Not sure if this is in here or elsewhere, but sums up just about everything i think about Houllier, style of play should stick out especially if Mort really wants someone to play 'carpet football', that someone is most definitely not Houllier ... Stolen from f365 as always...
The Best...
Winning The Treble
Houllier's main achievement with Liverpool was winning the so-called 'Mickey Mouse' treble. After a disappointing start to his managerial career at Anfield, the Frenchman finally found success in the 2000-01 season winning the Worthington Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup, albeit with a hint of luck about each of them.
After successfully ousting then-lower-league Birmingham on penalties to secure the League Cup, they rode their luck to win the FA Cup against Arsenal, Stephane Henchoz's goal-line clearance with his hand going unnoticed before Michael Owen popped up to score twice in the last ten minutes. The final and most dramatic success came in the UEFA Cup final at Westfalenstadion with a 5-4 victory over Alaves. Despite throwing a two-goal lead away to the Spaniards, who ended the game with nine men, Liverpool still managed to complete the treble thanks to Alaves defender Delfi Geli's own goal - not just any own goal but a golden own goal - giving the Reds their first European success since 1984. Houllier went on to win three more trophies at Anfield, capturing the European Super Cup, the League Cup and Community Shield.
Famous Victories
As any Liverpool fan will tell you, the biggest games of the season are against Manchester United and Everton. In his time at the club Houllier managed to put together a streak of five consecutive wins over United, including a 2-1 victory in the 2001 Community Shield, and a famous 2-0 victory over the Red Devils in the 2003 League Cup final. Against the blue side of the Merseyside Houllier managed to lose just once to Everton in 12 games, including six victories over the Toffees.
Runners-up In The League
Despite failing where every other Liverpool manager has in the last 18 years in the title race, Houllier did help Liverpool to their best league finish in 11 years. In 2001-02 the Reds finished just seven points behind champions Arsenal. The main consolation Houllier could take will have been finishing above Manchester United and breaking their cycle of finishing in the top two for the previous ten seasons.
A Few Good Buys
Whilst you can't call Houllier a master when it comes to the transfer market the French gaffer did make a few decent buys in his time at Anfield. The first one that springs to mind would be Sami Hyypia, who he bought for the bargain price of £3million from Willem II nine years ago. He also brought the influential midfielder Dietmar Hamann in 1999 for the substantial, but eventually worth it, sum of £8million from Newcastle. The German midfielder, nicknamed 'The Kaiser' by the Liverpool faithful, spent five years under Houllier at Anfield, in which time he won six medals. Finally, Houllier brought in Steve Finnan the year before he left the club for £3.5million from Fulham. Despite spending little time under the Frenchman's wing, Finnan has gone on to become a consistent figure at Anfield, making over 200 apperances for the club.
Turning Down Bowyer
In 2002 rumours were rife of Lee Bowyer arriving at Liverpool for the princely sum of £9million with a proposed contract in the region of £35,000 a week. But in a remarkable turnaround, Houllier decided Bowyer wasn't right for the club after meeting him, sighting his lack of hunger and desire as the main reason for turning down the midfield snapper. The sudden change of heart proved to be a smart move by Houllier, as the baggage-laden lunatic went to West Ham for just £100,000 a year later.
And The Worst...
The Signings
Houllier spent a staggering amount of money on players that never even looked like cutting it at the top level. After Senegal forward El-Hadji Diouf had a bright World Cup campaign, Houllier astonishingly forked out £10million for the Lens man. He also brought in deadwood such as Salif Diao, Bruno Cheyrou (the 'next Zidane'), Titi Camara, Erik Meijer, Anthony Le Tallec, Florent Sinama-Pongolle, Frode Kippe and Djimi Traore. Overall he spent over £125million. Most notably it was he who signed Djibril Cisse, then promptly scarpered, leaving Rafa Benitez with a £14million striker he didn't want.
Boring Football
During his reign Houllier based his team upon a strong defence. The steel of Hamann in midfield and the strong defence including the likes of Carragher, Babbel, Hypiaa and Henchoz meant that Liverpool were hard to break down. The flip side of this though was the painfully boring football Liverpool were playing. Liverpool are a club steeped in tradition of playing attractive football, Houllier's play was anything but. Dull, one-dimensional, long-ball football up to the £11million man Emile Heskey was the way his side played, much to the dismay of the Koppites.
Not Signing Anelka Permanently
Hopes were high when Houllier brought the troubled yet exceptional talent of Nicolas Anelka to Anfield in December 2001. His loan spell from PSG was a good one and he was taking to the Liverpool faithful, who were sure that he would be snapped up on a permanent deal in the close season. However that wasn't the case, instead Houllier turned to the unproven talent of Senegalese flop Diouf. After paying £10million for him, his return was three goals at £3.33 million a goal. Probably not the best decision he's ever made.
Never Really Challenging For The League
Liverpool's failure to compete to the death for the Premiership title has been so often the case since the start of the Premiership. While every season was 'their year' at the start, Houllier's Reds never threatened to trouble the engraver. In the 2001/2002 season though they did manage to finish runners-up to Arsenal but they never really mounted a serious challenge.
2002-2003: A Season to Forget
After finishing runners-up the season before, Liverpool were expected to at least make a respectable title effort. Unfortunately that was a million miles away for the Reds. They had a torrid league campaign including defeats to Sunderland and Birmingham, culminating in a fifth-place finish. They twice failed to beat Basle in a disappointing European campaign in which they were knocked out early, then went out of the UEFA Cup to Celtic. The season was epitomised when Liverpool were dumped out of the FA Cup 2-0 at home by a a poor Crystal Palace side that finished mid-table in the Championship that year. Houllier was lucky to keep his job that season.
