What have you done Roy? – Part 2
Roy does himself no favours by continuously trying to lower the expectations of the fans. He is man filled with mediocrity and he has been desperately trying to instil that mentally into http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Liverpool-c39809’s fans.
However, he has successful done that in Liverpool’s play. Unfortunately for him the fans will never accept Europa league, year in year out – which, by the look of things will be considered quite an achievement.
Roy can’t be faulted for the departures of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Alberto-Aquilani-c4313 – who has been a sensation back in Italy – leave on loan was nothing less than a disgraceful decision.
He let Insua go on loan to be replaced by http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Joe-Cole-c18694 and Brad Jones.
Only Meireles looks to be a player of Liverpool standard. He was named Liverpool’s player of the month for November and this was when http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Steven-Gerrard-c34196 was injured and he played in his preferred central midfield role.
However, last night when Gerrard return, Meireles was pushed wide out on the right, while Kuyt switched over to the left. Another example of his ‘cluelessness’.
At the start of the campaign, there was widespread suggestion that Hodgson can’t be blamed for being left with squad players such as Kyrgiakos, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lucas-c22528, Maxi and Ngog. Yet, these players have shown their worth and played key role so far this campaign.
Lucas was finally preferred to Poulsen after his dreadful displays one after another, while Cole’s absence and lack of form gave Maxi a run of games in the first team. It was Incredible to see Maxi play his best football in a red shirt during the past month,
yet he was on the bench last night to accommodate Meireles on the tight and hence Kuyt on the left.
But what about the likes of Torres, Johnson, Reina and Gerrard. Has any one of them done anything of note all season? In fact, Torres has been awful all season and Gerrard has been playing in his beloved central midfield position as if he would rather prefer
to play somewhere else.
It clearly shows that Roy has failed wretchedly to get the best out of his top personnel; another reason why Liverpool have been languishing around mid table.
His tactics are nothing short of appalling and the worst of it all is that he never changes them. His substitutions were strange as well. Kuyt who was having one of his worst nights on the left, but he stayed on for the entire game while Meireles, who was
at least passing the ball decently, was taken off.
The return of Steven Gerrard would have meant that he goes in the starting line up in place of Ngog and play behind Torres - a partnership that took Liverpool to second place finish in 2008/09 season.
However, after going a goal down, chants from the Kop for Dalglish and ‘Roy for England’ Roy felt that he needed to do something. Until last night he has been stubborn enough to not make any changes until the 70th minute mark. Last night it changed,
and it was an indication that Roy was feeling the pressure and he made substitutions just for the sake of it.
The funny part was that two substitutions were made with a gap of ‘1 minute’. Why would someone do that? Did a game change so dramatically in that one minute or did he just look around at the bench and said ‘ok, you go as well’.
Roy simply has to go. His press conferences have been disgraceful and his comments last night, after the deserving booing, were even more embarrassing.
"I am getting used to it, that is the way it is," said the 63-year-old, "We've had to live that with quite a long time now as ever since I came here the famous Anfield support has not really been there.”
He said such negativity is affecting his players, but what about the negativity he emanates in his every single press conference and in his every action on the touch line.
Liverpool legend Phil Neal was spot on with his comments when he suggested the Roy’s turning on the Kop will hurt him.
"Hodgson could rue saying those words about the fans, that they haven't backed him," Neal said.
"Against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Wolves-c40952 there was 90 minutes without a shot on goal, no pressure, and no excitement for the fans. And that's down to the players and down to Hodgson."
He added: "We couldn’t believe what we were seeing. We didn’t put any pressure on Wolves. There was no cohesion and no-one looked as they were enjoying playing. We didn’t look a team and that’s the frightening thing.
"Shankly and Paisley would have been turning in their graves to see that pathetic team effort."
Neal summed up the feeling of every Liverpool fan and it’s about time NESV show that they have ambitions which are certainly not matched by Roy Hodgson.
Last night’s claim that he hasn’t been fully supported by the Red’s fans should be the final nail in his coffin.
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