Blackpool 2 - 1 Liverpool

Fair to say that the result last night burst our bubble somewhat after the joys of seeing Kenny back in the job over the past few days!

From a Liverpool perspective it is a hard one to judge. Of course it is far too early to start drawing any conclusions about how the team will fare under Dalglish. He can't have had much more than two days to work with the players since the cup game at the weekend and with a new management team, a new first team coach, suspended captain, an injured defensive talisman and the Merseyside derby approaching on Sunday only those dwelling in fantasy land expected the team to start playing like 1970's Brazil simply because Dalglish has replaced Hodgson.

Firstly, it must be said that Blackpool are a credit to the division and played some lovely stuff. Holloway is always good for a quote and to see someone obviously enjoying himself  when all too often football is taken far too seriously is a breath of fresh air. "I'm as chuffed as a badger" he said afterwards. Great stuff.

In terms of team selection Kenny sprung a few surprises, recalls for Jovanovic and Poulsen along with Johnson returning in an unfamiliar left back role. The shape appeared to be a 4-3-3 when attacking but a 4-5-1 defensively. It was a world away from the rigid 4-4-2 seen away from home under Hodgson, and that is a blessing, but the blend of individuals did not work particularly well.

A quick look at the Guardian Chalkboards this morning reveals that 46% of the play took place in the middle third of the pitch, which reveals why the team struggled. With Lucas, Meireles and Poulsen all operating in that central area, it was essential that they have some understanding of each others roles and that there was some sort of shape to the midfield. Unfortunately that understanding seemed to be lacking. Poulsen's positioning particularly went awry alarmingly often which left Lucas trying to compensate defensively. As for Meireles, he appeared a little lost, unsure of whether he was supposed to be anchoring the midfield with Lucas (as he did under Hodgson in the 4-4-2), or pushing forward into the 'Gerrard' role behind Fernando Torres.

The second failing in the midfield was our failure to win the ball back effectively. Lucas is the only one of the three that can hold his head up this morning, winning 10 of the 14 tackles he made during the game. Meireles won 75% of his tackles, but unfortunately he only attempted 4 tackles throughout the game, which to my mind is not nearly enough in a match in which Blackpool had 52% of possession. As for Poulsen, he only attempted 5 tackles in his 85 minutes on the pitch, winning only 1 of them. It stands to reason that when your midfield is struggling to win the ball back in a game in which that was the primary area of the contest, the team will struggle to generate much momentum going forward. A knock on effect of our failure to get and retain possession was that Torres became increasingly isolated, and his frustration became evident as the game progressed, culimating in a booking for dissent. He did, however, open the scoring with a cracking strike and looked a little more like the Fernando Torres we have come to expect than the sulking imposter of the past few months. If Kenny can crack this particular enigma we will be a lot better off and there were encouraging signs last night that he might be able to do so. After all, if playing for one of your heroes and Liverpool's greatest ever forward doesn't get Torres going, what will?

It will be very interesting to see what team is put out on Sunday. A recall for Aurelio would be expected, and despite his excellent showing against United and decent showing last night I would expect Kelly to make way for Johnson to move over to his more natural side. As for the midfield, I would expect Maxi to return in place of Jovanovic and Kuyt to retain his place despite a poor individual performance last night. Whether Poulsen can surive and be expected to handle the pace of a derby is another matter, and I would expect him to take his place on the bench, with Joe Cole replacing him in the midfield if fit.

Kenny is clearly trying to get the team playing football and believing in themselves again but after the last few months confidence is at rock bottom. The first task must be to try and get the players enjoying themselves. That might sound cliched, but for far too long the players have worn hangdog expressions and seem to have played with fear. Liberating them from that will be no easy task, and a win in the derby would be a great way to start. The atmosphere is sure to be bouncing despite last night's setback and it has to be hoped that the players will be motivated by that support.

It is going to be a long road to get the team playing something like the football Dalglish wants from them, but he will have learnt one or two things about some of his players last night. Whether he is minded to give some of the young lads a go, particularly Pacheco after his starring role for the Reserves remains to be seen, but it has to be said that youth, pace and desire are three things which Blackpool seemed to have in abundance last night, whilst we looked a weak slow side in comparison.

But for all that, the war is over and the clean up operation has barely begun. John W Henry's visit is well timed and will hopefully see some progress in the CEO search and perhaps the green light for one or two reinforcements. Relegation fears remain for some but I have seen enough in Kenny's first two matches to suggest that we needn't be too concerned.