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Where has his calm demeanour gone?

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It was because of this sort of ability to “steady the ship” that Roy was brought in during the summer. It was believed his calm, methodical approach along with his “35 years” of experience could help lift the gloom and doom around Anfield in a difficult time. I don’t need to tell anyone that no such steadying of the ship has occurred as of yet, as we sit 18th in the table after seven games in the league. The remarks above are certainly uncharacteristic of Roy no matter what you say about his managerial abilities. So why has his gentle persona gone missing?

Some would say it is merely the fact he is out of his depth, but if you ask any top manager in the game about his managerial abilities, they would disagree with you. Perhaps it is a combination of factors then. In his long and varied career I doubt Roy has ever come across the number of difficulties he has had to face at Anfield. At nearly every club a new manager goes into, there are going to be problems on the pitch but combined with the ownership situation, the supporter protests and uncertainty around the futures over a certain number of players, perhaps he feels it is all too much to cope with.

In recent years, Roy has been used to coaching underdogs rather than a top club. FC Copenhagen, Finland and Fulham were all success stories but nothing really was expected of him or the players under his guidance. Now he is at Liverpool, and he is expected to deliver, perhaps this burden of expectation from the fans and media has got to him, and he is beginning to make the wrong decisions when in other circumstances he would make the right choices. At the moment, we are seeing him become increasingly irritated by constant questions surrounding his management and his abilities. Above all else he has to believe in himself that he can do it, and most importantly not let expectations take away his focus of getting the work done. After 35 years in management he should surely know this, but he really has only had 2 of those years (at Inter Milan) where he had this similar pressure. He must find a way to deal with it.

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4 comments

  • neil says:

    those so called “underdogs” were among the top teams in their own country and im sure they carried a lot of pressure also

  • Davie says:

    I honestly dont think Roys the man for us. But one of the questions that have to be asked was he backed properly in the T/Window? Answer simply NO look at our signings & outgoings plus can we compare Poulsen to Masch? Any manager we get needs backed properly with no half measures even King Kenny!! One thing for sure Kenny would lift everyones spirits the players & supporters i dont think Roy ever will.

  • David says:

    Dalglish please…

  • tom hallahan says:

    He plays Poulsen as a defensive midfielder who doesn’t defend (see him ambling back for both goals yesterday), and plays Meirelles, Cole, Jovanovic, Babel, Kuyt, Agger out of position.
    Instead of elevating himself to Liverpool’s standards, he’s bringing Liverpool down to his level – which is lower half of the table. If Liverpool wanted to win trophies, they should have installed a manager that actually has done that.
    Time for the return of The king.

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