Pack your bags Roy

[Neil Young]

He talked b*ll*cks before he came to Liverpool. From 2008, after a 3-1 defeat by Sunderland:

Allow me to grieve for the result in a dignified way and get out of here before I say something that makes me look like an idiot.

[Lecter]

Fanview - If Blackpool do the double over Liverpool on Boxing Day should Roy Hodgson be KO'd?
Reds' experts speak to Goal.com UK ahead of Sunday's clash
24 Dec 2010 08:45:00
By Stephen Darwin

To say Roy Hodgson is currently under pressure as manager of Liverpool is probably quite the understatement. After the club's worst start to a season in 57 years, the Reds sit in ninth spot in the Premier League table after 17 games, 12 points behind leaders Manchester United and nine points off the pace in the race to finish in the Champions League spots.

A decent run in the Europa League has done little to quiet the murmurings of discontent amongst fans of the Anfield club and, with that in mind, Goal.com UK spoke to Well Red magazine editor Gareth Roberts, The Empire of the Kop editor Antoine Zammit and This Is Anfield co-editor Matt Ladson to get their views on Hodgson's immediate future and whether he should be shown the door if the Reds come unstuck against Blackpool on Boxing Day.

Well Red magazine editor Gareth Roberts

If Liverpool lose at Blackpool on Boxing Day it will be met with a shrug. That sad fact alone should seal Roy Hodgson's fate.


"He 'gets' the league, they said. Unfortunately, he doesn't 'get' the club."
The boardroom suits brought in to fire-fight under Hicks and Gillett told us Hodgson would squeeze out more from an under-performing squad packed with internationals.

He was proven Premier League quality, the League Managers' Association Manager of the Year - the Englishman who would provide the warmth to counter the supposedly frosty approach of Rafa Benitez.

He 'gets' the league, they said. Unfortunately, he doesn't 'get' the club.

Liverpool are halfway through a season of joyless, safety-first football with an away record that means the Reds are welcomed with open arms wherever they go.

Anfield history books have been rewritten in the section reading 'worst start to a season' while fans are left peeping through their palms every time Hodgson speaks publicly.

His tasteless broth of blame, excuses and finger-pointing is not satisfying the appetite of a fan-base used to dining on success. Even the owners say his reign so far has been “unacceptable”.

The best reason for keeping Hodgson is that he can keep things ticking over while a manager who better suits the club's vision is identified.

Yet every game that goes by seems to end with Liverpool taking another backwards step.



Mersey misery | Loss to Everton epitomised Liverpool's struggles this season

Meanwhile, the stand-in needed when Hodgson was handed the reins is still available and ready to go at the drop of a hat – Kenny Dalglish.

The 'King' is a winner, he gets the club, he knows the fans and he'll instantly command the respect of the players.

Hodgson's negativity is dragging everyone down. Dalglish could give everyone the short-term lift that could even inspire a top-four finish.

The Empire of the Kop editor Antoine Zammit

On Sunday we kick off the second half of the Premier League campaign as we take a trip up the coast and take on Premier League new boys Blackpool.


"We are Liverpool; we belong in the Champions League. We belong in the top four, not meandering around mid-table."
The Seasiders have already beaten us at Anfield this season in what was the last game of the Hicks and Gillett era. We simply cannot afford to drop points this time, as it will make our quest for that elusive fourth place very difficult.

Our new owners (John W. Henry & Tom Werner) have hinted that they are starting to lose patience with Roy Hodgson. Should we lose this game, they must take action. We are Liverpool; we belong in the Champions League. We belong in the top four, not meandering around mid-table.

Ironically Blackburn and Newcastle, both of whom are even with us in terms of points, let their managers go recently, expressing their dissatisfaction with their current performance. Does this mean that Newcastle and Blackburn have higher standards than us? I hope not. Why are 22 points not good enough for Blackburn and Newcastle, yet okay for us? The answer is, it’s not.

Something needs to change. Our away form is simply disgraceful to say the least, with our only win in a game that we were lucky not to lose. Enough is enough, this game should be Roy’s last chance. Enough of the negative, boring football. Let us go for the win, please Roy. WE ARE LIVERPOOL F.C. for crying out loud.

There is a possibility that the game might be called off should the deep freeze not lift in time, as Blackpool don’t have under-soil heating. If that happens, it could be a blessing in disguise for Roy, who will get to live another day. Regardless, however, if our form does not turn around immediately, starting with this game, Roy must go.

This Is Anfield co-editor Matt Ladson

The truth is that most Liverpool supporters would like Hodgson to leave the club regardless of the result on Boxing Day, but a second defeat of the season to Blackpool may be enough to persuade those who matter that Hodgson is out of his depth at Anfield.


"His appointment was underwhelming and the football that has followed has been miserable."
There’s numerous reasons for why the fans don’t back him; not least that many feel he should never have been given the job in the first place. His appointment was underwhelming and the football that has followed has been miserable. Furthermore, some of the things he has said in press conferences have been truly embarrassing and have showed he fails to understand the football club, its fans or its heritage.

He has constantly contradicted himself and appears to have been on a mission to lower the expectations of all at the club, turning us into a midtable team when the vast majority of this squad finished second just 18 months ago.

Roy claims this isn’t his squad and blames the previous regime, but the worst players in the squad are those he signed (Christian Poulsen and Paul Konchesky) while much better players have been loaned out (Alberto Aquilani and Emiliano Insua).

[Lecter]

Disconnected, The True Cost of Roy HodgsonDisconnected. That’s how I feel. Disconnected from our club.

Even during the Hicks and Gillett era I didn’t feel disconnected. Frustrated and angry a lot of the time. But the fight against the pillaging and looting duo brought unity among large sections of the fan base, I felt I was part of something special. Maybe I’m being melodramatic, I know I am still part of something special; but maybe just a little more distant than usual.



I, like many others, pledged my support to Roy in the early days. Not that I believed he was the right man for Liverpool FC, but any manager of our club deserves support. So I put up with the early dour performances and some of the shocking results. I simply cringed, but remained quiet, at some of his press conferences. But then something has changed. As Roy jumped from telling us our squad was too big, no wait… too small; or that the squad didn’t have enough quality to plenty of it, but the players were at fault. I realised something – I feel disconnected.

Could it just be me? Well I went off and searched for reasons to be positive. Some statistics show that things are improving. We are pushing higher up the pitch, we’re creating chances and Results have been improving. None of these statistics make me want to go watch a game though. I’ve even given up the saunter down the pub in preference to just watching the game at home. That could have been down to watching the Newcastle game in a pub full of Geordies, mind.

Maybe the increasing apathy is just my way of dealing with my anger. When I read a headline about how Hodgson will do this, or believes in the other I do sometimes question who the hell he thinks he is. It doesn’t feel like he’s part of the club. He’s your brother who’s only two years older than you, but less mature, yet in charge while the folks are away. Or even worse, the step Dad who’s closer to your Mum than he should be.

I’m ambivalent about Rafa returning, but I really don’t see it happening. While the fan base seems split 50/50. The pressure will be intense for him if he returns, but will also be noticeable for any new manager – as I’m pretty sure that comparisons will be made with Benitez rather than Hodgson. It speaks volumes though that while 50% of fans would welcome Rafa back, polls everywhere show that (at a maximum) only 5% want Hodgson. That is some result for a Liverpool manager so early in his tenure. But he never belonged, did he?


Hodgson was never the right appointment. People supported him out of a sense of duty to the club. A sense of duty which has worn very quickly. Over 95% of fans on a Tomkins Times poll don’t see hope in the way we approach games or the way we play. Is that the cost of Roy Hodgson, hope? If so then, while I have suggested NESV take their time with any appointment, perhaps they may need to take account of the true cost.

I don’t like posts like this. I feel like I’m lacking loyalty or being unfair. I genuinely believe that NESV should be given time to make the right appointment. Hodgson was not their appointment and I’d hate for them to bring in the wrong manager. It’s a crucial decision, which needs to be carefully considered. None of this stops me feeling this way though.

Discon…

[The_weatherman]

Roy Hodgson vows to buy quality not quantity for Liverpool in January

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/dec/24/roy-hodgson-liverpool-transfer-window

Roy Hodgson vows to buy quality not quantity for Liverpool in January

Roy Hodgson says he will put Liverpool's long-term health before his need for immediate results in next month's transfer window as he admitted the club must learn from their wasteful strategy of recent years.

Next month will provide the first test of New England Sports Ventures' largesse in the transfer market since buying Liverpool for £300m in October. The manager is adamant that top-class additions are needed for the club to regain a place in the Champions League and is under pressure to prove to NESV that he can deliver a top-four finish.

Hodgson, however, believes Liverpool's predicament owes much to a short-term, expensive transfer strategy that existed before his arrival and is anxious to avoid repeating those mistakes, even if a lack of spending invites further criticism of his tenure. "When you get a job like this, should you be working for the long-term good of Liverpool or trying to get an extra result or two for Roy Hodgson?" he asked. "I'd like to think I am big enough and confident enough to take the long-term view, even though it might work against me.

"I might even prefer that in some ways because I would be very disappointed if I went out in January and spent a lot of money on the wrong players and then, come the summer, we are no better off. All we would be doing is adding a few more players who we don't think are good enough to the roster. I would be disappointed if I did that. I can't guarantee it won't happen but it is not my intention."

Hodgson admits NESV has not provided unlimited resources for next month and that he and Damien Comolli, the club's director of football strategy, must convince John W Henry and Tom Werner, Liverpool's owner and chairman respectively, that their targets are sound investments. But he says the calibre of player Liverpool need – such as Aston Villa's Ashley Young – may not be available and he will not flood the squad with average talents. That was a criticism often levelled at Hodgson's predecessor, Rafael Benítez, whom NESV has no intention of inviting back to Anfield should a managerial vacancy arise.

"There's no doubt that I and Damien are pushing the owners to back us if we come up with the right people," Hodgson said. "I think they probably will. The big question is will those players become available? Quite frankly we are targeting players that other clubs don't want to lose. We are not targeting players who are on the market and everyone is trying to find a club for.

"I think our supporters need to understand that and they will understand that. I think they've seen enough players brought into this club over the last couple of years. Around 20 have left since I've been here and haven't been replaced. We've gone down the route of 40, 50 professionals before, of saying: 'This one will do it or, if not, this one will do.' It's very important we don't do that again and just bring in the players we really need."

Despite the admission that new faces are required to obtain regular Champions League football, Hodgson believes Liverpool can deliver a stronger second half to the season even if he is ultimately frustrated in next month's transfer window. "We need to show a bit of faith in the players who are here," he said. "I'll give you two examples: Lucas Leiva and even Martin Skrtel. When I came to the club they were not players everyone was saying will win things for you and are top-class players. Many were saying Liverpool needed better than that. But by working with them and getting behind them and showing you believe in them, they become the players you want them to be.
"It is that delicate balance between having the courage to put your arm around someone and believing in them, and rejecting them and saying 'next please'. At the moment I am enjoying trying to get performances out of them. I realise we need better players to become a top-four team again and to become a constant top four team again, but those players are not easy to find and it would be a mistake to buy just because we have had a bad start to this season."


I know it's christmas, but I still get that raging feeling

[EwarWoo]

Roy Hodgson says he will put Liverpool's long-term health before his need for immediate results in next month's transfer window as he admitted the club must learn from their wasteful strategy of recent years.

Maybe he believes Poulsen and Konchesky are excellent long term prospects and he's willing to put up with sub par performances as they're only young?

He is 97, to him 30 would seem young.

[Lee]

Aaaaarrrrggghhh!!

[Rich]

I never thought that one person could stop me supporting my club. But Hodgson is managing to do it.

[malg]

Merry Xmas Bodgson, give me all my xmas's in one and resign.

[Drago]

Where's Chris? Can't believe he is passing up the opportunity to write

"Hope you choke on your ****ing turkey you old cunt"

[cream]

Merry Christmas Roy, now please **** off. Thank you.

[little dave hedgehog]

[Leyton388]

If thats real

[chadrtc]

Merry Xmas, this will make your blood boil.

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/football/view/169077/Liverpool-boss-Roy-Hodgson-Stick-with-me-and-I-ll-get-it-right/?

[Fivex]

Henry:

“People want to see this club at the top and when we’re nearer the middle of the table, some folk will suggest if someone else was here it would be different.

“I’m not sure that’s the case.”

Is that real? Is it a new quote?

[Chris]

Henry:


Is that real? Is it a new quote?

Its a Hodgson quote not Henry.