Thursday 1 July 2010

Roy replaces Rafa

Roy Hodgson has been officially unveiled as Liverpool Football Club's new manager, and has signed a deal that will see the 62 year old stay at Anfield for three years. This announcement comes weeks after the firing of former manager Rafael Benitez after the Spaniard had failed to secure Champions League football for the 2010/2011 season.

Hodgson has an impressive CV and has succeeded for many Scandinavian club sides and as manager of Switzerland and Finland, as well as Inter Milan, where he led the Italians to a UEFA Cup Final.

Also, he has been a revelation at Fulham, where both the board and the supporters loved him. Fulham appointed Hodgson in December 2007 and he led them to a stunning survival as the Londoners managed to win four out of their last five matches, including a dramatic late victory at Fratton Park on the last day of the season that confirmed their status as a Premier League club for the 2008/2009 season.

The next season they improved significantly under the reign of Hodgson, achieving a magnificent 7th placed finish, which guaranteed them entry into the inaugural UEFA Europa League.

Although they dropped five places down to 12th position last season Fulham enjoyed a thrilling Europa League run which led them all the way to Hamburg, and a place in the final against the Spanish side Athletico Madrid, who had defeated Liverpool in the previous round.

Unfortunately for Roy the Cottagers fell to a heart-breaking 2-1 defeat when Diego Forlan scored his second four minutes before the end of extra time. All the same, it was a fantastic achievement to take Fulham to a European final, and a factor that must have influenced the Liverpool board's decision when appointing him as our new boss.

Whilst Roy is certainly a decent manager with a good record of doing well at smaller sides, I am worried that he may not have the capabilities to be able to make the massive step up to the level of Liverpool manager. It's all well and good achieving success at the lower level Scandinavian sides but is he really good enough to manage a club the size of Liverpool?

The board have made a managerial decision not based on football, but on finance and politics. Rafa regularly spoke out against the owners lies and lack of support as he realised that they were not fulfilling the promises that they had given him.

On the other hand, Hodgson signs in the full knowledge that he is unlikely to receive financial backing from Hicks and Gillett. He says so himself in an interview with the official site.

When asked about his transfer budget Hodgson replies, "One thing they made clear to me is we have to work within whatever restraints are in place at the club, but they've also made clear that if we were unfortunate to lose somebody then that money would be made available."

Hodgson will be forced to work wearing the same financial handcuffs that Rafa was yoked with, however Hodgson seems much more willing to accept these restrictions in comparison with Benitez.

However, a positive aspect on his appointment is that he appears to have the backing of senior players. Both Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard have come out in support of the new manager today, indicating that they are likely to remain at the club, which is great news. Moreover, Fernando Torres is now more likely to stay, as Gerrard looks set to finish his career at Anfield.

That can only be good news, and ensures that Liverpool will still have the same strong spine for next season. Out of the star names Mascherano could be tempted by a move to Barcelona, however even if he does depart then Benitez has nurtured a ready-made replacement in Lucas Leiva.

Personally, I would have preferred to see King Kenny come in on a temporary basis to oversee the playing side until the club is sold, however we must give Hodgson the same backing and support that we lavished Benitez with.

The reality of the situation at the moment is that any manager is going to struggle to achieve success and win trophies at Liverpool as the club is nearing financial meltdown with the current owners still in charge. Until new owners arrive and provide the new manager with money to spend in the transfer window then we cannot really negatively judge the manager, as nobody can satisfy the demands of Liverpool supporters without massive amounts of cash.

Welcome Roy, You'll Never Walk Alone

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