Roy Hodgson’s possible move to Liverpool is, of course, still in the realm of speculation, however, multiple sources (including The Guardian and The Telegraph) have reported he will be named as early as Thursday as the new
manager.
With reports that Fabio Capello will more than likely retain his position as manager of the English National Team, Roy Hodgson could be out of the running for the England manager position he was supposedly interested in. It is also reported that Liverpool have agreed to pay around two million to Fulham and that the Manager of the Year winner could come in with a two year deal.
Hodgson could be the perfect manager for Liverpool at this time. He has international experience with spells in Sweden, Italy, Switzerland, Finland and United Arab Emirates that would help Liverpool with their desire to win a trophy in Europe. More importantly, he has proven at Fulham that he can get the best of a squad despite any financial restrictions.
Some of the other names that have been brought up for the Liverpool position are Didier Deschamps, Kenny Dalglish, Manuel Pellegrini, and even Martin O’Neil. The club didn’t appear to be in any rush to appoint a new manager and there were some fears the club could start the season without a full-time manager.
With some players reportedly leaving the club (including Yossi Benayoun and Javier Mascherano) a new manager would have the opportunity to put his stamp on the club almost immediately with some new signings.
I personally think this is the best news that Liverpool fans have had in a long time. Roy Hodgson is a quality manager that conjures up memories of some of the great Liverpool managers of the past.
Hodgson will have next to no funds, maybe if they sell torres or gerrard he might get a bit, but if he is given a load of money to spend I’d be very surprised as the truth is that Liverpool are verging on (may already be in) a similar situation to Valencia in Spain.
I hope for his sake that he is given time, the priority for Liverpool is finances right now and stabillity and I can’t see them challenging for champions league places and especially not for the league. If Hodgson gets them 5th it should be a good achievement.
Have to agree that the lack of funds is a key issue. I hate to see him leave Fulham but would expect that he feels the Liverpool job would be a great way to end his managerial run but the job is not what it used to be. Does any here think that the Liverpool fans will expect anything but a championship out of him right away? No they won’t and thats the trouble.
Roy deserves better than what he will get from a crowd that expects too much. While he could save Fulham and produce results to win the title takes money.
I think this last season may have been an awakening for Liverpool fans. My expectations for Liverpool are much lower than they used to be – I can only speculate but I believe the same may be for most.
4th place would be great but what I really want to see is some sort of clear direction for the club.
Plus, the one thing you can say for Liverpool fans is that they are generally 100% behind their managers. Even when Rafa was doing terrible most of the fans blamed everyone but him.
What we, the fans, would like to know is this….Who made the final decision, with footballing knowledge, to appoint Hodgson?…was it (know f**k all) Hicks?, was it Purdy (more of the same, Accountant), who was brought in to for another purpose?, or was it the clueless board?. The fans NEED to know!. Was Hodgson appointed just on being outclassed and beaton in the eufa final?, or was it in doing worse (12th) last season to the previous season (7th), with Fulham?……There are many of these question that need to be answered!!!.
i will support Roy’s appointment. all this critism of him is uncalled for. let give him all the much needed suport. lets give him a chance. Roy i salute u
Hodgson is a decent manager. He is arguably the best one out there that was available. That he has EPL experience will only help. The problem is that Liverpool’s aim is to win the EPL title and with the quality of players they have there presently I doubt Hodgson or any other manager can do it. With the likes of Mascherano, Torres, even Gerard thinking of leaving it will be made even more difficult. It takes time for new players, should suitable replacements be found, to adapt to one another.
The bigger problem for the club is finding decent owners who are committed to building a new stadium and giving the necessary funds to the manager to rebuild the squad which is capable of competing for the title. Until Hicks and Gillette sell to better owners Liverpool’s problems will continue.
I would’ve preferred Pellegrini, but the more I read about Hodgson’s appointment and all the positive comments from Fulham writers/supporters, I feel better about him.
Like it’s been stated already, it’s more important that Hicks & Gilette are replaced by competent, committed owners who can eliminate the debt and allow LFC to spend to the level they’re accustomed to than who the manager is.
Also, hearing Inter balk at the asking price for Mascherano is encouraging, although they might exchange him for Cambiasso. I’m also choosing to be blindly optimistic when I say Torres and Gerrard will remain at Anfield.
Alex….The favourable comments being made by Fulham supporters is because, they finally dump’t on someone else!!!. Do not forget that, they’ve done worse last season (12th), to the previous season (7th), no wonder the Fulham fans are in joy, of seeing the back of him!!!.
Let me speak for Fulham fans and react to this news……
“NOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”
We love Roy. He should get a statue someday outside the Cottage. Among other things, he has scalped Man United twice, Liverpool, Arsenal, Juventus, Wolfsburg, Hamburg, and Shakhtar Donetsk within the past two years.
Those of you that are skeptical of this move, fine. Those of you that are criticizing him really haven’t been paying attention.
Rafa did worse last season (7th), to the previous season (2nd), should we be glad to see the back of HIM? That’s just a stupid argument.
The jury is still out on Roy for me, and I admit it’s not a very inspiring choice, but like most Reds, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt until I see what he can do. You have my support Roy.
JERRY…..please read.
In the 1997–98 season—his first season in charge – Blackburn finished 6th, qualifying for the UEFA cup and appeared to be in the ascendancy. However, Hodgson’s second season with Blackburn would prove to be disastrous, both for the club and for his personal reputation within English football. Hodgson spent £20m in the summer of 1998 (that was quite a bit of money than) to strengthen the Rovers side.
A succession of poor buys – notably the £7.5 million Kevin Davies—coupled with injuries and dressing room unrest led to a disastrous start to the season.
He was sacked in December 1998 with Rovers at the bottom of the league table.
His final game was a home defeat to Southampton.
He was also sacked by Udinese—-also by UAE
Therefore, a decent bloke but, not good enough for LFC.
The reason Fulham dropped from 12th to 7th is solely due to his massively SUCCESSFUL Europa League campaign. Fulham only has roughly 15 players of Premier League calliber. He needed to start players that were not really ready and able to take on a role as a starter in the premier league in matches surrounding the Europa league, and rightly so. He is stepping into a club that has the ability to posses nearly two full squads that can compete at the highest level at Liverpool, and, if he really is brought on, they are back on the shortlist for the title and Arsenal or Tottenham will likely lose their Champions League place as a result. He did the impossible at Fulham, taking them from relegated to safety to the EUROPA LEAGUE in less than 18 months! Bless your lucky stars, the club might yet be saved from being the next Leeds.
How do you drop from 12th to 7th?
Yes, I second that,…..HOW?…. that’s new to me!!!
Ah for God’s sake.
And now we have to support a sub-standard manager appointed by worms who very few of us want. We’re expected to lap it up and get behind him when we know that the rulebook has been torn up and shat upon by the owners and the board.
What a terrible decision. A knee-jerk appointment – see Burley, McClaren, Allardyce, Curbishley for the “one season above mediocrity” brigade to replace a manager who had one poor season. One. If Liverpool had been linked with Hodgson six months ago, we’d have actually rioted. I have never been so underwhelmed at a managerial appointment in my entire life.
A “safe pair of hands” to pick up the crap that the board have made. Expected to feed the multitude with loaves and fishes.
I guess we will find our soon enough.
Man, you scousers are too high on your own farts. Hodgson IS the best that you can do in the current situation. You have a right to be disappointed because of the situation, but once you accept it for what it is, you must see that it is a sober and pragmatic decision. If he manages the boo-hoo crew w/ half of the organization and discipline of his Fulham side you can honestly hope to sneak a champs-league spot this year! No matter who goes/ stays/ comes in, Liverpool do have a leg-up on the likes of Fulham when it comes to talent in the squad. And a manager who repeatedly gets the most out of what he’s got to work with? This is practically a godsend for Liverpool.
Please remove heads from asses. Get behind your club.
After reading some of these comments, I guess I was wrong in the previous comment about most Liverpool fans getting behind any manager that comes in.
Look at Liverpool’s current situation with the lack of funds and need to milk to most out of what it has. We don’t need a big European manager right now, we need someone that can get the simple stuff right.
Generally, big-time, European managers (the kind some of you obviously prefer) are wonderful and have great results – but only when they have money to spend.
When there is no money to spend you need a different kind of manager and I believe Roy one of the best of this group.
I was a Rafa supporter to the end, and was disappointed to see him go. That said, there were undoubtedly times when he was not getting the best of the squad and Liverpool were underachieving. Will Hodgson be able to extract more from the current squad? I certainly hope so. I would have preferred someone on the upswing of his managerial career rather than “one big job left in me” but I think Hodgson is a sound choice. If it was Eriksson or Allardyce or Souness (god forbid) I would have probably started supporting Kashima Antlers or some such.
Will Roy be able to attract world-class players? We’ll just have to see.
“Will Roy be able to attract world-class players? We’ll just have to see.”
That’s the thing – I don’t think that line of questioning is appropriate right now.
Even if we could attract world-class players, we can’t (or the owners won’t) afford them. That is not our focus right now – the best we can hope for is some frugal, clever buys.
Liverpool need to take what they have and solidify it. Bringing in stars doesn’t do anything for the club if there is no culture or common goal in mind. It’ll get us more of what we saw this season. We need simple, smart tactics and hard work. I can think of no better man in the Premier League to get these things in place.
All respect to the wonderful Fulham squad but if Roy can get them to the Europa Final and have them consistently punching above their weight, imagine what he can do with Liverpool.
If I could vote up this comment up more than once, I would. Clever buys indeed.
Gaz, you and I agree. My question was more geared towards the long-term. Let’s assume some crooked southeast asian dictator, harem-owning oil sheikh, or eastern european kleptocrat swoops in and buys the team from the hated American Cowboy Yankee Doodleheads.
My point was, would players like Torres, Reina, Mascherano, etc. have come to play for Roy? I’m not sure.
I agree 100% that he should be able to maximize the potential of the current squad. There were plenty of times last year when I would have swapped Danny Murphy for Lucas, Hangeland for Carragher, etc. Given the choice between Dempsey and Babel, I would take Dempsey 100 times out of 100. Hodgson seems to be able to get the best out of good players, but I’ve never seen him have great players to manage.
Understood.
Who knows, maybe the fact that this is a alleged 2-year contract could mean it’s just an appointment for the current situation and that once new owners come in and money becomes more readily available we start looking for a more “star” manager.
I personally would prefer we stick with him, though. I just feel he’s the right man even if the dream-scenario happens.
Really a neutral on this subject, but I have watched quite a few FFC matches over the last several years. Hodgson appears to be very good manager based on performance. Fulham should have gone down two years running and Hodgson turned them into a top half club that consistently give the big boys all they want. The difference in that club over his tenure is vast.
I’d say he’s a good choice and given the circumstances may be perfect. I like Benitez but I can’t see how LFC’s prospects for next season have gone down. In fact, they might be better, as Hodgson doesn’t seem to tinker with his line-up as much, which I feel has hurt LFC over recent years.
I seriously do not understand Liverpool fans who think he is a “below par”/”sub-standard”/”not up to scratch” manager :s
This guy managed to keep a poor Fulham side with quite a few poor/average players in the Premiership and eventually got them all the way to the Europa league final? You can throw your money at foreign managers with exotic names if you like, be tricked by that like so many teams have. Fact is, Italy, Spain and Germany are full of national managers and it’s good to see that system. It’s almost like promoting within, Hodgson will have a passion for Liverpool that no foreign manager could replicate.
I imagine those that think this is a poor choice of manager are the ones who still believe Liverpool are some sort of “super power” in world football. Reality needs to hit home…
Not to mention he all but had the England job if Capello didn’t stay on.
I’m torn as a Fulham fan. I knew this day would come and I want the best for Roy honestly for all the memories and the foundation he’s provided at Fulham, but I wish his hard work and tactics would have led to a better gig. Sorry Liverpool fans, but no one really wants to manage your club right now. You’re in shambles financially, you all hate the owners, the owners hate you (owners son telling-off fans) and realistically all your biggest stars want out asap.
If he goes to Liverpool, he will not be loved and he will be criticized left and right for not being able to make gold with shit like he did at Fulham. And even if he can, he wont be given the fair amount of time to do so at a place like Liverpool.
I want whats best for him, and no one with a brain in their skull can tell me that Liverpool can be the answer at the moment.
I tend to agree, but I guess he’ll prove all the naysaying scouser scum wrong. He’ll get Liverpool back into the Champions League. He’s too old to put up with any kind of bullshit now, and he’ll toss a geriatric Gerrard if need be to get the job done.
Roy will win at Liverpool. Full stop.
The manager is not the only reason players are attracted to a club. That the club has qualified for the Champions League, is probably more important to the big name players. Since Liverpool did not qualify for the CL and even if they still had Benitez in charge it would have been difficult to attract the top players to the club.
There are far toooooo many Fulham fans here……trying their utmost to dump Hodgson on LFC!….Oops
This guarantees a few things…
(1) Mascherano to the highest bidder
(2) Torres goes on the Ronaldo plan (I promise I’ll sell you next year)
(3) Kuyt gets sold to the highest bidder
(4) Jovanovic backs out of his deal
(5) The back 4 is in for a major overhaul with the cash raised
Maybe yer boy John Terry will be on the market, eh Steven?
I don’t see how the back 4 would be the priority, considering the young players like Agger, Skrtel, and Insua are doing pretty well- okay, maybe not Insua.
let’s say no funds are available in liverpool, how is that any diffrent when he was in fulham. he took the club to the highest level they will probably reach.
Great decision. Liverpool will be playing Champions League football come next season. Sorry to see him leave Fulham though. Perfect fit at Fulham, perfect fit.
The only thing I can see bringing Hodgson down is the crummy fans and ex-players of Liverpool who think they deserve better than England’s best. What trashy rubbish such people are.
Makes me hate Liverpool even more
Hangeland may be coming with him accoring to the Guardian (though the price may be an issue here).
Remember that Roy is somewhat of England’s best manager. Premier League manager of the year and, if it weren’t for Liverpool courting him, the next-in-line for the England job. Not too shabby.
The best English manager at a historic English club – this is the stuff of legends.
I am 100% behind this. Even if you aren’t, don’t you think he at least deserves a chance before he gets criticized?
Even if you aren’t, don’t you think he at least deserves a chance before he gets criticized?
Yes.
That said, it looks like a prudent caretaker move. He’s a good manager who will get more out of his players than most. Probably not that expensive so he’s reasonable in the short term and not a potential obstacle to new ownership. He’s English. He’s a very safe inoffensive pick. He won’t do horrible and he might get Liverpool back to Champions League which would somewhat pacify the faithful. I don’t think that he’s the type of manager who can win the premiership but that’s really not his job at this point. If he succeeds wildly then he enables Hicks and Gillett to up the selling price. otherwise, he’s easily removed. Bringing in the new Mourinho is for the next set of owners
I support Roy’s appointment whole heartedly and the Management, players and all the fans of LFC around the world will support him as he work towards our first League title for a long time.
Hiring a manager is only the first step in getting Liverpool back on track to challenge for the EPL title. With the meager resources at his disposal and an inherited squad that isn’t very talented Hodgson has his work cut out for him. The best Liverpool fans can hope for for the coming season is to push for 4th place. Finishing in the top 4 would be a successful season if it happens.
The bigger problem is finding new owners who can take the club forward and who have deep enough pockets to spend on attracting top talent to the club. Building a new stadium should be high on the agenda as well.
http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/latest-news/liverpool-appoint-hodgson
dont question him he knows what hes doing a good manager will get us back into the champions league and i believe he has made the right transfers and we are a huge possibility to win the premier league this season