# 2010–11 Liverpool F.C. season
The 2010–11 [Liverpool F.C.](https://www.edgepedia.org/liverpool-f-c) season was the club's 119th season of football since its establishment, and it was defined by a takeover of the club, a change of manager mid-season, and a sixth-place finish in the Premier League.[1](https://liverpoolfc.fandom.com/wiki/2010-11_season) • [2](https://www.national-football-teams.com/club/667/2010/Liverpool_Fc.html) [Roy Hodgson](https://www.edgepedia.org/roy-hodgson) began the season as manager, appointed on 1 July 2010 on a three-year contract to succeed Rafael Benitez, but left by mutual consent on 8 January 2011 with the team four points above the relegation zone; club legend [Kenny Dalglish](https://www.edgepedia.org/kenny-dalglish) took over, initially on an interim basis until the end of the season.[3](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/articles/cyxev0x1wl1o)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| League finish | 6th in the Premier League[2](https://www.national-football-teams.com/club/667/2010/Liverpool_Fc.html) |
| Managers | Roy Hodgson (to 8 January 2011), then Kenny Dalglish as caretaker until season's end[3](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/articles/cyxev0x1wl1o) |
| Hodgson's league record | Seven wins from 20 Premier League matches[3](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/articles/cyxev0x1wl1o) |
| Ownership change | New England Sports Ventures bought the club in October 2010, ending the Tom Hicks and George Gillett ownership[4](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/dec/30/roy-hodgson-liverpool-wolves-pressure) |
| League Cup | Eliminated by fourth-tier Northampton Town on a penalty shoot-out at Anfield[3](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/articles/cyxev0x1wl1o) • [4](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/dec/30/roy-hodgson-liverpool-wolves-pressure) |
| Europe | Entered the UEFA Europa League in the third qualifying round, beating FK Rabotnički 2-0 at home in the second leg[5](https://fbref.com/en/squads/822bd0ba/2010-2011/matchlogs/all_comps/schedule/Liverpool-Scores-and-Fixtures-All-Competitions) |
| January transfer window | The club's transfer record was broken twice on the same day, on signings including Luis Suárez and Andy Carroll[6](https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/first-team/98011-relive-every-kick-of-2010-11) |
| Leading scorer | Dirk Kuyt, 15 goals and 8 assists in 41 appearances in all competitions[7](https://www.anfield-online.co.uk/stats/10-11/lfc-stats.html) |
## Background and the Hodgson appointment
Liverpool entered the season in financial and sporting difficulty. The club carried debt of about £350m under the American owners [Tom Hicks](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-hicks) and George Gillett, who were seeking a sale at an asking price of around £700m, with chairman Martin Broughton tasked with finding a buyer.[8](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/aug/09/the-season-preview-liverpool) On the pitch, the previous season had seen the team fall from title challengers into mid-table, and Benitez was dismissed as a result.[8](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/aug/09/the-season-preview-liverpool)
**Hodgson arrived with strong credentials.** He had spent three seasons at Fulham, saving them from likely relegation after his arrival in December 2007 and taking them to the 2010 Europa League final, where they lost 2-1 to Atletico Madrid; that run earned him the League Managers' Association's manager of the year award for 2010 and the Liverpool job.[3](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/articles/cyxev0x1wl1o) • [9](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68045257) His appointment, however, had been made under the Hicks and Gillett regime, and many supporters instead wanted Kenny Dalglish, who had not managed a club for a decade, to return 19 years after resigning from the post.[4](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/dec/30/roy-hodgson-liverpool-wolves-pressure)
## The Premier League campaign under Hodgson
Hodgson's league start was poor. His opening match was a 1-1 draw with Arsenal, in which goalkeeper [Pepe Reina](https://www.edgepedia.org/pepe-reina)'s 90th-minute own goal handed Arsenal a point, and Liverpool then lost 3-0 to Manchester City before recording a first win, 2-1 against West Bromwich Albion.[4](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/dec/30/roy-hodgson-liverpool-wolves-pressure) • [10](https://as.com/us/futbol/arne-slot-quiere-ser-el-primer-dt-en-debutar-con-victoria-en-premier-league-con-el-liverpool-este-siglo-n/) In October, Blackpool won 2-1 at Anfield, eleven days after [Northampton](https://www.edgepedia.org/northampton) had won a penalty shoot-out there in the Carling Cup, and Dalglish's name was chanted by fans during the [Blackpool](https://www.edgepedia.org/blackpool) match.[4](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/dec/30/roy-hodgson-liverpool-wolves-pressure)
Away form was a particular weakness. Hodgson's only away league success was a single-goal win at Bolton in November, and across the whole league season Liverpool won 5 and drew 3 of 19 away matches, losing 11.[4](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/dec/30/roy-hodgson-liverpool-wolves-pressure) • [11](https://www.transfermarkt.com/fc-liverpool/spielplan/verein/31/saison_id/2010) By late December, after an insipid 1-0 home defeat by Wolverhampton Wanderers, a club that had previously won at Anfield only once in 60 years, Hodgson publicly criticized the supporters, saying the famous Anfield support had not really been there since his arrival.[4](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/dec/30/roy-hodgson-liverpool-wolves-pressure) Several established players were judged to be having the worst seasons of their careers, including Reina, Glen Johnson, Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard, Joe Cole, and [Fernando Torres](https://www.edgepedia.org/fernando-torres).[4](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/dec/30/roy-hodgson-liverpool-wolves-pressure)
**The departure came on 8 January 2011.** With Liverpool just four points clear of the relegation zone after seven wins in 20 league matches, Hodgson left by mutual consent, and Dalglish was appointed, initially on a caretaker basis until the end of the season.[3](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/articles/cyxev0x1wl1o) • [12](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/18073446)
## The Dalglish revival
Dalglish's first match back as Liverpool manager was a 1–0 [FA Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/fa-cup) defeat to Manchester United, and his first league match in charge ended in a 2–1 defeat to Blackpool, but the team recovered within two matches, drawing with Everton and then beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 3–0.[10](https://as.com/us/futbol/arne-slot-quiere-ser-el-primer-dt-en-debutar-con-victoria-en-premier-league-con-el-liverpool-este-siglo-n/) • [17](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2012/may/16/kenny-dalglish-liverpool-timeline) Under his management Liverpool climbed the table, with notable results including a commanding victory against Manchester United, a league double over Chelsea, and a five-goal performance away to Fulham at [Craven Cottage](https://www.edgepedia.org/craven-cottage).[6](https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/first-team/98011-relive-every-kick-of-2010-11) The club finished the season sixth in the Premier League, having failed to qualify for the Champions League for a second consecutive season.[2](https://www.national-football-teams.com/club/667/2010/Liverpool_Fc.html) • [13](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/17928889)
## Cup competitions
**League Cup.** Liverpool were eliminated in the third round by Northampton Town of the fourth tier, losing on a penalty shoot-out at Anfield in September 2010.[3](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/articles/cyxev0x1wl1o) • [4](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/dec/30/roy-hodgson-liverpool-wolves-pressure)
**FA Cup.** Liverpool's FA Cup run ended in the third round, with one match played and a 1-0 defeat.[1](https://liverpoolfc.fandom.com/wiki/2010-11_season)
**Europa League.** Liverpool entered the [UEFA Europa League](https://www.edgepedia.org/uefa-europa-league) in the third qualifying round, where they beat FK Rabotnički of Macedonia over two legs, winning 2-0 at home in the second leg on 5 August 2010.[5](https://fbref.com/en/squads/822bd0ba/2010-2011/matchlogs/all_comps/schedule/Liverpool-Scores-and-Fixtures-All-Competitions) In the qualifying-round matches recorded for the season, the team won all four, scoring seven goals and conceding one, with David N'Gog scoring three of them.[1](https://liverpoolfc.fandom.com/wiki/2010-11_season)
## Ownership and transfers
**The takeover changed the season's backdrop.** New England Sports Ventures bought Liverpool in October 2010, ending the divisions and day-to-day conflict that had accompanied the Hicks and Gillett ownership.[4](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/dec/30/roy-hodgson-liverpool-wolves-pressure) The new ownership backed a January spending spree in which the club's transfer record was broken twice on the very same day, bringing in [Luis Suárez](https://www.edgepedia.org/luis-suarez) and [Andy Carroll](https://www.edgepedia.org/andy-carroll); Carroll made his Liverpool debut as a 74th-minute substitute for [Raul Meireles](https://www.edgepedia.org/raul-meireles) against Manchester United.[6](https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/first-team/98011-relive-every-kick-of-2010-11) • [14](https://www.liverpoolfc.com/emails/pdf/Membership-Man_Utd.pdf) The same window saw Fernando Torres sold to Chelsea for a multimillion-pound fee; he had scored 9 goals in 23 Premier League matches for Liverpool that season and added 1 goal in 14 Chelsea matches thereafter.[15](https://as.com/futbol/2016/05/10/primera/1462864923_268457.html)
Hodgson's own signings had struggled. [Paul Konchesky](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-konchesky), Raul Meireles, and Christian Poulsen were his acquisitions, and none had been a success by December; Konchesky was jeered off when substituted against Wolves, and Milan Jovanovic, signed from Standard Liège, had been given only eight appearances without scoring in the league.[4](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/dec/30/roy-hodgson-liverpool-wolves-pressure)
## Players and appearances
Pepe Reina was the season's most-used player, with 50 appearances across all competitions: 38 in the league, 1 in the FA Cup, and 11 in Europe.[16](https://www.lfchistory.net/season-archive/appearances/120) Martin Škrtel played 49 matches in total, including all 38 league games, and Lucas Leiva made 47.[16](https://www.lfchistory.net/season-archive/appearances/120) Dirk Kuyt was the leading scorer with 15 goals in 41 appearances, followed by Raul Meireles with 5 goals in 41.[7](https://www.anfield-online.co.uk/stats/10-11/lfc-stats.html) Fernando Torres made 26 appearances before his January sale, and Steven Gerrard, hampered by a hamstring injury during the season, scored only three league goals.[16](https://www.lfchistory.net/season-archive/appearances/120) • [4](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/dec/30/roy-hodgson-liverpool-wolves-pressure)
## Aftermath
Dalglish was given the job on a permanent basis after the season, and in February 2012 he ended the club's six-year wait for silverware by winning the Carling Cup against Cardiff on penalties, though he said he would value the two cup wins of 2011-12 more than a fifth-place league finish.[12](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/18073446) • [13](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/17928889) He was dismissed at the end of May 2012.[12](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/18073446) Hodgson, for his part, went on to manage West Bromwich Albion and then England.[3](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/articles/cyxev0x1wl1o)
## References
1. [2010-11 season, Liverpool FC Wiki](https://liverpoolfc.fandom.com/wiki/2010-11_season)
2. [Liverpool FC (2010/11), National Football Teams](https://www.national-football-teams.com/club/667/2010/Liverpool_Fc.html)
3. [On this day: Roy Hodgson becomes Liverpool manager, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/articles/cyxev0x1wl1o)
4. [Five handicaps Roy Hodgson must overcome to survive at Liverpool, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/dec/30/roy-hodgson-liverpool-wolves-pressure)
5. [2010-2011 Liverpool Scores and Fixtures, All Competitions, FBref.com](https://fbref.com/en/squads/822bd0ba/2010-2011/matchlogs/all_comps/schedule/Liverpool-Scores-and-Fixtures-All-Competitions)
6. [Relive every kick of 2010-11, Liverpool FC](https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/first-team/98011-relive-every-kick-of-2010-11)
7. [Liverpool FC Data and Player Stats 2010/11, Anfield Online](https://www.anfield-online.co.uk/stats/10-11/lfc-stats.html)
8. [The season preview: Liverpool, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/aug/09/the-season-preview-liverpool)
9. [Roy Hodgson leaves Crystal Palace, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68045257)
10. [Arne Slot quiere ser el primer DT del Liverpool en debutar con victoria en Premier League este siglo, Diario AS](https://as.com/us/futbol/arne-slot-quiere-ser-el-primer-dt-en-debutar-con-victoria-en-premier-league-con-el-liverpool-este-siglo-n/)
11. [Liverpool FC - Schedule 10/11, Transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.com/fc-liverpool/spielplan/verein/31/saison_id/2010)
12. [Kenny Dalglish sacked as Liverpool manager, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/18073446)
13. [Kenny Dalglish values Liverpool cup wins over fifth place in league, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/17928889)
14. [Liverpool FC vs Man United membership viewing guide, Liverpool FC](https://www.liverpoolfc.com/emails/pdf/Membership-Man_Utd.pdf)
15. [Torres, sus mejores números ligueros desde el Liverpool, Diario AS](https://as.com/futbol/2016/05/10/primera/1462864923_268457.html)
16. [Appearances for the 2010-2011 season, LFChistory.net](https://www.lfchistory.net/season-archive/appearances/120)
17. [Kenny Dalglish at Liverpool: timeline from succeeding Hodgson to sack](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2012/may/16/kenny-dalglish-liverpool-timeline)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football competitions and records › Seasons and editions › Club seasons › English Premier League club seasons › 2010s club seasons*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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