The following article was written by Henry Cloke of Football Fancast. Make sure to check out the latest news, blogs and podcasts at FFC – ed.
Come the January transfer window Liverpool Manager Roy Hodgson and Director of Football Strategy Damien Comolli have a tough job on their hands. They have to show that their club still has the ambitions of a top club without the exorbitant budget that has been available in previous transfer windows. The aim, I’m sure will be a push for fourth place in the Premier League. To help them meet their end and to placate the fans, new recruits are sure to be necessary.
The club’s owners Fenway Sports Group are sure to insist that Roy Hodgson is more careful with his spending than the likes of Rafa Benitez have been in the past. Speaking to the press about the matter Hodgson said, “I would be very disappointed if I went out in January and spent a lot of money on the wrong players and then found that come the summer, we are no better off.”
So what exactly is his aim over the January transfer window? What kind of players are the club looking to add to their squad? Hodgson’s belief is that the emphasis has shifted from quantity to quality. The new additions must be such “that everyone who watches us, fans, journalists, can see why we have bought them, like Raul Meireles. We are looking for players who will make us better.”
The Portuguese midfielder joined Liverpool this August and following Steven Gerrard’s hamstring injury has taken centre stage in the Reds’ midfield. His performances have made him a fan favourite and his commitment to Liverpool’s cause has often made his fellow teammates look lachrymose in comparison.
It’s certainly true that more players like Meireles would help to bolster Liverpool’s attempt to earn a position in next season’s Champions League. With limited funds available it’s clear that Liverpool can’t afford to bring in lots of unproven players.
The focus must now be placed upon quality, not quantity. I would recommend going after players like Luis Suarez and Moussa Sissoko who are really going to add something to the Liverpool squad. The reports that Liverpool are interested in the likes of Wigan’s Charles N’Zogbia does not fill me with much hope.
If necessary, Liverpool can utilise the players they have in swap deals or to rack up the finances necessary for transfer fees. It seems to me that the likes of Maxi, Skrtel and Spearing have come to the end of their time at Anfield.
It’s time for a January clearout. Once the manager has got rid of the dead weight, the focus can be placed upon bringing in players with the quality to help make Liverpool competitors once more.
Whether Roy Hodgson has the managerial nous to do this remains to be seen. January will be a big month at Liverpool Football Club.
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Roy Hodgson is the worse manager in the history of Liverpool. He should have never been hired from the start but since a change in ownership has been taken place we still see the new owners watching pathetic the complete humiliation of LFC’s football heritage. Nor Roy Hodgson shows respect to the LFC’s football heritage as also and in its fans specifically. Why isn’t he stepping down? He doesn’t see that he is dwarf manager for this giant of football?
There is no “best approach” under Hodgson….end of story!
the best approach for LFC in January is to sack Roy appoint Kenny as caretaker manager. spend no money at all as the present squad if motivated could achieve mid table at least. then have a larger war chest for the new manager when appointed in summer.
this season is dead thanks to the incompetence of our present manager.
THEIR AIM IS 4TH PLACE????????? under rubroy i would just be relieved to finish 4th BOTTOM!!!
the man is a clown, he said last night there is a difference between hope and expectation and they were HOPING to win! does that mean he wasn’t EXPECTING to win? i would expect liverpool ladies to whup the bottom team, who couldn’t buy a win and with their best players missing. i mean absolutely no disrespect to wolves, blackpool and northampton but i EXPECT these teams to come to anfield and get trounced!
lfc MUST go into 2011 without rubroy because, honestly, if we think, under hodgson, we are better than the leeds and newcastle teams who were relegated, then we are sadly mistaken!
The team needs structure and a Liverpool way of playing a’la Barca always playing 4-3-3 from the youth teams to the 1st team. All red’s would agree Kenny behind Rushie was our set up and Rafa had similar with Nando and Stevie. This should be our identity, our way of playing. 4-2-3-1, 4-4-1-1 whatever you want. But this is what the players are used to, it allows them to press more and higher up the pitch.
GK – Reina
LB) Aurelio CB) Agger (1st choice) + Carra/wilson RB) Johnson
RM) Maxi/Kuyt CM) Gerrard + Meireles LM)Babel (new blood required for BOTH Wings)
In the Hole) Cole/Pacheco/Kuyt and Stevie when playing top teams with another DM next to Raul (lucas)
CF) Nando
Thats a better team than most in front of us in the table. Fact is Better managers get better performances from lesser players, Roy never has and never will. The Europa league is No baromater, McClaren did the same with Boro, then got the England job and look how that worked out.
That team should beat
Meireles should NEVER be played in wide areas, it doessn’t suit him, particually when you’ve got a right sided forward playing on the left, it leaves you narrow which leads to scrappy disjointed performances.
Unfortunately Roy STILL does not know this and chalks last night’s performance as “a bad day at the office”. All he had todo was swap ngog for gerrard and leave everyone else where they were.
Get that german b*****d lowe in, at least he can pick a system that works for his players.
Mereles and Lucas works why change it? Stevie And Torres works why not play it?
Mereles on the right Kuyt on the left does not!!!!!!
Sack Roy now!!! I supported him as I thought he did well and Mereles was looking good but the only reason he played Mereles in his proper position in previous weeks was because Gerrard was injured and it was enforced upon him.
If he stays it will be more of the same. We need someone who can motivate the players we have already and pick an attacking team out of what we have got and maybe add another striker and left winger in transfer window.
Width Pace and Skill:-
Reina
Johnson Carragher Agger Aurellio
Babel Mereles Lucas Jovanovic
Gerrard
Torres
Jab Me – that’s pretty much the team that I’ve been calling for all season, except I prefer the wide-men to be pushed forward in support of the striker and the central man (Gerrard/Cole/Pacheco) to pick the ball up deeper, with more men ahead of him.
People can complain about video games all they want, but maybe if Hodgson had a flipping go on one he’d realise how dumb he’s been with his team selection!!
There’s no such thing as ‘best approach’ under Roy Hodgson. The best approach for the club is to sack the clown immediately and either appoint Kenny or bring Rafa back. He publicly admitted that he’s never heard of Arda Turan before so forget about players like Moussa Sissoko or Luis Suarez. With this guy in charge, he’ll waste 20 mil on Charlton Cole, David Bentley and Wayne Bridge.
I do believe Henry when he speaks of bringing in young talent with high resale value ala Wenger.
I do not believe that the clubs policy will allow the likes of Carlton Cole to join or i am at least hopeful.
With Hodgson in the hotseat, Liverpool fans be prepared for more signings like Poulsen, Konchesky and Cole…
Speaking of new players recruitment, why not recruit a new manager (in addition of the new players) instead?