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...