Delusional moron..
Roy reckons Kop kids can save him a transfer fortune
Roy reckons Kop kids can save him a transfer fortune
Roy Hodgson believes Liverpool's kids can save the club a fortune in the transfer market...and help inspire a surge towards a top four place.
The Anfield boss will tonight make 10 changes to the team which performed so admirably in the Europa League last Thursday, by going for experience over the youngsters who played in Bucharest.
But even though the likes of Martin Kelly, Jonjo Shelvey, Danny Wilson and Ryan Babel will find themselves cast back into wilderness, their manager believes they have a bright future, after showing so much bottle against Steaua.
And Hodgson explained that with so many apparent reserves standing up to be counted, it provides him with important breathing space as he contemplates the transfer market in the January transfer window.
"The game in Bucharest was really important because it gives me a bit more confidence that we can face up to what's going to be a long, hard season," he stressed.
"What it does is hopefully mean the new owners and myself don't have to panic and go out and add numbers to the squad just for the sake of doing so in January.
"It will give us that calmness to say 'look, if we cannot get the quality and type of player we really want, then let's keep the faith in some of these young ones and wait for the right type to come along.
"If the European campaign had gone badly and we'd not picked up a few more points lately, then we could have been looking at the transfer window and saying we've really got to get some more players in because the squad is too thin.
"Now I think we will say 'yes, we would like some new ones with experience, we would like to improve the squad of course, but let's make sure we get the right guys.'
"Several have put their hands up now and shown they can be trusted to perform in the Premier League, and that is important because we will be needing them."
Hodgson has always worried that his squad was painfully shallow, and that fear was hardly helped by some early season performances such as the Carling Cup defeat by Northampton, which seemed to expose a lack of depth in the Liverpool camp.
But since then, the Reds' second string players and promising youngsters have performed admirably in Europe, to allow Liverpool to top their difficult-looking Europa League group with a game to spare.
The manager was particularly impressed by the performance in Bucharest, and he believes the emergence of men like Kelly and Shelvey, combined with the return of Joe Cole and the resurrection of Babel and Christian Poulsen, offers him options that could underpin a sustained challenge for a top four place.
"I really believe we are making progress now, we're looking a much better team. I think you have seen some good performances away from home in the Europa League and we're starting to produce them in the Premier League too," he said.
"I believe that if you are prepared to take risks with your selections in Europe then you can reap certain rewards. We used players who'd not been given many games that they've given performances.
"That could be really important because we are going to need to call on these players. We are going to need to use the likes of Poulsen, Aurelio, Babel, Kelly and Wilson so it's good to see them getting the chance to come back in the first team at a high level.
"It gives us depth. Babel for instance was a find for us in Bucharest, because in the past where he didn't convince when given a couple of chances, this time he showed pace and strength and the ability to worry high quality opponents."
Hodgson sends his side out against Villa tonight looking to translate good recent performances into results that will take Liverpool towards the top four.
And he revealed his confidence that it can still be possible for his side, with extra support being offered by young players putting pressure on more established stars for places.
"I'm really happy with the progress we've made, even though I know there is a lot more work still to do," he said.
"We have to keep producing the performances and hope we get the results we deserve. What pleases me though is that come Monday there are a lot of players anxious to get out there and show they're playing well.
"I really believe we can start turning those performances into results. I don't think we are worse than many of those above us. I think we have quality and if we can put some results together, we can move on. It looks like it's going to be a very tight league, but I still think we can do something."
Hodgson must decide whether to use Steven Gerrard this evening, possibly from the bench, or give him a full week of training before pitching him against Newcastle next weekend.
Cole is likely to go back to the bench, with the manager likely to return to the team that performed so well at White Hart Lane last Sunday.
The Anfield boss will tonight make 10 changes to the team which performed so admirably in the Europa League last Thursday, by going for experience over the youngsters who played in Bucharest.
But even though the likes of Martin Kelly, Jonjo Shelvey, Danny Wilson and Ryan Babel will find themselves cast back into wilderness, their manager believes they have a bright future, after showing so much bottle against Steaua.
And Hodgson explained that with so many apparent reserves standing up to be counted, it provides him with important breathing space as he contemplates the transfer market in the January transfer window.
"The game in Bucharest was really important because it gives me a bit more confidence that we can face up to what's going to be a long, hard season," he stressed.
"What it does is hopefully mean the new owners and myself don't have to panic and go out and add numbers to the squad just for the sake of doing so in January.
"It will give us that calmness to say 'look, if we cannot get the quality and type of player we really want, then let's keep the faith in some of these young ones and wait for the right type to come along.
"If the European campaign had gone badly and we'd not picked up a few more points lately, then we could have been looking at the transfer window and saying we've really got to get some more players in because the squad is too thin.
"Now I think we will say 'yes, we would like some new ones with experience, we would like to improve the squad of course, but let's make sure we get the right guys.'
"Several have put their hands up now and shown they can be trusted to perform in the Premier League, and that is important because we will be needing them."
Hodgson has always worried that his squad was painfully shallow, and that fear was hardly helped by some early season performances such as the Carling Cup defeat by Northampton, which seemed to expose a lack of depth in the Liverpool camp.
But since then, the Reds' second string players and promising youngsters have performed admirably in Europe, to allow Liverpool to top their difficult-looking Europa League group with a game to spare.
The manager was particularly impressed by the performance in Bucharest, and he believes the emergence of men like Kelly and Shelvey, combined with the return of Joe Cole and the resurrection of Babel and Christian Poulsen, offers him options that could underpin a sustained challenge for a top four place.
"I really believe we are making progress now, we're looking a much better team. I think you have seen some good performances away from home in the Europa League and we're starting to produce them in the Premier League too," he said.
"I believe that if you are prepared to take risks with your selections in Europe then you can reap certain rewards. We used players who'd not been given many games that they've given performances.
"That could be really important because we are going to need to call on these players. We are going to need to use the likes of Poulsen, Aurelio, Babel, Kelly and Wilson so it's good to see them getting the chance to come back in the first team at a high level.
"It gives us depth. Babel for instance was a find for us in Bucharest, because in the past where he didn't convince when given a couple of chances, this time he showed pace and strength and the ability to worry high quality opponents."
Hodgson sends his side out against Villa tonight looking to translate good recent performances into results that will take Liverpool towards the top four.
And he revealed his confidence that it can still be possible for his side, with extra support being offered by young players putting pressure on more established stars for places.
"I'm really happy with the progress we've made, even though I know there is a lot more work still to do," he said.
"We have to keep producing the performances and hope we get the results we deserve. What pleases me though is that come Monday there are a lot of players anxious to get out there and show they're playing well.
"I really believe we can start turning those performances into results. I don't think we are worse than many of those above us. I think we have quality and if we can put some results together, we can move on. It looks like it's going to be a very tight league, but I still think we can do something."
Hodgson must decide whether to use Steven Gerrard this evening, possibly from the bench, or give him a full week of training before pitching him against Newcastle next weekend.
Cole is likely to go back to the bench, with the manager likely to return to the team that performed so well at White Hart Lane last Sunday.
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