Pack your bags Roy

[Big-Red-Ed]

Still pack your bags Roy!

[spanky]

He wont though, he'll be banging on about this result for the next week

[Zapater]

Even if we lose our next game 5-0, he'll be going on about this and the goaless draw against Napoli making it a "fantastic month", and results that "the fans can enjoy".

[Baracus]

he's safe until after chelsea game [depends if we lose, rather than draw or win], its a game by game situation now.
If the teams ahead of us pull away from us, then his head is on the chopping block quicker than he would like.

[Tezza1974]

ROY HODGSON came out fighting last night and attacked Dutch boss Frank Rijkaard for being linked with his job at Liverpool.

Former Barcelona chief Rijkaard was sacked by Turkish side Galatasaray this week sparking wild rumours that he was set to take over at Anfield from Hodgson.

But Hodgson, told to carry on by new American owner John W Henry, has reacted with fury – and claims his 30-month stay at Inter Milan has made him battle-hardened and immune from the constant speculation that his position at Liverpool is under threat.

Hodgson said: “I understand Rijkaard has just been sacked from Galatasaray – he must be a great manager to have been sacked by Galatasaray.

“What you are talking about is Frank Rijkaard’s agent who is putting his name around.

“It’s all speculation. I had two and a half years of that kind of thing at Inter Milan when every day there would be stuff in the newspapers that someone was going to get my job.

“It ended up with my being offered a new contract when I left for Blackburn! If I took two and a half years of that in Milan then I can take two and a half years of it here at Liverpool – don’t worry about that.”

Hodgson’s under no immediate threat, but Henry and right-hand man Thomas Werner will not accept being in the relegation zone long and they are looking for a quick improvement to stave off a winter scrapping for points at the bottom.

Meanwhile, Hodgson has revealed he is still unhappy that his reign as Blackburn boss was seen as a failure.

Hodgson has been praised for the job he did at Fulham and Inter before that and has been tipped as the next England boss after Fabio Capello.

But he reckons he was wrongly branded a flop after his 18-month spell in charge at Ewood Park – and it still rankles.

The Kop boss takes on Rovers at Anfield today desperate for a win to push them out of the drop zone where they have languished after a disastrous start to the season.

But he admits despite more than 10 years since he left Rovers he has never come to terms with being kicked out of Blackburn before he had the chance to impose his regime and style on the club.

Hodgson said: “At Blackburn, I took a team that avoided relegation by one point the previous season to a team that qualified for the UEFA Cup in my first campaign.

“We finished sixth in the league in 1998 but that somehow seems to be forgotten.

“The next season we had a lot of injury problems and found that things were not going so well.

“But in that first season we were being feted everywhere and I was being tipped as the next England manager.

“But after a poor start the following season I didn’t get a chance to follow it through. I am sure that if I had been given a chance I would have dealt with that one too.

“You do get bad periods and I have been lucky in that I have had more good ones than bad ones. I have had so many accolades and so many good years in so many places, it rankles a little bit that I should be getting this about my time at Blackburn because it is not fair.

“At Blackburn, 18 months of work got judged on the last two or three months when we did poorly. But that is the business.

“So many good things have been written about me over the last two and a half years that it would be churlish of me to start complaining. But I wasn’t happy about the way my time at Blackburn was perceived at the time – and I’m still not.”

That is the least of Hodgson’s problems today as he plans for a win that would banish the negativity surrounding Liverpool’s current plight and halt talk about his future.

The 0-0 midweek Europa League draw at Napoli boosted low confidence levels especially as Hodgson left skipper Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres behind along with midfielders Raul Meireles and Lucas and England defender Glen Johnson.

And Hodgson has confessed a training ground chat with Gerrard before they left for Italy convinced him it will not be long before they are back on track.

Hodgson said: “This is one of those bad spells but as Steven Gerrard said to me the other day – he believes, like me, that we will get through this. He believes, like me, that we will be stronger for it.

“I speak to Steven a lot and communication between a player and a coach is a two-way thing. I was explaining to Steven why I was leaving him behind and he understood.

“The doom and gloom that surrounds us is not coming from within the club, not from me and not from the players – it’s coming from people
outside who are having a field day and delighting in the fact we are having a bad time

“But we have had performances when we have been unlucky and when it just hasn’t gone our way – therefore it’s all been doom and gloom.

“The result in Naples was nice, it was a good performance with a good result and we can all feel a bit happier.

“Now it is up to the players who will be fresh from not having taken part in this game to step up to the plate.

“As well as those that didn’t go to Italy, Jamie Carragher played half the game and Joe Cole only came on at the end so I think that today we won’t be taking any fatigue into the match with us.

“It doesn’t always work that way but we won’t have that as an excuse if we don’t go on and win the game. I don’t follow newspapers that closely but I realise you take the pats on the back and the brickbats.

“You know football is going to give you moments like the moments and I have had to live through that over the last couple of months.

“Liverpool should be in the top half of the table but instead we are at the bottom but hopefully that will change after today.”

I started highlighting bits where he made a tit of himself but had to stop halfway through as i realised i'd highlighted it all

"should be in the top half of the table" - is that all the guy expects from Liverpool? As for things changing we are now 3rd from bottom instead of second maybe he is happy with that.

[RichC]

Don't panic lads we've only got to make up a 13 point deficit and to make up 28 goal difference to get back to the top!

After 9 games to be this ****ing adrift is just disgraceful - 9 points taken so far with a minus 5 GD - it was a good result today, 3 points was what we needed and I am pleased for the lads they got the result.

In regards Roys position as manager he's got to go even with todays win

[little dave hedgehog]

28 goal difference

[RichC]

28 goal difference

Shocking stat isn't it - we're on -5 at the moment and Chelsea are on + 23!!!! That alone should seal his fate.

[5europeancups]

Shocking stat isn't it - we're on -5 at the moment and Chelsea are on + 23!!!! That alone should seal his fate.

hypothetical:

If Liverpool go on a run and win the next five games on the bounce, should he still go?

[kingfunk]

Ya.

[DeeTheDog]

I don't want to go on a downer after our first win in ages, but the fact remains, we are still in the bottom three. Our good play merely highlighted that contrary to the media's portrayal we do have some very good footballers.

[chadrtc]

hypothetical:

If Liverpool go on a run and win the next five games on the bounce, should he still go?

I'll bite.

Yes, he's completely classless and has no understanding of what it means to be manager of our great club.

[RichC]

hypothetical:

If Liverpool go on a run and win the next five games on the bounce, should he still go?

I'm not a big fan of knee jerk reactions but I really do feel Roy needs to go even with a 5 out of 5 streak.

Essentially I don't see him being able to take us to where we should be, I really don't, I also want someone in long term, he's 63 (I think) and clearly is was a short term appointment from the previous board Purslow, Broughton et al with a good severence payment if new owners came in and decided they wanted their own man - we need long term stability and someone with the ability to build a team/squad for the long term, nothing in Roys past has shown me that he is capable of doing this - he's always been a short term solution.

[DannyMan2006]

hypothetical:

If Liverpool go on a run and win the next five games on the bounce, should he still go?

No, definitely not. Though I would also take into account the manner of the performances, and I'm talking purely league games here, not the tin pot europa league.

To keep him on after a dreadful start, but then sack him after 6 league victories on the bounce? Lunacy.

Personally I would have sacked him after the everton game and I'd still sack him now. But the longer we leave it, the more chance there is of Roy playing his way out of trouble. And with players wanting to leave, likely average replacements and his small time approach - it's a dangerous game we're playing.

A new manager for today's game would have been ideal. An injury ravaged Blackburn was always likely to produce a win. A new manager now would have a tough trip to Bolton followed by a very tough game with Chelsea. Not ideal.

[Rowan]

hypothetical:

If Liverpool go on a run and win the next five games on the bounce, should he still go?

If he somehow manages to work miracles and stay and if he learns to speak in the manner that befits a Liverpool manager and IF our play improves to the extent we are able to roll over opposition in a manner that a club with high quality players should then I would change my opinion. He also needs to publicly execute both Poulson and Konchesky and I don't trust him with money.

So there you have it. The acid test will be Chelsea, both in the manner he approaches it (i.e. none of this "they are a great club and will provide an astwinomcal challenge" horse****) and how we set up on the pitch. I'm not going to go all out and say the guy should be sacked if we are performing well just out of spite.

Still, Roy Hodgson is not the long term answer for Liverpool and I think the owners must realise that. You can't build a legacy with someone at the helm who only has a couple of years shelf life. That's the issue for me.