ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE Liverpool v West Brom:HISTORY IS ripe for revision in football and has been tinkered with in Roy Hodgson's analysis of where it went wrong for him at Liverpool.
“It is difficult to compete with icons,” he has said in several appraisals of his 191 days in charge. But it was not the spectre of Kenny Dalglish that ended the Anfield reign of a man being touted as an alternative to Harry Redknapp for the England manager’s job.
Hodgson returns to Liverpool tomorrow for the first time since his dismissal and, in fairness to a man who took his leave with dignity last January, the argument that he was undermined once Dalglish applied to succeed Rafael Benitez is not entirely without foundation.
The availability of a club legend able to unite a club tearing itself apart when Hodgson arrived from Fulham in July 2010, however, oversimplifies the speed of his Anfield descent.
If there was astonishment at the then managing director Christian Purslow’s decision to replace Benitez with a manager possessing a steady yet unspectacular CV, it was balanced by the support Hodgson’s candidacy received from some Liverpool players and sections of the media.
Every ounce of hostility that summer was reserved for Tom Hicks and George Gillett. The calls for Dalglish did not commence until Blackpool beat Liverpool at Anfield in Hodgson’s 14th game in charge.
Hodgson was not helped by a transfer budget that pales in comparison with what Dalglish received from Fenway Sports Group and increased only when Javier Mascherano got his wish to join Barcelona as the deadline approached.
In came Raul Meireles, mainly played out of position until Dalglish took over, Joe Cole, Christian Poulsen, Paul Konchesky, Brad Jones and Milan Jovanovic, the latter a Benitez signing.
Only Jones remains available for a reunion tomorrow. Damien Comolli, recently sacked as Liverpool’s director of football, was at least accomplished at shifting deadwood.
The veteran’s resistance to criticism was wafer-thin, a surprise after two stints at Internazionale. He rounded on Liverpool fans and asked where the “famous Anfield support” had gone after a home defeat by Wolves. His downbeat public pronouncements may have reflected turmoil at Liverpool but did nothing to assuage the aspirations of a demanding support.
Likewise the friendship with Alex Ferguson, whom Hodgson refused to take to task after he had labelled Fernando Torres a cheat.
But it was not Ferguson, Dalglish, divisive owners, Poulsen, a media agenda or small-time comments that did for Hodgson. No, it was the worst football witnessed at Anfield in half a century, a League Cup third-round exit at home to Northampton Town and a return of seven wins in 20 league games that left the club four points above the relegation zone when his reign was brought to an end.
The style was encapsulated one afternoon when Daniel Agger tried to play his way out of defence.“Just f***ing launch it!” came the rebuke from the technical area.
The West Bromwich Albion manager admitted yesterday the Dalglish factor was not the sole cause of his demise.
“Whenever you go to a club and there is an icon in the background who is a candidate for the job it’s not easy,” he said. “But I didn’t have any fears. People gave me the chance and unfortunately what caused my downfall was a lack of results more than anything else.”
Dalglish, then club ambassador and face in the directors’ box as Hodgson toiled, said: “It was a difficult time for Liverpool football club, the same as what the league run has been recently. We were not winning games and, if you’re doing that, it will always be a more difficult time at any club.
“I have the utmost respect for Roy as a person, a football coach and a manager. . . With Roy coming back here, I’m sure the people will respect the fact he served Liverpool and I’m sure they will give him a warm reception.”
Hodgson didn’t sound convinced. “There is no reason to give me a good reception because they didn’t like me when I was there,” he said.
Guardian Service
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