Liverpool FC : Under Roy Hodgson

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Disappointing. Frustrating. Lacklustre. These just are some of the terms that sum up our season until now. Apart from the opening day fixture vs Arsenal at home we’ve been poor, especially on the road, the most disappointing came about a month ago at a half-empty Anfield where Liverpool were knocked out of the Carling Cup by League Two side Northampton Town. Ten days later we suffered our first home league defeat at the hands of Blackpool with the Kop reverberating to chants of “Dalglish, Dalglish” at the final whistle. With Roy’s job now quite under pressure, the “must win” Merseyside derby at Goodison was one fixture which could have been the little bright spark in what was turning out to be a disastrous season however that wasn’t to be. We were awful and if I was to be totally and brutally honest what was even more awful and alarming were Roy’s post-match comments which seemed to suggest that he was happy with the way we played in the second half, deeming it “the best he’s seen Liverpool play under his tenure”. In September Daniel Agger one of the more technically accomplished players in the squad claimed that his tendency to look to contribute to the attack from his defensive position and reluctance to clear the ball differed from Hodgson’s tactics and that Roy was omitting him from the team for this reason. Add to this, Pepe Reina’s recent disclosure that he was having to adapt to an “English” style of goalkeeping is also bewildering.

I’ll stick to my initial opinion : Roy was never the right man for the job. I am not saying that he’s a bad manager, not at all, he’s a good manager however some managers are just not suited for a particular club, and this club is Liverpool FC. The manager of a club like Liverpool is expected to be accustomed to the fact that we never accept second best. Considering this season where we’ve had to lower our expectations Roy has come in and downed our expectations to such lows that even victories against West Brom at home (bare in mind it was a poor performance) need to be remembered time and again. Another thing that didn’t go down too well with the Anfield faithful was Roy’s response to United bidding for Torres. Personally, I was disappointed with his comments; we all know he’s an old chum of Fergie but if comments such as his are repeated I’m afraid he’s going to lose a lot more fans added to the constantly depleting fan base. The fact is that Hodgson was a slightly underwhelming appointment of a club of Liverpool’s stature. We were expecting the appointment of a manager which “made a statement”, so to speak but then again we had to settle for mediocrity (no offence Mr Roy). If I do somehow manage to eke out a few positives they’ve got to be convincing Stevie and Nando to stay and signing Joe Cole. Besides these and a couple of good performances (including the Europa League) so far, I can’t seem to find anymore.

Coming to a few positive things now :-), we witnessed a vast improvement from Roy’s men against Blackburn at home. Gerry Mardsen’s rendition of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ before the game seemed to have inspired the players and fans in this must-win game for Roy. There was no Poulsen to slow the game down, there was more pressing and there was a higher defensive line. Meireles had a good game, he was deployed in central midfield unlike the right side of midfield in a couple of previous matches which clearly did not work. We started off really well and should have scored but Paul Robinson was good in goal. The big Greek finally broke the deadlock in the 48th minute with a towering header in what was a magnificent Man of the Match performance. I have to say Lucas and Maxi were exceptional too throughout the match. With Kuyt having been unlucky with injuries with season, Maxi has had a lot of chances to play his way into the side but has failed to do so, however his performance against Blackburn was probably his best in a red shirt. History has it that he’s always been an inconsistent player for Atleti and Argentina despite his good goal scoring record. And how relieving it was to Torres back on the scoresheet? Finally, eh! all in all, a good performance and a match which should’ve ended at least 3-1 or 4-1 but I dont think anyone cares about that much now. Our next 3 fixtures are: 31st Bolton away, 4th Napoli home and 7th Chelsea home. It’s going to be extremely tough, I’m already dreading it (excuse my negativity please). Let’s wait and see if the win against Blackburn can finally springboard our season after exactly a quarter of the season.
Here is an analysis of how some players have been affected under Roy :

Pepe : Barring his catastrophe against Arsenal on opening day, he’s been consistent until now, putting in a MOTM performance against Brum at St Andrew’s. Having been told to adopt a more “English style of goalkeeping” and several rumours suggesting he’s a target for a host of top European clubs, he’s said that this season “is the worst he’s ever endured in his career.”

Glen Johnson : He’s always been a threat attacking-wise but I have to say his defending capabilities have alarmingly deteriorated. Not being allowed as much license to go forward as under Rafa, he’s put in a bag of mixed performances. In all fairness to him Roy’s tactics do not suit his game.

Soto : The big Greek has been exceptional whenever he’s played. The towering header against Blackburn was similar to the one he scored against Blackpool which unfortunately ended in defeat. His aerial ability is an asset defensively as well as a threat attacking wise.

Agger : He’s had a tough time this season. Forced out of matches with niggling injuries and illnesses it seems as if Roy isn’t a big fan of Daniel. his style of play obviously doesn’t go well with Roy’s philosophy and I’ll admit I was a little worried when Roy claimed that “he was sick and had ruled himself out of the Napoli game.” he’s probably our best defender and technically very sound, I’d hate to see him go.

Konchesky : He arrived for £5m with 2 promising youngsters heading the other way. Not the best left back there is, he has plenty of Premier League experience on his side. I’d like to see Fabio start ahead of Konchesky. when fit, a far better footballer.

Poulsen : £4m pounds looks like a huge amount now doesn’t it? Poulsen has been pretty poor ever since he arrived from Juventus. The guy is 30 and probably in the final stages of his career. 2-3 years ago he was very good however now he is too slow for the Premier League as was evident with his absence against Blackburn.

Lucas : Been out of favor under Roy as he seems to prefer playing Poulsen. A brilliant performance against Blackburn, I’m hoping Roy takes the hint, would hate to see him leave.

Meireles : Hasn’t had the best of starts when deployed on the right side of midfield, had a good game against Blackburn as he played central midfield. The guy has huge potential and I’m looking forward to seeing him play during the course of the season.

Jovanovic : Started the season OK however has found himself on the bench for the last few matches. He’s got plenty of pace and a trick or two up his sleeve and seems to understand the meaning of wearing the red shirt.

Cole : Describing his current form as the worst he’s endured throughout his entire career, Joe Cole looks a shadow of himself this season. in all fairness to Joe, he’s not a left winger! He’s most effective down the middle. Although he claimed his first goal against Bucaresti and an assist to Torres against Blackburn, his best is yet to come.

I’m not saying that Roy should be shown the door, although he shouldn’t take it too lightly either. A couple of other bad performances/results could result in him getting the sack, but let’s hope that the Blackburn game was a much needed confidence booster and we can finally get over our crapfest of a season and start doing things The Liverpool Way. A few more performances as our last match could finally see Hodgson win over his critics. Better late than never, don’t you think?

YNWA

on Twitter @Jaidev1507

9 Comments

  1. Yes, I agreed with you. I think the manager still dont know about the best player in the best position. We all saw that konchesky very awful (except blackburn game) in left back side. I think Agger still better than konchesky (yeah, Agger good in attack, so be left back I think is no problem for him).

    About Meireles, his position is to deep in the back of middle centre. Why dont push him to be central midfielder, and Gerrard can positioning to be second striker, like when we had a good combination between Fernando and Stevie in Rafa’s era.

  2. Couldnt agree with all of the above. Apart from the exception on Lucas. Too many lacklustre performances to 1 good one, isnt good enough for wearing the red shirt.

    Roy however, still isnt good enough for Liverpool. Why should he stop our best players expressing themselves. He has turned world class players into average players because he wont let them play thier own game. Im worried that we dont play with any width and create anything at all down the flanks. Lets hope a new manager will breath some life into the side and bring back the attacking prowess we deserve.

  3. Roy should go…. He didnt defend Torres when Ferguson called Torres a diver, while Nani was doing all the diving. He was also talking about Torres to Man U when Man U had problems with Rooney. For him to say Liverpool played the best football they could have played in 70 mins against blackburn is just not encouraring. We need a manager that can defend our players and not suck up to Ferguson. We also need a manager that demands more from players, As Torres said, You can score an hat trick and Rafa ll still talk about the mistakes you have done… and how you can improve.

    It is obvious Roy plays on loyalty a lot… Signing Koncheshy, Poulsen and bringing in a 70 yr old man to coach Reina are more loyalty driven than talent. We need a man that recognise talent and can see potential…

  4. here we go again this negative blight on the club roy hodgson is trying to lower expectations again, is he mad , has he no idea of what liverpool are about, everything he says is an insult to us, WE WILL NOT LOWER OUR EXPECTATIONS NEVER, YOU BETTER HIGHER YOURS, you should be telling us and the players 2 wins and we are in the top 6 or 7 not giving your players the excuse not to perform, you have used a good win as a springboard to negativity, change now get positive – WE ARE WINNERS, THE NEW OWNERS ARE WINNERS, AND THERE IS NOTHING STOPPING US OTHER THAN A MIND SET.

  5. In Roy I do not trust, especially in the transfer market!

    Poulsen = far too slow for the Premiership
    Konchesky = average at best
    Meireles = nice neat footballer, but no match winner

    Total cost £20m,

    or do not send Aqua and Insua on loan and spend £20m on a winger and 2nd striker!

    mmmm…I think I know which would have made more sense,

    but maybe not, as I have not got over 35 years managerial experience!!!!

  6. Delighted with the performance of the players This was more of how our team plays :fluent, fast, crisp and entertaining football.

    I’m a bit confused though. Did Roy ACTUALLY get the tactics right or did he just stumble upon it and got lucky. OR (this is a wild thought) did our players get together before the match and told each other “enough is enough, we want to PLAY football and entertain our fans…. let’s play the way we always do!) Crazy thought I know!! :D

    I think the owners should give him until the end of October (i.e. until the Bolton match) and then he should go. I don’t trust that he’s actually gotten the tactics right and he’ll just revert to holding Liverpool back. The players are up to it….. but I have doubts that Roy is.

  7. why don’t you all try supporting him a bit? Even if it doesn’t work out? I’d rather have him there than still have rafa. We were crud last season too and we haven’t had much change in the line up. Would you have slaughtered dalglish too?

  8. Rafa clearly had the dressing room for most of his time at Liverpool, he lost it last year, Uncle Roy has never had it in my eyes the players clearly do not want to play for him and the rumblings of Torres and Reina etc want out, as i understand it are due to Roy not having any clout in the transfer market, with the exception of the Joe Cole buy. Roy will not attract the big stars as his style of play does not suit them. He has said the youngsters will get a fair chance, so our most promising prospect Pacheco has featured a grand total of 3 times this season. Peopkle are also getting carried away with the fact that he took Fulham to a Europa League final last season but forget his best finish in the Premier League has been 7th. Roy is a step back for Liverpool and the players know that and to say he couldnt force Torres to stay and would be powerless if he wanted to leave suggests he knows it too, Mascherano exploited Roy as well and i think other players will follow suit. I hope the win over Blackburn wasnt a fluke but if it was i think Roy is just prolonging the inevitale. He is not the man for the job and if he is still here in January i suspect he will probably bring in the likes of Carlton Cole, Clint Dempsey etc, like Poulsen and Konchesky these players are not good enough for the likes of West Ham they certainlt are not good enough for Liverpool. Hodgsons buys have similarities to those of Souness do you remember Kozma, Dicks, Paul Stewart??? We could have signed Van Der Vaart for 8 million but instead we hunted Poulsen and let Auilani go out on loan. Sorry Roy times up.

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