Liverpool are stuttering for two main reasons.
The poisonous Suarez controversy.
And the two carthorses Dalglish has signed.
Dalglish, watching from the stand before he took over, saw that Fernando Torres would never be the same player after his two knee operations in 2010. So he unloaded the striker to Chelsea for £50 million.
But, as everyone now realises, he wasted £35m on Andy Carroll.
He also signed Jordan Henderson, who only kicked the ball about five times at Old Trafford on Saturday, where Manchester United beat Liverpool 2-1.
Carroll and Henderson are carthorses.
First half was scrappy, United played tip-tap football in centrefield with no width.
0-0 at half-time.
Second half, United switched to turbo and Rooney scored two goals in 47 and 50 minutes and won the game.
The first came from a mistimed header by Henderson that diverted a Ryan Giggs corner for Rooney to volley in from three yards.
Stevie G, who has been superb recently, had a bad game.
He had nobody to play with. And Stevie, more than anyone, knew that, whatever the result of this match, there would be uproar about the unsportsmanlike behaviour of Suarez.
When Jose Enrique gave Spearing a dodgy pass, the kid lost the ball Valencia rolled the ball to Rooney, who fired his shot between the legs of Reina.
Liverpool had no fluency because they had no balance.
So Paul Scholes ran the show.
The wonderful Valencia showed how vital it is to have a reliable winger who hugs the touchline, provides crosses, and works back like a demon. The way Valencia uses his body while dribbling is always fun to watch. What a player!
For Liverpool, the rugged Kuyt contributes energy, bravery and goals to their cause. His work-rate makes up for his technical limitations.
But Dalglish fielded THREE players with obvious technical limitations.
Suarez got a goal back when a Charlie Adam free-kick into the box beat Jonny Evans and broke back off the body of Rio Ferdinand. Suarez stabbed in from four yards.
United allowed Liverpool a couple of half-chances after that, so it could have been a draw.
But very few people wanted to see Liverpool get anything after what happened before the kick-off.
Refusing to shake hands with Patrice Evra before the game, Suarez disgusted everyone and re-ignited the controversy.
Sir Alex said Suarez had shamed a great club and should never play for them again. Sunday saw apologies from Suarez and Dalglish.
“Too late!” we cry.
How can Liverpool allow this to happen? Suarez told them he would shake hands with Evra and then didn’t?
“What does owner John W. Henry make of this hateful farce?” I asked myself late last night.
American corporations hate controversy, I thought. They prefer respectability, like people who know the rules and follow the rules. Sport is supposed to bring people together and football stars can’t be divisive to this extent.
Today the Fenway Sports Group, who are five hours behind UK time on the Eastern seaboard, have reacted, after a Rob Hughes piece in The New York Times.
This morning we heard that Liverpool will sell Suarez in the summer.