Dalglish needs miracles to turn Liverpool round

Kenny Dalglish took charge of Liverpool on Sunday and finished the match being taunted by Manchester United fans. “You’re getting sacked in the morning,” they sang after their side had knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup thanks to a Ryan Giggs penalty. It was the same chant which Liverpool supporters had directed last week at Roy Hodgson - Dalglish’s predecessor, who was given the boot on Friday after just six months at the helm.

The Kop may believe that ‘King Kenny’ is the answer to all their problems, but on the evidence of yesterday’s performance at Old Trafford, Dalglish will have to work miracles if he’s to turn Liverpool’s season around.

Manchester United have been beaten only once this season in all competitions and even though they were far from their best on Sunday, Liverpool never posed them much of a problem, particularly after Steven Gerrard got himself sent off on 32 minutes for a wild two-footed challenge.

Dalglish thought that decision  was harsh, as he did the penalty that referee Howard Webb awarded United in the first minute when Daniel Agger made contact with Dimitar Berbatov in the area.

“The penalty is a joke,” said Dalglish. “I have seen the replay and, unless they have changed the rules, it is no penalty. The other one [Gerrard’s dimissal], I cannot see that as a red card either. In the dressing room before the game someone said to me the game's not changed that much. I said, ‘I thought it was a non-contact sport’. Maybe I was right.”

Gerrard’s dismissal means he’ll be absent from Liverpool’s next three games, crucial league encounters against Blackpool, Everton and Wolves. Despite the setback, however, Dalglish told reporters after the defeat that he had no hesitation in agreeing to stand in for Hodgson after his sacking last week. “It was a no-brainer,” he said, adding that he nonetheless felt for his predecessor. “Roy is a really good man and a friend of mine. I'm not going to dance on someone's grave.”

Dalglish’s day went from bad to worse when the Football Association announced it would be investigating comments made by Liverpool striker Ryan Babel on Twitter. In the aftermath of the defeat to United, the Dutchman vented his fury at Howard Webb’s refereeing display by forwarding a mocked-up picture of Webb in a United shirt with the added comment: "And they call him one of the best referees. That's a joke."

Babel later deleted the posts from his Twitter account and replaced them with a grovelling message: "My apology if they take my posted picture seriously. This is just a emotional reaction after losing an important game. Sorry Howard Webb." But the damage had been done and the FA has promised to "definitely look into this matter", while not ruling out the possibility of some sort of disciplinary action against the Liverpool player.

In other FA ties from Sunday, Tottenham eased past Charlton 3-0, while Manchester City were held to a 2-2 draw away at Filbert Street by Sven-Goran Eriksson's Leicester City.

And Chelsea found life much easier than of later when they hosted Championship side Ipswich. The Blues ran riot at the Bridge, putting seven past their visitors (including a brace from Frank Lampard), though boss Carlo Ancelotti later warned fans not to get carried away by the result.

“We did a lot of things well, but we don't have to be excited,” he said. “There were differences in the first 30 minutes of this game and the other 60. We were a bit worried, less confident in that first period. When we scored the first goal, everything was okay. With this victory, our confidence will improve, but we have to wait to say everything is OK." ·