History: 2001-2002 Season Review

SEASON SUMMARY

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Following the sensational Treble season of 2000-2001 was never going to be easy to do. But in 2001-2002, Gerard Houllier and his mighty Reds did a very admirable job, finishing with- at the time- their highest points tally since the title winning season in 1990. The season brought a lot of victories, some late drama, and the club’s furthest progression in the European Cup since 1985. Michael Owen continued to blossom as England and Europe’s best striker, and brought home the “Ballon D’Or,” which is an award given to Europe’s best player each season. Owen was not the only player to excel, though, and performances from the likes of Heskey, Murphy, Smicer, Riise, Hyypia, Henchoz, Gerrard, Carragher, Dudek and Hamann lent itself to a very exciting campaign.

Though the only cups LFC won in the 2001-2002 season were the Charity Shield and the Super Cup, winning was very much on the cards. A double over Manchester United for the second consecutive season was a major highlight, as were massive away victories over Leeds (4-0!) and Ipswich Town (6-0!), and naturally that historic 2-0 win over Roma to send us through to the quarterfinals of the Champions League. The only downfalls of the season came when we sold legend Robbie Fowler to Leeds, when Markus Babbel came down with a crazy illness that ruled him out for the entire season (a muscular illness called “Guillan-Barre Syndrome”), and when Gerard Houllier went down with heart complications and was to miss a large chunk of the season. From that point on, he struggled to have the same assertive and progressive impact he had in his previous 2 and a half seasons.

2001-2002 was another step in the right direction, no matter how you look at it. Some of the major building blocks were put in place that were necessary for the club to progress. Signings such as John Arne Riise provided the power and energy we had lacked before, and grabbing Anelka on loan was a massive coup for us. The upgrade at goalkeeper in Jerzy Dudek was also quite necessary, and continued success at the back with Riise, Carragher, Hyypia, and Henchoz meant that our midfield was allowed to express itself. This 2001-2002 squad was perhaps our best in over 10 seasons, and only Arsenal was capable of bettering it at the time. Sadly, though, our run for the title was indeed hampered by Arsenal’s equally-impressive end-of-season push for glory and also a very bleak winter for us where we only won one match in 7 league encounters.

TOP 5 MOMENTS

5) 3-2 Victory over Bayern Munich and we lift our 5th cup in 2001!

Once upon a time, Bayern Munich were THE team to beat in Europe. They had won the European Cup in 2001, and we had won the UEFA Cup, so a showdown between the two massive European giants was in order for the first time in 20 seasons after we had defeated them in the semi-finals en route to our third European Cup success. The match could not have started any more brilliantly for us, as John Arne Riise’s first for the club gave us the lead, and then Emile Heskey expertly carved through the defense and chipped the keeper for 2-0. Owen’s goal 10 seconds into the second half gave us the 3-0 advantage, but Bayern pegged it down to 3-2. Too little too late for the Bavarians, and we were lifting yet another trophy!

4) Michael Owen and Riise destroy Man U 3-1 at Anfield

If our double over Manchester United in 2000-2001 appeared to be a fluke, then this match dispelled that myth. Soon-to-be-crowned European Player of the Year Michael Owen opened up the scoring against the Scum with an outstanding piece of marksmanship, curling it past Barthez in a one-on-one situation high into the net in front of the Anfield Road End. 1-0 soon became 2-0, but this one was even better… and without question is the best free-kick strike I have ever seen. David Beckham pulled one back for the Mancs after halftime, but 2-1 was soon 3-1 after Owen headed in above the taller United players after Barthez flapped at a Heskey challenge. Classic LFC victory!

3) 4-0 at Leeds, 6-0 at Ipswich in a space of one week.

This is one of those weeks you really can’t forget. Just the season before, Leeds and Ipswich were powerhouses, finishing 4th and 5th behind Liverpool by mere points. So to defeat both of them by ridiculous margins in their own backyards was something special. It began at Leeds with a Heskey-inspired victory, and then it concluded at Ipswich with an Owen/Heskey-inspired conclusion to a week that was simply sensational. 10-0 aggregate in a week? The stuff dreams are made of!

2) Danny Murphy does it again! 1-0 over United at Old Trafford

Manchester United were in a rampant run of form before this fixture, and were beginning to pull ahead of the pack and potentially were looking to capture their fourth consecutive Premiership crown. Liverpool on the other hand were suffering, winning only one match in nine in the league in a typical winter breakdown. Only one match before, Anfield booed Danny Murphy. On this day, though, Murphy turned from villain to hero in a moment of brilliance from he and Stevie Gerrard. With 85 minutes gone, Gerrard carved a delightful ball into the path of Murphy, who simply had to lift the ball over the head of Barthez and in. 1-0, and Liverpool were back in the thick of it! Turns out this would be the nail in the coffin for United, who never seemed to recover from this loss. It would also spark a wonderful run of results from Liverpool, who won 10 of the next 11 matches in the Premiership!

1) 2-0 over Roma.

Going into the last match in the 2nd group stage of the Champions League, Liverpool needed to win by 2 goals to progress, and this was against a Roma side who were managed by Fabio Capello… a typically defensive manager who didn’t have teams that leaked goals in this manner. But the match was written in the stars for us, and it was the first match in which Houllier was on the sidelines since the fateful heart complication he suffered five months prior against Leeds. Litmanen’s first half penalty after Murphy was felled in the box was just what the doctor ordered, and we were only one goal away from glory. It took another 55 minutes after the goal for us to get our second, and on 63 minutes, Emile Heskey towered in a lovely header for 2-0. We held on for the next half hour, and were off to the Quarterfinals in the Champions League! Finally Liverpool FC were deep into a competition where we truly belong as a club. A “classic Liverpool European night.”

TOP 10 BEST GOALS

10) Riise v. Ipswich Town

To say that new signing John Arne Riise was a surprise blessing would be an understatement. None of us had honestly ever heard of him before he joined up with us, but he gave us so many memories over the years. In 2001-2002, he scored a vast amount of crackers. In our last match of the season, one of these strikes would make this particular top 10 list. At an improbable angle on the left flank at the top corner of the 18 yard box, Riise rocketed in a left foot laser that left no higher than a foot off of the ground and continued on that path into the side netting by the far post. Great strike, and we’d go on to win 5-0.

(watch me! I’m at 1:10)

9) Owen v. Manchester United

Michael Owen was developing a nice little habit of scoring against Manchester United, but this one was definitely the pick of the bunch. He was a bit lucky to end up with his one-on-one situation, but when he got there, he definitely did not hesitate, and curled it sublimely past the fingers of Barthez and into the top corner for 1-0. We’d go on to win 3-1, thanks to another Owen goal!

(watch me! I’m at 6:10)

8 ) Riise @ Everton

What is the best way to endear yourself to the Liverpool supporters? Scoring a dribbling, weaving, mockery of the defense type of goal certainly helps. This is what Riise did to Everton in a 3-1 success at Goodison Park. He turned the defender inside out, and then had the cheek to hit the ball pretty much right out of reach of the goalkeeper at that awkward angle where you aren’t sure whether to kick save it or dive or what! Superb goal from Riise, as he had run 3/4 of the field to score it!!!

(watch me!)

7) Owen @ Sunderland

A lovely Steven Gerrard through ball, an exquisite Michael Owen chip… a goal between the two players. Sound familiar? Owen and Gerrard were beginning to develop a telepathic understanding for one another by the end of the 2001-2002 season, and this goal against Sunderland was a prime example. The ball was bouncing slightly, so rather than try to control it, Owen noticed the keeper was off his line, so he chipped him delightfully and into the back of the net. 1-0, and that’s how it would finish.

(watch me!)

6) Owen v. Middlesbrough

Michael Owen was a bit hungry in 2001-2002, and this was yet another lovely goal from him. At 0-0, and having had scored 98 goals for the club up to this point, Owen collected the ball 30 yards out. He took a few strides, and in atypical Owen style, he let rip with a laserbeam into the far post side-netting. It was a sensational hit from a player who could seemingly do no wrong! Owen was demonstrating exactly why he was Europe’s best player in 2001.

(watch me! I’m at 6:25)

5) Owen v. West Ham

Michael Owen can turn people inside out like they were unable to play defense… or at least he could back in 2001-2002! In the season opener against West Ham, he gave us the lead with a fabulous goal, but then West Ham equalized. What was Owen’s response? To completely bamboozle Dailly and the West Ham defense and smack it into the low far-post corner. This was a goal of pure beauty, and showed that Owen was continuing his incredible form from the end of the 2000-2001 season.

(watch me! I’m at 3:46!)

4) Smicer v. Chelsea

This goal wasn’t maybe as brilliant as some before it, but what you can’t deny is how easy it would have been to sky this over the goal or miss it altogether, or perhaps just kick it straight at the goalkeeper. It was not only important, but technically quite challenging. At 0-0, Smicer was in the middle of the box and Emile Heskey did well to cut down the left flank past a few players and send in a lovely cross to the box. Smicer was there to meet it and smashed it home with his right boot and in from about 15 yards on the volley. Technique, power, accuracy… and most of all late drama. GREAT goal.

(watch me! I’m at 1:13!)

3) Litmanen v. Tottenham

As the commentator said in the clip from my video at home, “form is temporary, but class is permanent.” Litmanen was a relatively unused commodity at Liverpool, but occasionally he stepped up with some glorious moments for the club. Against Tottenham in a 1-0 victory, Jari put forth one of these moments of magic. From about 35 yards, and with seemingly nothing on, Litmanen let rip into the far post and in. What an incredible goal!!!

(watch me! I’m at 2:34)

2) Gerrard @ Everton

Steven Gerrard turned this particular Merseyside Derby on its head. Down 0-1, Gerrard struck an unbelievable arrowing strike from the top corner of the 18 yard box. A swerving cross by Vignal was barely cleared by the Everton defense, and Gerrard was the recipient of the rebound. He turned the defender inside out, and struck the ball with serious venom into the far upper corner. The celebration will go down as one of my favorites, as well, as he stuck his tongue out at the Goodison Park faithful. Perhaps a bit immature, but then again, this was YOUNG Gerrard we are talking about here!

(watch me!)

1) Riise v. Manchester United

Oh my. This goal was simply ridiculous. Having won a free-kick 30 yards from goal and at a relatively good angle for a cross, Manchester United were taken surprise when the ball was laid off to Riise. Up to this point, people had not really seen too many powerhouse goals from Riise. They would now. This free-kick was hit so hard that you would have thought the ball would have exploded on impact. It nearly did explode, but that was from the impact of hitting both the crossbar and the post and flying in. As Martin Tyler said in the commentary, “my goodness! It’s amazing the goal is still standing!” Indeed.

(watch me!)

TOP 10 MOST IMPORTANT GOALS

10) Smicer @ Aston Villa

In what was a very strange encounter, Vladimir Smicer scored the winner in the second half in a game that would be our only win in 9 matches during the winter season. We took the lead when Peter Schmeichel threw the ball off of the back of the referee (!!!) and Jari Litmanen just had to pass the ball into the empty net from 30 yards out. Villa managed an equalizer, however, through Lee Hendrie, and we were once again looking at a result that was not a win. But that’s when Smicer popped up, and he calmly slotted the ball past the goalkeeper after having beaten the offside trap.

9) Heskey @ Galatasaray

Emile Heskey kept our hopes alive in the Champions League by netting a very late equalizer against Galatasaray. He smashed the ball into the net from a few yards out in the 79th minute, setting up the need to get 4 points out of the last 6 available instead of needing all 6. Turns out this was crucial, as we managed 4 out of the 6 instead of the maximum, and we were on to the quarterfinals.

8 ) Smicer v. Borussia Dortmund

During the first group stage of the Champions League, we were ESSENTIALLY through to the next round, but needed to make sure of it by defeating Borussia Dortmund at home. With an absolutely exquisite volley, Smicer did just that for us in a match we’d end up winning 2-0. Smicer picked the ball out in midair and hit a volley off of the pitch and low into the far post corner from about 20 yards out. Not only was it a great goal, but it was an important one. Always a good combination!

7) Owen @ Everton

Steven Gerrard’s equalizer after 11 minutes put this match back in the balance, but it wasn’t until Owen’s 32nd minute penalty that the Merseyside Derby was won by the red half of the city. He tucked away the penalty quite nicely, and oddly enough it was his very first goal against Everton despite having played against them season after season for about 4 years. The goal led to a 3-1 win, which is always excellent for the city’s bragging rights and for the confidence in the team and supporters.

6) Owen v. Manchester United (EPL)

In the 3-1 victory at home, Michael Owen’s double gave us glory at home. But none of this would have been possible without his first goal, as it was the one that got the ball rolling. As the ball fortuitously fell to him after Heskey and the defender both chose not to attack the ball, Owen was able to race into the box and curl it with this inside of his right foot from the left side of the 18 yard box into the top corner. A delightful goal, yes, but one that gave us our second consecutive win over the Mancs at Anfield. GET IN!

5) Owen v. Bayern Munich

Defeating the European champions is definitely good for the confidence in the team, even if it is just the Super Cup. Many people underestimate that, as they just look at the cup as a trivial trophy. Not at Liverpool. Trophies mean everything, and Owen’s third happened to be the winner as Bayern Munich were able to peg 2 goals back after we had taken the 3-0 lead. His goal was well-taken, too. After being sent through and beating the offside trap, he was quickly approached by Kahn, but didn’t panic and slipped it past him and into the far post corner. Another Super Cup in the cabinet!

4) Owen v. Manchester United (CS)

The Charity Shield (or Community Shield as it is now known) is a competition that pits the FA Cup winners with the Premiership champions, and this just happened to allow for Liverpool and Manchester United to clash. Liverpool won the match with two very early goals from McAllister and Owen, with Owen’s being the more important of the two because it was the second in a 2-1 victory, thus the “winning goal.” He took it well, completely wrong-footing the defense, and then putting it towards the near post when Barthez was expecting it to go to the far post. Typical Owen!

3) Smicer v. Chelsea

With only six matches remaining and the Reds still thinking we had a chance at pushing for the title as long as Arsenal would choke, we desperately needed to defeat Chelsea at Anfield. At 0-0, the dream appeared to be disappearing in front of our very eyes until Heskey’s cross was volleyed in by Smicer. It was one of many late dramatic goals Smicer would score for us during his time at Anfield. He may not have been the most consistent player, but boy was he a fan of the dramatic goal! This one was quite pleasing, and I vividly remember going apeshit when it went in!!!

2) Murphy @ Manchester United

As mentioned earlier, this match came after only one win in nine matches in the Premiership. There is always importance in beating your fiercest rivals at their own place, but there’s added spice to it when it turns the title race onto its head. This 85th minute winner from Murphy did exactly that, and it was what the player himself needed after being booed by his own fans at Anfield. That Murphy went on to have a blinder for the next season and a half and that Manchester United completely crumbled after this went some way to being pleasing to us, as well…

1) Heskey v. Roma

Not only did this match get us into the knockout stages of the European Cup for the first time in 17 years, but it was late-drama, and it was the first time Houllier had been in charge for five months… and hey, it was a season where we didn’t win any MAJOR trophy despite playing well throughout the year. Matches like this, though, are the kind that live in folklore. When you need an EXACT score and you happen to get it, that’s special. It was the “Olympiakos” of its time, the improbable comeback or difficult scoreline achieved in front of a rabid crowd. Great header from Heskey, and yet another moment in front of the Kop that will go down in history as one of the best European nights the club has had.

SIGNINGS AND DEPARTURES

Signings:

The Treble success from 2000-2001 meant that in order for progress to be made, only a few signings were necessary. The first, and perhaps most necessary, replacement was at goalkeeper. Jerzy Dudek came into the Liverpool set-up along with Chris Kirkland, an 11 mil total swoop that would prove to be somewhat unnecessary as Kirkland never materialized at Liverool despite some appearances. But Dudek’s arrival immediately helped, as some of the goals we leaked from the season before weren’t happening quite so frequently… at least in 2001-2002. John Arne Riise also arrived from Monaco, a player who was relatively unknown but was to make an immediate impact in crucial matches, a trend he’d make throughout his Liverpool career. He was known as a left back who liked to get forward, but Houllier also liked to use him in left midfield.

After Dudek, Kirkland, and Riise, Houllier swept in for Milan Baros, a young Czech player with a bright future. Baros wouldn’t make his first appearance until the next season, but he’d score two on his debut and would become a great player on the international stage, even though it didn’t last too long with us. And in the winter, Houllier and Parry were able to orchestrate a loan move for Nicolas Anelka, which turned out to be incredibly successful. Anelka’s pace and power brought all of the good qualities of Anelka we had all remembered when he was with Arsenal, not the “incredible sulk” we were accustomed to during his time in Spain and France. Abel Xavier and his bizarre (aka “terrible”) hairstyle (bleach blonde fro) arrived from Everton of all places, and he made an instant impact scoring within 15 minutes of his debut despite not scoring once for Everton. Sweet, sweet justice!

Departures:

The summer of 2000-2001 did not see too many important departures, which is of course quite natural after winning the Treble of trophies. Christian Ziege never quite adapted with us, albeit mainly because he wasn’t that great to begin with. He departed to Tottenham, much like Jamie Redknapp would towards the end of the season. Gary McAllister also left at the end of the season to go to Coventry City. Sander Westerveld was sold to Real Sociedad in December, after several months rotting in Melwood with no real purpose at the club.

But the real departure of note was Robbie Fowler, who was leaving after an incredible career with the Reds and having achieved legendary or even divine status! “God” needed a new challenge, and his relationship with both Houllier and Thompson had deteriorated beyond repair. Houllier was more of an Owen fan, and didn’t believe the two could play together. The writing was on the wall for Robbie, and he chose to make a graceful exit to Leeds. He was sorely missed, but Liverpool were probably right to move on without him, as his career never really recovered. Fortunately, Fowler would come back in 2006 for a more proper conclusion to a fantastic career at Liverpool.

TOP 5 PLAYERS

5) Steven Gerrard

Despite a rocky season, Steven Gerrard made an incredible impact during the 2001-2002 season. Though he did not score as many goals as normal (only four), he made goals for his teammates and enhanced his reputation as an excellent passer of the ball and dictator of play. At times, Gerrard ran the show like a puppet-master with marionettes, seemingly pulling the strings as if it is incredibly easy. He had some back problems, which curtailed his progress a bit, and then right before the World Cup he was forced to get surgery on his groin. The signs were there, though, that Gerrard was becoming a world-beater.

4) Jerzy Dudek

If any position was preventing us from making the jump from “cup team” to Premiership front-runners, it was at goalkeeper. We had great strikers, tough midfielders, and a solid back four. But Westerveld was dragging us down, and something needed to change. This change was Feyenoord’s Polish wall… Jerzy Dudek. Dudek gave up three goals on his debut at home to Aston Villa, but he immediately came up with the goods and made some crucial stops and saves throughout the season, including one flying tip-over from a Jason Euell shot when we played Charlton that has been played over and over again on Premiership “saves of the decade” vids. It was definitely nice having a player in between the sticks who commanded respect in the box, as opposed to Westerveld who was a great shot-stopper but terrible on set-pieces.

3) John Arne Riise

We hardly knew the guy, but were immediately in love with him. Goals against Manchester United, Arsenal, Newcastle and Everton certainly go some way in endearing yourself to the supporters… but so does being the last piece of the defensive puzzle. Having the back four of Riise, Carragher, Henchoz and Hyypia brought a ton of confidence to the club’s ability to get results. Riise was a massive part of this, as he brought forth the fullback’s typical philosophy of “attacking is the best form of defense.”

2) Sami Hyypia

Another commanding season from Hyypia. He scored five goals, including the winner in the first leg in the Champions League Quarterfinals against Bayer Leverkusen, but more than anything it was once again being the star player and captain in the Premiership’s best defensive unit. His relationship with Henchoz continued to blossom, and it was clear that any aerial ball would be cleared by the Flying Finn, not headed in by the opposition. Hyypia is a beast, and 2001-2002 was definitely one of his finest seasons.

1) Michael Owen

European Player of the Year and 28 goals… it would be tough to vote for anyone else, really. Michael Owen basically WAS Liverpool FC during this successful time for the club. He was quick, tricky, and scored loads of goals in the big moment. Winning goals in both the Super Cup and the Charity Shield meant that his double against Arsenal in the FA Cup was no “final fluke” from him. Additionally, Owen scored five goals in the Champions League and 19 in the league. Scoring twice against United was also a major highlight, as was scoring seven goals in the month of August! He was absolutely on fire throughout the entire season, and he truly did it in style. What a season he had!

TOP 3 FLOPS

3) Emile Heskey

This was a season where not many players performed badly, so I actually toiled over this one and really thought it through. What I came up with was Heskey, because despite playing over 55 games, he only scored 14 goals… basically 1 in 4. As a striker, that’s simply not good enough. And it was a sign of things to come from Heskey, even though he was doing a decent enough job at linking with Owen. The problem was that if Owen wasn’t fit, we weren’t scoring goals. That really fell on Heskey’s shoulders, and he couldn’t seem to cope with that. Maybe a bit harsh, but in reality he needed to do more for us.

2) Patrik Berger

Possibly a bit rough on the Czech to be on this list, but Berger’s impact was no longer being felt by 2001-2002, and the opportunites he did get- which were plentiful- did not yield results. His cultured left foot was a sight to behold during his hey-day, but by this season he was not producing. Berger’s career at the club will be forever remembered for the good times, fortunately, and not for his mediocrity in his last two campaigns.

1) Nick Barmby

Nick Barmby had a fabulous 2000-2001, but he had a very difficult time in 2001-2002. The reason for this is really unknown. He just wasn’t “with it.” Perhaps he had hit his peak, or possibly he just couldn’t cope with the competition with the others at the left wing. Whatever it was, the productive 2000-2001 Barmby was no longer with us and instead we had a tired looking shadow of himself. He was sold the following summer.

STATISTICS

League Cup- knocked out by Grimsby Town 1-2 at Anfield

FA Cup- knocked out by Arsenal in the 3rd Round 0-1… the infamous “Jamie Carragher coin-throw incident.”

Charity Shield- CHAMPIONS! Defeated Man Utd. 2-1.

Super Cup- CHAMPIONS! Defeated Bayern Munich 3-2.