Saturday, January 1, 2011

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A New Year, An Old Story!

Posted: 31 Dec 2010 08:50 AM PST

"It was the best of times and it was the worst of times." That famous opening line from Charles Dickens, A Tale of two Cities was beaten into me at school and as we approach the end of another frustrating year it has popped into my mind as a very good description of what we Liverpool fans have had to endure in 2010.

It is the best of times in terms of it being a year that saw us finally get rid of Hicks and Gillett, the club's two former parasitic owners who were bleeding the club dry and pushing us towards extinction, but it is also the worst of times in terms of what we have seen on the pitch over these past 12 months. The year began with Rafa's failed attempts to turn around a poor, injury-ravaged start to the previous campaign and the media with perhaps the assistance of one or two of our own players ensured that he would never see another one so we had to say goodbye to the man who made us believe again.

There then followed an "extensive" worldwide search of Fulham to find his successor and once again the media with perhaps the assistance of one or two of our own players more than played their part in saddling us with Roy Hodgson. Under normal circumstances there is usually at least a little bit of excitement among supporters when a new manager comes in but Hodgson's arrival at Anfield was greeted with almost universal indifference among Liverpool supporters. The media tried to talk the guy up with their usual mix of spin and bullshit but we've taken so much crap from the media over the years, most of us have become totally immune from their influence and developed minds of our own.

I'm not sure what options the club had at the time but no matter what they were, it's really hard to think of a more mundane appointment than Roy Hodgson. Perhaps, with the ownership situation and courtroom battles ahead, they felt Hodgson would be a safe pair of hands to steady the ship while things were sorted out in the boardroom but whatever the reasons, it's turned out to be an absolute disaster and undoubtedly the worst managerial appointment in the history of the club.

I think we all realised from the beginning that this guy didn't have the credentials to manage the club but we tried to support him and hoped that maybe he would rise to the occasion. However it quickly became apparent that he was totally out of his depth and about as trustworthy as an Irish banker. Last night's 1-0 home defeat against bottom club Wolves was the latest in an increasingly long line of embarrassments since he took charge of the side and a perfect example of the mind-numbingly dull tactics and complete stupidity that have become all too familiar to us over the past six months.

I don't have any coaching badges, I was a boy scout for two years and never even got a poxy merit badge, but Shankly once said "football is a simple game over complicated by idiots", and I don't think there has ever been a better description of football so it's the way I've always tried to view the game as a fan. Take the situation with Steven Gerrard last night. While he was out injured we had Meireles and Lucas developing an understanding and doing well in the centre of midfield. We also had Maxi doing well on the left side and Kuyt getting stuck in on the right. Maybe not a brilliant midfield but it had balance and it looked like it would get better if allowed to develop over a few games. But then Gerrard becomes available again and Hodgson throws him into the side like a hand grenade!

He played him in the centre of midfield, moved Meireles to the right, Kuyt to the left and dropped Maxi. The result was chaos that totally unbalanced the side. Kuyt kept coming inside which meant we had no width on the left except for Konchesky, which definitely meant we had no width on the left! Gerrard and Meireles seemed to be switching positions throughout the game and at times seemed confused about where they were supposed to be playing and Lucas was left back peddling trying to plug the gaps as best he could. Surely it would have been far simpler and more sensible to leave the midfield in place and let Gerrard take Eggnog's place instead of disrupting half the side to accommodate him.

There are times when you can blame players for not performing but our problems on Wednesday and in many of our other games this season have, in my opinion, been mainly caused by bad management or at the very least bad judgement by the manager. If the team is set up correctly and doesn't perform then you can perhaps look at the players but when the team is poorly set up, as it was on Wednesday and in other games, then you've got to look at the manager. Hopefully we will be active in the forthcoming transfer window but bringing in new players will not compensate for having a manager who is about as much use as a chocolate teapot clearly isn't up to the job either on or off the pitch.

Much has been made of the crowd reaction on Wednesday the chants for "Dalglish" and "Hodgson for England" etc. I've never heard the Kop chanting such things towards our own manager before but on the other hand I don't think I have ever seen such an inept display by a Liverpool team at Anfield before either so I think the crowd were perfectly right to vent their frustration and Hodgson only has himself to blame. Afterwards he made the situation even worse by hitting out at the crowd and has since tried to row back from his comments but it's too late for that, I think he burned his bridges with the fans a long time ago and I have no sympathy for him.

His comments after the game were all over the net and in the media but his condescending remarks towards Liverpool supporters, known as the most knowledgeable fans in the game, go back much further than that. As I recall, he referred to the fans protest against Hicks and Gillett "a distraction" and in various other interviews he has said that Liverpool fans expect the side to win every single game or it's a disaster, he's also said on a number of occasions that we have unrealistic expectations and recently said that we are expecting someone to come in with a magic wand etc. Comments such as these make it sound as if he regards us as a bunch of kneejerk morons who don't know our football and our opinions are unimportant. It makes you wonder if this guy has ever even met a Liverpool fan.

Like football supporters of all clubs we do have a kneejerk section of fans but 90% of us are pretty far-minded and most certainly do know our football. For the record, I don't expect the team to win every single game but I do expect us to win most and at least put in a decent performance in the ones that we lose. My expectations are that a team that finished second two seasons ago and 7th last season with a crippling injury list for most of the campaign should at least be capable of challenging for a top four position with a largely fully fit squad and not be sitting three points off the relegation zone, I don't think that's unreasonable! And I don't expect a manager to arrive with a magic wand but I would like a man in charge who knows what he's doing, respects the fans and can take the club forward playing a decent brand of football because we certainly haven't got that at the moment!

So my number one wish for 2011 is that we get a new manager in as soon as possible. Hodgson might make it at a smaller club but he knows as much about being a Liverpool manager as a hedgehog knows about crossing the road and if he was a dog he would have been taken out behind the barn and put out of his misery a long time ago! As for who should come in, I don't really know. The romantic in me would like to see King Kenny back in charge until at least the end of the season but he's probably been out of the game too long. I don't think a Rafa return would be on the cards either. I doubt he'd be happy working with Comolli and his relationship with some of the players might make it difficult. One of his big problems last season was that there were too many personalities in our dressing room, and most of them belonged to Steven Gerrard!

So maybe a fresh start with somebody new would be best for all concerned. There have been a few interesting names mentioned but one man I would hate to see in charge is Moaning O'Neill. He is another media darling who will be sure to be pushed forward by his press buddies if the position becomes available but I think he would be just as bad as Hodgson. Ironically the only British manager I would have any interest in seeing taking over at Anfield would be Owen Coyle, the manager of our next opponents Bolton. I think he is doing a great job at Bolton and if we were looking for a bright young footballing manager, he would certainly be an interesting choice, although I think it's more likely we would go for someone a bit more established such as the much touted Rijkaard.

But I suppose its pointless speculating about it until the NESV guys bite the bullet and get rid of this waster Hodgson before he does even more damage. Anyway I'm off now to celebrate the New Year with my old friend Stella so a Happy New Year to you all and I suggest you go out tonight and consume large quantities of alcohol because I've just looked at our upcoming fixtures and I think we're all going to need it!

Keep the Faith
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