You'll Never Walk Alone Houllier

It's the end of the Houllier era. From the day Roy Evans stepped down and handed full control of the club to Houllier, it has been a great 5 1/2 years of mixed emotions with the Frenchman at the helm. Although i hate to say it, as although i have been one of Houllier's biggest critics in recent times (my normal group of ppl that i hang out with at the mamak would testify to this), i would say that i do feel pretty sad that it has come to this, sort of the same way i was sort of sad to see Heskey go. I mean, like Heskey, Houllier is a decent man who always wanted to best for the club. He is a true reds fan and it's just sometimes sad to think of the what if's and if only's.

Its hard not to see the good things he has done to the club. I mean, he has ripped out the Spice Boy image of the team, gotten rid of players such as Ince, Fowler, James and so on. And although no one would argue that he has had a LOT of dodgy dealings in the tranfer market as well, he has also been responsible of the few strokes of genius ( if only there were more!!), such as bringing in Henchoz and Hyppia (people were asking WHAT?!!), and also bringing us Gary McAllister (memories of THAT goal against Everton, and me running around the living room screaming) who almost single handedly brought us through the end of the treble (some would say plastic, but still, its a treble!!) winning season (oh the joy of jumping for joy in a pub in Bangsar full of Arsenal supporters when Owen scored the winning goal, and i have yet to see another nail biting UEFA CUP final) and into the Champions League, and also the 5 million bargain of Harry Kewell (who i think has much more to offer to us). He was also the person who is responsible for moulding the raw talent of one Steven Gerrard into the current captain of the club and future captain of England.

However, it was not all that good. We could go on and on about the failed transfers, mind numbingly boring tactics which makes watching paint dry more exciting sometimes, but i guess what's the point. In the end, what led to his departure, although we did reach the target of qualifying for the qualifying rounds of the Champs League ( i wouldn't say that we already are, since anything can happen in the qualification rounds), we were just so goddamned far off the pace of the title challenge that we were closer to the relegation battle than the title challenge! I mean, yes, i am happy that we *can* qualify to the money spinning tournament of europe next year, but the fact that we are 30, yes.. THIRTY points off Arsenal, is just not acceptable. Its good too that in the end, although i do not know what happened behind the scenes, the two companies decided to part ways in a dignified manner. Kudos to the management of Moores and Parry as well for ending the debacle of uncertainty regarding the manager of our club and just stopping all the shennanigans that were happening.

So the next question would be, who's next? Several names have already been put into the hat by the media, but the main favourites for the post are Strachan, Curbishley, Daglish, Benitez, Mourinho and O'Neill. Both Benitez and Mourinho, to tell you the truth, i have not heard of before the last few weeks. I mean, i am sure they are excellent coaches, both of them, but if you were to ask me, its not that i am one of those people who wouldnt want a foreigner to be in charge of the team, but i would want someone who has the premiership experience so that they wouldnt need time themselves to settle down to the way the game is played there. Daglish i am not too keen on either since he has been out of the management game for ages, and he is already a legend to the Liverpool supporters and i have a feeling that he just might screw up this time, and it would just taint his standing as King Kenny. Actually, for me, i would prefer someone like Curbishley to be installed as manager, since they do have the premiership experience and he would understand the necessary expectations that comes with being manager of one of the biggest clubs in the world. I also wouldn't mind O'Neill as well, being Mr Motivator himself (something we have been sorely lacking, motivation), but i just don't know about him. The way Celtic play is almost the same way we play under Houllier, and i don't know whether i can stand watching us beat opponents by boring them to death again.

Oh well, we shall see what happens. I wish Houllier all the best in his future undertakings. There has been many good and bad memories supporting the club while he was in charge, and i guess as a supporter, you just have to accept both the good and the bad, and just keep on supporting. It is the right time for a change, and for now lets just look forward to whats coming up. I'm sure it's going to be an eventful post / pre-season this next few months, and this will just add to the many heated discussions i will have at the mamak stalls, other than who we're gonna buy and sell off. Here's looking forward to next season.

"The club comes first, I'm not here for myself, I'm here for the club. The club will always come first for me"

"The club has meant six years of happiness for me. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the players who have achieved so much, and to the fans for their support."

"I arrived here six years ago as a Liverpool supporter and I leave as an even bigger supporter"

"I may have left Liverpool, but Liverpool will not leave me. I will return to watch the team as a fan."

You'll Never Walk Alone Gerard Houllier