Pack your bags Roy

[Baracus]

We should do the world a favour and put roy on gardening leave.

[Vermilion]

Hodgson on travel sick Reds
Written by Darren Phillips
Saturday, 27 November 2010 10:45

Roy Hodgson will hope to start reversing a poor run of away results for teams under his management.

The Anfield manager has just nine victories on the road from 70 domestic top flight games in charge of Blackburn Rovers, Fulham and now Liverpool.

Ahead of a tough assignment at White Hart Lane the 63-year-old conceded his record was far from exempolrary but suggested that was so even in highly successful spells of his coaching career.

"I've had several bad experiences," he said when asked about the statistic.

"Even at Halmstad in the 70s, in the year we won our second championship, it took until the second half of the season to win our first game away and that broke a record going back two seasons.

"We went over two seasons without winning an away game, which is quite strange for a team that won the league in '76 and again in '79."

Despite this record Hodgson insists there is no alteration in preparation or mindset for matches - no matter what the venue.

He added: "There is certainly no difference in the way we approach the games.

"We don't have a home approach and away approach. We want to do the same things with the ball and without the ball home and away. You can't deny that at Anfield the crowd is an advantage and that it spurs people on.

"Also, you can't deny that decisions go in your favour more when you are at home. That is a fact of life.

"But if you take away those minor caveats the most important thing is to be more positive, have more confidence, get more balls into the box and for people to help Fernando [Torres] get in behind defences. These are things we work on all the time."

Though he offered musings on possible reasons Hodgson has deciphered a lack of creativity as a prime reason.

"It could be the type of players you have, I don't know. The reason we have not done well enough away is that we have not created enough chances," he continued.

"But that is certainly changing at home. We are getting behind teams more, we are getting our crosses in, our strikes in and Fernando is coming back to his best.

"We did sprint tests the other day and he came out on top, which is good for us and him to know. We are getting there.

"It might also be to do with mentality and maybe there is an underlying sense that a point away from home is enough because we will win at home.

"That is a very dangerous mentality but maybe it is a subconscious factor and, if there is, it is up to us to remove it."

Focusing more comments solely on Tottenham there was a simple philosophy about gaining results.

"If we are a good enough team to beat Spurs then we should beat them home and away and if we are not good enough we should lose home or away," Hodgson said.

"We go into the game with confidence even though we know we are playing a very good team and we know the problems that Spurs will cause us."

http://www.shanklygates.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=923:hodgson-on-travel-sick-reds&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=18

[Fredo]

I think you're a major caveat Roy.

[hold51]

9 from 70 ah well put the mortgage on Spurs then!

again he is talking up the opposition when he should be talking us up, he goes in a game as the second class team in the game when really we only have a third class manager at best, take him to the home before he has incontinence problems from the right end for once!

[bertie]

x2

Publicly slagging off the players he inherited rather than working with them to find out their strengths?! What a clueless, classless *******. I hate this man with a passion.

Well said.

[cream]

Roy admits U-turn

Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson insists he is now keen to keep the current squad intact ahead of the January transfer window.

The Reds chief has previously signalled his intent to bring new blood into the club after a disastrous start to the current campaign that left them marooned in the bottom three.

But Liverpool have returned to form of late and Hodgson is pleased with the current contingent in the Anfield camp.

The 63-year-old admits he has changed his opinion on players he inherited from predecessor Rafa Benitez ahead of the trip to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

"Basically I know what my best team is - the best team is more than 11 players," said the Reds boss, who accepts his view may have been tainted by poor results.

"I could have a best team and say one week it is with X and another week it is Y but it still would be my best team because the players are interchangeable.

"I have a very clear picture now of what we should and need to be doing and the squad is stronger and getting stronger.

"It was probably stronger than I realised at certain stages in the early part of the season when we were losing games.

"Hopefully that will mean we won't need to do too much in the January transfer window because it might be nice if we can keep all of these players fit and well and add the odd player or two who can help us.

"I have a lot of faith in the players who are playing at the moment because in the last two or three weeks we have put in some good performances."

Limited

Hodgson and his scouting team have been spotted at various matches on the continent in the last few weeks.

But his belief that things are improving, allied to an uncertainty of what transfer funds will be available, is likely to mean a limited amount of activity in January.

"I don't know what is going to happen in the transfer window," said Hodgson.

"We are doing a lot of work, covering a lot of matches and looking at a lot of players.

"We are trying to arm ourselves as much as possible with information.

"It is the work in progress which every club has to do - constantly monitoring players and what is out there, what might be useful for you because you never know what is around the corner.

"When push comes to shove in January none of us know as yet what transfer funds can be made available and we have no idea if there will be any guarantee the people we are watching will be available.

"I would like to continue with this squad of players until the end of the season because I have no ambitions or desires to move anyone.

"But on the other hand I can't give a stone certain guarantee that there won't be players moving in January, and if so we would need to know where to go for their replacements."

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,195...28835,00.html?

So Roy admits that it's not the squad that is ****, it's actually his wank tactics.

[dww]

If Roy can go entire seasons without winning away and think there isn't a reason, even when that form follows him from club to club you have to worry about his sanity. He certainly talks differently about the games. Almost like winning away is mission impossible most matches. A little self analysis might go a long way in this case I think.

[McDermotX]

Certainly doesn't sound like he would ever have an intention of dropping Carra despite his **** form,
.......makes a change from all the constant, public abuse that other members of the squad are getting, doesn't it ?

Hodgson has only worked with the Bootle-born defender for four months and claims Carragher has lived up to his expectations.

"Having seen him through the years for Liverpool and even England you see a man who is so whole-hearted, honest, passionate, dedicated and enthusiastic," said the Reds boss.

"All of that shines through on the field of play. When I came here I was hoping that would be the person I would meet and it was.

"The reason he has played so many games is because of his attitude and his desire.

"He is a man who wants to play football. Even though he has 650 Liverpool appearances behind him he is still as enthusiastic in training every day and still as desperate to play every week as the guy who would be making his debut.

"From the offset he's tried his best to make certain everyone rallies round to the cause and I'm really pleased to have him.

"We have been lucky in having him and Steven Gerrard, two people who really epitomise Liverpool Football Club and who are the ultimate club men.

"Club loyalty is something which has tended to go out of the window with the transfer market and the money involved in football.

"With Jamie and Steven we see it and as the current manager of the team I can only be very grateful for it."

[nigelwalker]

asha

[Sprouty]

Breaking news: if we lose to tottenham, then roy will definetely get the sack!!!!!D:

You made that up didn't you..

[Icon]

Breaking news: if we lose to tottenham, then roy will definetely get the sack!!!!!D:

Welcome!
Interesting 1st post.
You have a source for this, right..?

[DannyMan2006]

More chance of ****ing Alex Ferguson getting the sack!!!!!!!!

[Vermilion]

You made that up didn't you..

If not him..probably someone else.

[Baracus]

Breaking news: if we lose to tottenham, then roy will definetely get the sack!!!!!D:

Strange


I would have believed you until I saw that school boy error

[Icon]

Damn!

I thought we'd grabbed the ITK...