Liverpool FC

[kinboshi]

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/latest-news/reds-to-don-poppy-shirts

Respect, hope they raise a lot

nice gesture and all that but wtf do you use to autograph black shirts?

Tippex.

[The Baron]

Oh dear Roy:

Roy Hodgson has defended his £4.5m purchase of Christian Poulsen despite admitting the midfielder will struggle to win acceptance from Liverpool supporters after a poor start to his Anfield career.

The Denmark international has endured a torrid time since his arrival from Juventus in the summer, when he was signed by Hodgson, his former manager at Copenhagen, as a replacement for the Barcelona-bound Javier Mascherano. Poulsen was withdrawn to ironic jeers against Napoli at Anfield last week while his 73rd-minute introduction for Dirk Kuyt during Wednesday's 1-1 draw with Wigan was booed by Liverpool fans.

Poulsen's price will rise to £5.5m depending on achievements at Liverpool and though Hodgson refused to defend the Dane at all costs he is confident the 30-year-old will justify the price tag and his judgment.

"He was good against Wigan, his introduction secured the point at least because he was very good when he came on," the Liverpool manager said. "Unfortunately I can't do anything about the fans, but he's had one or two games in front of our crowd where he's not played well and he knows he hasn't. He is devastated by that and the crowd, who aren't stupid, know he's not played well. It's a fact of life.

"He can only keep working hard and when he gets his chance he has to get on with his job. He had a job to do against Wigan and without his introduction, with a very tired Maxi Rodríguez and Dirk Kuyt, who knows we could even have lost the game. But he's got quality, he's a good defensive midfield player. He's not that bad on the ball, but let's not beat about the bush and try to disguise the fact – he's had a bad start."

Poulsen also struggled in Italy and in Spain with Sevilla and Hodgson admits the failure to make a positive early impression in England has had an impact on the midfielder. The manager said: "When I took him off in one game he was devastated, not just because I'd made the decision but because he knows he was nowhere near the level he can play. He knows having played in Italy, for Juventus, that when you play well the crowd sing your name and when you're not playing well they boo you. He knows that. But I have every faith in him. We will get a lot of good use out of him over the year but he knows it will be tough to win the fans over.

"I can't wave a magic wand to do that, I can't speak for them, but I'd be surprised if the ones at Wigan said he didn't do anything for the team because he did. He won a lot of challenges, got us on the counterattack on several occasions, didn't miss a pass and won a few headers. He's devastated because he wants to do well, because that's what he came to Liverpool to do. Every player gets sad if they're not immediately accepted by the crowd or if their performances aren't good enough to do that. But he's doing his best and people have bad games."

[The Baron]

He's also just publicly hammered Glen Johnson. Fookin ell.

[MANTIS01]

Poulsen needs an arm round his shoulder and some encouragement from the gaffer and Johnson needs a kick up the arse. Expert man-management Roy, wp.

[kinboshi]

Poulsen needs an arm round his shoulder and some encouragement from the gaffer and Johnson needs a kick up the arse. Expert man-management Roy, wp.

I actually agree with that, but Woy isn't going to convince the fans that he's a master tactician by bringing on a defensive midfielder with 10 minutes left against Wigan to secure a draw.  Poulsen was the wrong signing, but that's not guys fault.

I didn't think it was Poulsen being booed, more like Woy being booed for setting his stall out not to lose 1 point rather than try and win 3.

As for Johnson, he needs to lose a few pounds from the look of things and get back to playing as he was when he first signed and before he had his time out injured.

[The Baron]

Poulsen needs an arm round his shoulder and some encouragement from the gaffer and Johnson needs a kick up the arse. Expert man-management Roy, wp.

Yeah I was more referring to the 1 point mentality and the tactical blunder. Also the critique of Poulsen. Lol yeah he ain't bad at passing....

The guy is a press disaster.

[MANTIS01]

Going into the Wigan game I'm sure Hodgson was desperate for another victory, hence picking the same team that dispatched Chelsea. Watching the game I thought it was the players who lacked the heart, commitment and focus to win. My own opinion is that the players forced Roy to make that change with their performance. If you can't keep the ball in midfield I don't see the point in throwing on extra strikers. Anyway, looking at the bench I didn't see many game changers waiting in the wings.

[The Baron]

Ngog, Pacheco, Jovanovic, Babel, even Johnson from RM? However it's dressed up it's a bad choice designed to save 1 not win 3.

[The Baron]

Wow 23 mins of sitting back and conceeding possession. I'm sick of trying to be Fulham.

It's not our results, it's the manner in which they're achieved.

[The Baron]

After sticking with our last boss through some of the dross we served up last season I hope I'm not seen as a knee-jerkist....

HODGSON OUT!

[The Baron]

Hodgson has had six seasons in English football in the last 15 years. In all of that time though he has a quite incredible statistic of racking up only 13 Away wins:

1997/98 – Blackburn Rovers – 5 Away wins – Finished 6th

1998/99 – Blackburn Rovers – 0 Away wins – Sacked when 20th

2007/08 – Fulham – 3 Away wins – Finished 17th

2008/09 – Fulham – 3 Away wins – Finished 7th

2009/10 – Fulham – 1 Away win – Finished 12th

2010/11 – Liverpool – 1 Away win – Currently 11th

[kinboshi]

After sticking with our last boss through some of the dross we served up last season I hope I'm not seen as a knee-jerkist....

HODGSON OUT!

I know exactly how you feel.  It doesn't feel right, and it's not the 'Liverpool way' to be calling for the manager to go less than half-way through a season, especially with the turmoil that was going on at the club when he arrived.

BUT, (and you've mentioned this as well) it's not the results that are the problem, it's the manner in which we're playing 90% of our games and then his laughable comments in interviews and in the media.  We played well against Arsenal in the first game of the season, and we played well against Chelsea a week ago.  I seriously can't remember another game this season where we've played well.  We've nicked the odd win here and there, and maybe lost a few games where a draw would have been fair.  But there's nothing to cling on to in terms of improvement or any movement in the right direction.  Rafa was criticised for the way he got the team to play.  It was pretty effective though, and when it worked, it worked well.  The game against Chelsea was an aberration.  Instead of going to Wigan and Stoke and thinking that these will be tough sides to break down, but hopefully our class/talent/quality will come to the fore and we can prevail - we now go to these games looking to eke out a draw and the fans (quite rightly) fear the worst.  Then after we lose/draw, Hodgson comes out with comments that he's happy with the way we played, etc. 

Not since Souness have I wanted a Liverpool manager to be replaced during a season.  It says something that I'm reluctantly feeling the same way about Hodgson now.

[kinboshi]

Hodgson has had six seasons in English football in the last 15 years. In all of that time though he has a quite incredible statistic of racking up only 13 Away wins:

1997/98 – Blackburn Rovers – 5 Away wins – Finished 6th

1998/99 – Blackburn Rovers – 0 Away wins – Sacked when 20th

2007/08 – Fulham – 3 Away wins – Finished 17th

2008/09 – Fulham – 3 Away wins – Finished 7th

2009/10 – Fulham – 1 Away win – Finished 12th

2010/11 – Liverpool – 1 Away win – Currently 11th

[kinboshi]

That's a record of him winning 1 in 8 away games.

[The Camel]

The future of Liverpool football (Stolen from Queens Park Rangers)