Do NESV really understand and appreciate the mood over here?

[marcus50bucks]

Call me naive but I can't help but feel if our owners were based in the UK, especially in Liverpool, Roy Hodgson would have been out on his arse yesterday. Lets not beat around the bush, not only did we lose to a team who were bottom of the league and have the worst away record across all four divisions, we were outplayed by them too. Add to the fact Roy criticized the fans. Sky for once, even did their best to get opinions which were all negative about Roy too, ffs. How the hell do you survive all of that? I know people will say nesv are working behind the scenes but perhaps they really are unaware of the sense of mood over here because they are in a different part of the world, no?

[malg]

I think they are showing their lack of knowledge in the game. The longer they allow the current manager to remain then the more they will have to re build their relationship with us.they need to sack him today FFS the transfer window open tomorrow.

[marcus50bucks]

A new CEO can't come soon enough. I would hope that the CEO is a football person. I also think it's imperative he is based in Liverpool so he is in tune with everthing that is happening in and around the football club.

[Red_Polo]

I'm not so sure. I remember a lot of people wanting Houllier out for a good 18 months before Moores and Parry gave them their wish.

[DannyMan2006]

There plan all along has been to stick with everything the way it is until the summer. Then they would all sit down and decide which way they wanted to go. They haven't been looking for a new manager. They enjoy a good working relationship with Roy and Comolli also likes him.

It was always going to take a lot of bad blood to get Roy the sack. Personally I think it's poor ownership to just stand aside and let things run their course.

But on the plus side, any boss coming in will know they will get a fair crack of the whip.

[DannyMan2006]

I think Houllier deserved another season for what he had done before. He "got" the club and his only problems were onfield matters.

Houllier basically got what Rafa should have had: One more year to see if he could salvage a bad situation. When it became clear the end was nigh, Party went out s
and searched for a replacement whilst Liverpool hobbled into 4th.

That second poor season killed of any support Ged had and meant a clean break. I imagine that had we kept Rafa we'd be spluttering along right now and there'd be calls for his head. I think he may have got us top 4, but I doubt it'd have been enough to keep the fans onside. But I think he'd have done enough to hang on until the summer and I think we'd have seen another nice clean break.

[Red_Polo]

There plan all along has been to stick with everything the way it is until the summer. Then they would all sit down and decide which way they wanted to go. They haven't been looking for a new manager. They enjoy a good working relationship with Roy and Comolli also likes him.

It was always going to take a lot of bad blood to get Roy the sack. Personally I think it's poor ownership to just stand aside and let things run their course.

But on the plus side, any boss coming in will know they will get a fair crack of the whip.

You seem very sure of what their plans are, have you got reason to be? Nothing I've seen in the public domain has convinced me of their thinking on the manager's position one way or another.

Of course, you might be right, but as far as I can see everyone's just making a lot of assumptions and venting spleen when it comes to the owners.

[Red_Polo]

I think Houllier deserved another season for what he had done before. He "got" the club and his only problems were onfield matters.

Houllier basically got what Rafa should have had: One more year to see if he could salvage a bad situation. When it became clear the end was nigh, Party went out s
and searched for a replacement whilst Liverpool hobbled into 4th.

That second poor season killed of any support Ged had and meant a clean break. I imagine that had we kept Rafa we'd be spluttering along right now and there'd be calls for his head. I think he may have got us top 4, but I doubt it'd have been enough to keep the fans onside. But I think he'd have done enough to hang on until the summer and I think we'd have seen another nice clean break.

Agree with much of that.

With respect to the original post though, the fact is that under Moores and Parry we did have that full final abject season of Houllier when people had already started to turn against him in real numbers. That would suggest to me that being locally based as an owner isn't all that significant when it comes to understanding the mood of the fans, and more importantly that it doesn't have a bearing on how that mood colours your actions.

[DannyMan2006]

It depends how hard you look. It also depends on how honest NESV have been when addressing the fans. I don't mean that in a negative way either. When a board gives the vote of confidence I think they can be spared the insults when they invariably go back on their word.

And whilst we as posters tend to lack inside info, it is folly to suggest people who earn their living from stories have none within the club. And the people who I trust within the media have all spun the same story I outlined in my previous post.

Again, you have to measure this up with what the story teller is getting out of this. All information comes at a price and the person doing the talking will always expect pay back at one time or other. Notice Dave Maddocks piece in the paper today and you will see that Purslow (Maddock is his media mouth piece) has today called in a favour and there is quite a tale of how Hodgson is the man to take us forward.

All said, I think a man trusting or intrigued by conspiracy theories could really go out on a limb today. Stories of two games or two weeks to save a job are famed for being leaked to buy time. Many an owner has in the past leaked such stories to lull fans into a false sense of security that things are in motion. More often than not nothing is being done, it is just to get the fans of the managers back and allow him the breathing space to get back on track.

As always with media related items, it's always about who you trust. Wars are won and lost by it as are elections, football always follows suit.

[Neil Young]

I have no doubt they totally understand how we feel about Hodgson.

You've got to ask why they did that phone-in. They didn't need to and lots of other owners wouldn't have dared to have put their heads over the parapet at such an awkward time.

I can't see any other explanation for it than this - they did it so they could give us a direct channel of communication and that therefore we could be in no doubt that they knew how we were feeling. I think it was an attempt to create a holding pattern - kind of 'we understand but we're not acting yet because we have a plan in mind'. They created distance between themselves and Hodgson without publicly undermining him.

Now things have got worse then they might be forced to act sooner than they might wish to. To be honest I'd rather they didn't have to change their plan. There is no way we can get fourth and I doubt we could even get sixth or seventh. So as long as we're not in danger of relegation then perhaps it would be better if we weren't pressing the owners to dump Hodgson now.

There are two conditions:

1. Like I said, the possibility of relegation. If we lose tomorrow then he's gone I think.
2. The remote possibility that if we see an upturn in form he'll stay beyond the summer. As long as there's no danger of that (and I can't believe there is, barring miracles of which he is not capable) then gulp maybe it's better he stays.

No, I wouldn't like it either. But I do think it's worth considering.

[DannyMan2006]

Nb; above is in reply to post 7

[alunevans]

Press reports say he has two weeks to save his job.

What will they learn in the next 2 weeks that they don't know already.

NESV remind me of Roy himself, sat cluelessly paralysed in the dugout as everything turns to **** in front of them.

I'm seriously pissed off with them.

[DannyMan2006]

Alun, I think NESV have given up on this season and were happy enough to make a statement of intent in the summer and build from there. It annoys me because I don't think we should ever down tools, but it is partly understandable.

But I think people overlook key elements sometimes. 5 months in charge for the new man now is like an extended version of pre season. It means far less work for him in the summer and means we fly out the traps next year.

Could you imagine a new manager coming in and having to delay player recruitment until he's had a proper look at his squad? Of course you can. And that means we miss out on selling and buying players at the earliest possible opportunity.

[Armchairkopite]

So there goes any hope of an FA cup run, idiots.

[Mattshark]

Alun, I think NESV have given up on this season and were happy enough to make a statement of intent in the summer and build from there. It annoys me because I don't think we should ever down tools, but it is partly understandable.

But I think people overlook key elements sometimes. 5 months in charge for the new man now is like an extended version of pre season. It means far less work for him in the summer and means we fly out the traps next year.

Could you imagine a new manager coming in and having to delay player recruitment until he's had a proper look at his squad? Of course you can. And that means we miss out on selling and buying players at the earliest possible opportunity.

I do genuinely worry if they understand the damage that can be done by allowing this season to continue. A bad season in American sports isn't the same as it is in football and I worry they don't understand that.
Roy is destroying our club and letting him stay one is extremely dangerous.