First of all, I just want to say how proud I am of (most of) the Liverpool fans who journeyed to Old Trafford today. They were massively outnumbered by Man United supporters but still made their voices heard above all others. If anybody wanted to see what effect Dalglish has on this club, you only need to look at that alone and applaud the man's sheer presence. This more than anything is what makes Kenny's appointment so great - that the bond between the stands and the dugout has been made stronger than ever.
That aside, I found a lot to be positive about. The players had a spring in their step and showed the kind of desire that has been missing for the best part of a year now. It may be 'new manager syndrome' or just the spectacle of the occasion but if the lads put that kind of effort in between now and the end of the season, we will have saved some major face. Martin Kelly in particular impressed me, so much so that I genuinely believe he should now be our first-choice right-back. Reina was also fantastic, timely reminding of us why he's the world's best goalkeeper. Agger and Aurelio also played well, which I found surprising given their lack of football under the last manager.
The main talking point will be that face of a referee, Howard Webb, though. It's a shame that this absolute twat of a man will once again dominate the discussion ahead of the football that was on show but it honestly is high time that something was done about him. Not only does he regularly screw Liverpool over, he seems to love doing it at Old Trafford. His decision to award the penalty was just a disgrace - he couldn't see the incident, so how he came to the conclusion that Agger was in the wrong I'll never know. Gerrard? By the letter of the law, it was red and I can't deny that. However, why was Rafael not sent off for a nearly identical challenge? Why was Nigel De Jong not sent off in Johannesburg? I just want some fucking consistency and fairness for once.
It's a defeat on the day but it feels like a victory for the club. Today was the first step of a long path ahead - onwards and upwards with Kenny's red army!