Kenny Dalglish's Liverpool: 5 Reasons Why Fans Need to Be Patient

Start with Craig Bellamy, drop Jamie Carragher, we can't score goals, Andy Carroll is finished, selling Raul Meireles was a disaster and Jordan Henderson isn't good enough, are just some of the pearls of wisdom offered up after the loss to Stoke this weekend.

Was losing 1-0 away at the Britannia Stadium such a crushing defeat that it should lead to wholesale changes in order to save a flagging side? Or are some fans reacting in a knee-jerk manner?

Here are five reasons why some Liverpool fans need to show patience towards Kenny Dalglish's team.

No. 5: Roy Hodgson

On January 7, 2011 Roy Hodgson was in charge of the Liverpool team.

The last time Liverpool visited Stoke with Hodgson in charge, they lost 2-0 and a myopic referee would have made no difference whatsoever.

Paul Konchesky was terrorizing the Liverpool defense, while Sotirios Kyrgiakos was showing why he would only ever have a cult fan base.

Fernando Torres ambled around listlessly and on the 73rd minute Ryan Babel came on to make his usual impact from the substitutes bench.

Hodgson's football symphony sounded like a toolbox thrown down a flight of stairs. That was this year. Most of the transformation from that bastion of mediocrity has only started in the last few months.

For anyone decrying the performance at the weekend, watch some highlights of Hodgson's reign and be reminded of just how far Liverpool have come in such a short time.

No. 4: Andy Carroll Isn't Match Fit

Including appearances from the bench, Andy Carroll has made a total of 11 appearances for Liverpool.

Some of those games he was carrying an injury and played when he shouldn't have, something that Kenny Dalglish has admitted. Currently, Carroll is not performing well and is looking for full match fitness.

Does that mean he will never be able to score consistently for Liverpool? Does it mean he will definitely be a failure? I think it is far too early to make any decision—but he wasn't a bad player a year ago.

Carroll might be getting some grief as it seems Liverpool are currently reliant on Suarez to bag the goals—although Bolton might not think so—but that is why they are not quite ready for a title push.

Manchester City have Edin Dzeko, Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez, Mario Balotelli, David Silva, Samir Nasri and Adam Johnson to choose from to make up a front four.

Liverpool simply can't boast such depth of talent. Yet.

This is the first stage in Dalglish's rebuilding. A loss to a very tough Stoke side in unfortunate circumstances isn't the end of the world.

No. 3: Stoke Is Not a Happy Hunting Ground

Before Saturday's game, Liverpool took a total of two points from the past three visits to Stoke. No one thought it would be an easy game and it was always likely to be a fixture won by the odd goal.

Chelsea could eke nothing out of the Stoke defense on the first day of the season, which took Stoke's record to six defeats in their last 20 games at home.

Of course, Liverpool weren't at the Nou Camp, but to expect a victory at Stoke—and use it as a sign of impending doom when we lose—doesn't take into account the history of the tie.

Quite a few teams will come away from Stoke frustrated this season.

No. 2: Lucas Leiva

When Lucas Leiva started playing for Liverpool I wondered how long he would last.

Prone to giving away free kicks, poor positionally and wayward with his passing, Lucas just didn't seem good enough to make it. I'll take my humble pie with a side order of I'll shut up now.

My impatience with Leiva prepared me for this season.

Jordan Henderson has already shown some flashes of why he will be a very good player. Not only was his goal against Bolton a quality strike, he covers a lot of ground and links the play well.

His main issue is confidence, as he has a tendency to pass backwards when he is feeling the pressure.

That isn't entirely unexpected for a 21-year-old with a total of five appearances for the club. It is easy to forget that Henderson is a young player—Martin Kelly is two months his senior.

Henderson will take time to bed in and gain confidence and is most likely going to be making way for Steven Gerrard very shortly.

In fact, Dalglish probably doesn't see Henderson being a regular starter for a season or two, which makes the way some people have criticized him seem ridiculous.

No. 1: Liverpool Hammered Stoke 1-0

Liverpool had the vast majority of possession and it wasn't all being recycled among the back line. They had 20 shots on goal, six of which were on target.

Luis Suarez missed a very good chance at the close of the game. In one short spell, Stoke held on for grim life as they parried, blocked and saved five consecutive shots in a span of 20 seconds.

Rory Delap slapped the ball out of the area and the Scooby Gang couldn't solve why the referee didn't award a penalty. That was only one of two very good claims for hand-ball.

Stoke scored with a dubious penalty in my opinion and did very little else to threaten Liverpool.

It was a game Liverpool could have won by four goals with a team that is still getting to know each other. They are still delivering some of the best football played by Liverpool in years.

Take a Deep Breath

I understand the frustration of many fans over the Stoke game. I share them.

Of course, these frustrations have been building in many ways for 20 years, although we don't want to get carried away.

There's still a part of us that hopes this could be the year for the title even though our heads tell us this isn't going to happen.

But we have to remember this is a team that is still learning what the manager wants and how each player fits into the grand scheme of things.

Things are looking up at Anfield. As fans, we can't be too quick to hammer players that are in need of support at this early stage, particularly when they're already doing very well for so much of the time.