The season preview: Liverpool
Amid debt, doubt and takeover talk, Roy Hodgson seeks to restore Liverpool's fortunes
The club
Unofficial motto
Numquam soli ambulabitis (You will never walk alone). Fans can't be risking any linguistic contractions these days, just in case "you'll" is mistaken for "y'all". The club, synonymous for decades with Shanklyesque working-class honesty, is now owned by two cavalier capitalists who have taken it spiritually as far from home as possible. All the way to Texas, for example. Or Salford.
The age of austerity
Liverpool are loaded. With debt. To the tune of £350m, though a takeover could change all that. Tom Hicks and George Gillett are looking to sell up – asking price of about £700m. The chairman, Martin Broughton, tasked with flogging the club, is a Chelsea fan. That's just about tolerated. But his role as a union-busting BA boss is beyond the pale in a city red even when it's blue.
What they want
For years that elusive 19th title has been the goal. No more. All fans wish for this time round is to get rid of the owners. The managing director, Christian "Cecil" Purslow, is also being encouraged towards the exit, a result of his dismissal of Kenny Dalglish's overtures for the manager's job. Optimists hope for fourth place; realists will be happy (OK, miserable) in mid-table.
What they get
Last year was a shambles, as the team turned from title challengers into Sounessian also-rans. Rafael Benítez was shown the door, resulting in civil war on the Kop between those who couldn't agree under whom it'd be best to finish the upcoming season in 11th.
The players
Coalition or opposition?
Liverpool have a solid spine – Pepe Reina, Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres – but not much in the way of squad depth, as long-term watchers of David Ngog can attest. Much will depend on whether the much-maligned Lucas can step up as the No1 holding midfielder. At least dressing-room spirit, fractious under Benítez, has improved under Roy Hodgson.
Yoof of today
The 18-year-old Danny Wilson – a languid ball-playing centre-back and long glass of Scottish water – ticks all the Alan Hansen boxes and is hotly tipped. But Jonjo Shelvey is the most likely to break through, offering an energetic box-to-box style – as well as the sort of needle Liverpool have missed since the days of Graeme Souness.
Mr Liverpool
Everton's Jamie Carragher has long been a convert to the cause, assured of Legendary Liverpudlian status after years of feeding various bits of his body into the mixer. But he's on the brow of the hill; expect the baton to be passed to Spanish social organiser MC Pepe Reina.
Who should have his benefits cut?
Captain fantastic Steven Gerrard has had a poor couple of seasons. Phil Collinsgate threatened to derail Liverpool's title bid in 2008-09, while he spent most of last season with a face on. He's been all smiles pre-season, though, which augers well.
Everybody loves…
Joe Cole. Or at least they seemed to in the summer, when he was everyone's solution to The England Problem. But wasn't.
The manager
Life and times
From Halmstad to Hammersmith via Malmo and Milan, Hodgson has spent the last three decades or so cultivating a reputation as a likable intellectual, a tactically astute firefighter – and a nearly man, with only two Uefa Cup final gigs and a smattering of Scandinavian titles to show for his work. But no Reds boss has failed to win a pot since Shanks' predecessor Phil Taylor. Is this is finally Roy's time?
Master tactician or lucky general?
He's cautious, usually relying on at least a couple of tough-tackling midfielders to guard the defence, but he'll let his players express themselves, unlike Benítez and Gérard Houllier before him. He has a reputation for treating his players like adults – with players responding accordingly.
Regrets… he's had a few
Success at Fulham apart, Roy's stints in England have been poor, tainted with relegation at Bristol City and a slide towards the drop with Blackburn. He's also on record saying JP Donleavy's greatest novel is Schultz, when The Ginger Man is clearly Donners' signature work.
