For those with ambition and an appreciation of history there are few more appealing jobs in football than that of Liverpool manager. But the time may have come to issue the post with a health warning; a recognition that taking over at Anfield could make you as deeply paranoid as Gérard Houllier, as obsessively contentious as Rafael Benítez, as visibly bewildered as Roy Hodgson and now, it seems, as shockingly enraged as Kenny Dalglish.
The Scot has been the personification of joviality since returning to Liverpool in January, but it felt as if a turning point had been reached on Saturday. Four games into the new season, and in the aftermath of the club's first defeat of a campaign in which they are aiming to challenge for a Champions League place, Dalglish has decided to ditch the nice‑guy act.
His ire is with the standard of refereeing in the Premier League, believing Liverpool have been victims of "contentious decisions" in every one of their fixtures so far. This was only enhanced at the weekend when Mark Clattenburg, the official in charge, awarded Stoke the penalty from which Jonathan Walters scored the game's only goal and denied Liverpool one of their own late on when Matthew Upson, stationed inside the host's area, appeared to block Luis Suárez's cross with his arm.
"We would like to be respectful to the referees but more importantly is them having respect for my club," said the Liverpool manager, "and if I feel we're suffering in any way, then I may need to go the same route as some others and see if I can gain some benefit from that."
Dalglish declined to expand on his plans, insisting he would "speak to [the club's] owners first" before making any moves, the most obvious of which appears to be an official complaint to the Premier League. Liverpool did not confirm on Sunday if that was indeed his intention.
For its part, it is understood the Football Association is unlikely to discipline Dalglish for his comments given he did not criticise or question the integrity of any referee in particular.
That may come as a relief to the 60-year-old but for his admirers there may remain concern over his loss of temper, the sense, even, that for the second time in two decades the task of managing Liverpool is proving too great a responsibilty for the club's greatest player.
Dalglish would dispute that and it could be deemed that his frustrations on Saturday had more to do with team's failure to win a third league game in succession, despite their dominance of proceedings. Liverpool had almost 73% of the possession, created 16 shots on goal – compared to Stoke's two – and, as Dalglish pointed out, were denied what did appear to be an obvious penalty. In fairness to Clattenburg, the one he awarded Stoke appeared a fair one given how it resulted from Jamie Carragher's hauling down of Walters as the forward ran in on goal.
The visitors' wastefulness was, in reality, their true downfall and seen most starkly just after the hour when, between them, Jordan Henderson and Charlie Adam had five shots on goal saved by Stoke's defence in a matter of seconds.
"We played well, it was just one of those days when we couldn't hit the net," said Stewart Downing. "Hopefully we'll be able to do that at Tottenham next week. We've just got to keep doing the same things."
That last sentiment is one that would be shared by Stoke, who are now unbeaten in eight games and face a first ever group-stage match in the Europa League when they travel to Dynamo Kyiv on Thursday.
"We've started well but are still 32 points from safety," said the Stoke manager, Tony Pulis. "Any side can beat you on any given day, so we've to keep our feet on the ground and take nothing for granted." Pulis's delight extended to the debut display of Peter Crouch following his £10m move from Tottenham on deadline day. The striker was quiet but showed plenty of eagerness.
The same could be said of Craig Bellamy, who marked his return to Liverpool as a snarling, second-half substitute. As it transpired, he was not the only one from the visitors' camp who was in a petulant mood in the Potteries.
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