Pack your bags Roy

[little dave hedgehog]

port vale's manager sacking is merely the first opening act. ours is headlining.

[McDermotX]

port vale's manager sacking is merely the first opening act. ours is headlining.

This will be a day long remembered in the empire.......




I hope!

[kop-al-74]

mikejefferiesL4 Mike Jefferies
Hearing that Roy will be officially gone today @ 1pm GMT.
6 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply

[Darkon]

liberation day mark 2

[Norbs]

**** letting him pack, can't we just send his luggage on afterwards?

[Lecter]

[Lecter]

[Lecter]

Andrew_Heaton Andy Heaton
Haha, just listening to "The Game" Podcast, Barclay almost crying over his mate Roy's treatment "I've never known such cruelty"

[Craig_H]

Ah Lec, i saw you'd posted on this thread and i was hoping you may have been the bearer of good news...

[Lecter]

Roy Hodgson Has Few Arguments Left for Keeping His Job After Awful 3-1 Loss at Blackburn by Nick Coman on Wed, Jan 5, 2011 at 6:29PM 82 Do you like this story?

Roy Hodgson has asked for patience. He's asked for the chance to leave his imprint on his side, for his tactics to be accepted. He's asked for fan support, financial backing -- the list goes on, and the results have only grown worse, and at this point, he pretty much has nothing left to ask for.

In the wake of Liverpool's abysmal 3-1 loss to a Blackburn Rovers side that is nearly always uninspiring -- a result eerily similar to those against Wolves, Blackpool and other teams Liverpool supporters can't fathom losing to -- one of two things must be true -- or maybe both.

Either Liverpool's squad is full of players who just aren't very good, or Hodgson has been utterly incapable of making the team even a fraction of the sum of its parts.

It is said with relative frequency that this is nearly the same team as in 2008, yet this team is in 12th place, and that 2008 one finished second, but that may be a little unfair. The Sotirios Kyrgiakos-Martin Skrtel combination cannot hold a candle to the 2008 versions of Daniel Agger-Jamie Carragher in terms of class in central defense. Paul Konchesky is nowhere near the player that Fabio Aurelio was at that point, and the right back actually played defense in 2008.

David Ngog, also, wasn't anywhere near the first team, and Maxi Rodriguez, Christian Poulsen and Joe Cole can't be remotely be compared to the likes of Javier Mascherano, Yossi Benayoun and Xabi Alonso.

All in all, the 2008-09 team was not the same as the 2010-11 team, but even if the comparison is unfair, there's certainly half-truth in it.

Dirk Kuyt is still Dirk Kuyt -- except he isn't. Fernando Torres is still Fernando Torres -- except he isn't. The same can even be said of Steven Gerrard, who now has bursts of resolve and brilliance intermingling with long periods of disappearance. Sure, each is older, but not so much that any of them should have declined.

Their play is surely affected by the class of those around them, but even so, they just aren't themselves. Their body language is poor, they seem disinterested, and they play with a lack of belief.

When great players appear as such for such an extended period of time, there's no possible argument to make other that the manager is to blame.

Poor performance, of course, can often be condoned if the team seems to be giving an effort, playing fun, aggressive soccer, or at least showing signs of improvement. Those qualities, though, can be attributed to the likes of Wigan, Blackpool and Wolves -- none of whom Liverpool beat, but not Liverpool.

Hodgson's side, on the other hand, plays negative, low-pressure football normally displayed -- ironically -- by Blackburn Rovers. On Wednesday, Rovers surely didn't look as such. Instead, they proved how poorly the strategy was working for their opponents. They gave Blackburn ample space to win balls in midfield and build down both wings, the results of which were countless crosses and three beautiful Blackburn goals.

So, if nothing is working, why maintain the status quo -- especially in the midst of the transfer window?

Hodgson's philosophy is one of negative football. That may have worked at Fulham, but it has proven to be disastrous at Anfield, and any attempt on his part to "leave his imprint" as such could only prove more catastrophic. It's not as though he hasn't had a chance to bring players in. He did so with Cole, Konchesky, Poulsen and others, and they've generally proven to be exactly what he is -- negative in approach and performance. The team clearly must spend in January, but it would be dangerously profligate to allow the team to waste money in its current direction. Something must change.

Many considered the last-gasp Bolton win to be a stay of execution for Hodgson. Then, as usual under Hodgson, the next match came, and the team looked dead.

It is, of course, never a certainty, but it would be a surprise to many if that stay of execution wasn't short-lived -- even Mr. Hodgson could have few words to the contrary.

Should Roy Hodgson remain as Liverpool manager? Leave your thoughts below.

http://www.nesn.com/2011/01/roy-hodgson-has-few-arguments-for-keeping-his-job-left-after-awful-3-1-loss-at-blackburn.html

[little dave hedgehog]

RBuxton_LFC Richard Buxton
Increasing talk of Hodgson being relieved of his duties at #LFC before 1pm today. Rumours of press conference being called currently untrue.

[Lecter]

Ah Lec, i saw you'd posted on this thread and i was hoping you may have been the bearer of good news...

I'd be surprised if he isnt sacked in the next 24-48 hours

[Lecter]

“Not his team” – The worst excuse possible
A message to all Roy's chums in the media; dispelling 2 of your pathetic myths.
Written by Matt Ladson on January 6th, 2011 View Comments

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I am tired of hearing media pundits and former managers providing their backing to Roy Hodgson as Liverpool manager by proclaiming that “it’s not his team” and how he needs time to build his team, or how Rafa Benitez left him a poor squad.

Let’s get one very simple thing straight here; was it Alan Pardew’s team when Newcastle beat Liverpool in Pardew’s first game in charge as Newcastle manager? Was it Steve Kean’s team when Blackburn beat Liverpool on Wednesday night?

It is always the manager’s team.

The manger’s job is to manage the players at his disposal. Whether he signed them or not is irrelevant. The manger coaches, provides the tactics, gives the teamtalks and seeks to motivate the players. If he is not doing this, he is not doing his job.

As for the “Benitez left him a poor squad” argument. Let’s look at some good old FACTS;

- when Roy Hodgson took charge on July 1st, Liverpool had more players represented at the 2010 World Cup than any previous World Cup, and more than any other Premier League side had.

- the squad which Hodgson inherited finished second in the Premier League just 12 months previously, with the club’s highest Premier League points tally

- Roy Hodgson choose to loan out Alberto Aquilani and Emiliano Insua…

- … and then signed Christian Poulsen and Paul Konchesky

- Roy Hodgson signed Raul Meireles for £11m, then admitted how he wasn’t sure where best to play him

A message to all of Roy’s friends in the media – 35 years in management without a major honour says it all. He was out of his depth the moment he got the job.

Here’s one for you, Kenny Dalglish has won more trophies than Hodgson has won away games in all his time managing English sides.

Another thing, please stop reporting his overall win record (which includes pathetic Europa League games). His league win percentage is the lowest for any Liverpool manager post-war (35%).

Goodbye Roy, Goodbye Roy’s media chums.

[Craig_H]

I'd be surprised if he isnt sacked in the next 24-48 hours

I would too, but i want officialdom

[Darkon]

hodgson will not be the only one relieved when it happens that's for sure!

coincidently I have to go to the bathroom now...