Hodgson said Gerrard was the man to help him forge “team unity”, adding that the player he knew well from his time as Liverpool manager merited the “distinction” of captaining England.

“In my opinion he’s the man who merits this award or distinction”.”I know him as a player and I know him as a person. I know how committed he is to the England cause and he was delighted last night when I told him of my decision”.

“And I shall be counting on him to help me as much as he possibly can to build the type of team unity and the type of environment that’s going to be very necessary to thrive in an important tournament.”

After a careful and deliberative review of the season, the Club came to the decision that a change was appropriate. It is not a decision that was reached lightly or hastily.

The search for a new Manager will begin immediately.

Principal owner John Henry was fulsome in his praise for the outgoing Manager.

“Kenny will always be more than a championship winning manager, more than a championship winning star player. He is in many ways the heart and soul of the club. He personifies everything that is good about Liverpool Football Club. He has always put the Club and its supporters first. Kenny will always be a part of the family at Anfield.

“Our job now is to identify and recruit the right person to take this Club forward and build on the strong foundations put in place during the last 18 months.”

Liverpool Chairman Tom Werner said it was a tough decision, but ultimately one that needed to be made.

“Kenny came into the Club as Manager at our request at a time when Liverpool Football Club really needed him. He didn’t ask to be Manager; he was asked to assume the role. He did so because he knew the Club needed him. He did more than anyone else to stabilize Liverpool over the past year-and-a-half and to get us once again looking forward. We owe him a great debt of gratitude.

“However, results in the Premier League have been disappointing and we believe to build on the progress that has already been made, we need to make a change.

“We are committed to delivering success for our supporters and our ambition remains resolute to return this great Club to the elite of England and Europe, where it belongs.”

Kenny Dalglish’s departure brings to an end his second spell at the Club where, as a player, he won numerous honours, including six English league titles and three European Cup trophies. As Manager he won three league titles, two FA Cups and of course this season, the Carling Cup.

There is no doubt that Kenny is a club legend who will always be remembered for what he has done for this club, what’s everyone’s opinion on him being sacked? who should we try to get to replace him?

Skrtel has been one of the Reds most consistent player this campaign and was rewarded for his fine form by being named the club’s player of the season.

The 27-year-old has two years to run on his current contract and Skrtel’s representative, Karol Csonto, has admitted he will discuss Liverpool’s plans as they get ready for talks on a new deal.

“You cannot say Liverpool won’t play in the Champions League,” Csonto told The Independent. “It is a big club and because they haven’t made it this year doesn’t mean they would not next.

“There are expectations on both sides, though.

“Some changes have been made at the club and the player wants to know what the aims and ambitions are.

“We want to discuss with Liverpool what they want and, of course, we will discuss the issue of Martin’s new contract.”

Lets hope after his discussions with the club he decides Liverpool is still the team for him, as when Skrtel and Agger have both been fit they have formed a formidable partnership at the back.

Kuyt scored just two goals in 26 Premier League appearances this season, with Dalglish leaving the 31-year-old on the bench for large periods. However, Kuyt feels he is good enough to play on a more regular basis.

‘Under this manager I don’t have the feeling anymore that he will put me in the side every week.

‘I’m under no illusion about playing every week. But I believe I am still good enough to play for Liverpool every week.’

Kuyt seems certain to leave Anfield, though he is keen to remain with the Reds.

‘Deep in my heart I’d love to stay at Liverpool,’ he said.

Kuyt was rumoured to have held talks with Feyenoord technical director Martin van Geel last month, sparking reports that he would sign for the Rotterdam club.

However, although the player admits he considered a move back to his former club, he believes he still has much to offer a top European side.

‘The fact I held talks with Feyenoord indicates I wanted to give it a serious chance’

‘But in many ways the gap is too great at this moment in time.

‘If I returned to Holland, I would have to take an 80% cut in my Liverpool wages.’

I’d personally prefer Kuyt stayed with Liverpool as he has been a great servant over the years and still has alot to offer. What does everyone else think?

Kick-off: 15.00 BST

Liverpool

The Reds trail rivals Everton by a point in the league table and will be hoping for a win in Wales to avoid finishing behind Everton for only the second time in 25 years. Manager Kenny Dalglish could restore captain Steven Gerrard to the starting line-up as a minor back injury forced him to miss the impressive 4-1 victory over Chelsea. Teenager Raheem Sterling is likely to get another run-out from the bench having made back-to-back league appearances as a substitute, tho it would be really nice to see him get a start. Maxi Rodriguez is expected to feature off the bench in what could be his final appearance for Liverpool. Skrtel is said to be out needing a minor nose operation, which will pave the way for Carragher or Coates to start.

Liverpool (Probable, 4-4-2): Reina; Johnson, Carragher, Agger, Enrique, Henderson, Gerrard, Spearing, Downing, Suárez, Carroll.

Out: Adam, Leiva (knee), Skrtel

Swansea City

Swansea City have failed to score in their last five games in all competitions against Liverpool. The hosts sit proudly in 12th position and could finish as high as 10th should results go their way on the final day. Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers has no fresh injury concerns ahead of this fixture. Leon Britton is expected to return to the starting line-up after recovering from a knee problem while Kemy Augustien and Ferrie Bodde remain sidelined.

Swansea (Probable, 4-2-3-1): Vorm, Rangel, Caulker, Williams, Taylor, Allen, Gower, Dyer, Sigurdsson, Sinclair, Graham.

Out: Augustien (ankle), Bodde (knee), Tate, Orlandi (both calf)

Prediction: Swansea City 1 Liverpool 2 – Expecting Liverpool to finish the season on a High and with Carroll finally finding some form it would be nice to see him get on the score sheet.

However, the youngster also knows he and his teammates are capable of performing to higher standards in the league and insists there has been ample evidence throughout this year’s campaign to indicate the team’s potential to climb the table next year.

“Overall, it’s been an up and down season,” Henderson told the LFC Official Weekly Magazine. “But I think we have achieved great things as a team in winning the Carling Cup and getting to the final of the FA Cup.

“They are two big achievements and winning the Carling Cup was a great achievement for the club because it meant we got back to winning trophies. But we know our league form will need to improve for next year.

“We are well aware of that and I’m sure that we’ll work on that and we’ll get better at it. I think there are positive signs there that we can do that. We have hit the post and the bar a lot of times this season so we need to be more clinical in front of goal and a bit more streetwise as well.

“We have to concentrate on the last bit of the season and making sure we finish as strongly as possible. We’ve got a lot to learn but if we can do that and rectify the mistakes we’ve made this season then we can definitely be better equipped to improve next year”.

Carroll has endured a difficult time at Anfield since moving from Newcastle for a British record £35 million last January but there are signs Andy Carroll may be starting to come into his own.

The Liverpool Number 9 transformed the Reds fortunes when he came on as a substitute in the FA Cup final last weekend, scoring Liverpool’s only goal against Chelsea and then took that form into Tuesday’s Barclays Premier League and played a big role in Liverpool FC’s 4-1 victory over Chelsea at Anfield.

“He is a much better player technically at Liverpool,I think his runs are better, he is very, very fit, and his lifestyle is very good.

“All the time I was at Liverpool and he was at Liverpool he was never caught drinking or doing stupid things. He looks after himself.

“When he came [to the club], our sports science people and the coaching staff got hold of him and said, ‘this is what you have got to do if you want to get to the top level’. He totally grabbed it and ran with it. You can see the effects at the moment. And I think this is just the beginning.

“All the stats prove that strikers, especially target strikers, peak when they are 26. He is 23. He has got so much more to come. It is incredible. He is intelligent, he is dedicated, he listens, and he has got a good lifestyle. I don’t see why he shouldn’t be a big success.”

Certainly there is a great deal of improvement to see in Carroll’s performance especially in his technical play, positioning and off the ball movements but do you think Carroll will turn out to be a consistent world class striker that Liverpool badly needs??

The Reds completed their home fixtures with a 4-1 thrashing of Champions league finalists Chelsea on Tuesday evening, taking some revenge for a 2-1 FA Cup final loss to the Blues at Wembley on Saturday.

Liverpool can finish no higher than seventh in the Premier League but Dalglish has pointed to the League Cup triumph and the return to European competition it brings as evidence the club can be happy with their campaign.

“We’ve got a bit of silverware back in the cupboard after six years, we’re back in Europe at the first time of asking, we were near to winning the FA Cup final. Not a bad first season,” he said.

“They (the players) understand better than everyone (the club’s expectations) and they’re probably more educated than most of those people (critics).

“I think the players will be happy to finish on a high at Anfield. That performance was on a par with a lot of other performances where we’ve not had the result. Tonight we got that.

“For us it was a satisfying evening. Hopefully the supporters go away feeling very happy. Hopefully the boys have put a wee smile on their faces.”

Dalglish was delighted with his side’s show, their biggest league win of the season on their last outing of the campaign at Anfield.

“It was an excellent performance,” said the Scot.

“It was one which has been seen a few times before here but the result hasn’t been as positive as that.

“The pleasing thing is the performance was matched by the result.”

What is your opinion? Do you think Kenny is right to label the season a success? Are we heading in the right direction?

The Reds signed off from their final home game of the 2011-12 season with a commanding triumph over the Blues, who had narrowly edged out Liverpool in the FA Cup final just 72 hours earlier.

“After a disappointing result and performance in the final that was exactly what was needed,” said Johnson.

“We wanted to start where we left off in the final and we did that. The lads started well, kept the pressure on and did really well for the full 90 minutes. There was only one team in it.

“We all wanted to give the fans a performance in the last home game. It wouldn’t have been nice to lose the last one. It’s great to finish at home with a win and score a few goals.

“Now we have to try to get another three points at Swansea and try to finish as high as possible. We want to finish seventh and if we beat Swansea we’ve got a chance of doing that.

“I supposed it was typical we played that well tonight.

“Everyone would have preferred this result to come in the final but that’s football.

The Reds gave Chelsea a two goal start before fighting back to almost salvage a draw after substitute Andy Carroll halved the deficit and then came within millimeters of leveling the tie, only to be denied by a stunning Petr Cech stop.

But it was the manner of Liverpool’s performance over the first hour which most aggrieved Agger.

“There’s not much more to say right now. We are all just so disappointed. Nobody likes to be a loser,” he told the club’s official website.

“We have got two games left in the season and we have got to try and win them. That is how we will start to move forward. It is difficult right now to think about anything else

“Can we challenge the top teams next season? Yes, of course. We have moved forward a lot this season but right now the only feelings are of disappointment,” he continued

“When you get into an FA Cup final, you really want to win it. Nobody ever remembers the runners-up.”