My Dad told me yesterday that Roy was given a new contract after the WC, while the original one still had a while to run on it. Is this true?
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There were rumours before the World Cup that Hodgson would be asked to stay on until the 2018 World Cup (an extension to the 2016 European Championship contract he has now). Don't think it was signed though. Unless the FA are too scared to announce it.Comment
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Yes.
The FA has a simple methodology. The more you fail, the better the reward. Roy Hodgson is one of the better paid managers in world football. He makes the top 10 list I think.Are we winning?Comment
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It's incredible isn't it. How did he elevate himself to such an elite level - he must be a genius.Are we winning?Comment
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Ernie? WTF?Originally posted by Ernie View Post
If we are all only happy when we are really winning in the end, when your race finishes, what life would that be?Comment
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an evil genius.Originally posted by Nigey View Post
It appears as though the majority of managers who's World Cup campaigns were deemed a 'failure' did the honorable thing and fell on their sword or were sacked.
Roy?
Not a chance.Comment
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They don't have 41 years of managerial experience to draw from.Originally posted by spud_gun View Postan evil genius.
It appears as though the majority of managers who's World Cup campaigns were deemed a 'failure' did the honorable thing and fell on their sword or were sacked.
Roy?
Not a chance.
Roy has bounced back.Football without Origi is nothingComment
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There's no need for that sort of language TimothyOriginally posted by SB View PostSo I can still use hashtags cause I'm not an arsehole.
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Sorry Forest.Originally posted by Norbs View PostThere's no need for that sort of language Timothy
Me, I’m either planning a holiday or I’m on one.Comment
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Andy Heaton saying the injury happened in a post training sprint session. Surely not!Comment
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Never fear, Emile Heskey is available for free!
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Fcks sakes we stopped doing these 20 years ago and we're amateurs.Originally posted by Chris View Post
Can we please keep Sterling away from this idiot?One tit for another.
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Liverpool FC's Balotelli risk looking good after latest Sturridge injury
Sturridge’s continued injury problems show why Rodgers was keen on Balotelli transfer
The calculated risk has already been justified. Now Mario Balotelli is facing the first real test of his Anfield career.
Brendan Rodgers sparked heated – and familiar – debate among Liverpool supporters and beyond when he became the latest high-profile boss to take on the enigmatic Italian.
Why chance a blossoming reputation, along with the harmony within a tight-knit squad, by signing an apparently disruptive influence?
Now, less than a week after Balotelli pulled on a red shirt for the first time, the reason has become all too clear.
Daniel Sturridge’s thigh injury, suffered during a routine training session with England at their St George’s Park base on Friday, has not only opened the door for the likes of Danny Welbeck to star for the Three Lions in their opening Euro 2016 qualifier in Switzerland tomorrow evening.
It has also elevated Balotelli to centre stage, a position with which the striker has been accustomed for much of his career.
There was something apt about the fact that, while Sturridge was being whisked away for scans to assess the damage, Balotelli was causing a minor commotion during a behind-closed-doors friendly against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Melwood.
The fears regarding each player encapsulated almost simultaneously.
Photographers were on hand to capture the fallout as Balotelli, following a series of meaty challenges, showed signs of reacting before he was substituted moments afterwards.
For anybody else it would have been a non-event. This, though, is life with Balotelli, as Rodgers will have surely acknowledged when taking a punt on the former Manchester City man.
Sturridge, having ceded much of the striking spotlight to Luis Suarez, is poised to again do likewise, albeit for different reasons.
“I have spoken to Daniel about how important he is to the team,” said Rodgers shortly after Balotelli’s arrival.
“If you are a top player and looking at another top player coming in then you will be thinking, ‘He can help us.’ A top player with a top mentality responds to the competition.
“Also, if you look at Daniel’s injury record, then he has missed a number of weeks through being injured.
“I need to ensure I have got the replacements if they are not on the pitch at the same time.”
Rodgers’ caution is well placed.
Sturridge possesses a phenomenal goalscoring record since arriving at Liverpool in January 2013, netting 36 goals in 52 appearances, a rate of more than a goal every two games.
But the striker has been similarly consistent in his presence on the treatment table.
All told, Sturridge missed nine Premier League matches – more than a quarter of the calendar – through injury last season.
When asked last season which of Suarez’s attributes he would most want, Sturridge replied: “I’d have his fitness.
“He must be a man of steel or something. He is iron man, isn’t he?
“He gets so many kicks and he doesn’t seem to feel it, whereas I get a few niggles here and there and it’s very frustrating because it kills the momentum I’m having.”
The summer signing of Rickie Lambert was always to augment a forward line containing Suarez rather than replacing the controversial striker.
But with the Uruguayan gone, Rodgers required a striker of similar stature and type to Sturridge capable of leading the line when the inevitable injuries occurred.
Hence the ultimately failed pursuit of Queens Park Rangers’ Loic Remy, the interest in a loan move for Monaco’s wantaway Colombia international Radamel Falcao and lining up a possible deal for Samuel Eto’o.
But in a transfer era when Shane Long moves for £12m, the Reds boss considered Balotelli too good an opportunity to pass up at £16m from AC Milan.
While Liverpool have developed a training schedule best suited to keeping Sturridge on the pitch, the same cannot be said for England, which perhaps explains why so many of his problems emerge when on international duty.
England boss Roy Hodgson infamously declared he was “testing the resolve” of the Liverpool man by fielding him for the full 90 minutes in the friendly defeat to Germany at Wembley last November, despite the player having complained of a thigh problem that had already forced him to miss World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Ukraine two months earlier.
As a consequence, Sturridge was left out by Rodgers from the Merseyside derby five days later but emerged from the bench to score a late equaliser at Goodison.
“It is very simple for me,” said Rodgers after the 3-3 draw. “With any player, you have to put yourself on the training field. If you do that, you will be in with a chance of playing.
“If you don’t do that, there is a consequence – you don’t play. If you want to be a champion, if you want to win things, you have to be ready.
“For this game I just felt Daniel wasn’t ready.
“I could see it in him. I have seen it before. There is a trend.
“The games he has disappointed in have come when he hasn’t trained. That was the call here.”
Indeed, it would represent Sturridge’s last appearance in almost two months after he then injured his ankle during training.
Sturridge had already missed almost all of Liverpool’s pre-season preparations as a result of a previous ankle problem picked up while featuring for England in a friendly against the Republic of Ireland in May.
During the title run-in last season, Sturridge missed the win at Norwich City with a hamstring strain which subsequently affected his fitness for the ultimately decisive defeat at home to Chelsea the following week.
And now this.
With Sturridge facing a likely spell on the sidelines, so comes the time – albeit far earlier than preferred – to show why Rodgers bought Balotelli.
Over to you, Mario. No pressure.
Hadn't read that bit in bold before.
If we are all only happy when we are really winning in the end, when your race finishes, what life would that be?Comment
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i remember reading it at the time,in fact i think it is somewere on here and to think he once managed us and i use that term looselyOriginally posted by RedReet View Post
who's arsed?
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