The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 141: Champion Can't Hide the Pain

"Liverpool won the league title again, but for Dalglish the title was only a comfort to the victims and their families of the Hillsborough tragedy. He himself could not get rid of the pain in his heart."

--Inscription

The final champion of the 1989-1990 season was Liverpool coached by Kenny Dalglish.

This was a result that was predicted by many media before the season. Although Liverpool lost the league title at the last minute last season and then encountered a series of difficulties such as suspension, compensation, and appeasement, everyone knows that Liverpool is a tenacious club. They have a strong team and brave players, and are still the biggest favorite to win the championship.

Of course, they also have the legendary manager Dalglish.

Dalglish has always been very rational and calm. Even though he lost the league title, he still resolutely led the team to prepare for the new season and all work was done in an orderly manner. He hid his fragility and helplessness, faced the fans with confidence and determination, and comforted the families of the victims. He was determined to lead the team to win the league title, to comfort all the fans with honor, and to comfort the great pain of the families.

Dalglish's memory has always been filled with pain. The earliest source came from 1971, when the "Ibrox tragedy" occurred, and 66 fans died due to the collapse of the stands. Dalglish was at the stadium. When the "Heysel tragedy" occurred in 1985, Dalglish was also at the scene, and the tragedy caused 39 people to lose their lives. In the "Hillsborough tragedy" in 1989, Dalglish felt the great tragedy again in the coaching seat at the scene. He later bravely organized rescue, staggered towards the wounded, and hoarsely called on everyone to lend a hand. The day after the tragedy, Dalglish visited the families of the victims as a representative of the Liverpool team, and once again felt the infinite trauma of the families of the dead and injured.

These tragic events one after another made Dalglish increasingly depressed and became a burden that he could not get rid of.

When Dalglish led the team to the 1989-1990 season, he was burdened with a heavy burden and a resolute courage. The entire Liverpool team had undergone tremendous changes. Goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar had been in pain and couldn't extricate himself. He thought he had not been able to ask the police to open the door; Peter Beardsley suspected that his shot hit the post during the game and stimulated the atmosphere of the stadium, which led to the tragedy; Aldridge was the most split. He left the club decisively and even considered retiring from football. In addition to these players, others also had their own knots. Dalglish tried hard to resolve the players' inner entanglements, and finally let everyone determine the goal and be determined to comfort the dead fans with the championship trophy. Before the season, Liverpool snatched Glenn Hyson under the noses of the Red Devils and let Steve Harkness come to Anfield from Carlisle. They also wanted to intercept Gary Lineker and recalled Ian Rush. This superstar, who is deeply loved by fans, returned to Liverpool from Juventus after a year, perfectly solving the striker's hidden dangers.

At the beginning of the season, Liverpool's attacking group was in full swing. When the Red Devils beat the defending champion Arsenal 4-1, Liverpool also got off to a good start by beating Manchester City 4-1. Liverpool then continued to move forward. Although they experienced a 1-1 draw with Villa and a 0-0 draw with Luton at Kennyworth Road a week later, these small setbacks did not stop the team. After two consecutive draws, Liverpool defeated Derby County 3-0, and three days later, Liverpool beat Crystal Palace 9-0 at home. This was a game that was enough to shock the world. Liverpool was in full swing, crushing the opponent like a rotten wood, and directly defeated Crystal Palace. Liverpool broke through the opponent's goal nine times, setting a record for the biggest score this season.

The strength and arrogance of this powerful team made even the most daring critics stop shouting.

Liverpool made the headlines, and their 9-0 win over Crystal Palace made all the English League One teams feel uneasy. Liverpool then encountered Norwich's tight defense at home, and the turtle formation made it difficult for Liverpool to make any moves, and they were tied 0-3. But in the next away game, Liverpool once again showed their firepower, beating their city rivals Everton 1-2, and then defeated Wimbledon 1-.

Liverpool's unbeaten record was not broken until the 9th round. At the Valley Stadium in Southampton, Liverpool encountered a sharp attack from the Saints away. The whole Liverpool team was not in good shape in this game. In addition to the defenders being unable to deal with the opponent's Mathieu Le Tissier, the frontcourt attacking power was not brought into play. Mathieu Le Tissier, the Southampton genius, was only 21 years old at the time, but he was already a rising star that the whole of England was paying attention to, causing great trouble to the Liverpool team. Because Mathieu Le Tissier was too strong, Liverpool had to add more people to guard him, but they still couldn't defend him, and there were more loopholes in the defense line. Mathieu Le Tissier was at ease even when facing double-teaming. He could not only get rid of it, but also transfer and force a shot. It was precisely because of his outstanding performance that Southampton was full of vigor. Paul Rideout scored a wonderful goal and Rodney Wallace scored twice, breaking the goal twice. Liverpool were eventually defeated, with Le Tissier eventually scoring a header to make the score 4-1.

In addition to this rare defeat, Liverpool was also defeated by Arsenal in the League Cup in November and was eliminated. But even so, they still led the league standings steadily and beat the strong team Tottenham 11-1 and won.

Liverpool paused slightly in November, Coventry City won a surprise victory at Anfield, and Queens Park Rangers beat Liverpool 11-3 at home. Dalglish's team suddenly suffered two consecutive defeats, and the season's championship battle was full of twists and turns. But after two consecutive defeats, Liverpool quickly got rid of the difficulties and continued to move forward steadily. Liverpool easily defeated Millwall in the league to stop the decline, and then relied on Barnes' wonderful free kick to beat Arsenal 2-2, defeating the biggest rival for the championship and avenging the battle last season. Liverpool consolidated its lead in the standings.

On November 11, Liverpool came to Hillsborough Stadium to challenge Sheffield Wednesday. It was an extremely difficult match. The entire Liverpool team was unable to play in their normal state. Many players were in tears and excited even before the game started. In the end, Liverpool, who had no intention of fighting, lost to Sheffield Wednesday and was defeated by the opponent 29-2.

This defeat aroused the concern of Liverpool fans, who held a meeting with the club. Families of the dead and injured and representatives of fans met with the Liverpool team and encouraged the players to put down their burdens and cheer up. Encouraged, Liverpool actively resolved negative emotions. Three days after losing to Sheffield Wednesday, they beat Manchester City 3-4. This game showed Liverpool's momentum, and Dalglish's team won heartily.

From this beginning, Liverpool went on a 13-game unbeaten run and the Red Army almost swept the entire league.

The irresistible edge and unstoppable determination made almost all teams feel afraid. The Red Devils were also witnesses and participants of this unbeaten record. On December 12, the Red Devils tied Liverpool 23-0 away from home, and finally got 0 point, but it could not stop Liverpool from moving forward. Liverpool, who still maintained a full spirit, fought all over the country without tasting defeat. On March 1, 1990, Liverpool visited Old Trafford and took away the victory with a score of 3-18.

There wasn't much hype before the Manchester derby, but Liverpool's victory at their arch-rivals' home ground once again embarrassed Ferguson.

From December 1989 to March 12, Liverpool's unbeaten streak gained a strong reputation in British football. Towards the end of the season, Liverpool's 1990-game unbeaten streak was ended by Tottenham, but this game did not affect Liverpool's form. Until the end of the season, Dalglish's team did not taste defeat again.

Liverpool kept going strong, staying at the top of the table, and maintaining their extraordinary form. Even when Villa struggled to catch up with Liverpool and even when Arsenal occasionally showed their ferocity, Dalglish's team never lost the initiative.

At the end of the league, Aston Villa failed to beat Norwich, and Liverpool secured the championship in advance!

The Liverpool team carried the huge grief, turned the guilt into infinite motivation, carried the fans' expectations and hopes, and fought bravely all the way, sweeping the entire English football world and winning their 18th league championship trophy in the English Football League One.

At the end of the season, Dalglish led all the players around the field to greet the fans who came to Anfield. Dalglish smiled a little and waved goodbye to the fans slowly. He concealed all his sadness and pain. Even the closest people could only see that he looked haggard, and more of a tiredness from completing the mission.

All the Liverpool players held up the championship trophy and cheered to the fans. The fans responded enthusiastically and gave warm applause. I don't know who took the lead in singing the song "You'll Never Walk Alone", and the people in the audience followed and started a chorus. In the singing and cheering of the fans, Liverpool's celebration ceremony also reached its climax.

Cheers continued to ring out, and amid the loud singing, Dalglish forced a smile, his expression silent and awkward.

A Liverpool fan said, "At the championship celebration, Dalglish seemed to have told his fans that he was already physically and mentally injured and needed to retire."

Liverpool's 1989-90 championship was the last glory of the Anfield dynasty. After that, the Liverpool team was like a great boxer who could still throw his fist, like a music master who could still play the highest notes. They still worked together, but everything had changed.

Dalglish had resigned several times at the end of last season but was not approved, and was stubbornly retained. He was ultimately unable to shed his responsibilities. At the beginning of the 1990-1991 season, Liverpool had won five consecutive games and had an amazing record of 5 league games without defeat. But after the first defeat, the team was like a domino being pushed down, and the setback made the team unable to recover.

When it came to February 1991, the FA Cup replay between Liverpool and Everton ended with a score of 2-4, and Kenny Dalglish finally announced his resignation after the game.

"The decision to resign had nothing to do with the result of the match against our arch-rivals. I had planned to tell them I was going to resign," Dalglish said in Mark Platt's Long Road to Liverpool: An Oral History of Liverpool. "If we had won 4-0, I would have resigned the next day. I could only listen to my heart and it was time to leave."

Dalglish's resignation caught the team's supporters off guard. The departure of Liverpool's legendary coach also marked the beginning of a new era.