It's far too early to judge how Kenny Dalglish will fare as Liverpool manager after one game only I get the feeling that we have been here before in more ways than one. A favoured son who has had success in the past as a manager comes back after a number of years out of the game only for it all to end in tears. He will most likely improve on their current position after replacing Roy Hodgson and the fans will certainly support him which may well give the players a lift. However, he is still in charge of the same underperforming team and supporters must be cautious of expecting too much too soon. He might not be Kevin Keegan but he may only be keeping the seat warm until the summer. The danger then is how the fans still perceive him as they may not welcome a new man if Dalglish does nothing disastrous and gets Liverpool into the top half of the table.
    After watching the FA Cup highlights show on Saturday evening Matt Smith no doubt believe that Dalglish never played in the top flight of English football as he retired in 1990 before the Premiership started so it obviously doesn't count. During discussion of Blackpool's defeat he mentioned how it was their first year in the top flight whilst managing to acknowledge their "proud tradition in the cup". Granted it was 40 years ago when they were in the old Division 1 but that does not make this season their debut. He obviously meant their first season since the Premier League was formed in 1992/93 season but why deny that football existed prior to this point and simply mention that Blackpool last played in the top league in 1971. There seems to be a need to demarcate the modern game with the all seater stadia, huge wages and blanket coverage as somehow more relevant and the birth of the Premiership provides that neat cut off point despite a lot of overlap. It can keep things tidy and the differences are there to see eg the last winners of the old league championship were Leeds United who are still in the Championship only that is now a division lower. Conversely the first Premiership winners were Manchester United who had not won a league title for nearly quarter of a century and have not looked back since. Curiously until the other season the "Big Four" often referred to the same four teams that finished in the top four in varying orders but included Liverpool who have never won the Premier League and the only other team aside from Man United, Chelsea and Arsenal to have won it are Blackburn Rovers (then managed by Kenny Dalglish to come full circle).