A furious Roy Hodgson hit out at his critics who have questioned his training methods and ability to lead Liverpool back amongst English and European football’s elite, after a less than ominous start to his Merseyside reign.
Hodgson said it is “insulting” to suggest he cannot manage Liverpool’s mega-stars as the club enters its Anfield clash against Blackpool in the bottom three, after Everton’s first win of the season plunged the Reds into that position.
The former Fulham boss also compared unfavourably some of his current players to those he previously managed at Craven Cottage, in a refrain that bore resemblance to Rafael Benitez’s constant finger pointing in the Spaniard’s final season at the club.
However, the verbal attack launched by Hodgson would also indicate that the experienced coach is his own man and below the surface is a steely character who will not allow himself to be messed with.
Yet results will matter the most and Hodgson has not seen the best of them so far, with Liverpool picking up just six points from their first six Premier League games and having been dumped out unceremoniously from the Carling Cup by League Two side Northampton Town.
Fernando Torres has also struggled for form although the striker has been the side’s major source of goal assists in recent games, while Hodgson’s summer signing Joe Cole has largely toiled in anonymity since returning to the side from a three match ban.
“It is insulting to suggest that because you move to a new club, your methods suddenly don’t work when they’ve held you in good stead for 35 years and made you one of the most respected coaches in Europe. It’s unbelievable,” Hodgson said.
“I’ve had two-and-a-half wonderful years (at Fulham) where nothing ever negative was said about me and my team. Now maybe people are saying negative things. It doesn’t change anything. I work the same way as I did last year.
“My methods have translated from Halmstads to Malmo to Orebro to Neuchatel Xamax to the Swiss national team and many other jobs as well. I am doing the same things and the most important things to me are the players.
“We are six games into a 38-game season. I couldn’t give a monkey’s whether we’re 16th or 18th at the moment. Be realistic, don’t insult my intelligence with that. What bothers me is that we have only got six points and I would have liked a few more. But then I knew Manchester United and Manchester City were going to be tough games. I knew Arsenal with 10 men was going to be a tough game, so maybe six points isn’t so bad at all. We are averaging two points from the other three.”
Hodgson also criticised some of his players’ quality, refuting accusations by the press that he should be getting better results with a Liverpool squad that, on the surface, appears to be better than that afford at Craven Cottage.
Hodgson added: “I don’t understand questions about Liverpool and Fulham players being different types. At the moment arguably one or two of the players that are suggested as being very different to the Fulham players maybe aren’t playing any better than the Fulham players played. So maybe people should be having a look at that. If I can be accusatory of some journalists, I think they work on names and not on performances. A judgment is based on their name and not necessarily what they have actually done on the day.”
Tags: English Premier League, Fernando Torres, Fulham, Joe Cole, Liverpool, Liverpool news, Roy Hodgson
