With Roy Hodgson being officially appointed as the new Liverpool manager, some are questioning his resume and may think that success is not in our near future.
Roy Hodgson has been appointed manger 17 times now and his trophy cabinet may not be as full as some managers, but working for big clubs such as Fulham and Inter Milan his knowledge and experience of the game today will prove that he can compete with the likes of a Ferguson, Wenger, etc…
When Hodgson took over Inter Milan they were entering a rebuilding phase and by the time Hodgson left in 1997 for Blackburn Rovers they were able to finish with a UEFA Cup win and being runners up in the Serie A. Now saying that he guided the team to that trophy or a second place finish is a bit of a stretch; however, Hodgson built that team and it succeeded after he left.
Hodgson has never managed a giant English football club like Liverpool. Hodgson himself has said, “Liverpool is the greatest job to manage in English football.” This is the biggest challenge of Hodgsons’ career, and I expect him to do well under pressure, because the spine of the team is still in tact. Carragher is at the defense, Gerrard in the midfield, and Torres at the front. Hodgson’s first task will be to talk to Gerrard, Mascherano, and Torres and convince them to stay. In all honesty, none of us wants to see them go, but if their heart is not in it, then they shouldn’t be here.
It will be very interesting to see if Hodgson will become another manager who creates immediate success such as Rafa did when winning the Champions League in 2005 and the FA cup in 2006. I expect this team to compete just as much as they did in 2008. We know our goal and that is to win trophies. Hodgson has the experience and has the passion to go out and manage the players and do his best to lead Liverpool back to the top.