Roy Hodgson... A Small Fish In A Big Pond... Full Of Sharks...

Firstly, I would like to start off by saying that this isn't an attack on Roy Hodgson personally or on his past achievements as a manager. He is one of the most respected and liked managers in the English game. He's managed one of the biggest clubs in Europe, Inter Milan. He has managed two international sides, Switzerland and Finland respectively and both with relative success and we all know how he did with Fulham, Uefa Cup Final and all that... Add to this that he a very nice person. always giving sensible opinions and respect for his opposition unlike some Premier League manager who we'll name on another day...

Okay, so where's my criticism going to come from I hear you ask? Well all you have to do is to listen to some of Hodgson's interviews and its obvious he doesn't have the mentality to be managing a club the size of Liverpool or the mentality to take on Manchester United and City, Chelsea and even Arsenal.

Now here's the time to prove it. What does a manager of a big club do when your player is criticized by the manager of your deadliest rivals? Well if you're Roy Hodgson you would avoid confronting the culprit and  let the media have a field day. This all happened after Liverpool's 3-2 defeat to Manchester United, Alex Ferguson was quoted as saying "I have watched it again. Fernando Torres made a meal of it. An absolute meal of it. There is no doubt he tried to get the player sent off." In response to this Hodgson responded by saying "Some of my coaches were jumping up and down but I didn’t have a great view. Sir Alex was closer to it." Now I can imagine what this would've done to his relationship with Torres and with Liverpool fans. These comments give me the impression that Sir Alex is a better judge of Liverpool players than their own manager?

Another one of these incidents occurred after Liverpool lost to Northampton in the Carling Cup. When asked about his clubs perilous position near the foot of the PL table he responded "Things are looking really, really bleak. It has been said that if you are in the bottom three, you are in a relegation fight, and I would have to go along with that". Now you're the manager of a team which has won 18 league titles and 5 European Cups and are now admitting there is a possibility that they may be relegated. This in a league which contains, West Ham, Wolves, Wigan, Blackpool, Fulham and West Brom as possible relegation fodder...

Hodgson has also failed to assert his control over transfer rumours. This also involves Fernando Torres, who was rumoured to be a Manchester United target when Wayne Rooney looked like he was about to leave. When questioned on the likelihood of the move materialising he responded by saying "I am not naive to believe there won't be any danger and we will never lose a player like Torres, I understand these things can happen. I don't believe we will lose him, we will do our best to ensure he stays, and I only hope I can do everything in my power to help him return to the very top level we know he has. I certainly hope he will get back very quickly, we want to get him back to form and back to the level we know he can achieve as quickly as possible." This is the talk of manager of an average sized club having one of his players eyed up by one of the giants not of a boss of a top club who doesn't want to sell to a rival.

If you compare Hodgsons reaction to Sir Alex Ferguson's when Real Madrid were exciting themselves over Cristiano Ronaldo. Ferguson came out and criticised Real Madrid regarding any interest they may have in the player involved, confirmed the player is happy and also ended up reporting them to FIFA. Now although the player didn't stay in the long run, but it showed that Ferguson was in charge and wouldn't have another club dictate affairs at his club, Hodgson hasn't done anything like this to show his power at the club.

Now top managers who are used to running big clubs with big ambitions would do whatever it takes to defend their clubs. For example Arsene Wenger has an aversion to seeing events when they involve his players committing distasteful acts, Ancelloti has the habit of having all his pre and post-match interviews sound the same regardless of the result or opposition which removes pressure from his players and finally Alex Ferguson seems to redirect the glare of the media away from the players to the match officials at key times.

These behaviour's aren't commendable qualities in general life but they are Machiavellian attributes that top managers need to hold their own against the media, their rivals and also to gain the trust and support of their players and fans. These are qualities that Roy Hodgson doesn't have and I feel in the long term it will cost him his job... 

Why Rafa Should Still Be At Liverpool...

Now I know that I'm going against the British media, pundits like Andy Gray and the former Texan owners of the club when I say that Rafa Benitez should still be managing Liverpool FC.

When Benitez first came to Liverpool it was off the back of deposing the two great powers of Spanish football, Barcelona and Real Madrid and making Valencia the champions of Spain. He came to an ailing giant of football. His predecessor Gerard Houllier had moderate success winning the UEFA Cup, FA Cup and the League Cup but failed to make Liverpool champions of England.

In his first season Rafa had immediate success winning the Champions League with a Liverpool side made up of Houllier signings and a few acquisitions made by Benitez from La Liga. Following this success I feel that Liverpool fans expected more of the same not realizing that the club was punching way above their weight.

Liverpool as a club are far behind the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and even Manchester City with regards to finances and facilities. If you start by looking at the size and quality of the stadiums. Both Manchester clubs have far larger stadiums in terms of capacity and Chelsea have invested millions in improving Stamford Bridge. Liverpool are still in Anfield which has a maximum capacity of 45,400 and was built in 1884. With the resources Benitez had available to him in comparison to Manchester United and Chelsea I feel that a European Cup, FA Cup and consistently qualifying for the Champions League is a good return.

I know that critics of Rafa point out signings such as Andrea Dossena, Alberto Aquilani, Robbie Keane and Ryan Babel as major flops. But in response to this I can say Rafa raised the profile of the club, signings such as Xabi Alonso (who Real Madrid were interested in at the time), Javier Mascherano, Fernando Torres, Daniel Agger, Dirk Kuyt and Pepe Reina showed Liverpool had the ambition and manager to attract the top talent from around Europe.

Benitez also improved the performances of Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher. Gerrard wasn't a 15+ goal midfielder before his arrival. Carragher under Houllier was a utility man usually shoved out to left back and not the cornerstone of a European Cup winning defence.

I also feel that the British media have been treating Benitez unfairly. Questions over the tactical shape and quality of his teams has been a major stick to beat Benitez with. On the left is the team Benitez had assembled the season before Christian Purslow became managing director at the club when they finished 2nd. Following his appointment I feel Benitez became an isolated figure at the club.

Many say that Rafa needed to leave the club due to the clubs poor finish and the club needed to progress. If this was the case it doesn't seem to be working. Under Roy Hodgson the club have lost Javier Mascherano, Albert Riera and Emiliano Insua who have been replaced by Christian Poulsen, Joe Cole and Paul Konchesky.

This time last season (25/10/2009) Liverpool were in 5th place in the Premiership after a 2-0 win over Manchester United. At the moment they are 19th with only one win this season recorded this season. Further to this at the peak of his powers Rafa led Liverpool to a 4-1 victory against Manchester United and 4-0 against Real Madrid.

The team which finished seventh under Benitez last season (on the left). Fernando Torres only played 15 league games which is less than half, imagine if Wayne Rooney only played 15 games for Manchester United? Without their talismanic striker Liverpool lacked the goal threat, Torres scored 12 goals in the games he played. This cannot be blamed on Benitez Torres due to the international calender hadn't had a break in two years (Euro 2008 was followed by the Confederations Cup).

I do understand that Xabi Alonso would've been a big miss for the team but it didn't seem to affect the form of Torres. And if you look at the bigger picture Liverpool were just 7 points off 4th place. Although finishing outside the top 4 is a failure but I don't feel there was as much of a gap between Liverpool and the teams challenging for that spot as there is now.

Liverpool's starting line up against Manchester United (bottom left) their biggest match of the season is a far weakened line up with an axis of Poulsen and Meireles, neither of whom have played in the Premier League before. Meireles has come from the weaker less physical Portuguese League and Poulsen was discarded after a disappointing time in Italy with Juventus. Konchesky is another player who I feel isn't a player qualified to play for a major club partnered with Joe Cole on the left. Yes this is the same Joe Cole who Chelsea felt was fit to let go for free and then spend 6 million to buy his replacement from Liverpool in the form of Yossi Benayoun. This clearly shows Roy Hodgson isn't qualified for the job and Liverpool have regressed as a club since Benitez left.

In view of this there are two main reasons why Rafa Benitez should still be Liverpool manager. Firstly, one bad season doesn't make him a bad manager, his previous successes should have bought him more time and secondly the club have been unable to find a better replacement.