Rafa Benitez Leaves Liverpool

[TCO]

Probably the most unambitious choice ever.

"You rang?"

[The Quasi Juice]

Meh, good choice to appoint an British manager. All those Spanish and Italian coaches first need 2 seasons to properly speak English. Hodgson knows the league very well.

Edited June 30, 2010 by The Quasi Juice

[Adam]

I think Hodgson could be a shrewed appointment, it's positive to have an englishman in charge of a 'top' club too.

[therockbox]

You wouldn't be saying that if it was your club.

[Liam]

Probably the most unambitious choice ever.

I legitimately can't see why Liverpool fans are complaining about Hodgson. Who could you have got otherwise?

Hodgson isn't as high profile as some, but the guy has a wealth of experience, with some good teams. They need someone to steady the ship as much as anything else, and man management wise, he could probably get more out of some of your players than was apparent last season.

[Pesci]

I don't see who we could realistically get to placate Torres and co that the club is "moving forward" - Pellegrini if he'd even want the job, but I think he'd be more of a Juande Ramos than another Rafa and I'd rather we had somebody like Hodgson who seems the reliable choice and knows a lot about football. There isn't much ambition but I can't see the owners staying for more than a couple of years longer and Hodgson won't care what's happening behind the scenes, he'll be dedicated to doing the best he can on the field. I'm not exactly pleased by the appointment because it's a depressing step down, but it's definitely the best of a bad situation.

[Hobo]

Hodgson, to be honest, was the one option I wanted out of any of the names bandied about. Is he a step down from Rafa Benitez? Is it slightly unambitious? Maybe. But it's better than appointing someone who hasn't been successful in football for fifteen years and not managed a club in ten (Kenny Daglish) or someone who has had two jobs, one of which he didn't last a full year in (Jurgen Klinsmann).

He's certainly been one of the best managers in the Premier League for the last two years. He is probably the best and for a long time a highly underrated English manager. I'd really rather him than anyone else.

[Liam]

And considering all the complaints on SSN from Liverpool fans, fuck it, we'll take him back >_>

[IAceI]

God I wish he'd stayed at Fulham.

He's gone from being this loveable guy, now he's going to be despised by an entire city in Liverpool, then all Man Utd fans for going to Liverpool (and that's hundreds of cities if you count their fanbase)...

Still, better than him becoming England manager and becoming a nationally despise man. At least this way he's keeping it at Anfield. Still, I wish he'd just stayed at Fulham

[Hobo]

John Aldridge has said that Roy Hodgson is going to have a huge challenge to turn Liverpool around, quite Shankley.

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH

[therockbox]

Probably the most unambitious choice ever.

I legitimately can't see why Liverpool fans are complaining about Hodgson. Who could you have got otherwise?

In fairness to Hodgson, the complaints aren't particularly directed at him, they're more directed about what his hiring represents. He's a symbol of what Hicks and Gillett have done to us - an uninspiring, media friendly appointment which suggests that we'll be perfectly happy with finishing in the top half of the table and perhaps a decent cup run. If Man Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs or Man City needed a new manager tomorrow, would Hodgson have been considered? Not a chance. If we'd have sacked Rafa last season, would Hodgson's name have been mentioned? I doubt it.

He's done well at Fulham, but that's a completely different kettle of fish to the Liverpool job under normal circumstances, let alone the complete clusterfuck of a situation we currently find ourselves in. Because Hodgson is such an average choice - and lets be fair, his record is pretty much exactly what you'd expect from a journeyman - he's obviously going to be seen as Purslow's man - someone who won't kick up a fuss when players are sold over his head, and someone who won't demand money back from those sales to reinvest in the team. He's in a no lose situation - if he does well (and to the media, 'well' would be considered 6th place) he's an absolute genius who should be England manager. If he does badly, then, well, it's the club's fault because it's in such a mess.

The other concern is that, given Hodgson's age and his previous form (he certainly isn't a club builder), he is pretty much the opposite of what we need right now. One of the things from Benitez's reign that is usually ignored is how he fought (successfully) to completely turn our youth system around. He brought in Borrell, who played a large part in bringing through Barcelona and Spain's current crop, to overhaul the academy. He increased our scouting network across South America and countries like Hungary - places where there is currently a swell of talent. Hodgson's knowledge base is primarily Scandinavia, which, compared to what it was 20 years ago, is suffering a bit of a drought. There are obviously exceptions to the rule, but I'm concerned that the one thing we can rely on under the current regime - a solid youth system - is going to be overlooked under Hodgson because it isn't an area he generally concerns himself with.

[Crybaby Bunting]

First real pic of Hodgeson as Liverpool manager

I don't know about you... but there's always something wierd when you see a manager that you've grown accustomed to wearing something slightly different... like a new tie or jacket in their new teams colours.

I doesn't seem to have been that obvious lately because notable managers seem to have been going to clubs with similar kit colours (Hughes from Blackburn to City, Mouriniho from Chelsea to Inter and McLeash from Scotland to Birmingham)

I think I was the same with seeing Steve Bruce go to Sunderland from Wigan, you have a guy who's been wearing mostly blue for AGES suddenly wearing red :/