He'll Kop it on Anfield return

Gerard Houllier makes an emotional return on Monday night to Anfield, the stadium he once called home but where he nearly lost his life.

He will enjoy a rapturous reception when he steps out for the Barclays Premier League game against Liverpool but he will put aside his feelings in a bid to guide Aston Villa to three much-needed points against his former club.

Ironically, Houllier was at a private party at the same stadium on Friday as the special guest at the retirement function of renowned cardiologist Dr Abbas Rashid.

Dr Rashid performed the 11-hour operation in October 2001 which saved the former Liverpool manager's life after he collapsed during a Premier League game against Leeds.

'It was a lovely evening and very emotional,' said Phil Thompson.

'It was great to be back in Gerard's company again. We didn't speak about the game. He is looking forward to it but he is fully focused on getting three points.'

Thompson, though, would have been surprised had it been any other way. Few know Aston Villa's manager better than the man who was his assistant at Anfield between 1998 and 2004, a period in which Liverpool won six major trophies.

They shared in some unforgettable nights - the UEFA Cup final win over Alaves in May 2001 arguably being the stand-out moment - but there were lows, most notably when Houllier suffered a ruptured aorta during that home game against Leeds.

That is why there will be an even greater sense of appreciation in the fanfare Houllier will receive from the Kop this evening, as aside from signing players like Sami Hyypia and Dietmar Hamann and developing prodigious young talents Michael Owen and Steven Gerrard, he put his life on the line.

'Nobody knew what had happened but it was obviously serious,' Thompson, a former Liverpool captain, recalled.

'I will never forget (goalkeeping coach) Joe Corrigan, who had followed Gerard out of the dressing room, coming back in and whispering in my ear that it was bad.

'I sent the players out, told them to carry on as normal, and I went into the treatment room. Emile Heskey was on one bed but you could see how shocked he was as Gerard was being given oxygen. I went over to Gerard, held his hand and told him not to worry about anything.

'I told him I'd had the best teacher and would take care of things. The next time I saw him was in Broadgreen Hospital four days later, after we had returned from a Champions League game in Kiev.

'It was a frightening sight, as he had so many tubes and wires attached to him.'

Such has been Houllier's recovery that Thompson says he has 'never seen him looking better' and the relentless appetite for hard work remains undiminished.

'He lives, eats and breathes football,' Thompson said.

'He is relentless in the way he approaches things, watching matches until all hours of the morning. If something is bothering him, he will have no hesitation about calling someone at 2am to talk.

'Gerard revolutionised Liverpool. Melwood used to look like a bad day on the M6 with all the cones that used to be laid out but everything was planned to the smallest detail and training was done against a stopwatch.

'Sometimes that used to frustrate the players but the approach reaped rewards, most memorably when we did the (cup) treble. It was a fantastic time and he put a smile back on the face of the club.'

So why, from a position where Liverpool looked set to make the final step forward after finishing runners-up to Arsenal in 2002 with 80 points, did things go so badly awry, culminating with Houllier's departure two years later?

Many felt Houllier was never the same after his heart problem - Jamie Carragher, for one, felt that coming back to work after five months convalescing was too soon - but Thompson believes there is a simpler answer.

'We invested £20million in (El Hadji) Diouf, (Salif) Diao and (Bruno) Cheyrou,' said Thompson.

'We thought we were getting a striker to score goals, a dominant midfielder and some creativity but, sadly, not one worked out.

'Ultimately, the reign had run its course. You can be assured, though, that nobody was more disappointed than Gerard that we couldn't bring the title home. It's probably one of the biggest regrets in his life.'

Had things worked out differently, Thompson could have been alongside Houllier again tonight but his reluctance to uproot his family from Merseyside meant he turned down the chance to be Aston Villa's No 2. 'I am happy with my decision,' he said.

'Gerard listened to my reasons and thanked me for them. I am happy to have gone my way but I will always respect, admire and, dare I say, love Gerard. But he knows I hope we stuff him tonight!'

This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.