Have Liverpool found their new Daglish

by Kevin Fylan

It took just three league appearances and one goal from Fernando Torres before Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez was forced to play down the comparisons with Kenny Dalglish.
Now, after another eye-catching performance and two more goals in the 6-0 win over Derby at the weekend, it’ll be hard for Reds fans to resist the idea that Torres can bring the league title back to Anfield.
It was at the end of the 1989-90 season that Dalglish finally retired as a player, having just overseen Liverpool’s march to an 18th league title. Can it be just coincidence that the club are still waiting for championship number 19?
Until now, perhaps, Liverpool have not had a forward like him. Peter Beardsley was forced out just a year later, John Barnes was soon in decline and Jari Litmanen was sadly underused by Gerard Houllier.
Torres might not have the sheer talent of Dalglish, he might stumble over a pass more often than you’d like from a 36 million euros signing, but he has great vision (see the pass that helped set up the Voronin goal against Derby) and a gift for inspiration (the touch that took him past Ben Haim for the goal against Chelsea).
“Whether or not he was overpriced at £27 million, he’s given Liverpool whatever it was they were lacking up front,” Daryl writes at The Offside.
Liverpool’s 6-0 win over Deby took them top of the Premier League for the first time since November 2002. Will they still be there at the season’s end?