Posts Tagged ‘Pre Season Training’
Liverpool job is Roy Hodgson’s biggest challenge yet
He may have held 15 different coaching positions in a 34 year career, but Roy Hodgson arguably faces his toughest job test yet at Liverpool.
The Fulham manager has agreed a two year deal to take over at Anfield and will join in time for pre-season training this week.
But he comes to a club still battered and bruised after a disastrous campaign last year which saw early exits from both domestic cups, the Champions League and a lowly 7th place finish. The Premier League 2010/2011 odds suggest they could struggle again.
Added to that is the £350million debt placed on the club by controversial owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett, as well as doubts over the futures of star players Steven Gerrard, Javier Mascherano and Fernando Torres. You could have forgiven many a manager for not touching the job with a bargepole.
But maybe Hodgson’s calm assurance is just what they need. With so much drama going on, on and off the pitch, Hodgson’s first job could be to use his vast experience to focus the players on the task in hand.
The futures of Torres, Gerrard and Mascherano remain in doubt despite the appointment. I find it highly unlikely that all three would leave, with Torres the most likely to stay. However, any departure would boost Hodgson’s fairly meagre transfer budget, currently in the region of £15 million.
Stories linking Liverpool with Fulham players have already begun, - though I find Brade Hangeland a more realistic target than the aging if popular Danny Murphy. Hodgson is a canny enough manager to know he will have to buy a better class of player than he did at Fulham if Liverpool are to meet expectations.
He will, of course, have the full backing of the Liverpool fans regardless of whether they saw him as their first choice. But a planned protest by the Spirit of Shankly fans group this weekend highlights the deep divisions between the club and its supporters at present.
A few poor results and the atmosphere at Anfield could become poisonous as the fans direct their anger at the board, making life doubly difficult for the players. Hodgson needs hit the ground running if he is to get the club on the up again. The pressure is well and truly on.
There could even be further complications down the line. England’s World Cup odds made them third favourites for the tournament this year, but they crashed out.
If Capello hangs on, but leaves the job in a year or so Hodgson could be tempted to replace him.
Tags: Anfield, Champions League, Danny Murphy, Deep Divisions, Disastrous Campaign, Doubts, Fernando Torres, First Choice, First Job, Fulham, George Gillett, Javier Mascherano, Liverpool Fans, Pre Season Training, Premier League, Roy Hodgson, Star Players, Steven Gerrard, Target, Tom Hicks