LFC v Napoli post match thread

[Kenneth]

Any videos of the goals?

http://www.tvgolo.com/football.php?subaction=showfull&id=1288903160&archive=&start_from=&ucat=48&

[squaddie]

Now that Commolli's here I'm a little less worried. Unless of course Commolli's become a sh*t talent scout too, which would be really unlucky.

You mean a **** 'recruitment officer'.

[fah-q]

Nice try, red and white, but no way does Roy encapsulate the Liverpool Way. Either tactically or with the nonsense in the press.

If Konchesky and Poulsen are the standard of the new faces he will bring in (Carlton Cole, eek) then it will only get worse.

I'm very happy we are putting together a run now but I still want him gone.

[BigChief]

But half that problem has been solved by Commolli coming in. Kudos to NESV for acting fast but not over-reacting. Let's see what happens in the next 5-10 games.

[Fivex]

Not sure how much you listen/read Roy's press conferences red&white but if do, you should understand why the sentiment is expressed the way it is by some.

[fah-q]

But half that problem has been solved by Commolli coming in. Kudos to NESV for acting fast but not over-reacting. Let's see what happens in the next 5-10 games.

Problem is Commoli could sign us Kaka and Dodgson would end up playing him in defence or something.

[mick the click]

I am appalled by the attitude towards Hodgson by some on this forum.

Roy has inherited a squad that was barely up to the job last season and been given not a lot of time and cash to improve it. So he has to work with the material he has got until he can bring in some new faces. It appears that not many managers were prepared to take the job under these conditions.

Liverpool have always given their managers the chance to prove themselves, so I reckon Roy deserves to get that opportunity, too. This may not be modern, but what the heck, it is what we used to call the Liverpool way.

If this is asking too much, just a bit of fairness and respect would be nice.
Maybe this season is a season of transformation and we'll harvest the results next season.

Sorry - Roy's simply not the right calibre for LFC, and as for respect, have you heard some of the stuff he' come out with?

[Kenneth]

A central three of:

Gerrard
Lucas - Meireles

Actually has the potential to be very, very good.

I just don't think we'll see that often under Hodgson.

Agree. The same shape with Poulsen in the Lucas would probably also allow Poulsen to a defensive job and prove he has at least some worth. Meirles will wander about, he's nice and mobile, and Poulsen doing nothing but covering the back four, he'd probably just about manage that.

[BigChief]

I am appalled by the attitude towards Hodgson by some on this forum.

Roy has inherited a squad that was barely up to the job last season and been given not a lot of time and cash to improve it. So he has to work with the material he has got until he can bring in some new faces. It appears that not many managers were prepared to take the job under these conditions.

Liverpool have always given their managers the chance to prove themselves, so I reckon Roy deserves to get that opportunity, too. This may not be modern, but what the heck, it is what we used to call the Liverpool way.

If this is asking too much, just a bit of fairness and respect would be nice.
Maybe this season is a season of transformation and we'll harvest the results next season.

I'm afraid you'll get no joy in this forum. Not until Roy's gone, or proven himself with many more results.

Personally he has been criticised heavily and I've seen him learn the following week. He's coming out of his comfort zone of midtable and trying to learn our ways fast. Its not working 100% but he's trying.

He's been naive in the press (again, he's learned quickly from the feedback) but he's not said anything disparaging about the club or its heritage/history. I stand to be corrected on this.

[Shaggy]

I'm afraid you'll get no joy in this forum.

He wouldn't get any joy on any forum, never mind this one.

[red n white]

Not sure how much you listen/read Roy's press conferences red&white but if do, you should understand why the sentiment is expressed the way it is by some.

Maybe it is an advantage that I can't listen to them.
What is it he said that brought on this sentiment ?

I am not saying, that I am convinced he is the right person for the job, I just feel that a manager in general deserves being given some time before he is judged.

[Arn]

That's a fairer summary IMO. Gerrard was rubbish against Olympiakos until he popped up with that wonder goal. IIRC, Pongolle really turned that game.

Mind you, if your one contribution is *that* goal, its not a bad night's work.

He's obviously our talisman but we shouldnt undermine the efforts of other to the win in Istanbul.

Even Igor was a genuine legend during that campaign.

No player would be great without his team mates. It's a team game.

[Craig_H]

Maybe it is an advantage that I can't listen to them.
What is it he said that brought on this sentiment ?

I am not saying, that I am convinced he is the right person for the job, I just feel that a manager in general deserves being given some time before he is judged.

He said to judge him after 10 games.

[BigChief]

He said to judge him after 10 games.

What red n white and myself would like to know is specifically what's he said to bring on such hatred? And its almost bordering on that.

Ineptitude doesn't count, has to be something against our club or history.

[Shaggy]

Roy Hodgson saluted the 'outstanding' impact of Steven Gerrard after the skipper came off the bench to fire home a second-half hat-trick in the 3-1 Europa League win over Napoli on Thursday night.

The Reds' hopes of strengthening their place at the summit of Group K had looked to be in danger after Ezequiel Lavezzi had given the Italians the advantage with a smart finish on 28 minutes.

However, the half-time introduction of Gerrard inspired a revival, leaving Hodgson delighted with the No.8's contribution.

He told his post-match press conference: "He was outstanding. I think that in the first half we hadn't played that badly. I thought we were a bit unlucky to be a goal down at half-time to an error that was cruelly punished.

"But certainly in the second half his entry onto the field was a catalyst, certainly. It certainly galvanised the crowd and the team. The way he scored the first goal epitomises the energy and spirit the team showed in the second half.

"I'm delighted we got a reward for it but certainly we do owe a big debt of gratitude to him. But I'm sure he'd be the first to join me in saying that it was a good team performance in the second half as well.

"Even though he will get the plaudits, he'll agree that the whole team played outstandingly well after the break and we deserved to win the game."

He added: "I thought tonight was a real leader's performance. That goal that got us the equaliser wasn't a pretty goal; certainly it was a captain's goal, one of a guy who wanted to get his team back into a match and who was determined to get the ball into the net. That is certainly appreciated by me and my staff as well as the crowd."

Asked if he would have preferred to have rested Gerrard for the clash rather than introduce him in place of Milan Jovanovic at the interval, Hodgson added: ""I wanted to win the game. At half-time I felt the best chance we had of winning the game was to bring him on. I suppose had we been two or three up at half-time it would have been nice to wrap him up in cotton wool.

"But Steven likes to play. He's like Jamie Carragher and Pepe Reina - they want to play. They don't seek rest periods. They understand what I'm trying to do but they don't seek it themselves. There's never any problem if I want to put them on. They are the first to put their hand up and say 'if you need me, I'm there', which is great."

The victory over Napoli means Liverpool have now notched up three wins on the spin.

"Napoli are sitting pretty at the top end of Serie A and they are a major force with major players - so to fight back like that against a top European outfit is certainly extremely commendable."

Hodgson admits he is delighted his team have got their season back on track but has warned of over-confidence ahead of a crunch meeting with Chelsea on Sunday.

"Well we've got to be careful, certainly," he said. "We play Chelsea next and that's a very tough game. If I say yes and we lose then I look like a mug and I don't want to do that.

"The longer we work together the happier I am with the way the team looks on the field of play. But there's still work to do. Everyone knows that; the players and the people I work with. But certainly it's nice to have three straight victories - you don't get that too often at this level of football. It would be nice to make it four, certainly.

"To do well in a league like we are playing in, you need a consistency in your performance and we need to do that week after week."

The boss was also quizzed about the fitness of David Ngog after the striker sustained a knock to his shin late on.

Hodgson added: "We are assessing it. We didn't take him off because of the knock on the shin, we took him off because of a little bit of cramp. He worked very hard during the game. But it was a bad challenge. I can only help he'll be okay for Sunday because quite frankly we are a little bit light in the forward department.

"If we lose him we don't have the same quality of option to play two up front or replace Fernando Torres if that was to be necessary in the game."