Pack your bags Roy

[Kronenburg1892]

Ffs Roy, switch it off now. Shut up and get your pay off.

I said a few months back, that Roy was the perfect foil whilst we get rid of H&G. And that's what he is. Nothing more. No manager would touch us with a barge pole shoved up Ferguson's sphincter

Which is why I have a lot of respect for him, because quite simply, I don't believe he's that stupid to think that he could do any better than a man who has bettered him in every department in less than a third of Roy's whole career. And I don't think he came into this job blind to where we were.

He aint going to resign. He's been played, he knows it too. All I'd say is, try and find some dignity so you won't have to walk away alone.

[Shaggy]

Rory Smith - Telegraph:

Liverpool actively considering replacing Roy Hodgson should right candidate become available

Liverpool’s owners are convinced Roy Hodgson is not the man to lead the club forward in the long-term and are actively considering replacing him midway through the season, should the right candidate become available.

By Rory Smith 11:00PM GMT 31 Dec 2010


Fenway Sports Group, who bought Liverpool in October, had hoped to allow Hodgson to continue until the end of the season before reviewing his position, but their concerns over his relationship with the club’s fans and the team’s seemingly endless on-pitch troubles are now so great they are reconsidering their plans.

The group’s principal backers, Tom Werner and John W Henry, would prefer to make their first appointment a permanent one – seemingly ruling out a return for Kenny Dalglish, the fans’ clear choice, as caretaker – and they are believed to be examaining the credentials of a number of candidates.

They will not sack Hodgson, though, without knowing their preferred replacement is available and willing to move, raising the possibility that the 63-year-old will continue in control for the foreseeable future despite failing to win over either the club’s owners or the Anfield crowd.

FSG – who appointed Theo Epstein as General Manager of the Boston Red Sox at the age of 28 – hope to attract a young, ambitious coach to revitalise the club after two years of regression under Hodgson and his predecessor, Rafael Benitez.

In charge of a club where risky appointments have, for more than half a century, been frowned upon – Jose Mourinho was disregarded in 2004 because of his penchant for self-publicity – FSG are certain that only breaking with that tradition will jolt Liverpool back to life.

The likes of Frank Rijkaard, the former Barcelona manager, Andre Villas Boas, of Porto, Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp and Didier Deschamps, of Marseille, would all fit those criteria, though only Rijkaard – at 48, the oldest of the contenders – is currently available. Owen Coyle, too, would be both difficult and expensive to entice away from Bolton mid-season.

Though Hodgson moved to stem the growing tide of anger among Liverpool’s supporters for his perceived criticism of the Anfield crowd during Wednesday’s 1-0 defeat to Wolves – more than 9,000 people have signed an online petition calling for his dismissal – his contrition is unlikely to quell FSG’s fears that his relationship with the fans is beyond repair.

“I certainly regret if I have offended them in any way,” said the Liverpool manager. “It was in no way meant to be an offensive comment on my part. I went on to say that, while describing my situation as not being able to win the fans over with performances, I was taking responsibility and fully understood and empathised with them.

“There is no way I would want to do that and there is no way that would be justified because everyone knows the support from Liverpool’s fans is the best in the country. I am also fully aware that to get the best out of that support, you have to give them something to look forward to supporting.”

It is that problem which is at the root of his employers’ growing discontent with Hodgson’s reign. Henry and Werner are thought to feel that the former Fulham manager is unlikely to elicit the best from Liverpool squad, while his failure to address the team’s myriad problems in his six months in charge has frustrated the owners.

They cannot doubt, though, that Hodgson himself is suffering, describing the aftermath of the Wolves game as one of the loneliest periods of his long career.

“Lonely is not the wrong word to use because to be quite honest, you do not want company any way,” he said. “You want to be left alone with your thoughts – which are not pleasant thoughts – but you do not have the desire to do anything but sit around with those thoughts.

“It is a lonely job being a manager of a top club. You cannot expect people to help you too much. The staff are very good and supportive, and the players, too, but your family is very important at times like these. They try to encourage you that life isn’t all doom and gloom. That is what you have to cling on to.”

Such problems, Hodgson admits, seem a world away from the triumphalism of his final season at Fulham, the achievements of which earned him the Liverpool job, as well as the LMA Manager of the Year award.

He said: “It seems a long time ago, doesn’t it? It has been an uphill struggle for me here. I have had a lot of situations to deal with. There have been these very big setbacks which have thrown me into the firing line. I accept it as being part of a big club and taking a job of this stature.

“Coming to Liverpool for me was a pinnacle. It was a reward for the work I had put in not just at Fulham but in the years before. It was a recognition of my competence and you hope you can keep flying forward. [But] I saw a quote from Benjamin Disraeli when he became Prime Minister saying he had climbed to the top of the greasy pole. That is what we do as managers.”

[Sprouty]

[marcus50bucks]

Roy Hodgson's days at Liverpool numbered as owners plan for life without him

By Dominic King
Last updated at 12:18 AM on 1st January 2011

Liverpool's owners are actively examining candidates to replace Roy Hodgson and will be prepared to move when the right man becomes available.

Fenway Sports Group have reached breaking point with the current manager after a series of poor results and performances culminated in Wednesday’s woeful 1-0 home defeat by Wolves, a result which leaves Liverpool three points off the relegation zone.
Hodgson, who yesterday issued a grovelling apology following comments he made after that game about Liverpool’s support, is now effectively a dead man walking, as FSG are running the rule over young coaches who will be able to take Liverpool into a new era.
An online petition asking FSG principal John W Henry to sack Hodgson had more than 12,000 signatures last night, while the respected website Red And White Kop also published an open letter to Henry pleading for Hodgson’s removal.

Marseille coach Didier Deschamps, Andre Villas-Boas of Porto, Borussia Dortmund’s Jurgen Klopp and Bolton’s Owen Coyle, who takes his side to Anfield today, will all be considered.

Deschamps was a candidate to replace Rafa Benitez last summer and he made what insiders described at the time as a ‘fantastic’ impression when he met with
Liverpool officials.

A proven track record of success wherever Deschamps has been — not to mention experience of the Barclays Premier League from his time with Chelsea as a player — would appeal to FSG.

Deschamps is also familiar with working under a director of football strategy — in this case Damien Comolli, who was appointed by FSG in November.

Villas-Boas is an intriguing candidate. He learned everything he knows from Jose Mourinho and while his age — 33 — may raise eyebrows, FSG showed youth is no barrier when appointing Theo Epstein as general manager of the Boston Red Sox as a 28-year-old in 2002.

Despite mounting pressure, Hodgson, who signed a three-year contract in July, has no intentions of quitting but it is now a case of when, not if, the axe will be brought down on his ill-fated reign.
He said: ‘It has taken me a long while to get to this elevated position, coaching one of the best clubs in Europe. I was very pleased to get the job and I left a very good job to take it.
‘So the last thing in my mind is walking away from a club like this or walking away from football. I want to be here, I want to change things and I want to turn it around. I want to help the club and the new owners get the success they want. There are an awful lot of people who would like to be standing where I am today.

‘There are a lot of people who believe they can do the job better. But you believe you can justify the faith of other people who have appointed you.’

Hodgson, however, has a number of problems, not least that the men who appointed him in July — Christian Purslow and Sir Martin Broughton — no longer have an influence at the club and Liverpool’s form since he took charge has been lamentable.
Hodgson has also alienated himself from the vast majority of Liverpool’s fan base and the 63-year-old is bracing himself for a hostile reception this afternoon, as the appetite for managerial change on Merseyside continues to grow.

‘I have been very, very disappointed and hurt that comments I made which were mere statements of fact and which were in no way meant to be offensive have been made offensive,’ said Hodgson

‘I thought I did quite a good job to disguise the hurt, the sadness and, to some extent, the anger that I was feeling, to take the stick from the crowd and then to stand up at a press conference and say I understood and I sympathise with them.

‘It is always going to be the case as manager when things go wrong, you are going to get flak. I think it was unfortunate for me that it has been turned around and the fans think I have gone into a press conference to attack them. Nothing could be further from the truth.

‘I fully empathise with our supporters. There is no way I would want to upset them as Liverpool fans are the best in the country. It is our job to give them football that is worth supporting. We need to get them behind the team again.’
It is difficult not to feel sympathy for Hodgson as he has worked hard in trying circumstances but despite being conciliatory and contrite, the olive branch he held out is unlikely to be grasped and he looks more exposed by the day.

Mike Kelly and Sammy Lee are dressing-room allies but Hodgson is suffering from not having an assistant manager to help share the burden — he wanted club legend Sami Hyypia to be his No 2 last summer but failed to look elsewhere after that offer was rejected.

‘It is a lonely job being the manager of a top club — you can’t expect people to help you too much. The staff are very good and supportive and so are the players,’ added Hodgson.

‘But your family is very important at these times. They try and encourage you that life isn’t all doom and gloom and there might be a bright spot somewhere along the way. That is what you have to cling on to.’

DailyMail

[marcus50bucks]

Liverpool owners have already begun search for Hodgson's permanent replacement

By David Anderson

Roy Hodgson last night edged closer to the Anfield exit as the club's American owners began the search for his successor.

Hodgson is on the brink going into today's clash with Bolton and John W Henry and Tom Werner want to have a replacement lined up if they decide to wield the axe.

They are reluctant to name a caretaker boss, such as the Kop's hero Kenny Dalglish, and would prefer to make a permanent appointment.

Henry and Werner want a young, dynamic manager and have started drawing up their shortlist, which is believed to include Owen Coyle, Frank Rijkaard, Borussia Dortmund's Jurgen Klopp and Porto boss Andre Villa Boas.

As they launched their search, the beleaguered Hodgson apologised to Liverpool fans for his attack on the Kop.

Henry and Werner were unimpressed by Hodgson's dig at the supporters for turning on him during the defeat to Wolves and the Reds boss has been shocked by the backlash against him.

Hodgson cut a contrite figure yesterday as he insisted he had not meant to offend anyone with his jibes that the "famous Anfield support hasn't really been there" and that "fans should be supporters".

He said: "I'm disappointed with that and I certainly regret if I have offended them in any way. It was no way meant to be an offensive comment on my part. In fact, it was a purely defensive comment.

"I'm fully aware that to get the best out of that support, you have to give them something to look forward to supporting and we certainly didn't do that on Wednesday night. I would have been very surprised if the reaction had been any different to what it was.

"I hope there is no backlash against me because I didn't set out to attack the fans. I had to answer the question about how I felt about being the butt of their jeers and whilst empathising with them, I also tried to defend my position."

Hodgson will discover at 3pm today if the Kop have accepted his apology when he walks out for Liverpool's showdown with Bolton and he insists he can win the fans over.

"Everything is retrievable if the team plays well," he said. "That's the bottom line.

"Fans want to see their team win and we've got to start winning. We've got to start playing well again and if we do, I'm sure the fans will be happy with what they see."

Despite being on the brink at Liverpool, Hodgson accepts the intense pressure and claims the club's success is more important than his future.

"It's my job to get on with it and do my best possible not to allow individual or personal matters, like my own future, to get in the way of what is most important," he said. "And that is Liverpool winning football matches."

Mirror

[Arn]

All the papers with the same story so you can say that is more or less 100% official.

If Rijkaard was an option then he would already been appointed IMO. I think we can rule him out.

I doubt that Villas Boas or Klopp will break the new long term deals they signed.

Deschamps? Why would he leave Marseille? He clashed with the board so maybe they will let him go after they get knocked out of the CL. He is probably the most realistic option.

FSG need a manager that can attract the best players out there. That rules out the likes of Coyle.

I think that Deschamps is the number one target. Don't have a clue who could be second choice. Maybe Ancelotti. He would have no problem to work with a sporting director after his time in Italy. He is used to that.

So what about Rafa then? If he was a realistic option then FSG would already talked to him IMO and if they would have done that then it would have leaked out. He could be the backup option if Deschamps turns us down but he isn't a realistic first choice target.

[Shaggy]

A matter of when rather than if. Pretty exciting really.

[RedSince1964]

Roy Hodgson's days at Liverpool numbered as owners plan for life without him

By Dominic King
Last updated at 12:18 AM on 1st January 2011

Liverpool's owners are actively examining candidates to replace Roy Hodgson and will be prepared to move when the right man becomes available.

Fenway Sports Group have reached breaking point with the current manager after a series of poor results and performances culminated in Wednesday’s woeful 1-0 home defeat by Wolves, a result which leaves Liverpool three points off the relegation zone.
Hodgson, who yesterday issued a grovelling apology following comments he made after that game about Liverpool’s support, is now effectively a dead man walking, as FSG are running the rule over young coaches who will be able to take Liverpool into a new era.
An online petition asking FSG principal John W Henry to sack Hodgson had more than 12,000 signatures last night, while the respected website Red And White Kop also published an open letter to Henry pleading for Hodgson’s removal.

Marseille coach Didier Deschamps, Andre Villas-Boas of Porto, Borussia Dortmund’s Jurgen Klopp and Bolton’s Owen Coyle, who takes his side to Anfield today, will all be considered.

Deschamps was a candidate to replace Rafa Benitez last summer and he made what insiders described at the time as a ‘fantastic’ impression when he met with
Liverpool officials.

A proven track record of success wherever Deschamps has been — not to mention experience of the Barclays Premier League from his time with Chelsea as a player — would appeal to FSG.

Deschamps is also familiar with working under a director of football strategy — in this case Damien Comolli, who was appointed by FSG in November.

Villas-Boas is an intriguing candidate. He learned everything he knows from Jose Mourinho and while his age — 33 — may raise eyebrows, FSG showed youth is no barrier when appointing Theo Epstein as general manager of the Boston Red Sox as a 28-year-old in 2002.

Despite mounting pressure, Hodgson, who signed a three-year contract in July, has no intentions of quitting but it is now a case of when, not if, the axe will be brought down on his ill-fated reign.
He said: ‘It has taken me a long while to get to this elevated position, coaching one of the best clubs in Europe. I was very pleased to get the job and I left a very good job to take it.
‘So the last thing in my mind is walking away from a club like this or walking away from football. I want to be here, I want to change things and I want to turn it around. I want to help the club and the new owners get the success they want. There are an awful lot of people who would like to be standing where I am today.

‘There are a lot of people who believe they can do the job better. But you believe you can justify the faith of other people who have appointed you.’

Hodgson, however, has a number of problems, not least that the men who appointed him in July — Christian Purslow and Sir Martin Broughton — no longer have an influence at the club and Liverpool’s form since he took charge has been lamentable.
Hodgson has also alienated himself from the vast majority of Liverpool’s fan base and the 63-year-old is bracing himself for a hostile reception this afternoon, as the appetite for managerial change on Merseyside continues to grow.

‘I have been very, very disappointed and hurt that comments I made which were mere statements of fact and which were in no way meant to be offensive have been made offensive,’ said Hodgson

‘I thought I did quite a good job to disguise the hurt, the sadness and, to some extent, the anger that I was feeling, to take the stick from the crowd and then to stand up at a press conference and say I understood and I sympathise with them.

‘It is always going to be the case as manager when things go wrong, you are going to get flak. I think it was unfortunate for me that it has been turned around and the fans think I have gone into a press conference to attack them. Nothing could be further from the truth.

‘I fully empathise with our supporters. There is no way I would want to upset them as Liverpool fans are the best in the country. It is our job to give them football that is worth supporting. We need to get them behind the team again.’
It is difficult not to feel sympathy for Hodgson as he has worked hard in trying circumstances but despite being conciliatory and contrite, the olive branch he held out is unlikely to be grasped and he looks more exposed by the day.

Mike Kelly and Sammy Lee are dressing-room allies but Hodgson is suffering from not having an assistant manager to help share the burden — he wanted club legend Sami Hyypia to be his No 2 last summer but failed to look elsewhere after that offer was rejected.

‘It is a lonely job being the manager of a top club — you can’t expect people to help you too much. The staff are very good and supportive and so are the players,’ added Hodgson.

‘But your family is very important at these times. They try and encourage you that life isn’t all doom and gloom and there might be a bright spot somewhere along the way. That is what you have to cling on to.’

DailyMail

Any of the above managers(apart from coyle) which i think is to soon and, a massive jump to make yet IMO, and i know i'm a massive Rafa fan but, you can't rule him out either because of his past experience and successful knowledge of the Premership and nots forget success at winning Cups (bar the one we as fans all want which is of course, the Premership Trouphy) which i beleive will arrive pretty soon under any decent Manager out there whoose got the Knowledge, guile and balls to change the mentallity and work rate of the team who want to play for the Famous Red Shirt and kick those players out who don't give a damn about success of the Club but are just happy to pick up their humungus wage packet and kick a ball for the fun of it.

There, rant over and there's only one more thing left to say

" Fook Off Roy your times up

[Rowan]

A matter of when rather than if. Pretty exciting really.

Care for a gentle mans wager on when? Pick a day and month. Whoever is furthest away throws a fiver to HJC?

[little dave hedgehog]

A matter of when rather than if. Pretty exciting really.

it's a little bit like the adult christmas eve, isn't it? quite looking forward to see who they give the keys to.

[Shaggy]

Care for a gentle mans wager on when? Pick a day and month. Whoever is furthest away throws a fiver to HJC?

Haha okay, why not.

Tomorrow.

it's a little bit like the adult christmas eve, isn't it? quite looking forward to see who they give the keys to.

Yes, yes it is. I think we're struggling big time for a thoroughly convincing candidate but it's still exciting.

[Endless Dream]

I really like the look of Andre Villas Boas, I think we should do all it takes to get him, even though he signed contract extension, you know what contracts are worth these days anyway, but it will cost us, but I reckon it's worth it, he just looks a really cool guy!

[Rowan]

Alright Shaggly I'll go February 14th. May the best man win.

Incidently I made the huge mistake of contemplating one of Arns posts in an alternative thread and am convinced that NESV are eying up Coyle. Or maybe Danny Dyer.

[Shaggy]

I really like the look of Andre Villas Boas, I think we should do all it takes to get him, even though he signed contract extension, you know what contracts are worth these days anyway, but it will cost us, but I reckon it's worth it, he just looks a really cool guy!

I do too but it's just a hunch for than anything else. He'd be a massive gamble but undeniably exciting.

Alright Shaggly I'll go February 14th. May the best man win.

Incidently I made the huge mistake of contemplating one of Arns posts in an alternative thread and am convinced that NESV are eying up Coyle. Or maybe Danny Dyer.

'Shaggly'

[Rowan]

I do too but it's just a hunch for than anything else. He'd be a massive gamble but undeniably exciting.





'Shaggly'

Nah man. It makes perfect sense. He eliminated all the other candidates and tied with someone who's available and will be gangster enough to dispose of the troublemakers, renegades and other née do wells while also demonstrating unfailing versatility, well, has to be Dyer.