Liverpool F.c.

[bkkjames]

tomkins is alright. his editorials bang on a bit though.

here's a stat for you - kenny dalglish has won more major trophies as a manager than roy hodgson has won away matches in all his time managing english clubs.

with the current squad Rafa built and Roy Manages?, would you really want to put your Legend in the Hot Seat>?

[truered]

tomkins is alright. his editorials bang on a bit though.

here's a stat for you - kenny dalglish has won more major trophies as a manager than roy hodgson has won away matches in all his time managing english clubs.

with the current squad Rafa built and Roy Manages?, would you really want to put your Legend in the Hot Seat>?

*yawns*

[nev]

tomkins is alright. his editorials bang on a bit though.

here's a stat for you - kenny dalglish has won more major trophies as a manager than roy hodgson has won away matches in all his time managing english clubs.

with the current squad Rafa built and Roy Manages?, would you really want to put your Legend in the Hot Seat>?

*yawns*

Are you dislexic its ynwa

[Royspurs]

tomkins is alright. his editorials bang on a bit though.

here's a stat for you - kenny dalglish has won more major trophies as a manager than roy hodgson has won away matches in all his time managing english clubs.

with the current squad Rafa built and Roy Manages?, would you really want to put your Legend in the Hot Seat>?

*yawns*

Here's an interesting article on the BBC, cant see it happening.....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/9346616.stm

So think about when Roy took the job, Liverpool had massive debt, hated owners, no transfer funds to speak of , an average squad of players (plus a couple of world class players?? that had just underperformed at the world cup) and I would say the burden of a great past. If you were him what would you have signed up to in a performance based contract:

Prem winners: no

top 4: no

Europa League: yes

If they win their 2 games in hand they will be in a Europa League spot, so not a mile away from a realistic expectation for the club (at this time in it's history).

Football is a confidence game, so the lack of support from Liverpool supporters for Roy from day one isn’t helping the cause and will be cascading to the team, that could be worth 6 points. The current situation is a slight underperformance to reasonable expectations, I can hear you groan, but I think most neutrals would agree.

I have no doubt that if Liverpool were the mighty club they once were then Roy is maybe not up to it, but in their current situation/status he is and should be given a fair go and judged against reasonable expectations.

I hope Liverpool come good again but it’s unrealistic to expect it to happen so quick.

[imola]

tomkins is alright. his editorials bang on a bit though.

here's a stat for you - kenny dalglish has won more major trophies as a manager than roy hodgson has won away matches in all his time managing english clubs.

with the current squad Rafa built and Roy Manages?, would you really want to put your Legend in the Hot Seat>?

*yawns*

Here's an interesting article on the BBC, cant see it happening.....

http://news.bbc.co.u...all/9346616.stm

So think about when Roy took the job, Liverpool had massive debt, hated owners, no transfer funds to speak of , an average squad of players (plus a couple of world class players?? that had just underperformed at the world cup) and I would say the burden of a great past. If you were him what would you have signed up to in a performance based contract:

Prem winners: no

top 4: no

Europa League: yes

If they win their 2 games in hand they will be in a Europa League spot, so not a mile away from a realistic expectation for the club (at this time in it's history).

Football is a confidence game, so the lack of support from Liverpool supporters for Roy from day one isn't helping the cause and will be cascading to the team, that could be worth 6 points. The current situation is a slight underperformance to reasonable expectations, I can hear you groan, but I think most neutrals would agree.

I have no doubt that if Liverpool were the mighty club they once were then Roy is maybe not up to it, but in their current situation/status he is and should be given a fair go and judged against reasonable expectations.

I hope Liverpool come good again but it's unrealistic to expect it to happen so quick.

same could be said for accrington stanley or preston north end, shame really, although personally i do sympathise,

with stanley and preston ,, that is

im just a tad bored with all this victimpool nonsense

[longstebe]

Here's an interesting article on the BBC, cant see it happening.....

http://news.bbc.co.u...all/9346616.stm

So think about when Roy took the job, Liverpool had massive debt, hated owners, no transfer funds to speak of , an average squad of players (plus a couple of world class players?? that had just underperformed at the world cup) and I would say the burden of a great past. If you were him what would you have signed up to in a performance based contract:

Prem winners: no

top 4: no

Europa League: yes

If they win their 2 games in hand they will be in a Europa League spot, so not a mile away from a realistic expectation for the club (at this time in it's history).

Football is a confidence game, so the lack of support from Liverpool supporters for Roy from day one isn't helping the cause and will be cascading to the team, that could be worth 6 points. The current situation is a slight underperformance to reasonable expectations, I can hear you groan, but I think most neutrals would agree.

I have no doubt that if Liverpool were the mighty club they once were then Roy is maybe not up to it, but in their current situation/status he is and should be given a fair go and judged against reasonable expectations.

I hope Liverpool come good again but it's unrealistic to expect it to happen so quick.

Roy, we can look at man u's squad and say the same, how many world class players do they have, 1 or 2? Yet they are sitting top of the table.

How many world class players did Liverpool have when we won the champions league?

Blackburn when they won the league.

Arsenal finishing in the top 4 every season.

Not all have world class players but have the managers to be successful.

[carmine]

tomkins is alright. his editorials bang on a bit though.

here's a stat for you - kenny dalglish has won more major trophies as a manager than roy hodgson has won away matches in all his time managing english clubs.

with the current squad Rafa built and Roy Manages?, would you really want to put your Legend in the Hot Seat>?

Rafa could come back and do an "Inter" on them. Or did he already do that last season.

Sorry.

Edited January 7, 2011 by carmine

[smokie36]

With the BBC reporting the owners 'considering his position' surely just a matter of tme.

Happy days on Merseyside......for a little while. Still got the same players though.

[MrRed]

Liverpool in decline before Hodgson took over - Keegan

By Martyn Herman15:08 GMT, Thu 6 Jan 2011 LONDON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Liverpool have been in decline in for years and current manager Roy Hodgson should not be the fall guy for this season's struggles, former Anfield great Kevin Keegan said on Thursday.

UK Football

A 3-1 defeat at Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday was Liverpool's ninth in the Premier League this season, leaving them in 12th place and just four points above the drop zone.

Keegan knows a thing or two about the demands of club management, not to mention carrying a nation's hopes on his shoulders as England manager, and he rolled his eyes to the ceiling when quizzed on Hodgson's predicament on Thursday.

"If you win and play terrible everything is okay, if you lose and play well it's a massive problem," Keegan told Reuters on behalf of broadcaster ESPN at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge -- just a few rooms away from where under-pressure Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti is plotting to get the champions' season back on track.

Keegan said he sympathised with Hodgson, saying the 63-year-old Englishman was in danger of becoming the fall guy for years of decline at the club.

"You have to look way beyond Roy Hodgson to see where things started to go wrong at Liverpool, the decline has been going on for at least six or seven years, maybe longer," he said.

"The problem is because of the history of the club and the expectations of the fans the bar is too high for the players that are there at present. The players that are there can't live with the standards that have been set in the past."

John Barnes, part of the last Liverpool team to win the league title, said Hodgson, appointed in July last year, had been brave to take the job in the first place after Rafa Benitez was sacked.

"He was the right man for the job because I don't believe any other big name manager would have taken the job on," Barnes, who dipped his toe into the murky world of club management with Celtic and Tranmere Rovers, said.

"Yes, Alex Ferguson would have been better, Arsene Wenger would have done better and Jose Mourinho would have done better but they aren't going to Liverpool and put their reputations on the line.

"In terms of who would be willing to put their reputation on the line knowing you are not going to win the league or finish in the top two or three then Roy was the right man."

Hodgson is just one of a number of Premier League managers under intense pressure to keep hold of their jobs.

Chris Hughton and Sam Allardyce were shown the door by Newcastle United and Blackburn Rovers just before Christmas and the New Year cull could be even more brutal.

Even the prospects of Chelsea's double-winning coach Ancelotti look bleak after a demoralising run of one win in nine league games, culminating in Wednesday's 1-0 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The back pages of most papers have the Italian well positioned in the so-called "sack race" although West Ham's Avram Grant and Aston Villa's Gerard Houllier are also jostling for the lead in a macabre dash to the exit door.

[homeseeker]

Are the bosses at Liverpool so <deleted> stupid???

It is friday afternoon 7th January and yet Hodgson has still not been dismissed. His very presence at the club is harmful. Like a cancer in a body if not cut out promptly, it will spread and be fatal.

Even Sammy Lee would be better- as an interim of course.

Edited January 7, 2011 by homeseeker

[Jimjim]

Are the bosses at Liverpool so <deleted> stupid???

It is friday afternoon 7th January and yet Hodgson has still not been dismissed. His very presence at the club is harmful. Like a cancer in a body if not cut out promptly, it will spread and be fatal.

Even Sammy Lee would be better- as an interim of course.

What would help is if we had someone in charge who lived in Liverpool full-time. The owners are still looking for a chief, apparently. Since he's not sacked now I feel it's likely he'll manage the Man U game and then be out after that. I really feel and hope he won't be manager by the Blackpool match.

[MrRed]

Sammy Lee! now then you might just of hit the nail on the head,Have they actually won anything when he has been assistant MANAGER?

They need to get rid of him surely.....oh no wait a minute he is a scouser! and therefore NOT GUILTY of anything in the decline of Liverpool FC

How has he not gotten any grief?

[longstebe]

Are the bosses at Liverpool so <deleted> stupid???

It is friday afternoon 7th January and yet Hodgson has still not been dismissed. His very presence at the club is harmful. Like a cancer in a body if not cut out promptly, it will spread and be fatal.

Even Sammy Lee would be better- as an interim of course.

Friday morning mate at the time in writing.

I'm still on board with ya though.

[highchol]

Liverpool are not a big club - Sanchez

what does this guy know eh!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/9346714.stm

[StevieH]

Sammy Lee! now then you might just of hit the nail on the head,Have they actually won anything when he has been assistant MANAGER?

They need to get rid of him surely.....oh no wait a minute he is a scouser! and therefore NOT GUILTY of anything in the decline of Liverpool FC

How has he not gotten any grief?

couldn't agree more, there's a section of liverpool fans who think that sammy lee is beyond reproach because he was such a good and likeable player and as you say, scouse. i think he's rubbish at his job and just a pretty ineffective yes man.

Liverpool are not a big club - Sanchez

what does this guy know eh!

http://news.bbc.co.u...ool/9346714.stm

as pointed out by someone else on twitter, liverpool being a big club is the only reason that anyone knows who lawrie sanchez is.

[rixalex]

Liverpool are not a big club - Sanchez

what does this guy know eh!

http://news.bbc.co.u...ool/9346714.stm

as pointed out by someone else on twitter, liverpool being a big club is the only reason that anyone knows who lawrie sanchez is.

Which would be relevant, were Mr Sanchez making claims about himself being a household name.

Rather than attacking him, why not address the points he makes?

[StevieH]

Liverpool are not a big club - Sanchez

what does this guy know eh!

http://news.bbc.co.u...ool/9346714.stm

as pointed out by someone else on twitter, liverpool being a big club is the only reason that anyone knows who lawrie sanchez is.

Which would be relevant, were Mr Sanchez making claims about himself being a household name.

Rather than attacking him, why not address the points he makes?

why would i bother? he's a no-mark. and 'no longer a big club' rather ignores the blatant evidence of the past five years. two european cup finals in five season. top of the uefa coefficient rankings and one of the most feared teams in europe. second in the league in 08/09 ahead of chelsea and arsenal with a record points haul. one of the biggest global fanbases around. there's no point to debating with morons who simply ignore the facts to get their names in the press.

[Abrak]

i remain really underwhelmed by NESV so far.

I understand they didnt come crashing in and sack Woy and instead took a more 'no backing, no sacking' approach so they could take their time to line up the right guy. But obviously they were hoping that things wouldnt go this pear shaped and NESV's lack of action is beginning to reflect badly on their own credibility. If he still has a job they should make that clear too, because he is effectively in limbo at the moment.

And really this issue is not about football it is about managing a sports franchise - something that NESV has plenty of knowledge and expertise in.

[homeseeker]

Please folks read my words: "Even Sammy Lee would be better- as an interim of course."

I am saying compared to the dreadful Hodgson even Sammy Lee is to be preferred.

"Hodgson Out"!!!!!

[StevieH]

i remain really underwhelmed by NESV so far.

I understand they didnt come crashing in and sack Woy and instead took a more 'no backing, no sacking' approach so they could take their time to line up the right guy. But obviously they were hoping that things wouldnt go this pear shaped and NESV's lack of action is beginning to reflect badly on their own credibility. If he still has a job they should make that clear too, because he is effectively in limbo at the moment.

And really this issue is not about football it is about managing a sports franchise - something that NESV has plenty of knowledge and expertise in.

they've rather painted themselves into a corner but there's some mitigation in the fact that back in the summer nobody could possibly have foreseen that hodgson would be quite this bad. barely above the relegation scrap with a -3 goal difference in january playing the club's worst football since souness? the worst season in 60 years? it simply couldn't have happened could it?

they saw hodgson, or at least they were sold the idea of hodgson, as a safe pair of hands for this season until such time as they could see about recruiting a long-term appointment. now they absolutely have to act or we could genuinely be under threat of relegation. for me all roads lead to dalglish as caretaker but i don't think that NESV see it that way. and that worries me big time.

[rixalex]

why would i bother?

Because if you can be bothered to discredit the man, but not his argument, it if anything lends weight to his words, even should they be hollow and baseless.

he's a no-mark. and 'no longer a big club' rather ignores the blatant evidence of the past five years. two european cup finals in five season. top of the uefa coefficient rankings and one of the most feared teams in europe. second in the league in 08/09 ahead of chelsea and arsenal with a record points haul. one of the biggest global fanbases around. there's no point to debating with morons who simply ignore the facts to get their names in the press.

I happen to disagree with anyone, including Sanchez, who says that Liverpool are not a big club. In my eyes, because of the history at the club, and because of the massive worldwide support, they'll always be big.

That said, i do think he makes some valid points about how the club stands right now. The past eighteen years have been very poor, and putting forward stuff that has nearly been won by way of defence (as you do in much of the above), is i think flimsy and frankly a bit desperate. Who cares if a club comes second and scores a record points haul, if they don't actually lift the trophy? Who cares if a club reaches a cup final, if they end up losing it? It counts for nothing.

The only thing that does count for something, was the CL 2005 win. But as he rightly says, it wasn't as if it was a great team - how could it have been to have lost seventeen times that season - it was a well-organised team that perfected the art of nicking tight defensive one-off cup encounters. Not an achievement to be scoffed at by any means, but a real and accurate gauge as to the true quality of the side? I don't think so.

[sharecropper]

This is the Curse of Rafa coming back as Lawrie "Dirty" Sanchez justice.

Remember his faux barb about Everton not being a big club, as though Liverpool were? Ironically he couldn't see them sliding towards smallness even as he spoke.

I see Liverpool's descent into Minnowdom as rough justice for this stupid remark.

[rixalex]

Remember his faux barb about Everton not being a big club,

Faux barb?! Who are you? Del Trotter?

[MSingh]

Please folks read my words:

I did, you referred to him as the same as Cancer, i won't be reading any more of your words to be honest..

[bkkjames]

I wanna know what top of the uefa coefficient means?

Best run club?

[carmine]

This is the Curse of Rafa coming back as Lawrie "Dirty" Sanchez justice.

Remember his faux barb about Everton not being a big club, as though Liverpool were? Ironically he couldn't see them sliding towards smallness even as he spoke.

I see Liverpool's descent into Minnowdom as rough justice for this stupid remark.

You're having a laugh arn't you?

[highchol]

back to the liddlepool days for littlepool am afraid

[Abrak]

I have no doubt that if Liverpool were the mighty club they once were then Roy is maybe not up to it, but in their current situation/status he is and should be given a fair go and judged against reasonable expectations.

I hope Liverpool come good again but it’s unrealistic to expect it to happen so quick.

Here is one of the poor Roy, 'its unfair' 'unrealistic expectations' 'unreasonable time frame' 'squad no good' 'you aint a big club' posts that are becoming popular - a polite one. The very valid points are that you shouldnt really write off a manager after six months and twenty odd games and it would certainly be 'unrealistic' to expect Liverpool to be amongst the top 4. However, it actually misses the fundamental history of Roy Hodgson's appointment. First of all, Roy Hodgson's problem from the very start is that many fans simply never accepted he was an appropriate choice to manage Liverpool in the first place. Hodgson himself said he had never enjoyed the famous Liverpool support by fans for him as manager. The opposite side to dislike of him as manager by fans was indifference rather than a belief that he was a good choice, the nearest Hodgson ever came to a compliment was that he 'is considered a safe pair of hands' (which he hasnt been). He has not lost our support, he never had it in the first place.

He is not entitled to a 'fair go' because he was appointed by the old management and old owners who have subsequently departed. My 'reasonable expectations' and I think that of many other fans was that he would manage the club until it changed hands and then he would be replaced by the new owners own appointee at some point in time. Where you are right about Liverpool is that they 'aim' to get back on top. Where you are wrong is that we expect it to happen fast - it may well take 4 to 5 years or even longer. Roy is simply too old to commit to making Liverpool 'come good' again.

It is not that Liverpool fans have turned on Hodgson - they simply didnt like him in the first place. The fact that nobody likes poor Woy is probably why NESV kept him on because even if Roy had had some success and Liverpool were 6th or 7th in the League fans would have happily accepted him being replaced by a younger, more dynamic and ambitious manager. Even a relatively inexperienced manager - like Owen Coyle is going to enjoy widespread support from the fan base after Hodgson and I doubt fans will be calling for the next manager to be sacked after six months even if results do not go well.

That this whole thing is turning messy is entirely NESV's fault. First, they should have made it clear a long time ago that they didnt see Hodgson as a permanent fixture as manager. Independent of the results on the pitch, it is pretty hard to reconcile his philosophy, tactics, ambition and age with what we assume is NESV's goal of rebuilding Liverpool over the next 4 to 5 years. Secondly, especially as they have not yet appointed a manager they have to communicate rather than adopting an approach of stony silence that simply leads to speculation.

[StevieH]

HE'S GONE. ding, dong the witch is dead. kenny dalglish in as caretaker until the end of the season. thank fuc_k for that.

[MrRed]

Is that a week on the piss then?