Pack your bags Roy

[Arn]

In order to get them to pen deals, concessions were made and clauses included in those contracts that favour the players but leave the club vulnerable.

Confirms that the rumoured clauses exists

It also looks like Balague read the article from RAWK that I posted a week or so ago.

[Fredo]

Confirms that the rumoured clauses exists

It also looks like Balague read the article from RAWK that I posted a week or so ago.

Ballague is a close ally to Rafa.

[Pablo]

It's fair to say Ballague is doing the majority of fans a disservice in his latest piece.

If we'd seen a glimmer of something better on the horizon then most fans would be cutting Roy some slack, as it stands its not just his alehouse tactics, its not just his uncanny ability to blames others for defeats, its not just his inability to concede we've been appalling in most games, its not just his appalling record in last summer's transfer window, its not just his complete lack of understanding of what the club is about, its not just asking some of better players to change their excellent ways to inferior ones, and its not just his 'old man' gesturing from the sidelines.

It's all of it - the whole package - the whole flipping awfulness of Roy Hodgson that has the fans up in arms.

Great post.

That article had a really condescending "I know better than you" air to it. We are no mugs. We know that changing the manager won't solve all the wrongs at the club. We're not naive enough to believe that and he shouldn't assume we are. The ******.

[Arn]

Ballague is a close ally to Rafa.

He wrote a season on the brink. He is probably the journalist out there that know most about the contract situation when it comes down to La Liga and Spanish players.

[The_weatherman]

Great post.

That article had a really condescending "I know better than you" air to it. We are no mugs. We know that changing the manager won't solve all the wrongs at the club. We're not naive enough to believe that and he shouldn't assume we are. The ******.

I really annoys me when the media does that, it's like they can't validate our feelings But seriously I think some of our problems would be rectified with a new manager and only someone who doesn't watch Liverpool is likely to think otherwise.

[Neil Young]

Great post.

That article had a really condescending "I know better than you" air to it. We are no mugs. We know that changing the manager won't solve all the wrongs at the club. We're not naive enough to believe that and he shouldn't assume we are. The ******.

Yes I agree with all the comments about Balague's observations.

I think it's worth remembering though this is how we're being painted by the media.

So it makes me think maybe we'll have a better understanding in future of other fans who are pissed off with their managers (or whoever) when we learn about it mainly through the media too.

[cream]

From The Times .

Liverpool need to consider the bigger picture

Guillem Balague

Liverpool's new owners, NESV have taken charge of a headless institution. One lost and lacking direction, it is being pulled in different routes by people that, with the best of intentions, think they know the way. It is the sign of a weak club when a member of the medical staff, a player or an employee feels strong enough to try and lead in the search for that elusive ‘Liverpool way’.

It seems that a huge number of fans have decided Roy Hodgson, the manager, must go. Yet that highlights the main reason why you should never allow supporters to direct clubs as they don’t appear capable of looking beyond the latest results. Pointing the finger of blame at the manager is the most simplistic analysis of what is wrong at Liverpool because the club's ills go way beyond Hodgson and his front line staff. They are rooted in the club's current lack of a philosophy, of where they are headed and how they are going to get there.

It is a real shame because it doesn’t need to be so. There are many talented individuals working behind the scenes, all of whom are more than capable of helping the club get to where it wants to be - yet because nobody seems to know where that is, their talent and effort is going to waste.
For example, without an overriding philosophy regarding how Liverpool FC should play, the youth academy has no future goal or ambition. The academy should provide the platform, the foundations upon which the future of the club is built, yet nobody knows what shape the groundwork should take because nobody has seen the final plans for the building itself.

We know what the archetypal Barcelona player looks like; we talk of Arsenal players being typical of a certain set of characteristics. What does it mean to talk about a typical Liverpool player these days? What standards do we expect from them? We’ve been hearing a lot about Damien Comolli’s appreciation of sabermetrics, learning about the financial model that NESV wishes to introduce – which reveals something of the economic plan, but little about the footballing vision. In other words, we’re learning what Liverpool’s stars of the future will look like on the balance sheet, but have no idea what they’ll look like on the football pitch.

In mitigation, these are early days for the new owners and for Comolli, but I am impatient to learn what shape their footballing vision will take and have little interest in their short term plans for January. Large sections of the media have been focusing on the micro this week: on the relationship between director of football (or strategy) and coach, when the macro is what matters.

Despite what the British press may think, such director/manager relationships can work but the constant focus on the individuals and personalities is a distraction, when what really matters is the vision, the strategy and a clear understanding of everyone's role within it.

Meanwhile, NESV and Comolli will have to deal with the confusion over who is in charge. For example, there is a doctor working at the club who has been allowed to make sports science a priority. Nothing wrong with that, you might think, a characteristic of many clubs in the modern age; however, this particular doctor has a level of influence over team selection unseen anywhere else.

Then, there is a manager who recently enjoyed great success working with very different types of players at a very different club. His methodologies are very different to those that players at Liverpool are accustomed to – which has two potential outcomes: either they embrace his way, or there is a breakdown in communication. At the moment, there is a bit of both as some players trust the manager, others need to be convinced.

On the surface, the fact that the new owners have invited the fans to give their thoughts on the club appears a positive step and has been welcomed by many supporters groups. But we only ever see the fans given the power to shape the direction of the club at a time of weakness, because it is at those times when those in charge need the most vocal elements of support on board.

But, as stated above, football fans should not run football clubs. Liverpool does not need a reactionary leadership, but a long term plan put in place by those who know how – and then adhered to until it reaches its conclusion, even if, in the beginning, the fans can't quite understand why it’s being done.

NESV have their work cut out, and there is an issue regarding several players currently at the club who signed contracts under the previous owners. The former owners were preparing Liverpool for a sale, and needed to retain as many big name players on their books to elevate the club’s value. In order to get them to pen deals, concessions were made and clauses included in those contracts that favour the players but leave the club vulnerable.

It places the club in a conundrum, because in order to avoid some of the top players activating those clauses, they will need to do the very thing that I was previously warning against: investing in short term quick fixes. It is a pivotal moment for Liverpool, should they invest in impact signings now, in order to convince current stars to stay, or do they play the long game and ride the storm in the immediate short term? Personally, I would prefer the latter.

One thing does need to be said: in the post-Benitez era, there was media-led clamour (but also some politicking going on at the club) to make the club more English; the idea being that the club had lost the very essence of what it means to be ‘Liverpool’. But, if the club has lost its way, that has nothing to do with the nationalities of the players; because individuals like Fernando Torres and Pepe Reina are as representative of the Liverpool way as anybody else, whatever is written on their passport.

It is because of the admiration, love and respect that I have for the city that gave me a home and the club that made me recapture a love for the game that I make no apologies for the fact that much of the above is perhaps tinged with too much passion. It is sad to see such a wonderful institution floundering, but with the right vision, there is also hope for the future - it's up to those who have the privilege to make it so.

This is what has been pissing me off the most, a real backward way of doing things. We are Liverpool FC, not England FC. We needed to inprove the club, not make it more English.

[CJ]

not sure we have ever been an "english club" had plenty of scots and irish etc.

[Buzzo]

Confirms that the rumoured clauses exists

It also looks like Balague read the article from RAWK that I posted a week or so ago.

Just out of interest, what do you base this on?

[Dalglish]

It's fair to say Ballague is doing the majority of fans a disservice in his latest piece.

If we'd seen a glimmer of something better on the horizon then most fans would be cutting Roy some slack, as it stands its not just his alehouse tactics, its not just his uncanny ability to blames others for defeats, its not just his inability to concede we've been appalling in most games, its not just his appalling record in last summer's transfer window, its not just his complete lack of understanding of what the club is about, its not just asking some of better players to change their excellent ways to inferior ones, and its not just his 'old man' gesturing from the sidelines.

It's all of it - the whole package - the whole flipping awfulness of Roy Hodgson that has the fans up in arms.

[Pablo]

Yes I agree with all the comments about Balague's observations.

I think it's worth remembering though this is how we're being painted by the media.

So it makes me think maybe we'll have a better understanding in future of other fans who are pissed off with their managers (or whoever) when we learn about it mainly through the media too.

True. Through all we've been through these past couple of years I think I have learned more and more of the media's dirty little tactics. I'd say I can see through the spin most of the time now.

[Roboklopp]

i am clearly fed up with Hodgson like everyone else.

I cant understand though how ex-liverpool players and legends cant see the blindingly obvious crap tactics and negativity the he has brought.

I watch .tv and I can appreciate that they have an agenda to support the manager but surely the massive level of anti-Hodge feelings should be represented on their shows. Prentice, someone from LFC weekly and some other guy called Andy who I dont know really glossed over Hodge's obvious deficiencies last night on a show and seem completely oblivious to what is going on. I cant understand a certain level of support but surely surely truth should be spoken.

David Fairclough, he commentates on reserves and I feel (and have felt for 2+ years) that he is ultra-critical of 'kids' in his commentaries always quick to have a go and point out where young reserves are going wrong and his almost weekly quote of 'Well its not an easy choice tonight, no stand out performers' when asked for his reserve MOM. Yet he hasnt had 1 critical word about Hodgo's ****e. Not one. Lawrenson, Hansen, Whelan, Houghton all were extremely quick to jump on Rafa and not one has had an insightful comment on Hodgo's garbage. All point to the 'mess the club was left in' yet none comment on the utter utter **** that Hodgo has bought. None of them seem to be able to see or comment on his utter ****e tactics, I find it now almost more irritating than Hodgo himself.

[Arn]

Just out of interest, what do you base this on?

It's unlikely that those in football circles will know the name "Margaret Scott Brown". In fact, it's unlikely that many people outside of Margaret Scott Brown's own circles will know the name "Margaret Scott Brown". But having enjoyed ten minutes of her time last Saturday morning, I got the feeling that they should. People in general that is. And more specifically, people in football.

Mrs Scott Brown is a music teacher. She works at Dundee High School. And you can be pretty certain that there are many other teachers like her throughout the country. People who exude dedication to their craft - who are deeply immersed in the technical and vocational aspects of their career. But what's maybe underappreciated is how certain aspects of their expertise, if 'bottled' and transferred to other teaching and coaching disciplines, might provide the kind of 'secret sauce' that makes a crucial difference. The key to genuine competitive advantage.

The chance encounter took place in central Dundee. I was walking with my wife and young twins when we encountered a school band, playing in the open air, and the sound was nothing short of breathtaking. And me being prone to unsolicited interrogation, I approached the lady who seemed to be responsible for the group, and, well, bugged her.

It turned out that this group of kids had been in her and her colleagues' charge since the age of 5. And while you'd expect that teachers spend most of their working lives engaged in crowd control and social work, it quickly emerged that something was different about this lady's approach.

We work from the top down, then bottom up
Far from leaving things to chance and relying on the odd unexpected talent to emerge from the ranks, it seems things are far more calculated under the tutilege of this particular group. You could see it as simply an office to turn up at five days a week, reacting to events as they unfold. But it's clear these people see things differently. They see themselves as managing a production line of talent, with each year bringing a new intake at grass roots level, and each year churning out a group of finished articles, ready to make their way in life as exceptional musicians, audio engineers, or some combination of the two.

It seems they start out by setting a vision, with everything slotting into place from there. Mrs Scott Brown made it clear that they started out making sure they had a clear idea of what they wanted to achieve with the kids. After all, in their eyes, what they're managing is a musical production line. Their 'organisation' has a clear and universally accepted mission. They know exactly the kind of musicians they want to produce, the mix of skills they want to equip each child with before they leave, and the values and character they want to instil along the way. Listening to her talk, you felt as if you were listening to a mission statement - a manifesto, in fact. And the one thing that kept springing to mind was the parallel with Barcelona's youth system, housed at La Masia.

With the vision clearly defined and all staff buying into it unreservedly, what comes next? Well, they work from the top down. With the clear picture of the general level they want to achieve with each kid, they set about putting the foundations in place, with general principles introduced at every phase of the child's development, informed by factors you maybe wouldn't expect in a school music department.

"We start out by introducing the youngest kids to the idea of music with movement and rhythm". The idea at this stage is to build in a love for the playful aspect of what they're learning, without introducing too much of a technical nature. But that's not to say young kids are held back from technical challenges. Some staff, in their own time, are training in what's known as The Suzuki Method. This involves a long-term intensive training syllabus that's akin to something from the martial arts tradition. Again, the aim is producing children with the highest level of ability, but baked into that aim is the ideal of building the right character within the children.

The root belief of this approach? That all kids are capable of attaining the highest level. No kids are excluded at the outset - that flies in the face of their philosophy.

The key tenets include:

* Immersing the children in the musical community generally
* Building a support structure with other children
* Experiencing and analysing the performance of the very best in their profession
* Avoidance of aptitude tests and 'auditions' in the learning phase - they 'play'
* Children learn by ear - only later do they learn to read sheet music
* Learning from as young an age as possible (with scaled down instruments to fit the phsyique of small children)
* Insistence on the highest quality of coaching and the highest professional standards among coaches - but note - a degree is not required
* Constant return to the basic repertoire - even when the kid becomes more advanced (both individually and within groups)
* Encouragement of the right mentality and group solidarity between the kids.



As well as bringing to mind footage and stories of the Barcelona Academy system, with the tight bonds between the children who attended there, the strong spiritual and Catalan ethos that pervades their work, the emphasis on working as a collective, and the refusal to judge children on first impressions or on perceived physical limitations (think Iniesta - think Messi), the approach this method promotes is the suspension of judgement. And it's that which strikes chords when you consider the footballing buzzword at the moment. The word that's been casually thrown about since the arrival of John Henry and NESV as the new owners of Liverpool Football Club. "Moneyball".

The Suzuki method's founder, as stated in the Wikipedia entry for the method, "believed that teachers who test for musical aptitude before taking students, or teachers who look only for "talented" students, are limiting themselves to people who have already started their music education."

When you read reports on the early development of both Messi and Iniesta, it's clear that without the suspension of judgement on their physical attributes, they might not have developed into the footballers they are - footballers that the whole world enjoy. By focussing on their creativity, vision, and technical qualities instead, Barcelona allowed themselves the space to benefit from the unexpected. Why judge a child before we know what they're really capable of? Or how they'll turn out physically, mentally and emotionally?

"Babe Ruth was a fat piece of ****"
Moneyball's approach was to eschew accepted convention in an established sport and accept players like Jeremy "The Badger" Brown. Traditional scouting and assessments methods excluded people like him from the top levels of the game. The Scouting Director for the team who eventually drafted him, the Oakland A's, said "It's not a pretty body... This guy's a great baseball player trapped in a bad body." But then as one of his team mates later replied in a team talk: "Babe Ruth was a fat piece of ****".

Sure, Andres Iniesta was a little lad who pined for his parents every day he was away from them, but did his pale complexion and frail physique lead the staff at the club to doubt his chances of a future at the club? The response chimes with The Suzuki Method. Guardiola, having seen him himself while Iniesta was 14, commented "he reads the game better than me". But then the things the coaching staff at Barca list ahead of other criteria are "how well does he read the game", along with "does he have vision". Iniesta comments on his tutilege at the club: " "I play like I always did. At Barcelona you learn loads but it comes out in an improvised way... You learn to be sharper, cleverer... Small players learn to be intuitive, to anticipate, to protect the ball. A guy who weighs 90 kilos doesn't move like one who weighs 60. In the playground I always played against much bigger kids and I always wanted the ball. Without it, I feel lost."

That differs from the qualities, we're led to believe, that the English footballing establishment has come to value. It may now be something of a cliche, but the football we're served up week upon week bears out its truth. Save for the occasional exception, either on a club-wide level or an individual level (where the talent is exceptional), first on the list tend to be the physical qualities. Can he dominate space? Is he powerful? Is he fast? Does he have stamina? Is he aggressive? And thus, instead of the beautiful game, we bake the opposite emphasis into the game's very roots. And we don't only do it at individual club level - we do it on an institutionalised basis through our coaching establishment. People like Trevor Brooking have fought long and hard to try and change these things. But they're fighting against generations of accepted wisdom and convention. It's a stubborn Ox to shift.

Only the dead fish swim with the stream
Given a background of endemic and rigid convention throughout the game, baked into its very grass roots at source, the creative strategist recognises fertile ground for the rule breaker. If someone can genuinely challenge the paradigm and make that alternative approach work, they'll have stolen a march on their competitors that they'll benefit from for a generation or more.

Arguably that's already the case with Arsenal, who under Wenger's stewardship have implemented something like the kind of Academy approach seen at Barcelona - at least in terms of the footballing ethos at the club. But have they implemented it successfully? Does their system generate a production line of unusually shaped footballing minds that wow the footballing world? It's open to debate. In Wilshere they clearly produced a gem. But beyond that, can we really say their output is of genuine world class quality?

Some might say the nut has yet to be cracked in our domestic game. We do, however, have a successful precedent. Some clubs, most notably Liverpool, Manchester United and Celtic, 'stand for' a certain brand of football. People, at least of a certain generation, associate these clubs' names with the style of football they tended to generate - and not on a one-off basis - in a period of dynastic succession - a footballing 'production line'.

Which leads us back to Mrs Scott Brown, and to her colleagues' approach. Again, to quote The Suzuki Method: "Just as every child is expected to learn their native language, Suzuki expected every child to be able to learn to play music well when they were surrounded with a musical environment from infancy."

It's this approach which informs their 'coaching'. Everything in their syllabus aims, for each child:

* To build their musical capacity (attention, dexterity, awareness of others and their role in the collective, their sensory acuity, and so forth)
* To build the quality of their reference group (with competitiveness flowing from it in a positive way, rather than imposed by external examination)
* To tailor their specialism to their strengths (physical limitations, special aptitudes, preferences and interests)
* To build their character, attitude to constructive criticism, empathy and solidarity for others, and mental strength.



With that approach baked in, the 'coaches' can take a step back as is their planned schedule and assess the group as a whole, both within single years and across years. They can think more creatively in terms of balance and blend. How the components might work together to produce something beautiful, and to challenge and encourage the children to develop their own ideas.

In later years, as these qualities are reinforced and become automatic, the children are allowed to explore the more technical and creative aspects of their craft, with audio engineering facilities made available, and children encouraged (using Sebalius software) to arrange, compose and conduct pieces of their own, for performance both by individuals and by groups, from small bands to full-sized orchestral pieces performed in concert halls.

It makes you wonder.

"The biggest challenge is getting time with the children"
If you've watched documentaries on the state of youth development in this country, such as the BBC's recent "Can England Win The Next World Cup", the message we repeatedly hear is that the coaches are hamstrung by the inability to ensure the right quality and quantity of time with their students. This is echoed by Mrs Scott Brown. She emphasised that the biggest challenge was getting time with the children, and when that time was available, ensuring the right quality and intensity of focus.

Gary Lineker's introduction to that program stated that "something is very wrong". But again, this is open to debate. In cosmetic terms, all that's needed are tweaks. We need to somehow ensure the syllabus is correct, that the right tone is set for the game from root to fruit and back again - the style of football this nation will stand for - and that time and intensity and the right standard of coaching stafff are put at the disposal of the available talent across the country. But to do that, while it sounds straightforward, takes the kind of planning and funding and unified acceptance that isn't currently possible. Vested interests are entrenched enough that people are reluctant to make changes unless it's absolutely necessary. People aren't convinced that change is needed - and you can't escape from prison until you realise you're behind bars.

So again, the creative strategist should, you'd think, see this as fertile ground for asserting a competitive advantage. Entrenched convention, and a reluctance to budge. In the context of looming financial doping regulations and stringent Academy catchment rules, the time is ripe for the creative strategic thinker to steal a march on their competition. But to do so would take insight, vision, commitment and determination to stick with the blueprint through good times and bad. We talk about Barcelona now as if the magic was down to some combination of clever transfer dealings (Ronaldinho et al), Rijkaard, and Guardiola. But the fact is their success is founded on their own youth system. Sure, they have an unfairly large catchment area when compared to your average Premier League club in the North West of England - there are only so many thousand kids available to these clubs, whereas Barca has a massively larger catchment at its disposal - but that's no reason to be defeatist. The competing Academies tend to follow the tried and tested methods. Sure, they might bring in Sports Scientists and Nutritionists, and they might have DVD analysis and prozone. But do they genuinely follow a footballing blueprint? One that's founded on mutual trust and a commitment to accepting risk? To valuing the footballing brain ahead of the footballing brawn? You have to say they don't. And that's where the opportunity lies.

Liverpool are in a unique position in this regard. One of the few remaining positives their fans can take from the last few years under the ownership of Tom Hicks and George Gillett was the recruitment by Rafa Benitez of two former senior and central staff of the Barcelona Academy set up. Pep Segura took on a directorial role. Rodolpho Borell took on a hands on coaching role with the oldest Academy groups. Their role was to implement a revised approach to the youth development work at the club. That bodes well, and the club, if it's wise, will commit to that decision and build on it. Build on it to the extent that it echoes throughout every aspect of the club.

Like Mrs Scott Brown's Music Department, the Academy, and the club as a whole, needs a clear vision of what it stands for. With that in place, the scope opens up for creativity within those established guidelines. So a midfielder is a little heavy - haven't Liverpool had a big lad do well in that position before? So the keeper is a little eccentric and won't stick on his line - haven't they already had a 'character' in that role before? With the clear vision in place, and the staff and boardroom's collective buy-in to its tenets, it becomes possible to build a blend, and to accomodate the little 'nuances' in individuals' make up. So each player isn't the full finsihed article in all departments? So what? It's the collective output that matters. It's that approach that allows Barcelona's players to trust those in their rank who are less technically gifted with the ball. Last season we saw carles Puyol in the inside left channel in a key home game deliver an incisive one-touch assist in a crunch game. The guy is no more gifted in technical terms than your average centre half. But they trust him with the ball, and he does the same. They have a collective approach - a solidarity - and it brings out more than the sum of their parts. Or it has done, and pretty consistently now for several years, generating some of the most entertaining and dramatic football any of us have ever seen.

One only has to read "The Secret Diary of a Liverpool Scout" to understand that, until recently, the 'footballing brains ahead of footballing brawn' ethos was uppermost in the Liverpool scouting department's minds. It's that approach, and the suspension of judgement on the more 'traditionally' valued qualities that will yield the kind of value we need to find, both in the transfer market, and in our youth development.

Coupled with that, we need to bake in a vision for the club that's applied at all levels, from the youngest children to the senior squad to the tea lady. It's only in that context, with everyone pulling in the same direction, that correct, congruent decisions will be made, and consistent value will be achieved.

So you hope that those tasked with strategic decisions at the club bear these things in mind in the near future. It would be a solution that resonates with the club's history and culture, with the expectations of its fans, and with the benefit of the game in this country. It would also provide the chance to establish genuine competitive advantage - the kind that only long-term commitment, planning, and investment can bring.

Is it so hard to achieve? Well, yes. It takes vision, and peculiar skills. But one brief chat in a city street reveals that those skills exist within this country - you just have to be crafty to figure out who has them. Who churns out gifted kids on a regular basis? Whose work 'fits' with our way of doing things? Can we get them in and pick their brains? Can we have them review our plans and advise on potential pitfalls?

It's a thought. If we're deprived of Mansour-style resource, we might as well think a little smarter than they do.

Clicky

[5europeancups]

It's fair to say Ballague is doing the majority of fans a disservice in his latest piece.

If we'd seen a glimmer of something better on the horizon then most fans would be cutting Roy some slack, as it stands its not just his alehouse tactics, its not just his uncanny ability to blames others for defeats, its not just his inability to concede we've been appalling in most games, its not just his appalling record in last summer's transfer window, its not just his complete lack of understanding of what the club is about, its not just asking some of better players to change their excellent ways to inferior ones, and its not just his 'old man' gesturing from the sidelines.

It's all of it - the whole package - the whole flipping awfulness of Roy Hodgson that has the fans up in arms.

there is some truth in what Ballague says.

Fans are reactionary by the very nature of the word, which is derived from fanatics.

Mood changes based on result week in week out, as can be clearly seen on this website. I have to say that I myself am guilty and cut Hodgson alot of slack once we had defeated Chelsea, only to have my positivity shattered in the next game.

I think that Ballague is being diplomatic when he mentions Hodgson, but in relaity he is more referring to a general situation with regards to any managers and players and that although fans can get passionate this should not divert a clubs long or medium term strategy.

i thought it was a very measured article and fairly fair.

Its clear though from the first few paragrpahs that by not mentioning the manager he does not see Hodgson as a long term solution.

Hodgson took the job knowing he could get fired at any time in lieu of a takeover and I believe it is just a matter of letting processes occur before we see a significant change and a jump to Step 5 of the strategic plan.

[cream]

there is some truth in what Ballague says.

Fans are reactionary by the very nature of the word, which is derived from fanatics.

Mood changes based on result week in week out, as can be clearly seen on this website. I have to say that I myself am guilty and cut Hodgson alot of slack once we had defeated Chelsea, only to have my positivity shattered in the next game.

I think that Ballague is being diplomatic when he mentions Hodgson, but in relaity he is more referring to a general situation with regards to any managers and players and that although fans can get passionate this should not divert a clubs long or medium term strategy.

i thought it was a very measured article and fairly fair.

Its clear though from the first few paragrpahs that by not mentioning the manager he does not see Hodgson as a long term solution.

Hodgson took the job knowing he could get fired at any time in lieu of a takeover and I believe it is just a matter of letting processes occur before we see a significant change and a jump to Step 5 of the strategic plan.

Normally he would be right, but in Hodgsons case it is as clear as daylight that Roy is way out of his depth.