 June and is black with a yellow trim.

Transfers

In

First Team

Last updated: 31 January 2011

Reserves and Academy

Last updated: 21 December

Total spending: £82.8m

Out

First Team

Last updated: 31 January 2011

Reserves and Academy

Last updated: 22 December

Total income: £87.15m

Loaned in

Loaned out

Totals

Competitions

Overall

Last updated: 22 May 2011
Source: Competitions

Results summary

Last updated: 22 May 2011
Source: Premier League

Games against the Top Six

Results by round

Last updated: 22 May 2011.
Source: competitive matches
Notes: Premier League fixture not listed due to copyright. Results will be shown..
Ground: A = Away; H = Home. Result: D = Draw; L = Lose; W = Win; P = Postponed.

Matches

Competitive

Premier League

UEFA Europa League

Qualifying

Group Stage

Knockout Rounds

Last updated: 17 March 2011
Source: Liverpool F.C.

FA Cup

League Cup

Pre-season

Other

Jamie Carragher Testimonial

Last updated: 21 July 2010
Source: Liverpool F.C.

Reserves

As of 12 May 2011. Squad Numbers refer to players' first team squad number (for season 2010/11), where applicable. Reserve and youth games are 1–11.

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Academy (Under-18s)

The following players are expected to play for the team during the Premier Academy League 2010–11. As of 14 January 2011.

References

External links

• 2010–11 Liverpool F.C. season at Official Site
• 2010–11 Liverpool F.C. season at ESPN
• 2010–11 Liverpool F.C. season at LFCHistory