Over the last few months, I have continually argued that it is utterly wrong to call for Roy Hodgson to be sacked. I've offered countless legitimate reasons why he should be offered patience by the fanbase, many of whom deliberately ignore the fact that Hodgson has a harder job than any Liverpool manager since Bill Shankly. Well, all I can say is thank God we have an Owner who is reasonable, intelligent, fair, and unaffected by the ludicrous knee-jerk, short-termist ignorance currently afflicting Liverpool fans.
The plain fact is this: Liverpool Owner John W. Henry completely disagrees with the the fans' treatment and opinion of Roy Hodgson. In fact, as his recent comments show, he agrees with my take on events. Henry said the following in a recent interview:
"The club has gone through a very difficult period and the period has not ended. Blaming the manager or any one particular player is simply wrong"
Henry does not mince his words; he is crystal clear: blaming the manager is WRONG, which means he believes that all those fans calling for Hodgson to be sacked are WRONG. Henry also refers to the most self-evident fact of all: the club has undergone an extraordinarily difficult period, and fallout from that period is not over.
It is utterly ridiculous and monumentally unfair to expect Hodgson to transform the club in just 4 months. Performances are bad? This should be expected! Performances were utterly abject last season, and that was WITH Javier Mascherano and Yossi Benayoun. People have such short memories. Here are some facts about last season:
* Between September and November, Liverpool went on a run of one win in ten games. During that run, the team lost 7 games out of 8, including a run of 4 defeats in a row.
* Liverpool lost to Portsmouth, Reading, Sunderland, Fulham and Wigan, and failed to beat Birmingham (twice), Blackburn, Reading (again), Hull City, Fulham (again), Stoke City and Wolves.
* Liverpool managed only 7 away wins for the entire season in all competitions.
* Overall, the club lost 19 games and drew 11 last season. That's 30 games out 56 that Liverpool failed to win (54% of games without a win).
Despite the above, irredeemably unreasonable fans expect Hodgson to turn up and completely overhaul the the club in 4 months! Performances and results this season are clearly a continuation of last season, and one of the reasons for that is the problems under Benitez are so ingrained that it will take a whole season just to recover.
I feel ashamed by the utter disrespect for the role of Liverpool manager. What's even more shameful is how 'fans' are so desperate for Hodgson to fail that they completely and utterly refuse to accept how the turmoil of the last year has scarred the psyche of the club and its players.
Anyway, what's important is that there are people at the club who are capable of being fair, and have the wisdom and intelligence to see things the way they really are.
The tragic irony of all this is that John Henry - a man who has been connected to Liverpool FC for all of one month - seems to be more in touch with the 'Liverpool Way' of doing things than thousands of so-called fans who have been supporting the club for years.
To all those calling for Hodgson's head: The Owner of Liverpool FC categorically and unambiguously disagrees with your views. Is he wrong too? Is he 'clueless' for supporting Hodgson? Will he now be subject to a ridiculous witch-hunt and a campaign of character assassination similar to that experienced by Christian Purslow?!
It's only a matter of time.
Jaimie Kanwar
The plain fact is this: Liverpool Owner John W. Henry completely disagrees with the the fans' treatment and opinion of Roy Hodgson. In fact, as his recent comments show, he agrees with my take on events. Henry said the following in a recent interview:
"The club has gone through a very difficult period and the period has not ended. Blaming the manager or any one particular player is simply wrong"
Henry does not mince his words; he is crystal clear: blaming the manager is WRONG, which means he believes that all those fans calling for Hodgson to be sacked are WRONG. Henry also refers to the most self-evident fact of all: the club has undergone an extraordinarily difficult period, and fallout from that period is not over.
It is utterly ridiculous and monumentally unfair to expect Hodgson to transform the club in just 4 months. Performances are bad? This should be expected! Performances were utterly abject last season, and that was WITH Javier Mascherano and Yossi Benayoun. People have such short memories. Here are some facts about last season:
* Between September and November, Liverpool went on a run of one win in ten games. During that run, the team lost 7 games out of 8, including a run of 4 defeats in a row.
* Liverpool lost to Portsmouth, Reading, Sunderland, Fulham and Wigan, and failed to beat Birmingham (twice), Blackburn, Reading (again), Hull City, Fulham (again), Stoke City and Wolves.
* Liverpool managed only 7 away wins for the entire season in all competitions.
* Overall, the club lost 19 games and drew 11 last season. That's 30 games out 56 that Liverpool failed to win (54% of games without a win).
Despite the above, irredeemably unreasonable fans expect Hodgson to turn up and completely overhaul the the club in 4 months! Performances and results this season are clearly a continuation of last season, and one of the reasons for that is the problems under Benitez are so ingrained that it will take a whole season just to recover.
I feel ashamed by the utter disrespect for the role of Liverpool manager. What's even more shameful is how 'fans' are so desperate for Hodgson to fail that they completely and utterly refuse to accept how the turmoil of the last year has scarred the psyche of the club and its players.
Anyway, what's important is that there are people at the club who are capable of being fair, and have the wisdom and intelligence to see things the way they really are.
The tragic irony of all this is that John Henry - a man who has been connected to Liverpool FC for all of one month - seems to be more in touch with the 'Liverpool Way' of doing things than thousands of so-called fans who have been supporting the club for years.
To all those calling for Hodgson's head: The Owner of Liverpool FC categorically and unambiguously disagrees with your views. Is he wrong too? Is he 'clueless' for supporting Hodgson? Will he now be subject to a ridiculous witch-hunt and a campaign of character assassination similar to that experienced by Christian Purslow?!
It's only a matter of time.
Jaimie Kanwar
So JH agrees with you, big deal nobody else does.
ReplyDeleteEnough of stats. I'l give Hodgson the year and IF we can qualify this year in european spots i'll consider it a year in transition. Anything less would be extremely poor given some of the quality players we have.
ReplyDeleteYes, and the opinion of the OWNER OF LFC doesn't matter, right?
ReplyDeleteFan ownership of LFC? You're having a laugh. It would be an absolute nightmare.
<span>We have been burdened with anally retentive styles of play for years now. I can't remember the last time I have actually sat and enjoyed the football a Liverpool side has produced. Yes, we won against Chelsea.............but we were hammered for an entire half by their "B-team". We got lucky against Bolton. Our true level is plain to see against Wigan and Stoke. </span>
ReplyDelete<span>As i many times to people before Hodgson is a buffoon, who completely contradicts himself at nearly every turn. Maybe its the early onset of dementia but he does not remember what he has said half the time. Not a good sign when you face the press twice a week. See his pronoucements on Insua, Aquilani, Babel, Pacheco etc.
Sheer folly by Hodgson to get rid of Insua (23) and Aquilani (26) for Konchesky (29) (who is positionally very poor and gets found out constantly) and Pouslen (who cares how old he as his legs have gone) is the single biggest fucking joke in a red shirt since some of those muppets employed by Souness in the early 90's...</span>
<span>Hodgson is a big part of the problem and most fansl agree on that but i'd also like to concentrate on these highly paid professionals. Reina, Gerrard and Torres maybe Raul M when played in his proper position the rest of them are chronically limited. utility and journeymen. The attitude and mental strength of a lot of these players is suspect. Technically we are a rubbish team with no pattern of play just a bunch of consistent hoofers which reflects the manager of course. We need a huge clear out from the management to the playing staff. A vast majority of our squad needs to be eased out over the next 12-18 months and replaced with "footballers", pace, technique and a winning mentality.</span>
Jaimie,
ReplyDeleteJohn Henry is wrong. He's wrong because he's patently not aware of some basic facts.
Hodgson's English football away record for instance? That's he's managed 13 wins in 105 competitive away games in England.
How could any owner consider that a reasonable record for a manager?
What he is doing is choosing to to rock the boat. He'll leave the footballing decisions to the (as yet unappointed) CEO
<span><span>We have been burdened with anally retentive styles of play for years now. I can't remember the last time I have actually sat and enjoyed the football a Liverpool side has produced. Yes, we won against Chelsea.............but we were hammered for an entire half by their "B-team". We got lucky against Bolton. Our true level is plain to see against Wigan and Stoke. </span>
ReplyDelete<span>As i many times to people before Hodgson is a buffoon, who completely contradicts himself at nearly every turn. Maybe its the early onset of dementia but he does not remember what he has said half the time. Not a good sign when you face the press twice a week. See his pronoucements on Insua, Aquilani, Babel, Pacheco etc.
Sheer folly by Hodgson to get rid of Insua (23) and Aquilani (26) for Konchesky (29) (who is positionally very poor and gets found out constantly) and Pouslen (who cares how old he as his legs have gone) is the single biggest fucking joke in a red shirt since some of those muppets employed by Souness in the early 90's...</span>
<span>Hodgson is a big part of the problem and most fansl agree on that but i'd also like to concentrate on these highly paid professionals. Reina, Gerrard and Torres maybe Raul M when played in his proper position the rest of them are chronically limited. utility and journeymen. The attitude and mental strength of a lot of these players is suspect. Technically we are a rubbish team with no pattern of play just a bunch of consistent hoofers which reflects the manager of course. We need a huge clear out from the management to the playing staff. A vast majority of our squad needs to be eased out over the next 12-18 months and replaced with "footballers", pace, technique and a winning mentality.</span>
</span>
If only you paid as much time paying attention to politics as you do to irrelevant stats. Henry is saying respect, manager has full support, difficult period blah blah blah
ReplyDeleteWhich in the REAL world of actual decision making means:
'Hodgson was someone else's appointment and based on current evidence we are certainly not prepared to throw good money after bad. New season, new manager.'
i don't know anything about what I'm saying. I agree
ReplyDeleteWhatever helps you sleep at night.
ReplyDelete"Enough of stats"? This is the type of stupid comment we hear from the likes of Andy Grey and Jaime Redknapp all of the time (amongst others).
ReplyDeletePersonally I do not think Roy is the man to lead us into the future. HOWEVER, and this is important, he is the man we have right now, and Mr. Henry brings up some excellent points. I believed Rafa was undone by, amongst other factors, the two idiot owners we only recently got rid of. Certainly he wasn't perfect (no one is) but I never doubted his love for the club or his desire to do right by us. I do question some of Roy's comments, but whatever. The fact is we had a couple of years of essentially no transfers and we are paying the price now. You could even say the club has been heading towards this point since April 1989. However you look at it, it will not be solved overnight by simply firing Roy.
The only way forward is to look to the long term while, hopefully, salvaging something for the short term. Perhaps the best we can expect is a good run at the Europa League or the FA Cup and at the same time make sure we stay in shouting distance of the top four and hopefully at the very least qualify for the Europa League again next season...
<span>Roy Hodgson has a trademark move. Unfortunately for Liverpool, it‘s not winning football matches. His schtick is to stand helpless, hands deep in pockets, face screwed up in horror. For the life of him, he can’t seem to grasp why unleashing a barrage of long balls towards an increasingly frustrated Fernando Torres fails to deliver success. “Why won’t it work?” his eyes scream. “It always worked for Fulham!”
ReplyDeleteThere is something sacrilegious about Liverpool playing hoofball. It’s like watching property developers gutting an old cathedral to make a quick buck on one-bedroom flats. Stoke’s second goal on Saturday told you everything you needed to know about this team. It was borne out of Steven Gerrard’s aimless long punt into the channels, one of too many that were inevitably intercepted. This is not how Liverpool should play.
Johan Cruyff used to say that he loved playing English teams because when you lost possession they would always give it straight back to you. But if you mentioned that to Hodgson, you suspect that he’d thrust his hands into his pockets, screw his face up and mumble something about ‘unhelpful fans’.
The saddest thing about Hodgson is that his appointment was actually made for the right reasons. He hasn’t changed. The circumstances have. Under the last regime, Liverpool were in so much trouble that ‘doing a Leeds’ would have been preferable to their probable destiny. They should, by rights, have exploded in a puff of IOU notes. Hodgson could have kept their heads above water for longer than most. Reducing the width, packing the lines and relying on occasional sorties forward, Liverpool would have survived in the Premier League even after the inevitable sale of Gerrard and Torres. Hodgson would buy time until help arrived. Unfortunately for him, it arrived far sooner than anyone expected.
With new owners, new investment and the chance to slowly claw their way back to the top, Hodgson is vulnerable. It doesn’t matter that he’s dragged Liverpool up from the relegation zone and it doesn’t matter that a few extra points would have them back in the chasing pack. The fans can only look at the football and shudder at the thought of much more of it. With the greatest of respect to the Cottagers, this isn’t Fulham. There’s a sign in the tunnel that he should read. This is Anfield. And things need to change.
QUOTE – “I am sure there are lots of fans who sympathise with us and what we are trying to do.” – Roy Hodgson over-estimates his popularity.</span>
Knowing it is a matter of when not if helps me sleep like a baby.
ReplyDeleteI admire your loyalty Jaimie I really do. It's the same loyalty that has Benitez fans staying loyal to his legacy, Houllier fans staying loyal to his legacy and, dare I say it Souness fans....
We all just hope Hodgson leaves a better legacy than Souness. On current evidence - style, philosophy, mentality and player recruitment - the answer is getting clearer by the second.
One of football's greatest cliches is how 'knowledgeable LFC fans are.' However sometimes it is trumped by that other great football cliche - Liverpoool are not a sacking club...
faith is one thing but failing to see what in front of you is another thing entirely...
Anything above 7th is a positive for me. I still think hodgson is no better than rafa (whom i thought was horrible anyway). but yeah if we end up higher than 7th that's a step in the right direction. anything less and it's time for him to go.
ReplyDeletePolitical correctness. JH is not a stupid man like Roy going around criticising Glen Johnson in public. Trust me, a replacement for Roy is taking place as we speak. JH has been in business long enough to know you do not criticise your staff in public. I am pretty sure they are aware of what the fans are feeling. If makes you feel good about yourself, feel free to take JH words at face value.<span>
ReplyDelete</span>
Jaimie, early in the season where Mascherano still around, Hodgson requested to judge him after ten EPL matches. Out of 30 points, he only got 12. Liverpool fans remember this. Can we conclude that Roy put himself under pressure and has to leave without being sacked?
ReplyDeleteJK,
ReplyDeleteI admire your input and arguments that you put forward. Your investigations are conclusive and factual.
However, JH and his group has invested a substantial amout of money into LFC. No person/group would accept the type of results that LFC are producing. Jamie, i think you might have to look beyond the PR, RH does not have much time. Even with all of JH youth development talk, reasonable results are needed. Steadying the ship is not beating Chelsea and losing to Blackpool and Stoke. In my humble opinion, that to a fan, myself included, seems inconsistent and directionless.
I also take issue with RH comments to the press on his (OUR) own players. The statements about Glen Johnson should have been handled behind closed doors.
Anyway, i am just a fan......what do i know.
How many times have club owners given their manager the vote of confidence, only to sack them the next day? Nobody expects Henry to say any different given his position and responsibility. That argument is neither here nor there.
ReplyDeleteThe fact is last year was very poor, and Rafa's management wasn't working. However, the significant difference is the level of performance this season; last season we were void of creativity going forward, but we were more often than not solid in our shape, could keep the ball better, and were able to deal with other teams' strengths.
This season we have been totally outplayed by Blackpool, Wigan, and Stoke. We looked totally terrified of them, and didn't have the belief to put up a fight. Roy has us playing incredibly deep, and our passing is shocking, which means away from home, in particular the ball just keeps coming back at us. We totally back off and don't press teams when they have the ball.
Against Stoke, when you know they'll bombard you with long balls, Rafa had the defence much higher up the pitch, and we'd step out so that long balls usually ended up offside. The holding midfielder would always double up with the full back to cut out crosses, and when they did come in we dealt with the 2nd ball better. Under Roy, Konchesky and Kelly have been tucking in alongside the centre backs and simply inviting crosses. The Wigan game was scary in the 2nd half, when there was no aggression to our game whatsoever- we were clueless as we backed off and let them come at us again and again. Teams actually see us as a soft touch now, and know that if they get at us we'll buckle.
Its quite clear that the performances this season are as bad as they have been since the Souness era, and for me that boils down to the manager's tactics, how he sets up the team, and how he motivates players.
I can tell you, I have never called for a manager's head, but I sure know when they're taking our Club backwards.
Shit article and shit writer! ignorant and arrogant writer!!
ReplyDeletekanwar. you're dreaming. to associate yourself in agreement with henry! don't flatter yourself. roy is out of his depth and everyone knows it. the tactics and team formation is wrong. roy still thinks he's at fulham!
ReplyDeletekanwar. you're dreaming. to associate yourself in agreement with henry! don't flatter yourself. roy is out of his depth and everyone knows it. the tactics and team formation is wrong. roy still thinks he's at fulham!
ReplyDeletekanwar. you're dreaming. to associate yourself in agreement with henry! don't flatter yourself. roy is out of his depth and everyone knows it. the tactics and team formation is wrong. roy still thinks he's at fulham!
ReplyDeleteHere's a thought. Given its so early in Roy's tenure and this is seen as a valid reason to give him time to make his mark I am of the view that due to the fact he is so new it is the perfect time to bring in a new manager who will be here for the long term. Its not like he has put any long term plans in place or that we risk impacting the rapid progress he has been making. Liverpool are not going anywhere ina hurry this season. John Henry is right to some degree to not lay the entire blame for Liverpool's position on a new manager. What John Henry needs to do and do quickly is assess if Roy is the man he wants to put in place the long term plans that align with JH's view of the future for Liverpool.
ReplyDeleteJohn Henry is a stats man like yourself JK but I hope his sources are more reliable and relevant than yours.
It's great how much of a short memory you have Jaimie. You are telling US, the fans, that we are wrong and so-called fans to persecute Roy Hodgson over a lack of good performances and results, after he himself said to judge him after 10 matches. This is the exact same persecution you had of Rafa. You were constantly calling for his head and telling us how bad he was for the club as you still do. I still believe it was a mistake to fire Rafa and to hire Roy. If Rafa was to part ways with Liverpool, then replace him with someone on a par or better than he, which to be fair, aren't many around who were willing to leave their current job. I do not believe Roy is the man to take Liverpool forward, proven by selling one of our most promising young talents in Lauri Dalla Valle, in exchange for Paul Konchesky. Not a good bit of business. But that was a tangent, back to the topic. You have a nerve for persecuting the fans for doing to Roy exactly the same thing as you did to Rafa. It shows that you think the readers of your articles are unintelligent neanderthals with no memory, it's very disrespectful.
ReplyDeleteJamie I notice you avoid answering the facts about Hodgsons away record, he once went almost two seasons without winning away at Halmstad that fact never seems to pop up. How can you defend him Jamie I have been fortunate enough to play the game at a well decent enough level and I can see flaws in the tactics, massive flaws.
ReplyDeleteKraken - are you not embarrased to be spreading lies about Hodgson? That away statistic is utter nonsense, and is a lie being spread by those who are against him. Did you bother to check the facts, or did you just accept what someone said blindly without even thinking about whether it could be true?
ReplyDeleteI will prove the lie tomorrow with another article.
Why don't you explain why my sources are NOT reliable and relevant? Don't just make a pointless assertion; explain what you mean. Or could it be the case that you're just saying things for effect?
ReplyDeleteLast season was bad...... this season is WORSE!! Can't believe why RH deserves more games in-charged....
ReplyDeleteThis again?
ReplyDeleteThere is no credible comparison between Benitez and Hodgson here:
* Benitez was in charge for 6 YEARS. He'd had enough time. The club was in freefall and it was perfectly acceptable to demand change.
* I did not 'constantly' calling for Benitez's head. I only called for him to be removed in the final months of his 6th year in charge. If you have proof of something else, please post it.
* There is a universe of difference between calling for someone to be sacked after 4 months and calling for change after 6 years. if you refuse to accept this then and persist with the ridiculous comparison between my treatment of Hodgson and Benitez then it's clearly not worth debating this with you.
For the first 3 years of Benitez's reign, I barely criticised him at all. It's only in the 2006-7 season that I began to see the obvious signs that Benitez was not going to do the business. I posted countless warnings on this site that Benitez was dragging the club down, and I was ultimately right. Calling for Benitez to leave was the right thing to do, and enough time had passed to make it entirely acceptable.
Totally agree. This was my first thought when I read the article... To get where he's got, both financially and in business, Henry has proved he is no fool and he undoubtedly knows the politics of the situation.
ReplyDeleteAs anyone with half a brain would realise, criticising one of your employees publically when they are already copping it from all sides (except of course your side Jaimie) isn't likely to improve their performance. Whether or not Henry is giving an honest assesment of his opinion, trying to motivate an employee, or both, is unknown.
Bearing in mind the Johnson situation it would have been quite amusing though if Henry had of come out and said something along the lines of "Hodgson hasnt been upto the standard we expect and he needs to lift his game" then when pressed said "well everyone can see it but I'm sorry he took offense"
All this aside, there seem to be a fair few rumblings coming out which could indicate he has already lost the dressing room with his tactics, selections etc... Whether or not they have been reported accurately is one thing but the performances on the pitch appear to back up the claims. What are your feeling on this Jaimie?
I will answer questions about Hodgson's away record tomorrow. The stats floating around about his record are lies; I have researched it myself and I will prove this tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteDid you check the Halmstad stat yourself, or are you just parrotting what you heard somewhere else. Like so many others, I bet you've just heard what you wanted to hear and then proceeded to slag Hodgson off without even bothering to check if the 'facts' you heard were true. Why bother, eh? As long as it fits with what you want to hear then who cares about the truth.
A common abbreviation from a Singapore Red...CMI...cannot make it. We had too few games playing quality football while there were too many games which we don't press nor do we have any decent passing let alone having to endure the long balls thinking Fernando is Peter.
ReplyDeleteThe thoughts running thru my mind though is who else to come in if Roy is to go? Guus is not keen to manage a club while Kenny (yes i love the man who created the Red i love) has been out of management for so long, the rest just make me wonder if they can do what we all hope to see...thats magic.
So can we make it with a new man at the helm? Who? the names i hear on a daily basis makes my hair stand on my back to be truthful...Guillet??? Rijkaard???
What we need is a true World class level manager of the same level as Guus so that we the fans have enough belief to give him enough time...the gut of the issue is Roy is not world class and there are just too many who are not sure if he can do the job.
Of coz setting records such as worst start in the last 50 years does not help his cause further...CMI.
You want stats, Stoke possession 62% compared to our 38%. Then again that's to be expected of a manager who bypasses the midfield with long balls, Roy's style suits a low to mid table side, oh right now I understand. O:-)
ReplyDeleteif hodgson is the brainer..he should give meireless a chance in the middle of midfield alongside gerrard..why?because Lucas didnt do a very good job xcept only for the big games..why jamie carragher on the rightback?hes too old..he cant run anymore like he used to..give martin kelly a chance to shine!!..where's babel? WE NEED SPEED..
ReplyDeletethe problem now for liverpool is hodgson couldnt motivate the players.
who the fk is halmstad for god sake man we are LIVERPOOL.
ReplyDeleteYes, and just ignore the facts I stated in the article.
ReplyDeleteLast season:
* Between September and November, Liverpool went on a run of one win in ten games. During that run, the team lost 7 games out of 8, including a run of 4 defeats in a row.
* Liverpool lost to Portsmouth, Reading, Sunderland, Fulham and Wigan, and failed to beat Birmingham (twice), Blackburn, Reading (again), Hull City, Fulham (again), Stoke City and Wolves.
* Liverpool managed only 7 away wins for the entire season in all competitions.
* Overall, the club lost 19 games and drew 11 last season. That's 30 games out 56 that Liverpool failed to win (54% of games without a win).<span>
</span>
Benitez couldn't beat Stoke last season either. What's your point?
John Henry has openly stated that he is not knowledgeable about football therefore it is easy for a manager such as Hodgson to quote the usual pathetic excuses such as this squad of players is not good enough and that he needs more money to spend. However Hodgson's negative tactics will not produce the required results no matter how much time they are given because the team plays too narrow, we don't play with wingers, we don't get enough men forward in our rare attacks and we have only one player in the whole squad who can defend high balls. The 23.5 million Hodgson wasted on Jones(why didn't we get some goalie in on loan as the only other game he will play this season is the FA Cup 3rd round), Konchesky (totally unnecessary as Mavinga should have been promoted as he is faster and bigger), Poulsen (appalling player-even someone like Muamba of Bolton would have been better), Meireles (if Hodgson signed this guy and if Roy is such a good coach how come he admitted he did not know where to play Meireles and the coaching staff were surprised at how physically weak Meireles is-Yakubu floored him with the shoulder at Goodison) cannot be excused.
ReplyDeleteHere's a stat for you Jaimie.......99% of us think you're wrong, mate! You can't argue with statistics, my maths teacher used to say.
ReplyDeleteJaimie, I do not think anyone expected Hodgson to transform the club in 4 months, however, some of his decisions and a lot of his comments coupled with the abject performances on the pitch is what has led to the frustration now being expressed by the fans.
ReplyDeleteI was one of those who thought that Benitez's reign had ran it's course and we might be better off with someone else in charge and I thought that, in the circumstances Hodgson was quite a good choice, however I was dismayed when he allowed first Aquilani then Insua to go out on loan. Aquilani had only just begun to show us what he could do and I had high hopes that that would continue this season (and it has but for Juventus!!!), Insua was a very promising left back, who had served us well last season when, although probably not quite ready, had stepped in when we had very few options. He then brings in Poulson and Konchesky, both at the wrong end of their less than illustrious careers and passes on Van der Vaart, saying he's not the type of player Liverpool need, when it's obvious to a blind man, he's exactly what we need.
Then we come to the performances on the pitch and I agree it takes time for a manager to get players to play the way he wants, but if he has any real idea how to improve things, we should be seeing it by now. Against Wigan we should have been on a high having beaten Chelsea and should have been able to carry on the way we had played in the first half of that game, instead we get the early goal and then start sitting ever deeper and deeper until they equalize, the bring on Poulson to "secure the point"! The true value of a good manager is to lift the players after a poor performance and send them out to do better in the next game, however against Stoke, we were second best from the start.
I don't think Hodgson is the man for the job, this is not a knee jerk reaction, it is a conclusion I have come to after looking at all the facts. We are playing the worst football I have seen Liverpool play in over 40 years of watching them and I am extremely worried that, left unchecked, things are only going to get worse and a lot of the players are going to get so disillusioned that they want to leave. We need someone who can get the players fired up for every game, not just the ones against Chelsea etc. I don't know if there is someone available who can do this, but Hodgson obviously can't!
Jaimie, to me you appear to be naive, very naive.
ReplyDeleteTwo reasons.
One. JH is smart enough to keep the manager in positive light, keep him motivated and get the most out of him, as long as there is something to get. JH would have set his boundaries and once Roy hits it, JH will pull the plug. Simple as that. He will ask Roy to resign on personal grounds and will pay him out, conditionally. THe worst thing JH could do right now is to blame manger, it would not help him at all, quite contrary.
JH is also not in full understanding of English football game, but he's getting there. He is getting the right people around him and getting the light shed on the matters that matter and that he's struggling to understand, for now.
He will have a new coach lined up very soon, be it Kenny, Rijkaard or someone else. Then Liverpool will lose an easy game, people will yell D_A_L_G_L_I_S_H and Roy will "resign".
Two. Your statistics are flawed. You see, looking at sheer numbers of wins/losses/points, your statistics make sense. However, a deeper look into it shows how shallow they are.
The only league game this season that Liverpool played well was Chelsea game. Every single other game we were outplayed, quite a few we were given a football lesson. In some games that we drew we were extremely lucky, we should have lost by big margins. The last game, Wigan, we were not only beaten and outplayed, we were humiliated.
Compare it with the last season bad result spells. Yes, the number of points are same or worse, but the team played well, they have not taken points, but they have outplayed opponents, humiliated them in some cases but also were plain unlucky not to score or unlucky to conceede the last gasp goal. But they were "The Liverpool".
That is the difference, mate. Last year the team was strong, played well, but unlucky a few times. This year, the team is anemic, now will, no spirit, wrong tactics and very very lucky to be where they are. This team with this manager heads nowhere, no pyrpose, no vision, no plan, every new game is "Oh, how we wiggle out of this one?"
I know people put LOL at the end of posts, but that they haven't really laughed out loud - but in this case I actually did, to the extent my colleagues wondered what I was reading.
ReplyDeleteSo If I get this right, your argument is that someone who has absolutely no idea about football agrees with you? Excellent! :D
Jamie,
ReplyDeleteYou do have a big ego as though you are right and the whole whole is wrong about Roy. How long have you supported Liverpool? There is no such thing as right or wrong in this. The fans calling for Roy to resign or to be sack have their reasons. No one, not even the owner, has the right to say that the fans/supporters are wrong. Take note that these fans/supporters are THERE in Anfield supporting their favourite team playing every week. The supporters pay the money to watch their team. Yes, you may say SO WHAT? Look, without supporters or fans, the club means nothing. Yes, the owners and shareholders invested their money, the manager manages the team, the core staff have their individual functions to make the club whole and of course the players to excercise their skills on field. However, without the supporters/fans, Liverpool Football Club will MEAN NOTHING AT ALL.
Next, in the real world, in any business (yes, you hear me, football is also a business now), the right candidate(s) have to be selected and put in place to make the organization tick and running. Poor leadership(s) only consitute to instability and no direction to the team. There are some who make it big and go all the way up while others either stay put or move down. After a while, it can be clearly seen whether a person can make it or not from their management style and/or decisions.
Rafa, with his CV from Valencia, has that credibility to take over as a manager in Liverpool. Unfortunately, he has allowed his emotion and eog to get the better of him that cost him his role as Liverpool manager. It is time for him to go. So was Houllier.
As for Roy, sorry to say, he really does not have it, like him or not. Now, we are not talking about saving a man's reputation or grace but about the reputation of a once great club who is turning into an average club trying to avoid relegation. Wait till jan or season end? Well, it may be too late then. I don't see how the players are motivated or inspired? Do you? If you are working in a company under a poor manager or management, will you choose to go or hoping that the he is replaced by a better one? Hey, by the way, the supporters or fans paying every week to watch live matches, are considered to be shareholders/customers. Shouldn't they demand for better qualities for the money that they have invested? It is so easy for you to power up the pc and type your critisims but for the supporters who pay money to support their team, travelling the distances and braving the weather to watch a lousy match, it is a pain. While you may disagree with those supporters calling for roy to be removed or what i have said, at least have the decency not to critise these supporters who have the passion and lover for this once great club. They want to see Liverpool to be playing at the top once again. Don't you?
Pardon me for some wrong words and spelling mistakes.
ReplyDeleteAnd BTW - away league wins 09/10 for Fulham = 1 (against Portsmouth) and 08/09 = 2 (Bolton, Man City). 3 in 07/08 (Reading, Man City, Portsmouth). He should never have been considered for the role, full stop.
ReplyDeleteWho cares about what he did in nothing leagues in Scandanavia?
Stat: 99% of us disagree with you Jaimie.
ReplyDeleteHenry has been following football all of five minutes and knows more about it than people who have followed and played it most of their lives.
ReplyDeleteYeah Jamie right and i have just read the u.s stock market prices maybe i should be telling him how to run all his business.
This man Henry seems to be good at having an unqualified opinion when it suits him but is qualified when it does not.
This man has no score on the board at Liverpool and until he starts doing something i do not trust him, he wont sack Roy as it will cost money.
Henries little comments being in agreement with you Jamie puts both your knowledge at beginners level.
Jaimie, you don't get it. The comments of John Henry aren't particularly in support of Hodgson. The manager could be Benitez or Evans or even Souness and he would say the same thing. Part of the point of how Henry et al do things is to devalue the manager, whoever he is. Hodgson is not seen as important as Comolli, for example - who unlike a field manager can make personell decisions without an eye to the short term. That is why the manager (here Hodgson - has decisions about personell taken away. Changing managers and letting managers change personnel to play to the crowd is simply inefficient - whether the manager knows what he is doing or not - he will want to clear out the old and put his own "stamp" on the team - welcome Konchesky and Poulsen anyone? It is only paranthetical to this approach that Hodgson doesn't seem to know what he is doing on that front. A second part of the ownership's approach will be to get a new chief executive in place - the team will not be run by middle management (Hodgson) which is the method of sports managment with which this ownership, which believe in the principles set out in Moneyball (which regardless of what anyone says, have application to various sports), reject. So the CEO is infinitely more important. A final part is not to make decisions without a plan - Hodgson will not be replaced and then a replacement found - it will happen the other way around. In the meantime, given the plan is not in place, they will support him publicly, which will give him every chance to do the best he can - for now - but he will be replaced. The irony is that the statistical approach they will look for is found in only a few managers - and one is Benitez. The problem with him for the new owners would have been wresting control of personnel decisions from him.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry about it RS; You could have spelled every word wrong & you would still have made more sense than Kenwar.
ReplyDeleteMate, I have always defended your effort and the fact that you offer a different perspective from the mainstream media. I have also supported your idea of keeping Hodgson, at least for now, mainly because of the stability we crave for; not because he's the right person in a long run.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I really have to disagree with you are your stats. Yes, according to your stats, we did just as bad last season, if not worse. but your stats are not relevant to what craig was trying to point out, we were outplayed by stoke city, we did not just lose to stoke city; we were outplayed and trashed! actually, that has been the norm for the season so far except for the first half against chelsea and about 75 minutes against blackburn.
with all due respect, do you actually watch the games or do you just watch the statistics? the performance really makes you cringe. this is not an insult but i hope you could assess the situation from the perspective on the field, not on the paper
I absolutely Second what you are saying Jn122!!!
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I'd marry you if you're a woman John. Hahhaha...
I certainly hope the right replacement comes along. I'd love to remember King Kenny for what he did, rather than what he failed to do. So I say, Bring in Pellegrini!!!
Sivaji!!! Hahaha... But really Fireweed, I'd really love to see Pellegrini. If he's in, we'd be playing more like Arseanal but with a more solid back line. He's the next best affordable option!
ReplyDeleteSack Hodgson... n block Jaimie!!!!!!!!! Both are ego-maniacs who think there's none better for their respective jobs
ReplyDeleteJamie you my man are a complete plonker. Who cares what stats you have. At the end of the day fans pay good hard earned money to watch our beloved club. They have every right to demand that Roy Hodgson is removed from the hallowed grounds of Anfield. Why you may ask. Simple under his steawardship including pre season we have played the worst football in the premiership. Never did I think that our style of football could get any worse than that of Mr Benitez, but to my horror and utter dismay that's exactly what's happend. May be you have started this topic to get a reaction to give your self some type of self grattification. Not for one moment can you be thinking that Roy is the right man for the job. If you do then you know nothing about football. Are you a manc in disguise? You are the only plonker that thinks Hodgson is the right man for the job. Well of course 40,000 fans at Anfield dont know what their on about do they. How silly of us fans may be we should listen to you can't wait for Reading away next season.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more Mike.
ReplyDeleteAny fan or person who has followed or supported Liverpool for the past 20 years will know that Roy is not a Liverpool manager because he has an obvious mentality of a mid-table team manager. Forget about stats and loyalty.
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Remeber "pass and move" which Roy so clearly embraced in his speeches on his appointment? It's pass and move alright, it's hoofing up the ball and letting a lone striker chase it!
Does he think we'll also forget "Judge me in 10 games"?? - it's a glaring 13 games already and there is no clear improvement, not only in terms of results, but in terms of the fight we have; Now he's asking for 35 to 55 games! It's plain to see that nothing's gonna change.
He's an old man with a fixed mentality, he's underwhelming, and Fergie only has good things to say about him. And we all know Ferguson only has good things to say about those who are not a threat.
Look at all the losses, we are trailing and yet at the end of each game, the opponent's in our half trying to get one more goal!!! Where is the fight?
Who is responsible for the mental attitude of the players? Hell, I'll give him 100 games and I bet nothing will change for the better!!! It's plain clear we'll still linger around 8 to 12 position at the end of the season if Roy doesn't change his attitude.
This has nothing to do with style or tactics. It's the Mentality! Attitude is everything!!! We were 2nd 2 seasons ago with the same crop of players!!! I'd place my entire life savings on Souness doing a better job. So, looks like we got to pray for a miracle and hope NESV makes a proper change of Manager, Soon.
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Great post.
ReplyDeleteWe rightly said. We are a club that requires immediate effect and if there was anything that maters most now, its to make the necessary changes. I beleived that it was time for Benitez to leave but NOT the time for Hogson to take over.....Quite honestly Roy isnt big enough to manage such a big club. Sometimes I would wonder if Real Madrid were in their right senses whenever they would suck their coaches but am beginning to believe it requires a bit of madness to get some positive results and we had better start moving....
ReplyDeleteWell said. He asked for 10 gamesjust like someone who kept promised to get us in the champions league last season......
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ReplyDelete<span>Jamie, My view is that John Henry has just arrived and does not want to make any rash decisions.</span>
<span>Besides his interview was before the last two games, just after the Chelsea game where we had a good result.</span>
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<span>My question to you is, In your opinion do you believe that Roy Hodgson is the right man to take us forward? </span><span>Look forward to your views.</span>
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Jamie
ReplyDeleteI have never in my life read such articles as yours, showing total disrespect for anyones opinion than your own. You state "facts" as they where the objective truth, and if anyone questions them or disagrees they are automatically brandes as liars, idiots or unintelligent. This kind of arguing is normally found in dictatorships around the world.
In addition you never ever say anything positive about Liverpool, the team, or the supporters, your message is only to criticise others who do not share your opinion. In addition you never have any views on how to bring the club forward. If you are of the opininion that Liverpool is now heading the right way - you really must be retarted (and I mean this in the most positive way - being retarded you at least have a valid excuse for some of your opinions and "facts").
As to you statistics, well anyone can pick a certain period and number of and then make stats about it. The fact is Liverpool are struggling mid-table, we are out of the League Cup, we are not in the Champions League, we have lost home to Blackpool, lost away to Stoke, drew with Wigan. We had no chance of winning against Man City and Everton (a game Hodgson said he was happy with!!!) etc., etc., etc. Although most Liverpool fans understand that we at the current stage do not have the players to compete with Chelsea, Man. Utd, Arsenal and Man. City we still have (probably) the best keeper in the world, one of the best midfielders in the world in Gerrard and one of the best strikers in the world in Torres. In addtion players like Carragher, Agger (when not injured), Johnson, Cole, Kuyt and perhaps Meireles are much better than the average PL player meaning that losing to Man Utd (although horrible), it is at least understandable, however, the way we are playing against Blackpool, Stoke, Wigan, Everton are on he other hand absolutely grotesque and without any excuse.
Hodgson has never one any major titles in all of his career (I respectfully say that winning the league title in Denmark is not the credentials we are looking for in a Liverpool manager). Therein lies the problem. He has managed team that are "defensive" and wait for the leading team to make a mistake. This not how you play with Liverpool, in fact his tacticts, in my opinion, makes the other team better, beacuse he is playing the type of games that fit teams like Stoke, Blackpool etc. Instead of taking the game to them we are sitting back and hope to hit these teams on the counter attack - I am not a manager, but I just cannot believe that this is the way forward
Hodgson has reached the peak of his career by just <span>becoming</span> the manager of Liverpool, he is probarbly happy with that and does not need to win anything with Liverpool. This is probarbly also his last job as manager so he does not need to strive for accomplishing anything more.
The team is playing horrible football and his choice of players bought in the summer are more or less abysmal. The worst part is I cannot see any kind of sign of imrpovement - and THEN you come along stating that this is no worse than other managers Liverpool had had lately. Well I cannot see any chance in h..l that Liverpool will win ANYTHING under Hodgson.
So please Jamie, for the sake of Liverpool and true fans, get some friends who actually like you, do not be so bitter and for the love of GOD, PLEASE;PLEASE; PLEASE quit writing the so called "shocking-truth" articles - they are actually like reading a piece equivalent of Hitler using statistics to state that his politics were good for the jews............
This is why Barcelona is struggling not.Get your coke glasses off Jamie and stop the brown nosing, we are playing like crap,at least under benetiz we were always challenging in the C/L 2 finals fa cup final etc.
ReplyDeleteHere in Australia when a president or board of a football club come out in support of a coach who's team is struggling it basically means he is getting the chop. Let's all prey the americans have similar philosophy.
ReplyDeleteWe actually beat Stoke last season 4-0 at Anfield. We drew 1-1 away in a game which Dirk Kuyt hit the post with the last kick of the game. We deserved to win that game too. We all agree that results might not reflect the performances, but the performances under hodgson have been dire. we only had 9 touches in the Stoke penalty area the whole game. We sit back and invite pressure and show teams too much respect. Over the last few games, we barely had 40% possesion. We've been reduced to hopeful long punts.That is not the Liverpool way.
ReplyDeleteRoy has got to go!!!!!
I agree we were dreadful for most of last season, but with a few weeks of the season to go we were in the semi-final of the Europa league and we were still in the hunt for 4th. I'm afraid we'll be in the relegation zone by new year.
I don't really care what others think in respect to the appointment of roy, It was the wrong decision and made with "WHO WILL TOE THE LINE" attitude, Kenny would have been to powerful with the fans for the FORMER OWNERS to handle even though 99% of all fans would have wanted him, Others at the time would also have been seen to be a potential issues if infact they had been taken on, Deschamp, Oneil, to mention a couple BUT roy like the Likeable middle of the road manager tyhat he has really always been wouldn't have. If Fans can see that when any opposition plays an Attacking + pressure game, we struggle and yet Roy hasn't changed tactics to combat this, and lets face it, the lower rated teams in the league have been doing this...Look at Sunderland vs Chelsea, with or without their incumbent CD's. I personally WANT him to go..We can and deserve better...He is a nice likeable bloke BUT in football that is not going to cut it.
ReplyDeleteI don't really care what others think in respect to the appointment of roy, It was the wrong decision and made with "WHO WILL TOE THE LINE" attitude, Kenny would have been to powerful with the fans for the FORMER OWNERS to handle even though 99% of all fans would have wanted him, Others at the time would also have been seen to be a potential threat if infact they had been taken on, Deschamp, Oneil, to mention a couple BUT roy like the Likeable middle of the road manager that he has really "always been" wouldn't have. If Fans can see that when any opposition plays an Attacking + pressure game, we struggle and yet Roy hasn't changed tactics to combat this, and lets face it, the lower rated teams in the league have been doing this...Look at Sunderland vs Chelsea, with or without their incumbent CD's. I personally WANT him to go..We can and deserve better...He is a nice likeable bloke BUT in football that is not going to cut it if you want to be a league winning manager.
ReplyDeleteJaimie, you read like the ravings of a paranoid delusional. and an abusive one at that. At some point, you should reflect on the fact that the points being made by others are simply superior to your own, and reject your impulse to critique style rather than substance in defence of a manager who has neither.
ReplyDeleteWe did beat Stoke at Anfield last season.
ReplyDeleteTime is one impontart factor we don't have right now when you say we give RH time i don't think i would agree with that. To see a good manager and the team going forward you have to be able to see positives in some of the things done on the picth i don't care about the rest. RH has also proved that he's naive. To get results in the EPL you need to be offensive but RH plays players who are lethagic, no pace, no power. Secondly what has happened to players like Dani Pachecco, Ryan Babbel, and keeps playing players like Maxi when you have a Milan Jovanovic on the bench. I need to see Liverpool attacking with ease. And why play a central midfielder on the right wing as if we don't have wingers. I need Liverpool to play expansively.
ReplyDeleteDirect quote from your beloved Roy
ReplyDelete"I remember when I was at Halmstads we had two years without winning away. It goes that way. One day, the day will come." Roy Hodgson
Ken hits it....bullseye! John W Henry has said he "knows nothing about football" and now Jamie Kanwar is boasting that JWH agrees with him (note the breathtaking arrogance of the "agrees with me" headline). Kanwar's smug and self-aggrandizing tripe seeks only generate controversy for the sake of more hits on his site. He's the biggest hypocrite operating in the LFC media environment and we all take the bait every time. That occasionally includes me, admittedly, because this charlatan winds me up no end.
ReplyDeleteThis article is proof of Kanwars egomania.The owner agrees with me etc.My prediction is we will finish 9th-11th a typical midtable finish.Hodgsons away record in the premier is terrible,so dont go trotting out figures from Malmo,s 1978-1979 Season. Lets examine the relavent Stats.The way he sets his teams up away from home just does not equate to winning those games.Midtable/lower end teams bank on winning the home games and hoping to nick a point or two away from home,Not that we can win all our home games(blackpool) and may fluke the odd away win.I dont blame Hodgson though he is just a manager of limited ability trapped in a 1970s time warp.Who appointed him?Why was he appointed?He will last till the end of the season then be replaced if you think differently Kanwar then you're deluded.
ReplyDeletewhat i,d like to know is why in your conceited opinion you think your right and everybody else on here is wrong,i,ve supported liverpool for 45yrs and this is the worst i,ve ever seen us play,your support of hodgeson is unsustainable,a fool and his dog knew he was the wrong man at the very begining,not good enough for blackburn,how is he good enough for us,the man is a bumbling buffon,you only got to look at him on the touchline to see he,s out of his depth,and all these arguments over stats to prove your right are pointless as they dont help the present situation of a club going backwards under a mediocre manager,you shouldnt be putting us loyal(not blinkered) fans down to try to put your points across,everybody is entitled to an opinion without your condescending putdowns.ynwa
ReplyDeleteHis opinion counts as the owner but do remember that he does admit that he knows very little about English football and Liverpool football history specifically. So, his opinion will decide but that does not mean that it is best for the club!
ReplyDeleteJamie, here is an article, with Roy's quote.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.tribalfootball.com/fulham-boss-hodgson-away-record-could-return-haunt-us-227787
Is Roy a liar?
Raylfc - repost your comment without personal insults against Hodgson and it will stat on the site
ReplyDeleteNo he doesn't! He doesn't even know you!! What a stupid headline.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, Christian Purslow is the one to blame for this whole situation! Getting rid of a world class manager right in the middle of a sale process, replacing him with a manager who historically cannot win away games and has an absolutely horrendous Premiership record, essentially hoodwinking the new owners into having to stick with the new manager for at least the first season. Just because he helped push the NESV sale doesn't all of a sudden make him untouchable.
The fact is, despite all that John Henry and you say, if Woy doesn't turn this situation around by January, he does not deserve to be our manager. You cannot tell me the squad of players he has at his disposal is not capable of being in the european positions, is not better than the likes of Newcastle. The problem so far is that Woy has a 'small club' mentality that will never work here.
You are wrong, again, Jamie. You are just trying to justify the fact that you were a Rafa basher when there is no justification for that after what that man gave to the club. Just look at where he is now and then have a look at where we are. Have a look back at the comments of the players and the facts about the ones who wanted to follow him out. Look at what Pepe said recently! You should be bloody ashamed of yourself!!
Of course I watch the games. That doesn't mean game stats are suddenly irrelevant. I have also made specific reference to performances in every post I make. You and others just focus on stats because it's a cliched way of trying to discredit an argument. The bottom line is when the stats suitpeople who dislike Hidgson then they're the greatest in the world; when they're used to defend him, they're suddenly anathema. Funny that.
ReplyDeleteCase in point: hodgson's away recird, which is being wheeled out by every anti hodgson fan right now.
Fair enough. How long ago was Halmstada?! Over 30 years ago; hodgson's first job in football, and you are using that against him now?! A prime example of the ridiculous lack of perspective. Why don't you dig out his school records and see what his away record was when he was in the under 11s. Perhaps you can use that too, eh?
ReplyDeleteEver heard of the dreaded vote of confidence? He wil be gone soon thank god. FOR.
ReplyDeleteThis is so predictable. Nothing positive or supportive is actual real when it comes to Hodgson; everyone has an ulterior motive; NESV are just playing politics. If, however, Henry had said 'Hodgson needs to improve' then you and everyone else would've been all over that, acting like Henry's word was absolute. All of a a sudden he would be a football expert speaking awe-insiring words of wisdom.
ReplyDeleteThe fickleness and unfairness of football fans is truly something to behold.
<p>A guardian article..ripped from the interview given to R.A.W.K. Jamie shame on you.
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I look forward to you response Jaimie.
ReplyDeleteLet's not forget, the claim is that he's won only 13 league away games in English football. This therefore discounts any away wins in cup or European competitions.
Hey kunalroy,
ReplyDeleteDont block Jamie coz then we wouldnt be able to express ourselves...... Roy doesnt have what it takes to steer us to glory.
He seems content with the performances and keeps giving the lousiest excuses at it, which is annoying and demeaning to the loayal supporters. I dont know how long Torres will stand this kind of situation and with vultures like Barcelona looming he might join Mascherano at the Nou Camp sooner than anticipated.
I respect your views Jamie but this time I beg to differ.
Roy isnt the men for us. Down here in Uganda, our Name has been changed to LOSERFOOLS!!! We surely dont belong to such...... The team simply cant play.. We are lifeless. Why play for only one half??? All the matches I have watched this season, we seem to get to our normal themselves in the secong half. In those games we have played well in the first half, we fizzled out after 75 minutes and look completely lost for the remaining minutes incluiding the Chelsea game.
We need to begin sending shivers down the spines of other teams... Today any team that needs to redeem themselves after a bad run will wait for the visit of Liverpool to make headlines.
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ReplyDelete<p>Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson has had six seasons in English football in the last 15 years. In all of that time though he has a quite incredible statistic of racking up only 13 away wins. Here are the stats shown below:
</p><p>
</p><p>1997/98 – Blackburn Rovers - 5 Away wins – Finished 6th
1998/99 – Blackburn Rovers – 0 Away wins – Sacked when 20th
2007/08 – Fulham – 3 Away wins – Finished 17th
2008/09 – Fulham – 3 Away wins – Finished 7th
2009/10 – Fulham – 1 Away win – Finished 12th
2010/11 – Liverpool – 1 Away win – Currently 9th
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</p><p>To be fair, three of those seasons (1998/99, 2007/08 and 2010/11), have seen Hodgson not able to play all the away fixtures as he was sacked by Blackburn Rovers in December 1998, he was hired by Fulham in December 2007 and he has only had six away fixtures in the league this season with Liverpool. It still means though that in 82 Away fixtures in the Barclays Premier League, Hodgson has only been on the winning side on 13 occasions. A 16% win ratio which is not sustainable for a top four club that Liverpool aspire to be.
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</p><p>I'm guessing your opposition is that I quoted the 105 games, rather than the 82 games played? You must still agree that a 16% away win percentage is laughable?
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When We won 3 matches in a row Roy has obviously done good things from the bench, with good subs, and good decisions (like bring Kuyt in a more offensive role) but no one has given credit to him for these good decisions.
ReplyDeleteAlso against Naples at Anfield He did a good thing When He brings in Nathan Ecclestone on the left wing, because Nathan seriously dominated Aronica.
With Stokes players were terrible and underperforming and Roy from the bench tried to turn the things right in any possible way, When he brings in the likes of Babel & N'gog.
But Players had a terrible day at the office at Britannia Stadium, and after the match no one, no one, had a voice or opinion on these over rated craps
Skrtel was terrible and the only way He's able to do is kick the ball away when Stoke keep up the pressure.
We do not have a commander midfield since Rafa let Xabi Alonso go, and Jesus Christ the answer was not Aqualani Who is not a play - maker.
Aquilani is a not play maker!!!
jesus christ.
When We won a game and Roy did good things nobody give a little bit of credit to him, but every time We lost the blame immediately pull in one direction!!!!
This squad is in decline!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When Do You realize it's not faulth of the manager??
If Liverpool continue to play the way they are at the moment how long do you think this opinion will remain?
ReplyDeleteP.S John Henry also states he knows nothing about Footbal!!!
Jaimie youre right about stats
ReplyDelete"when the stats suit people who dislike Hodgson then they're the greatest in the world; when they're used to defend him, they're suddenly anathema<span>."</span>
However there is no point moaning about it Jaimie! People are justs using the same rules used by the facts, trends and science of collecting, summarizing, and analyzing data that you love and subject them too on a daily basis!!!
The argument against (in my humble opinion) far out weighs the one given by yourself.
a bit hypocritical jaimie considering i recall you questioning RB's win percentage last season over the course of his whole career, going as far back as his real valladolid & osasuna days...one rule for one debate & dismissed for another.
ReplyDeletethe truth of the matter is, Roy Hodgson have a terrible away record & im sure your stats later today will prove this.
I think Henry is coming out in support of Hodgson to give the idea he is being fair to him by giving him the public backing hodgson needs before everything caves in.I also think if Henry sack RH now the headline writers and pundits would have a field day,Yank who knows nothing about football sacks current manager of the year who also happens to be English.Henry though looks as though he doesnt want to trust RH with any money in January.RH has said he is hoping to bring players in,5or6,but what will happen when they say we wont bring any in,will this force RH hand and he resigns.
ReplyDeleteLosing a game here or there because of a stroke of bad luck or your opponents good play is the only time it's not the fault of the manager.
ReplyDeleteThat's why he's the manager. It's his job to ensure that that doesn't happen.
Complete speculation - 'If, however, Henry had said 'Hodgson needs to improve' then you & everyone else would've been all over that,...'. You have no idea how people would have reacted; let alone hyberbolic, knee-jerk <span></span>statements like 'everyone else would've been all over that'.
ReplyDeleteI thought comments with 'personal insults' are not permitted on this site - don't they get banned? But you can refer to people as 'predictable, fickle & unfair', even when describing a completely imaginary scenario - but I suppose thi just about sums jaimie up.
<p>A guardian article..ripped from the interview given to R.A.W.K. Jamie shame on you. Critical Realism..why not print this comment? To the above you're right lets hope we can manage to avoid relegation and we can all congratulate Mr Hodgson..Bad days at the office we having more bad than good maybe we need to move the office,manager.
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Jaimie, you seem to be more concerned with publicly attacking other Liverpool fans for their opinions than actually engaging in any debate.
ReplyDeleteDo you think it might be possible for you to discuss football related matters without always referring to previous arguments or large numbers of fans as hypocrites or whatever?
It's very irritating since you usually end up being just as hypocritical and, in some cases, blinded by your own opinion as the people you make bold headlines about.
Rise above it.
I respect the amount of effort you put into researching your figures and statistics.. and at times they can be very valuable. Particularly illuminating during the takeover.
They don't tell the whole story of anything, however. The very thing that draws most of us to football and sport in general is the human element that can overturn statistics in a second. Otherwise we might as well all just watch Robot Wars.
You say that John Henry AGREES with you over Hodgson... but I am a bit unclear as to exactly what you mean by that.... do you mean that you both agree that not all of the dire performances can be attributed to the manager?
If that's the case then that's fairly true... however - isn't it his job to prevent those performances? If not - then what exactly is his job?
Or are you saying that both you and John Henry believe that ultimately Roy Hodgson's methods and tactics are correct and will bear siginificant fruit in the future?
If so then a) I think you are misreading Mr Henry.. he has never said that. b) I also don't recall you ever saying that anywhere either.
So, is that the case? Make it clear what you are saying, Jaimie.. are you supporting Roy because you believe he has the correct formula to make Liverpool into the most successful club in the country again or are you supporting him because it means you can argue with lots of your fellow fans?
You say that Roy needs time... but that alone is an empty statement. You also have to say what you feel he can or will achieve with this time.
Because for all your silly arguments about who had the better record after 10/20/30 games one single fact remains true.... At the end of that season Rafa delivered the European Cup as well as getting us to the final of the Carling Cup. Which makes these comparisons a little pointless.
There was evidence of progress.
Would it be possible for you to produce some evidence of progress on behalf of Roy Hodgsons who you purport to support? It would make your argument more convincing.
For the record I always like to back the underdog... and nothing would make me happier than to see Roy go on to become a hugely successful manager of LFC and stick it to all his detractors. However I am finding it really difficult to see any evidence that this is even a possibility.
Rubbish - I've seen plenty of articles that gave Roy credit for beating Chelski, it just doesn't suit your agenda to mention them.
ReplyDelete'We do not have a commander midfield since Rafa let Alonso go,' - you're having a laugh! Firstly, what about Roy letting Mascherano go (or was he perhaps an 'expensive failure'?); secondly, believing that Poulsen deserves to be anywhere near LFC; thirdly, what about the awesome performance that Lucas turned in against the Champions? What exactly do you want from the midfield? Whatever it is, you're not going to improve on that!
If Skrtel is so terrible, why alienate one of the best ball-playing centre-backs in the country, Agger?
And if the 'squad is in decline', then, whose fault is it?
The owners know as nuch about football, and football management as you - so the owners opimion at this stage does not matter-Hodgson is way, way out of his league - write about something you understand
ReplyDeleteIn someways JK i agree with this comment you cant compare 6 years to four months. However without comparing stats between the 2 managers because its not all about stats, it is clear to most supporters a lot of ex players in the media and majority of tv pundits etc etc etc that although Roy Hodgson is a very nice man Liverpool have gone backwards since he took over. We are playing awfully and although Roy doesnt wear the boots and play he does set the style of play and it is extemely nieve. Would you answer a very simple question JK as a Liverpool Supporter are you happy with the team performances since Roy took charge.
ReplyDeleteGreat post - this is what I would call 'critical realism'; instead of vacuous, hyperbolic speculative assertions!
ReplyDeletePellegrini has just taken up the Malaga post. Forget 'im! The clue is with the Comolli appointment.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the thrust of your article in that the position of Manager at LFC should always be respected, and that there are information-age supporters who have forgotten (if they ever knew) the Liverpool way. However, there are some very simple tactical remedies available that Hodgson seems reluctant to employ, for whatever reason.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the owners are looking to the long term, I'm sure they are fully aware that we're realistically looking at 2012/2013 before we're playing in the Champions League again. It's imperitive that we salvage this season, and not just write it off to the fallout of massive upheaval - the chasing pack for fourth are not looking the part either; still a good fighting chance for us to get in.
My gut feeling is that Hodgson is simply not working out - no hard feelings to the man. I respect his pedigree, but not to the extent that we should write off a season for him.
Jamie, do you in your heart of hearts believe that Roy can inspire the players, out-think opponents, and be an integral part of our future?
great post factual and not hysterical and probably more representitive of the real fans view than anything else I have read
ReplyDeleteJaimie, honest and simple question. after watching most if not all lfc games this season, do u think roy has the tactical knowledge/ideas to make changes if things don't go the way it should? i don't see any plan B at all. if plan A doesn't work, all he does is stand up at the sideline, and gesturing the players to "push!,push!push!".
ReplyDeletehe plays the same way against all the teams. be it chelsea or wigan or blackpool or stoke. at least with rafa, i can see him changing the players (taking off SG for Lucas in the merseyside derby, if u can still remember).
the worst part is his press releases. everyday we can see him talk to media. everyday for fcuks sake! and with every statement he makes, he just make himself even more foolish. just use any statements that he has made. it's just pure embarassment.
This is such a pointless article. No owner is going to come out and say 'The manager of this club is shyte'.He doesn't prove your 'right' at all. His just politically correct.
ReplyDeleteJamie, while im a fan of your factual presentation of many of your peices- this piece highlights nothing but your arrogance. It points to no facts, no certainty and no truths. You wrote this one to satisfy that ego of yours.
Roy isn't exactly going to be pilloried by the owner in an interview with a fan website is he. Yes, it appears as if he is behind him presently but i wouldn't hold too much stock in that if results continue as our performances suggest they will. Mr Henry is an avid follower of LFC fans on Twitter etc, he will be well enough informed to gauge the fan feelings on the matter. And they aren't good for Roy.
ReplyDeleteKeeping Roy in the job will be detrimental in the long term, results prove that presently. We have regressed from last year, the playing staff is the more or less the same, only the manager is different. His buys have been awful, his tactics worse and the performances and results are bottoming out.
Fans on here get accused of having an agenda if they don't agree with you. I will fully admit to my agenda.
It is for a better performing LFC.
Getting Roy out is agenda driven and it should be the agenda of all LFC fans.
Roy isn't exactly going to be pilloried by the owner in an interview with a fan website is he. Yes, it appears as if he is behind him presently but i wouldn't hold too much stock in that if results continue as our performances suggest they will. Mr Henry is an avid follower of LFC fans on Twitter etc, he will be well enough informed to gauge the fan feelings on the matter. And they aren't good for Roy.
ReplyDeleteKeeping Roy in the job will be detrimental in the long term, results prove that presently. We have regressed from last year, the playing staff is the more or less the same, only the manager is different. His buys have been awful, his tactics worse and the performances and results are bottoming out.
Fans on here get accused of having an agenda if they don't agree with you. I will fully admit to my agenda.
It is for a better performing LFC.
Getting Roy out is agenda driven and it should be the agenda of all LFC fans.
Jamie, Hodgson's record says it all:
ReplyDeleteAre you seriously saying this is the man who can get us back to the top? 35 years in management and a few Danish and Swedish ( real footballing strongholds !) domestic trophies is all he has to show for it. Every big job he has taken on he has failed. We need a proven winner to turn things around, Hodgson is clearly not the man. I have nothing against Roy, he seems a decent man but that is not the point. He is a small club manager and always will be.
<span>Jamie, Hodgson's career record speaks for itself.Are you seriously saying this is the man who can get us back to the top? 35 years in management and a few Danish and Swedish ( real footballing strongholds !) domestic trophies is all he has to show for it. Every big job he has taken on he has failed. We need a proven winner to turn things around, Hodgson is clearly not the man. I have nothing against Roy, he seems a decent man but that is not the point. He is a small club manager and always will be. <span>
ReplyDelete</span></span>
ok if the lynch mob can just wait for bit b4 rounding up another premature posse. we can deal with some on the pitch facts&matters its a lack of bite in midfield that shows more now since the brat argintine (mascherano) moved on(which roy haters - was not roys doing) with a week midfield teams will fail to compete (vrs man city prime example)we are missing the argie like it or not, also rh's signings who is rh or anyone else going to buy with the purse strings held to replace mash or alonso?so with our atrocioussly week mid we sit deep and strugle . yeh this is a important point as theres no prem quality mid field generals out there!All sounds familiar this - yes same shit last sesason , much worse now as the argies gone unfortuantleyas for this pachenco gossip !i hear ? dp has beendisciplined for bad time keeping in his club duties, this may explain some of recent ommisions?
ReplyDeleteit will worry me if we dont c him back soon.
aslo strikes me this may be cllassic negotioation technique from the pachenco camp. court interest/apply for a job with another employer and hey presto ur bosses suddenly value u more.
Id do the same if i was danny.
John Henry has always given honest opinions, so I believe that he means what he says. However, Hodgson post-match comments and his play on the pitch should be distasteful to Henry in the extreme. Roy doesn't talk or manage like a top of the line manager. Top managers want their team to win every game and get maximum points. They won't win every game, of course, but they will try. Roy seems content with the away draw and he sugar coats losses. Against better teams, he goes defensive and hopes to win on opponent errors. I will agree with Henry that the turmoil of H&G's exit has affected the team and manager as much as it has affected the supporters. However, it is time for Hodgson to step up and start motivating the team into the mindset that they're going to win the next match, and the match after that, and the match after that. Not that their objective is to win every match in the season, but that they are always going to do their best to win the next one.
ReplyDeleteThat is bang on the money mate. I wonder why JK chooses to ignore yet another well reasoned argument !!!
ReplyDeleteYeah and Abromovich said he wanted to keep Ranieri. And Christian Purslow said Benitezs job wasn't under threat last season AND Chris Hughton will definately be at Necastle next season because the board love him And all owners chat rubbish
ReplyDeleteAs JH himself said he knows nothing about football, hopefully he'll be getting advice off someone who does. Unless there is a big turn around the outcome is clear.....
ReplyDeleteThe club wasn't in freefall when you starting criticising Rafa though was it??!!
ReplyDeleteYou have admited yourself that you started your criticism of Rafa 3 years in to his tenure. That would be the same season we got to the Champions League final again for the 2nd time in 3 years and finihed 3rd for the second year in a row, which was the best league finish since 2001/02. And you continued to criticise him during 2007/08 where although we finished 4th we had 8 more points than 2006/07(an improvement of sorts). And you continued to criticise him in 2008/09 where we finished 2nd. What was the justification for that criticism?
If you had started criticising him in 2009/10 when it was six years into his tenure and we were rubbish then fine; you criticised him when it went bad. But the TRUTH and FACT is that you criticised him even during the periods when we were improving. How do you justify that? So you criticising Rafa when we finsh 2nd is fine but criticising Roy when we are 11th is hyproctical and "anti-Liverpool".
Don't get me wrong, fans should be critical. Many times I was critical of subtitutions and tactics under Rafa, but your criticism was incessant. I saw the bigger picture and saw that we were improving (albeit slowly) until 2009/2010 and then Rafa had to go after such a bad season. But you criticised relentlessly even when it was good. Why was that? And now you call other fans hypocritical for criticising Roy when we sit in 11th and we are playing even worse football than the last season, which was the worst season in years.
Bill Shankly, 36.57 win rate at Huddersfield Town.
ReplyDeleteObviously he was rubbish. Wonder what his first 10 games in charge of LFC where like ......
<p><span>They say a week is a long time in football and that’s certainly the case when it comes to Liverpool these days. The weekend before last our all round team performance in our deserved 2-0 home victory over the chavs left me with a grin so wide I was like a man with two arses but a week later and it’s back to business as usual and back to feeling as depressed as a squirrel with a nut allergy!
ReplyDeleteIn the last blog I did mention that I had a sneaky feeling we might get a result against the chavs. The reason for this was partly because Gerrard and Torres seemed to be starting to look interested and getting back to form but my main reason was because we would be playing in a big game in front of a full house at Anfield and the players would have no shortage of motivation to perform. After taking such a convincing 2-0 lead in the first half, I had hoped that at half-time the manager might just tell the players to do more of the same in the second half but we came out and reverted back to this deep defending **** and almost paid the price but overall it was a good performance and a great result, so no complaints.
Once the celebratation of our victory over the chavs had died down I was struck by the frightening realisation that we would next be facing the proverbial wet Wednesday in Wigan and we would have to rely on the motivational powers of Roy Hodgson to lift the players, a man who only opens his mouth to change feet!
Still, I was hoping that we might carry a bit of confidence into the game after our chav victory and in fairness that’s exactly what we did and it lasted almost exactly 10 minutes! They were a very good ten minutes in which we saw a great Gerrard/Torres combo for the opening goal but sadly games these days tend to last for at least 90 minutes and for 80 of those minutes we were pretty dreadful and were lucky to escape with a draw. It seems one of the worst mistakes a Liverpool team under Roy Hodgson can make is to score first because when we do we seem to stop playing.
Mind you it doesn’t always just take a goal for us to stop playing, Roy has made us into a versatile side and sometimes we can stop playing even without one as we did at Stoke on Saturday. We’ve had so many bad performances this season that it’s hard to pick out the worst but our “performance” at the weekend must certainly rank as a contender for the most dreadful. I’m almost embarassed to talk about tactics, but tactically it did seem to me to be almost a carbon copy of the “tactical” plan the manager used at Goodison a few weeks ago which everyone could clearly see was hopeless apart from our Roy who thought we played well that day.
Once again we sat back defending far too deeply and allowed Stoke to come at us. After 30 minutes of the game a stat came up on the screen that showed Stoke had 75% of the possession, 75 friggin percent! In truth, if Stoke had been a little more clinical in attack we would have been dead and buried by half-time and deservedly so. With the way other results went at the weekend it would have been an excellent time for us to pick up three points but there just seems to be no fire or belief in our team and it’s really hard to watch us struggling so badly.
I’m really trying hard not to be too hard on Hodgson because he seems like a decent enough man and I’ve no doubts he could do a good job at a smaller club somewhere but he is so far out of his depth at Liverpool it’s untrue. I think our performances and results speak for themselves. No doubt there are certain other false flag webshites out there that can make comparisons between our current results and and our results under other managers over the same time period but that’s just a stupid exercise undertaken [...]