Pack your bags Roy

[Fredo]

paul_tomkins Paul Tomkins
So in 105 away games in English football, Hodgson has won the same amount as Liverpool won in just 19 games in 2008/09? (13)

FrankSunTimes Frank Fitzgibbon
@
@paul_tomkins what you reckon, Paul? Surely if he's left in control we're looking at the certain departure of certain stars?

paul_tomkins Paul Tomkins
@
@FrankSunTimes I wouldn't disagree with that, Frank. Rush to the exits if he was to stay; can't see that being allowed to happen.

[Spanishfly]

The mail posted a scary stat this morning. Since 1980 (yes nineteen eighty) Roy has had 101 away games, he won 13 and drew 35 WTF that's with all sorts of teams. I thought it was a misprint... it's really not!

[Fredo]

Purslow's legacy I'm afraid. That's why I was reticent to portray him as a 'hero' after our win in the Royal Courts of Justice.

[Spanishfly]

Think I need to do this...
101 away games
Won 13

[Tee]

The longer this clown is left at the helm the bigger the hole NESV are digging for themselves. Act now before it is too late FFS sake!!!!

[Spanishfly]

He's won 13 games away since 1980!

[dww]

Think I need to do this...
101 away games
Won 13

I think I need to

I think Roy needs to go.

I tried my best to give him a fair chance. There have on occasion been signs he is adapting but overall his approach has been horrible. Every time he has had a good position the team has gone into it's shell in a way that looks as much like surrender as it does a well orchestrated defensive plan. The evidence keeps building up that he doesn't understand the club and he doesn't have the mentality, tactics or man management skills to take us forward.

[Spanishfly]

My main gripe with him is, rather than changing tactics when we go a goal down, he itches his nose as if it's a magic lantern and the sky Genie will grant him a wish or 3.

[merlboo]

Surely you can read and digest a post without it having to be broken down in to itsy bitsy pieces. But ok

The Board and owners didn't like Rafa but

couldn't sack him because we were achieving steady and solid results so

the minute we failed to achieve the high standards of prior seasons they grabbed at the opportunity to sack him and said it was based on results (their justification) and

had we finished fourth they wouldn't have been able to regardless of what the players thought.

As for MY views on Rafa, I'm unsure. I thought he'd lost something last season and performances weren't good enough. I wasn't sure if he could turn it round and to be honest I was convinced Hicks would find a way to cling on do we'd never be able to rebuild the squad. However, I'd have never got rid to replace him with Roy. Ok?

And the irony was that you chose to post a comment having a pop at people from Newcastle... to someone from Newcastle. I'd normally say that was rather unfortunate and you didn't know but your 'thanks Christian' crack at the end of your last post just made me realise it probably wasn't accidental at all and your really just a bit of a dick. (unless your name's actually Christian in which case we've had a whole day of misunderstanding).

Hope that clears things up. Maybe take a second before you start typing in future eh?

first, thanks for breaking it down into itsy weeny pieces

a misunderstanding has taken place here

my references of thanks were to Christian Purslow and not you or Poulsen

hope that clears that up ... why I man !

[Fredo]

my references of thanks were to Christian Purslow and not you or Poulsen

I thought it was clear enough myself.

[mick the click]

My main gripe with him is, rather than changing tactics when we go a goal down, he itches his nose as if it's a magic lantern and the sky Genie will grant him a wish or 3.

Actually... it's too true to be funny...

[Fredo]

Link

Time For Change

Roy Hodgson has a trademark move. Unfortunately for Liverpool, it‘s not winning football matches. His schtick is to stand helpless, hands deep in pockets, face screwed up in horror. For the life of him, he can’t seem to grasp why unleashing a barrage of long balls towards an increasingly frustrated Fernando Torres fails to deliver success. “Why won’t it work?” his eyes scream. “It always worked for Fulham!”

There is something sacrilegious about Liverpool playing hoofball. It’s like watching property developers gutting an old cathedral to make a quick buck on one-bedroom flats. Stoke’s second goal on Saturday told you everything you needed to know about this team. It was borne out of Steven Gerrard’s aimless long punt into the channels, one of too many that were inevitably intercepted. This is not how Liverpool should play.

Johan Cruyff used to say that he loved playing English teams because when you lost possession they would always give it straight back to you. But if you mentioned that to Hodgson, you suspect that he’d thrust his hands into his pockets, screw his face up and mumble something about ‘unhelpful fans’.

The saddest thing about Hodgson is that his appointment was actually made for the right reasons. He hasn’t changed. The circumstances have. Under the last regime, Liverpool were in so much trouble that ‘doing a Leeds’ would have been preferable to their probable destiny. They should, by rights, have exploded in a puff of IOU notes. Hodgson could have kept their heads above water for longer than most. Reducing the width, packing the lines and relying on occasional sorties forward, Liverpool would have survived in the Premier League even after the inevitable sale of Gerrard and Torres. Hodgson would buy time until help arrived. Unfortunately for him, it arrived far sooner than anyone expected.

With new owners, new investment and the chance to slowly claw their way back to the top, Hodgson is vulnerable. It doesn’t matter that he’s dragged Liverpool up from the relegation zone and it doesn’t matter that a few extra points would have them back in the chasing pack. The fans can only look at the football and shudder at the thought of much more of it. With the greatest of respect to the Cottagers, this isn’t Fulham. There’s a sign in the tunnel that he should read. This is Anfield. And things need to change.

QUOTE – “I am sure there are lots of fans who sympathise with us and what we are trying to do.” – Roy Hodgson over-estimates his popularity.

[Lecter]

Liverpool face tough choice as Stoke City expose Roy Hodgson
Stoke City 2 Liverpool 0

Under pressure: defeat to Stoke City has left Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson with an uncertain Anfield future Photo: ACTION IMAGES By Rory Smith 6:30AM GMT 15 Nov 2010
Rory's Twitter

That word again. That word which seems destined to haunt Roy Hodgson’s reign as Liverpool manager, however long it lasts. That word which has come to sum up all of the fears and furies of the club’s supporters, that word which will greet each of the club’s defeats this season. “Dalglish.”

To the Liverpool fans who cried for the return of their king as they watched their side fall to a limp, lifeless defeat at Stoke City, in his name lies salvation.

Dalglish used to be a paean. Now he is their prayer. In reality, though, the problem facing their club’s new owners, New England Sports Ventures, is not as simple as a mere coronation. They face an election. They must decide whether to stick or twist.

Hodgson appeared to acknowledge as much in his comments in the aftermath of what was not simply Liverpool’s fifth league defeat of the season, but an unacceptably meek surrender to Tony Pulis’s buoyant, bullish side.

“The fans can chant for whoever they want,” the 63 year-old said. “And it will be up to the club to decide what they want to do. There is nothing I can do about it. If the club decide they want to give the job to somebody else, then I’ll have to accept it.”

It is a statement almost as obvious as it is stark. Yet it encapsulates neatly the decision John W Henry and the his colleagues at NESV find laid at their door less than a month after they completed their £300 million takeover.

The club, as Hodgson says, can do what they want. There would be no great outcry if the former Fulham manager was handed his gold watch and thanked for his services. After all, Liverpool’s fate, without change, seems clear.

“Fans make their frustrations felt every time we lose a game,” Hodgson said. “Unfortunately they may have to do that a few more times this season, because I can’t see us going through a season winning every single game.”

Stick with Hodgson, and Liverpool will endure a season of toil, each victory offering only fleeting respite and each defeat punctuated by that word again, not so much for the results as the performances. mid-table anonymity awaits a club that does not accept mediocrity.

The Britannia provided the perfect paradigm. Liverpool’s squad is not as poor as accepted wisdom maintains, but what is most glaringly lacking is any sort of plan. Whereas, in the victory over Chelsea last week, the most deceptive of false dawns, they attacked with width and verve, here they appeared to attempt to mimic their hosts.

Stoke, though, are rather better at being Stoke than any impostor. They harried and hustled, dominated aerially and earned their reward, Ricardo Fuller prodded home the scrappiest of openers, the imperious Kenwyne Jones stroked home a rather more refined injury-time clincher.

Liverpool, in contrast, offered nothing, their imitation flattering but failing. And to make matters worse, Lucas was sent off late on for a needess hack. The player may be interested to know that Hodgson was last night watching Rennes’ defensive midfielder Yann M’Vila.

Yet for all his troubles, twisting, dispensing with Hodgson, may be unappealing to NESV. Attracting a manager mid-season is hardly ideal. His replacement may fare no better, and there is little appetite for creating problems when already NESV must deal with concerns over the futures of Fernando Torres, who will have a hamstring strain assessed by Spain’s medical team this week, Pepe Reina and now Glen Johnson, reportedly unsettled by Hodgson’s comments on his poor form.

It would be rather apt should Hodgson keep his job more for what he is not – risk, uncertainty, doubt – than what he is.

[Lecter]

Anaemic, weak and devoid of options, Liverpool FC lose to Stoke
Nov 15 2010
Liverpool Echo
Comments (27)Recommend (2)
Fernando Torres 300
“Fernando didn't want to come off and I didn't want to take him off but he was not firing on all cylinders,” Roy Hodgson explains that an ankle injury thwarted Torres' goal threat.

IT wasn’t the simple pass being hoofed 30 yards out of play or a 40-yard free-kick missing its intended target by the same distance that caused such alarm.

Nor was it the sight of a posse of travelling supporters racing to the front of the SEAT stand to scream invective at the beleaguered manager and shout for the return of the club’s greatest ever player to take over in the hot-seat.

Depressing as all those incidents were to see on Saturday evening, the most demoralising thought as Liverpool’s mini revival was brought to a shuddering halt at Stoke City came from the knowledge there are likely to be more torturous experiences like this before the end of the season.

Perhaps the anger that was so evident when Mark Halsey brought a one-sided contest to a close was not born of frustration but out of shock as, remember, six days earlier memories of a not too distant time in the past had been revived by Liverpool’s dismissal of Chelsea.

Sadly it seems that thrilling display was the exception to the current rule; as good as it was to serve it up to the league leaders, a true idea of Liverpool’s current well-being was always going to be gauged in the fixtures that followed at Wigan and the Britannia Stadium.

So now we know. Anaemic, weak and devoid of options, Liverpool might have players who can look good in the glamour contests but they don’t have a squad capable of finding the consistency required to compete – you might even say it is Liverpool’s worst squad of the Premier League era.

Now that claim is not made lightly, certainly when you consider the honours that a few men have collected include the World Cup, the European Championship, the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and other valuable trinkets.

What, then, makes the sum of this group considerably less than its parts? Those supporters who remember the campaign in 1992-93, when the Premier League started, might be quick to argue otherwise and they will doubtlessly pull a host of names to support their view.

Torben Piechnik, Nicky Tanner, Istvan Kozma and Paul Stewart were four names that had fans cowering when they appeared on a team sheet; Mike Hooper was a goalkeeper dubbed ‘Ronald McDonald’ for reasons other than his curly, red hair – in other words, a clown could have done better.

Not surprisingly, Liverpool lost 15 times that year, won only three matches away from Anfield and finished a country mile behind eventual champions Manchester United but the players Graeme Souness had were not all bad.

Legends such as John Barnes, Ronnie Whelan, Ian Rush and Jan Molby – when fitness permitted – were still capable of running games, while a wave of young talent including Jamie Redknapp, Steve McManaman, Robbie Fowler, Rob Jones and David James was emerging.

Further more, back then most were happy to dismiss that campaign as a blip and, within three years, Liverpool – under a change of manager, admittedly – were involved in a scrap for the league title once again, having won a major trophy (the Coca-Cola Cup) in 1995.

Put your hand on your heart and ask yourself this – do you see the fortunes of this collective being transformed to such an extent in the same time scale? With each week that passes by, New England Sports Ventures get an idea of the rebuilding job they face.

The big problem Liverpool have is that for too long they have bought badly when venturing into the transfer market and while Roy Hodgson might claim about the squad he inherited, it is difficult to say any of the players he has brought in are making a difference.

Take Paul Konchesky. He experienced what can kindly be described as a ‘testing’ 90 minutes against Stoke, as his positional play was poor, his tackling lacked a bite and his efforts were characterised by an 88th minute free-kick which nearly flew out of the stadium.

But look at the others. Milan Jovanovic can’t get near the team; Joe Cole has struggled with form, suspension and injury; Christian Poulsen has yet to acclimatise ditto Raul Meireles, while Brad Jones and Danny Wilson are unlikely to see Premier League action this year.

Yet dumbing down in terms of quality is nothing new; of those who arrived and left in the summer of 2009, which pair would you rather have had – Glen Johnson and Alberto Aquilani or Alvaro Arbeloa and Xabi Alonso?

To make Konchesky the scapegoat for all that went wrong in the Potteries, however, would be grossly unfair – with the exception of the admirable Pepe Reina, not one player with a Liver Bird on his chest hit the required standards in a feeble, error-strewn display.

You know what to expect when taking on Stoke but from the moment Rory Delap started hurling long throws into the danger zone to ensure the decibels were cranked up inside this atmospheric ground, there were some who simply couldn’t cope.

Which is why it came as no surprise when, after a passage of penalty area pinball, Stoke eventually made their pressure pay and Ricardo Fuller was able to poke a shot in from six yards – once they went behind, there was never going to be any way back.

Fernando Torres never received a pass of note, Steven Gerrard threw his hands in the air every time he looked to launch an attack but nobody wanted to give him an option as Liverpool were overrun in midfield – no wonder there was such animosity in the travelling ranks.

Once Kenwyne Jones had put a realistic tint on the scoreline in injury time, driving past Martin Skrtel as if he wasn’t there, the anger boiled over and the chant of “Dalglish!” that was first aired in the chastening defeat against Blackpool became audible once more.

Sadly, you get the impression it won’t be the last. Players who are not up to it, travel woes – four goals away from Anfield this season – and erratic form make for a disastrous combination; both a quick fix and a long-term rebuild are needed to restore happiness.

STOKE CITY (4-4-2): Begovic: Wilkinson, Shawcross, Huth, Collins: Pennant, Whitehead, Delap, Etherington: Jones, Fuller (Walters 88). Not used: Sorensen (GK), Higginbotham, Whelan, Gudjohnsen, Wilson, Tuncay.LIVERPOOL (4-2-3-1): Reina: Carragher, Kyrgiakos, Skrtel, Konchesky: Gerrard, Lucas: Meireles (Ngog 66), Kuyt, Rodriguez (Babel 73): Torres. Not used: Jones (GK), Jovanovic, Poulsen, Shelvey, Kelly.GOALS: Fuller (56), Jones (90)

CARDS: Torres (47), Collins (52), Lucas (57), Skrtel (78), Fuller (83) Sent-off – Lucas (90+2)REFEREE: Mark Halsey

ATTENDANCE: 27,286


Read More http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liver...#ixzz15LLNrsG5

[5europeancups]

Moores & Parry asked Gerrard and Carragher who they thought would be up to the job of replacing Houllier (when they got Benitez)

I think its in Gerrards book he mentions that he had put forth the name of Alan Curbishley

and we wonder why its all going pear-shaped.