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“You’ve got Di Canio, we’ve got your stereo,” was a song once sung by the Anfield faithful, but now a days the snarky criticism is often turned inward, and less creative. The repeated chants of “Kenny Daglish,” and the reception shown to Gerard Houllier show that Roy Hodgson is all but settled in his new post at the club. Granted, he has a very little time in which to make an impact, but his record on the pitch has not endeared him to many fans.
The men in Liverpool jersey were always in for a hard season of ups and downs, especially once the power struggle between the now infamous American ownership of Hicks and Gillett and the club administration spilled first into the papers and then onto the streets. But even then, the resurgence of form that has seen Liverpool move up into the top 10 can hardly be regarded as a stunning success by Hodgson. His signings seem to have been equally uninspired and more targeted for a club like Fulham than one with the top flight ambitions of Liverpool. No offense intended to the Fulham faithful of course, but one question….Does you butler know your reading this?
Anyway, the real question is how long can the embattled manager hold on to his job, and do the new owners at New England Sports Ventures truly support him for the long term. He may have defended himself with strong words today saying he believes in his ability, but the look on his face spoke of desperation, and frustration. Hodgson is right about one thing, nothing with the team will change until the new owners decide to invest some money in new players. If the display tonight at Utecht is any measure of the squads future, then an injection of new blood is desperately needed. It seemed most of the Reds were asleep during one of the most boring matches in the history of the club. The BBC live text commentators took to making puns at each other they were so fed up with the match. At times, I felt like I might need a defibrillator to stay awake.
As the performances of the first team continue to stink of mediocrity, Hodgson days will begin to be numbered. If this woute is any indication, we may not be seing him on the touchline for much longer indeed,
Hodgson: “It doesn’t bother me because I can’t do more than I am doing, I can’t work harder, I can’t work better,” added Hodgson, whose team play his former club Fulham at home in the league on Saturday evening.
“I have great confidence in my ability, I don’t think there is any reason not to have.
“I know the players are working as hard as they can to win matches for Liverpool and therefore me as manager.”
Written by: Matthew Wall, editor, soccerprose.com
