Benteke to Liverpool? Villa should strive to hold on to him

The Beast of Bodymoor

It's all over the papers: Liverpool want Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke.

With thirteen goals in fourteen games, it's no wonder he's on the radar of every Premier League club with ambition.

But Liverpool? They're no longer a Champions League perennial and both fans and players alike looked as though they couldn't wait for the season's end.

With lame duck Brendan Rodgers at the helm admitting he'd accept the sack, what would Benteke be walking into?

Steven Gerrard, arguably the greatest to don the Red shirt played his last game in a 6-1 thrashing at Stoke which followed a final Anfield bow, a poor 3-1 reverse to Crystal Palace.

Raheem Sterling was pilloried, mocked and jeered by the travelling away support – Rodgers had urged the fans not to give him a hard time.

This is how they revere their star

So while Benteke prepares for the FA Cup Final with the inspirational Tim Sherwood coaching him to better form, why on earth would he switch to Anfield. Because they were famous once?

If a Champions League club came calling, it'd be more understandable for the 24-year-old Belgian striker to move on. EURO 2016 is on the horizon. Could Villa repel interest from Wolfsburg or Sporting Lisbon? It'd be harder.

No, this is a moment for Villa to use mere Anfield interest to secure him on improved terms over a longer period.

He's on a four-year deal until 2017 so adequate compensation for one of the Premier League's hottest properties is assured - but if Villa are to build on a bright young manager and his more focused squad, they need to treat Benteke as if he were a new signing.

I say pay him what he wants - and when his stock rises even higher next season, then accept his departure.

Benteke's farewell needs to be on Villa's terms. It's not now and it's certainly not to Anfield.

The World Cup is amazing so far - enjoy it and don't worry too much about England

The biggest prize

If you like your team to compete but ultimately lose "Eddie Edwards-style", England will fit you like a Cup Final suit.

We've never quite shaken off that "it's the taking part that counts" hint of amateurism that enabled us to export our Beautiful Game to the world.

"We have Barkley, Sturridge, Sterling, Henderson and the Ox for the future", they say. Fearless, talented and if not millionaires already, the Premier League will take care of that within months.

England's future looked bright with Gazza too as we watched the semifinal defeat to Germany at Italia 90. Remember that? It was the last time Daft-As-A-Brush shone on the world stage. 

As for the Liverpool players, let's see how good they are competing in the Champions League. 

They're our England backbone because Fergie retired and Manchester United's youngsters lost their father figure at the same time as Rodgers created his. 

I'm too long in the tooth to worry about England's inevitable defeats. We've sacrificed our national team in favour of the Premier League for two decades, so enjoy your club, whatever its division.

And support England with the same approach English football treats it - as a bit of summer fun.

For all the attention foisted on Roy's boys, club football is the focus in England for the foreseeable future. 

Wembley minute's silence gives way to respectful applause

This got a mixed reaction when I posted it on Twitter. It's spontaneous applause from the FA Cup semi-final between Hull and Sheffield United at Wembley.

It broke out within seconds of the referee's starting whistle. Compare it to the moving silence at Anfield before Liverpool's clash with Manchester City hours earlier.

It was as if Wembley was commemorating and Anfield was mourning.

There were those who understood the clapping. But some expressed that it seemed to celebrate the fight for justice rather than commemorate the dead.

25 years on and the wounds of Hillsborough will never quite heal completely.

Liverpool Football Brand

I have a good friend Robert, who as a teenager growing up in Liverpool in the seventies and eighties lived and breathed the unfolding brilliance and tragedy of the Anfield era from Paisley to Dalglish.

Then his life changed dramatically and he moved to Michigan USA, where he's been for the last twenty years.

Suddenly, his teenage son loves "soccer" and NBC have brought the Premier League to Rob's TV screen. So he wrote to me for a "read in" on his old club. 

"Could Liverpool finish in the top three? Do they have a strong attack, average midfield and good defence? Is the fixture schedule flattering to their current third place league position?", he asked with renewed zeal.

Rob's understanding of LFC from childhood is so deep, I thought he'd appreciate my historical long view here. This is what I replied to him:

Liverpool have two world-class players and a dozen competent ones. 

One of their world class players stands as a legacy to the city's fifty years of elite football culture, socialized from birth. The other is a legacy to Liverpool's decade-long flirtations with the Champions League, now firmly over.  

This dated badge conveys too many messages

Liverpool FC is a top brand, not a top club. The flowery, over sentimental design of the current badge conveys heritage, suffering and possibly a hint of blasphemy as the club moves into areas of pseudo-religious worship which the city's churches used to house. 

In the era of slick, stripped-down imagery, the badge is far too complicated with messages of memorial and Bill Shankly which fade into past history with every month that passes.

There'd be much of modern Liverpool Shankly wouldn't give a fig for even if he's the single biggest influence on their brand values.

Truth is Liverpool is able to leverage its brand communication around the globe more effectively than its brand of football can.

With 13 official Twitter accounts, @LFC now tweets in more languages than any other club in the world and has seven more accounts than Barcelona and eight more than any other club in England. Everyday, fans around the world can read tweets from the club in English, Arabic, Spanish, French, Indonesian, Malaysian, Thai, Portuguese and Turkish.

If football is in the business of selling dreams to supporters, Liverpool is better than most at doing that. 

I don't begrudge Fenway selling more style than substance. In fact, they're to be applauded for embracing the new media age like no other.

But it does create a conflict of interest at the heart of the business model which needs addressing if they keep failing to qualify for Europe or winning anything:

Future success on-field may not matter as much if the club continues to build a global fanbase and new revenue from telling a great story to sponsors and investors via electronic media.

A team photo with any old trophy will do (even a preseason one) for iinternational fans content with chanting surnames and buying merchandise. 

But it's most important fanbase here in the UK won't stand for it. 

Mkhitaryan snub highlights Liverpool's tough road ahead

Star quality. Remember the name.

Kevin Hatchard, who works with me at Sportsmedia believes Liverpool will need to work extra hard to attract big-names who can now choose to join Champions League clubs instead.

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has spoken in reverential tones about the way Borussia Dortmund have transformed themselves from a club on the brink of financial collapse to one that came within a whisker of winning European football’s greatest prize.

It is therefore ironic that Dortmund have gazumped Liverpool for their primary transfer target. Armenian playmaker Henrikh Mkhitaryan has completed a switch from Shakhtar Donetsk to the Ruhr-based club for 25 million euros, and Rodgers must now look elsewhere in his efforts to add more firepower to Liverpool’s ranks.

Although the Mkhitaryan deal was extremely complicated (he was owned by three parties – Shakhtar and his previous teams Metalurg and Pyunik Eriwan), Liverpool’s failure to land the player perhaps demonstrates the difficulties that Rodgers now faces. Mkhitaryan actively pushed for a move to Dortmund, but he did not even meet with Liverpool’s representatives. In terms of development, the Germans are some way ahead of the Merseysiders in their recovery – Dortmund have won the Bundesliga title in two of the last three seasons and were Champions League runners-up, while Liverpool have no European football to look forward to this term, and haven’t managed a top-two finish since 2009.

Rodgers may find himself thrown about pursuing star names

For what it’s worth, I think Rodgers is doing an excellent job. He has given Liverpool a clear tactical direction, and he is fitting players to that system, rather than trying to clumsily adapt his footballing philosophy to the players he already has. He has managed to convince promising young talents like Phillippe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge that Liverpool are a good bet long-term, even though the move to Anfield will cost them Champions League exposure in the short term. 

However, it’s worth bearing in mind that although both players have impressed since joining the Reds in January, neither had fulfilled their potential until that point, and as such were not highly sought after by Europe’s big hitters. This is the furrow that Rodgers and his much-vaunted transfer committee must now plough – players who have the technique and temperament that Rodgers demands, but aren’t dazzled by the bright lights and fiscal incentives of the Champions League.

Liverpool aren’t signing players who are at the peak of their powers. Iago Aspas, Luis Alberto and Simon Mignolet are all excellent young players with room to grow, while Kolo Toure is on the downward curve but has huge experience. These are all fine signings, but Liverpool fans will have to be patient. 

The Premier League title is simply out of reach, with Chelsea and the Manchester clubs all bristling with proven talent. That doesn’t mean Liverpool supporters should despair, it just means they will have to accept that a tilt at Champions League qualification is the primary target for this campaign. Just as Dortmund did, Liverpool will have to make gradual improvements year on year under the guidance of a charismatic coach.

Rodgers is right – Dortmund have shown what can be achieved. It just might take a little while longer than some Liverpool fans are prepared to wait.

The PRoblem with Liverpool FC

Warm & cuddly on the outside. Hot & clammy within.

If Liverpool played as poorly on the pitch as they do off it they'd be relegated. They've learned nothing from the first Suarez Crisis, have badly mishandled the second and been left chasing the game.

Kenny Dalglish set the bar high with when he joined the players in wearing a tee-shirt supporting the Uruguayan following the racial fracas with Patrice Evra.

And King Kenny took it up a notch when he firstly failed to make sure Suarez shook hands with Evra at a subsequent game against Manchester United and then gave a churlish and childish post match-interview in which he claimed he had seen nothing.

Perhaps Dalglish would have given the benefit of the doubt but most of his interviews, pre- and post-match, were cut of a similar cloth.

Let us be clear about it. Dalglish won the League Cup and reached an FA Cup final. He was not fired because he was a poor manager; he went because he had no idea how to handle modern management and was a public relations liability.

Churlish, Childish, Dalglish

So Liverpool swept out the old regime, including their long standing press officer, and brought in a more forward facing (I believe that is the phrase) team.

Fat lot of good that did.

Before the club had a chance to bask in the rays of openness following the transmission of Channel 5's “Being Liverpool” they were turfed out of the deckchair when their new communications director threatened a blogger. Jen Chang, an American, lasted less than seven months before he was shown the door.

So far so idiotic.

Chang’s successor is Susan Black. Her appointment was announced on April 18th. Three days later Suarez bit Branislav Ivanovic.

The initial apology with quotes from Suarez, managing director Ian Ayre and Brendan Rodgers was a textbook response but as the Crisis unfolded Liverpool and Black have been caught out of position again and again.

They have made the same mistake they did last time of treating Suarez as special case. Everybody knows that if a fringe player had behaved in the same way Liverpool would have dismissed him instantly but, blinded by the short termism of protecting their investment, they mollycoddle the star and excuse his behaviour.

Brendan Rodgers comparing the Suarez bite to a tennis player smashing a racket was ludicrous. If Susan Black coached him or prompted him to say that she should be next out of the door.

Then Suarez, having been banned for ten matches, issues a statement with the mealy-mouthed whiff of victimization.

“.......whilst ten games is clearly greater than those bans given in the past where players have actually been seriously injured.....’” 

Ayre makes it a hat-trick of own goals, again presumably with Black’s input, by making it known that the club fine imposed on Suarez would be donated to the Hillsborough Family Support Group.

How crass. If in doubt let’s invoke the memory of Hillsborough as everybody sympathizes with us. Everybody that is, except the relatives of the victims of Heysel.

 

Luis Suarez: a Liverpool fan's view

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Sam Ellard's a young Liverpool fan, who amid the brou-haha of Luis Suarez's latest biting drama wants proper perspective on the striker - and why he's so valuable to Liverpool.

Luis Suarez is once again in the spotlight for the wrong reasons after another moment of madness. Liverpool's Uruguayan striker was involved in a tussle with Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic in the second half of the reds 2-2 draw with Chelsea. Suarez grabbed hold of the defender's arm and sank his teeth into the Serb — the second time in his career he has been caught trying to take a chunk out of an opponent.

That called for a lot of Liverpool’s fans to call for Suarez to leave the club at the end of the season. This is now the second time he has put the club in the headlines for the wrong reasons globally.

But anyone who wants the little magician out of the club are bonkers! Liverpool’s aim is to get back amongst the elite by qualifying for the Champions League and Liverpool need players like Suarez, who was set to end the season with the Golden Boot until his ban which now rules him out for 10 games. Liverpool fans have to believe that Suarez won’t repeat his stupidity again, because we all know when he’s on the pitch doing what he does best, playing football, he’s a joy to watch.

What's more frustrating is the fact that with all of Suarez’s antics and FA’s inconsistencies, Suarez has missed some 20 games just through bans. But whether you look at it through red-tinted glasses or not, what Suarez did has no place on the football field and he was rightly punished; the length of it a bit harsh, but a deserving ban nonetheless.

Suarez is a loon, but hes our loon! We have to keep backing him like we’ve done on plenty of occasions already.

We just can’t get enough, or in Suarez’s case, he just can’t eat enough!

As Liverpool fans we should embrace having such a talented player at our club.

Iconic figure at Liverpool

He's often a joy to watch, he has quick feet, goes round players like they’re not there and of course, he's the second highest scorer in the Premier League!

His Personality:

Suarez is famous for his on-pitch tantrums. Justified or not, the referee is guaranteed a mouthful from the Uruguayan whenever he's in earshot. Suarez, like another former Red great, Dirk Kuyt has a commendable never-say-die attitude that makes him beloved to Liverpool and Uruguay fans alike. His attitude also helps on the pitch; defenders become lackadaisical, allow Suarez to nip in and create chances.

His Dedication to the Club:

Loved by the Reds faithful. Reviled by opposition

Suarez has gone through hell on earth with Liverpool with harsh treatment from the FA. The eight-match ban slapped down almost a year ago, as well a constant jeers on every away trip may irritate Suarez and his fans, but he has become closer to the club as a result of the support. Suarez gives everything to the club, day in, day out. After each game, Suarez uses a genuine Twitter account to update, inform and, most importantly, thank fans. This alone proves that Suarez does not take the support given to him for granted. If he wanted, he could walk into any club in the world and earn even more than he does already.

But he’s still at the club, and I predict he will be for a long time come.

The Goals He Scores:

As mentioned, Suarez faces deserved criticism by consistent chance-squandering. That being said, when he does score, they're so often spectacular crowd-pleasers. It’s safe to say that he has an eye for the seemingly impossible. His 40-yard goal against Norwich, his free kick against Manchester City and the strike against Newcastle were all top-class and whether you support the Reds or not, you can't help but admire some of the things he can do with a football.

The Complete Package:

Winner with Uruguay

Even with Steven Gerrard as captain, I believe Suarez is Liverpool's best player and will be for a long time. Liverpool fans have become accustomed to the brilliance of our number 7, and through reciprocation of fan support, his unpredictablity and his entertainment value to watch, Suarez is, at least to Liverpool fans, fantastic.

Love him or loathe him, you can't ignore him!

Ten-match ban for Suarez: fair or foul?

The biting truth

Liverpool will NOT appeal the Football Association's ten-match ban on Luis Suarez for biting Branislav Ivanovic.

A charge of violent conduct usually carries with it a suspension of three games, but the FA decided to pile on an additional seven matches. The decision was made with such haste that Liverpool must've considered appealing.

But in the end, the risk in an appeal going wrong might've had the FA slapping more matches on the ban. He’ll now miss the last four games of this season and the first six of next.

So is a ten match ban for biting Branislav Ivanovic fair? Should Luis Suarez have received different treatment? There’s two ways to look at this.

Few beyond the confines of Anfield and their supporter-base back Suarez. He’s been in scrapes before and when he got banned for eight matches for racial abuse, he was warned as to his future conduct.

He’s even been banned for biting before when as an Ajax player, he bit a PSV player. He never played for them again.

But there's another way to interpret this:

The FA have been hoisted by their own disciplinary petard. Having slapped an eight-match ban on him before, they’ve got to be seen to be inflating that number. It makes the process look ever so slightly arbitrary. The bigger the number, the more random the punishment.

The FA stood by and did nothing as Callum McManaman tackled Massadio Haidara so recklessly and when Sergio Aguero nobbled David Luiz in the Wembley semi.

So Suarez is a convenient fall guy.

I think the FA acted in haste, under pressure from the potent cocktail of media scrutiny and public opinion but circumstances have worked in their favour.

United will quell the Noisy Neighbours

I don't have to stick my head above the parapet and pick the deposed champions and second favourites in this season's title race. But I'm gonna.

There's a serene determination to Sir Alex Ferguson's preseason that other protagonists cannot reach.

He always looks the same in victory. This from 1993.

Setting the priority to winning the title was the canniest management the old hand could muster. Having lost it in dramatic last seconds, United's squad, weaker than previous incarnations and lighter in midfield, have been swiftly set the challenge of overturning the Noisy Neighbours.

listen to ‘The #epl title race? #mufc have the firepower to edge #mcfc’ on Audioboo

No grand gestures about winning a fourth Champions League, no challenges on all domestic fronts, Fergie knows full well his squad will have to use every sinew of its dynamic and capability to go just for the big one.

And Robin van Persie's £24m arrival from Arsenal provides Manchester City with much food for thought. Not only did they lose out to United for last season's top scorer, but he preferred Old Trafford as a football destination.

United boast an enviable strike force as RVP links up with Rooney, Welbeck and Chicharito. There's goals there.

Compared to the volatility of the City regime, here's why Fergie's single focus is so clever.

City will want to retain the title and show significantly more Champions League mettle.

Fergie's calm in a confusing high-end world looks favourable to the regime of Roberto Mancini, who's rarely more than 90 minutes from the next crisis.

City were conspicuous by their absence in the transfer market as Brian Marwood failed in bids to sign anyone but Jack Rodwell. But now the Evertonian has a big stage to clear injury hurdles and realise his potential.

Last year's headline-makers.

People are talking up Chelsea's chances, but I think the best they can hope for down the King's Road is third. Hero Roberto Di Matteo who steered them to an unlikely cup double before taking the reins full time, has been asked to improve on their sixth placed finish, undoubtedly caused by the priorities of glory.

He'll jump that low hurdle with an array of expensive signings but whether the uncompromising impatience of Roman Abramovich will afford him a further season is open to question.

Andre Villas-Boas has struck career gold by joining Tottenham. His seven-month Stamford Bridge car-crash might've left his reputation in tatters, but Daniel Levy recognised he had an able young coach who scaled Mourinhoesque heights at Porto, and now he has a super-talented squad bequeathed to him by the vanquished Harry Redknapp

Arsenal have gone seven years without a trophy yet they're the nation's most consistent Champions League performers and title also-rans.

RVP's gone but Arsene Wenger's replaced him with world class talent in the form of Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud.

Remembering their disastrous start to last season but very strong finish to claim bronze, why can't the Gunners contemplate a title tilt?

There's nothing wrong with Wenger's stubborn resolve, most recently shown in holding out for big money from Fergie for his wantaway Dutch creation.

Newcastle United have come a very long way under Alan Pardew - and as long as Papiss Cisse and Demba Ba keep scoring, they can still dream of finishing high up, but any misfiring or injury layoff will see them fall behind. There's just not enough about Coloccini, Ben Arfa et al to sustain them in the higher echelons without the goals.

Can Everton break their usual routine of a slow start to rousing finish? If so, the Toffees could bid for the top four again. They've a settled squad and will do more than repel the losses of Cahill and Rodwell.

The two most improved teams in the league will be Aston Villa and Stoke City. Paul Lambert will galvanise a good squad and the returning Darren Bent will score when playing. Ron Vlaar and Matthew Lowton will be linchpins in a new look defence.

Tony Pulis just keeps doing things the right way. Stoke have been roundly criticised for uncompromising ugly football, but while they strengthen their squad with better players, confidence and quality will grow. Sometimes this season, they'll win games playing cutting edge football - habit forming. Etherington, Walters and Crouch give them a solid look.

If you photograph them from below, they look fierce.

The biggest managerial gamble in the Premier League belongs to Liverpool, who secured Brendan Rodgers from Swansea. Jose Mourinho gave him a glowing endorsement as a staffer at Chelsea, but spells at Watford and Reading proved less than stellar.

Swansea's football wasn't all his vision and though Steven Gerrard's praised him for his man management qualities, the Reds look shorter than ever in the big club stakes. Andy Carroll's not wanted, so what kind of message is that to send to your main man particularly after a good season-end and EURO 2012.
I'm one of the jurors who's out on Rodgers.

WBA may struggle in games under Steve Clarke. He may be found wanting as he steps up from coach to manager but he'll produce tough-to-beat teams. His attrtional football will keep them up.

Samneric

West Ham have arrived back in the big-time with one of the most-respected and experienced managers in the game. Sam Allardyce may be from another planet to the jellied eel culture of east London, but he'll make the Hammers competitive in the league.

Michael Laudrup is a gamble for Swansea, who might succumb to second season syndrome. He comes with a reputation for great football at a small club in Spain but that assumes an Iberian square peg fits a Welsh hole. At least, they continue to stay faithful to their reputation for playing football the right way.

Southampton and Reading should be content to stay up but one of them will return from whence they came.

The Premier League will continue to captivate us, provide headlines and gather momentum abroad even though the Olympics promises a wider sports agenda for the avid fan.
Underpinned by an even bigger pot of rights gold from next season, English football seems in rude health indeed.

MY FINAL TABLE:

1. Manchester United
2. Manchester City
3. Arsenal
4. Chelsea
5. Tottenham Hotspur
6. Everton
7. Newcastle United
8. Fulham
9. Stoke City
10. Aston Villa
11. Liverpool
12. Sunderland
13. West Ham United
14. WBA
15. Swansea City
16. Wigan Athletic
17. Queen's Park Rangers
18. Reading
19. Southampton
20. Norwich City

The message behind the merchandise

listen to ‘The message behind the merchandise: what your kit is saying for you’ on Audioboo

When you bedeck yourself in a replica, spending 40 quid in the process, ponder this: are the brains behind it conditioning you into a thought system that perhaps you'd not considered?

When England was Britain in '82 

Have you looked more closely at the new England kit for Euro 2012? If you have, I reckon you're helping reclaim English nationalism.

The England badge is suddenly red; blue's been removed. If you think that's just a fashion issue, think again. England's identity is now red and white - not red, white and blue. Is this preparation for Scotland's devolution? To create an English identity lost in the fog of a British one for generations?

There's moves in the media to superimpose the idea of Englishness on top of Britishness. Programmes about the Church of England and other institutions which are intrinsically different from those north of the border. The Scots have a more a stark tradition in both imagery and belief.

Heaven knows what the devolutionists thought of the Diamond Jubilee, but it definitely included Scotland, Mr. Salmond!

1986: English nationalism expressed as British

In football, defining England's been going on for years. Matchday flags with the pub or football club on the red horizontal banner are on St. George's, 20 years ago, it was ALWAYS the Union Jack.

What'll happen to design if the Scots reject devolution? I suppose nothing: the tectonic plates of our Britishness are moving permanently.

And if you tell me, "There's no difference between being English and British!", I say to you, if you've a thick foreign accent, but have the desire to embrace our lifestyle in Leicester, Newcastle or Ipswich, you can be British on day one in a way that truly you could never be English. For me, the English should have a say in the devolution poll. It could have as big an impact south of the border as it would north of it, especially on immigrants.

Cardiff City are the Bluebirds no more. From next season, they're red with a new nickname of "The Red Dragons". Research concluded the colour rebrand was essential if they wanted to extend appeal beyond their current fanbase. All this in the year the blues of Chelsea won the Champions League and the FA Cup. Blue is the colour? not anymore in the Welsh capital!

And in London, the Arsenal shirt is definitely different from that of Tottenham's.

I'm not imagining this, but all over North London, boys from nice homes are wearing Arsenal shirts as an extension of their own aspirations and brand values (with tacit permission of their parents). Arsenal play in a beautiful stadium, they are managed in a continental fashion and have been for a generation and put simply, a Spurs shirt doesn't convey those values at all.

2010: England is now England

Is it to do with Redknapp, their substandard matchbox stadium or even the Tottenham riots? It's a combination of those things that not even a banner of straplines around White Hart Lane's midriff proclaiming To Dare Is To Do and Glory Glory Hallelujah will make a jot of difference to change.

Liverpool FC is brilliant at legendising their brand. Telling the story of Hillsborough and five European Cups is a tip of the hat to the Munich story at Manchester United. Most might say after sacking icon Kenny Dalglish, the sum of their legend is greater than the individual parts. But what can't be denied is that far-flung fans who've never even been to Merseyside eulogise a legend which in reality is little different to that at Aston Villa or Leeds United, just perhaps better narrated to an international audience.

Baked in Red tradition: Shankly would've approved

I picked up a Manchester United replica in a discount sports shop the other day - and it doesn't half look and feel miles away from the fans who buy it. Literally and geographically.

In the seventies, when I wore my Villa shirt, the fabric was made from something I recognised from clothes that mum bought me. These days, not only does the United badge have a trade mark petroleum fuzz, but you get the feeling if you burned it, it'd dissolve into fossil fuel.

Next time you look at a shirt, take a closer inspection beyond the tangible: ask yourself, "do I really want to wear all that this represents"?

Football's close season? There isn't one.

With England preparing with friendlies ahead of Euro 2012, play-offs extending into the last days of May and the transfer market in full flow, Jonny explains "what happens next!" (Clue: it's Eden Hazard).

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Get behind Roy Hodgson as the new England manager

Wilshere, Walker, Walcott? no problem

He mightn't have been your choice as England boss but are you right behind Roy? I am and here's why.

He was appointed by the FA without recourse to interview. The favourite Harry Redknapp didn't even get a look in. But we shouldn't be too surprised by Hodgson getting the nod. His appointment follows a distinctly conservative course plotted by the FA recently.

As the media were completing the coronation of David Dein as FA chairman, it was David Bernstein who was crowned behind the scenes too.

Known as quiet, efficient and rather businesslike, it doesn't take a huge leap to imagine Hodgson preferred to Redknapp in the corridors of power. The culture clash probably didn't even start there either. A quick phone call to Dan Levy in the Tottenham boardroom to check the millions in compensation required, might've made his mind up even in advance. 

Young Roy



Next phone call: West Bromwich Albion! Bernstein was very complimentary to them in the news conference.

But Hodgson's greatest credentials may lie within his consensus approach to management. He admitted his first job will be to get John Terry and Rio Ferdinand talking again after the two fell out over the racial abuse Terry's accused of shouting at Anton Ferdinand during Chelsea's game at QPR earlier this season.

He admitted to being great friends with Harry Redknapp, who graciously left voicemail of congratulations on Hodgson's mobile. Roy said he and Harry were cast as great rivals for now, but will resume a great friendship again soon.

It's these perceived qualities of so called lesser importance that my well yet lead to success at international level for the WBA boss.

Because what is being international manager anyway? It's nothing like being a club boss: he's not with his players everyday. Instead he steals a week with them before each international and a few weeks during tournaments. His plans for selection are ripped up during the rigours of a league season, and there's no such thing as canny dealings in the transfer market to strengthen a squad. Mind you, Jack Charlton did his best to persuade non Irishman to his cause (and succeeded).

Of his international and European credentials, Hodgson is second to none in experience. England will be his fourth international assignment. Throw in Inter twice, Blackburn and Liverpool (neither of which went that well) and he's managed the very best. We well remember the success of Fulham's Europa League season ending in final defeat to Atletico Madrid two years ago.



Rivals but friends, but rivals. Vanquished Harry

There's an element of good fortune in the timing of Hodgson's appointment too. He has just 40 days and 40 nights to make England ship shape. Like Roberto di Matteo's highly succesful tenure as Chelsea caretaker, I think he'll pay respect to the elder statesman who earned England qualification instead of opting for youth in some sort of fitful revolution. Promising phone calls to the leading characters in the squad will give him a clear view of their togetherness in advance.

It's easy for him to tell the gathered media that reaching the quarter-finals of Euro 2012 is a realistic target in a way that Fabio Capello couldn't possibly have in charge over four years. Hodgson's managed expectations just by arriving in time for the plane to Poland and Ukraine.

He's called for unity and only a foolish lobby wouldn't grant him that. Yes, probably like you I fancied Harry for the job, but I'm right behind Roy and I'm asking you to be too.

Liverpool FC: a Comolli of errors

The Kop relies on elephantine memory

There's no doubt Kenny Dalglish is relying on his legendary status to remain as Liverpool manager at the moment.

Here was a man in his first year as player-boss who claimed the Reds the double, clinching the league at Chelsea and scoring the winner. Real Roy of the Rovers stuff from one of Britain's greatest ever players.

And of his second coming amid the dying embers of the Gillett, Hicks and Roy Hodgson gloom, which Kopite wouldn't have called for the Messiah back then?

But how long can King Kenny's credit last? Six defeats in seven games has left the summer's big spenders out of Europe and out of touch of the big sides. Liverpool FC a big brand? Yes. A big club? Measured against the new arrivals at football's top table in the form of Tottenham and Manchester City? it's highly questionable.

Not even Roy could match King Kenny's '86 triumph

During the latest defeat at Newcastle, I was surprised to see Steven Gerrard shoeing Dalglish off the pitch in a "stop interfering" kind of way. Gerrard is about the only one at Anfield with the status to do such a impudent thing to the gaffer - and it was telling.

But the blame for Liverpool's plight can't entirely be placed at Dalglish's door. It's transfer policy which has been a major let-down too - and that's squarely the responsibility of Damien Comolli.

Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam, Stewart Downing and Andy Carroll have yielded just six goals between them. The quartet cost owner John W. Henry an eye-watering eighty million quid in the summer.

Comolli talking a good game with the owner.

They're all British too. Now, I'm not battering the reputations of home-grown players. Indeed, the English backbone of Chelsea and Manchester United has served them rather well over the years. But the contention of building a new team from the British Isles is misguided when as a Premier League club, one can attract the best of the world.

It's just not true that British players settle in better or faster. A high-level professional from Togo or Tel Aviv is just as reliable. But Comolli seems to think so.

Without qualifying for the Champions League, the best players, whatever their nationality won't be Anfield-bound anymore. Without them, Liverpool will become Premier League also-rans. Despite splashing out in the summer, that's what they've become this year.

As with other victorious Carling Cup managers, trophy glory doesn't guarantee job security and sometimes it's the straw that breaks the back of relegation.

Let's not forget Juande Ramos has still won one more piece of silverware at White Hart Lane than Harry Redknapp, but the Spaniard was taken out in a midnight cloak and dagger exit months later.

Alex McLeish steered Birmingham City to the League Cup last year - but at huge cost to the Second City's Second Club, as they were relegated. Next thing you know, it was out of the frying pan and into the fire for Big Eck when Aston Villa came calling.

So it's a results business whether you're Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish, former Spurs boss Glenn Hoddle or Newcastle's Kevin Keegan (twice). And if things don't turnaround fast, I can see the passwords to the Liverpool bank account reset for a new manager this summer. Kenny's got to be the on the edge.

But it's not just players that lose managers their jobs these days. It's Directors of Football too.

More on Dalglish at Anfield here. Click here for Dalglish: Never Go Back (written back in January last year)

How the mouthy have fallen! The week in football

Turns out WBA did for both of them!

You'd be forgiven for thinking Arsenal's team was made up of eleven Englishmen after their heroic failure to reach the last eight of the Champions League the previous week. So it was left to Chelsea to fly the flag for the Premier League.

Up a slightly less steep hill than the Gunners but nevertheless still in a tight spot, Chelsea completed a remarkable fightback to overturn a 3-1 first leg deficit to win 4-1 over Napoli in extra time at the Bridge.

Since taking the reigns from the deposed Andre Villas Boas, caretaker Roberto di Matteo's galvanised the Blues and critically, it's been the Chelsea pensioners of Terry, Lampard and Drogba who steered them to glory with a goal apiece.

This poses a problem for the next Chelsea boss because even though the thirtysomething trio can still do it at the highest level, ultimately they need replacing. Like Villas-Boas tried before, the new man will have to grasp the nettle. 

Paternity leave beckons

But it should be Di Matteo: he's no ordinary stand-in coach even if he's not Roman Abramovich’s first choice. There’s been grandiose talk of a Mourinho return, Fabio Capello (he who stood down over John Terry), and even Pep Guardiola.

But for me Roby's the man: for a starter, he’s a Chelsea ledge. Scorer of famous goals in Cup Finals and more than served his apprenticeship as an English club manager, and you just can't create that exuberant celebration after beating Napoli that showed he cares so much for the club and the group of players.

He almost gave Fernando Torres whiplash, jumping on the Spaniard from just outside his peripheral vision. If he's overlooked in favour of a bigger star, then Roman’s Empire may just continue to go round in circles.

Special mention for Steven Gerrard: on his 400th appearance for Liverpool, he thumped a hat-trrick to flatten neighbours Everton which also marked David Moyes' decade in charge at Goodison. Moyes has guaranteed the Mersey Blues have continually punched above their weight, but this time it's back to the drawing board for those soft-centred Toffees!

The expectation at Anfield is unbearable. History is a huge burden on the back of this current crop especially as manager Kenny Dalglish was responsible for so much of it. How quickly the League Cup win's been forgotten. It's the Champions League that matters.

Meanwhile, if you're in need of entertainment at your football conference, look no further than Dave Richards after a day of embarrassment for the Premier League chairman.

I can’t believe Richards apologised for being a Yorkshireman for what he called his “broad comments” during a speech in Qatar.



What a complete dill!

Richards said, "England gave the world football. It gave the best legacy anyone could give. We gave them the game. We were its governance. We wrote the rules, designed the pitches and everything else. Then 50 years later some guy came along and said you're liars and they actually stole it. It was called Fifa. Fifty years later, another gang came along called Uefa and stole a bit more."

Even the Premier League distanced themselves from their chairman's comments, claiming the old boy wasn't in Qatar in an official capacity.

But event organisers didn’t need to pour cold water on Richards. He did that himself later by falling into a fountain during a trip round a museum! It’s lucky he was helped back to his feet in doublequick time as he might have been mistaken for one of the relics.

Taxi for Richards!

Never Go Back: Kenny Dalglish as Liverpool's caretaker

Watching Kenny Dalglish face the media ahead of Liverpool's derby with Everton, I wondered how closely he's really watched football since he last managed in the nineties? Has he just been a casual observer?

Here, didn't you used to be Kenny Dalglish?

His instincts honed by playing and managing great players seem blunted after years of swannying through boardrooms and sponsor meetings.

Liverpool are languishing below midtable: send for the Messiah!

Apart from the obvious platitudes on the urgency of winning matches, the Reds legend/caretaker boss declared that getting sent off these days was easier than it used to be.



"Nowadays if you say 'Good morning' to someone you've got a chance of getting a red card. It's a wee bit different to a few years ago. You can't blame players for being passionate and committed. They've been highly criticised for not being passionate and committed. If there is a bit of understanding from the officials I'm sure it would ease things along a wee bit."

That's almost an accidental "back in my day" reference - and the game's moved on in light years since he was in the box seat.

It was after a classic four-all draw with Everton one month off twenty years ago that Dalglish sensationally quit Anfield.

King Kenny in his famous I Quit News Conference: 1991

Dalglish just couldn't take the strain of Heysel and Hillsborough anymore, but kept his feelings private until two days after that unforgettable game.

But twenty years on, amid fan cries for him to step into the breach to replace Roy Hodgson, he faces upto the same club who prompted his resignation. The Kop urged his return to the manager's office as Hodgson foundered through defeat after defeat. But at what cost to his status as Liverpool's number one legend?

The late Malcolm McLaren was invited to be part of "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here" only last year. Agent and old friend, Mark Borkowski successfully persuaded the punk impresario not to do it. McLaren pulled out just a day before filming was to start.

Borkowski told McLaren that all he had was his credibility and it would be shot if he took part in the reality TV show.

Dalglish has no hope of galvanising the team into any decent shape as caretaker boss, let alone as manager in his second spell.

Clearly a diminished figure in his Liverpool tracksuit to the one who so gracefully donned the colours and patrolled the line decades ago, even the most ardent Kopite must wonder what statement the club is really putting out by bringing him back - even in the interim.

Yesterday's man for yesterday's club?

"Be careful what you wish for, it might just come true" is the old saying most befitting of the Kop's wishes to see Dalglish back. Where next for this famous club?

Hodgson's a dead man walking at Liverpool

Hodgson: holding on but for how long?

I'm sorry to say this about a good man, but Roy Hodgson's reign as Liverpool boss will be a short one.

Hodgson, who steered modest Fulham to the Europa League Final and a mid-table finish last season, simply can't steer the Anfield Titanic round the iceberg.

But home defeat to relegation-haunted Wolves, without a single away win since March and a first victory at Anfield in 27 years, must be close to being the last straw for Hodgson. It's an eighth defeat of the season and their third in four games.

Unfortunately, the damage began in Rafa Benitez' last campaign. Liverpool dipped from Premier League runners-up to seventh place - so failing to qualify for their usual Champions League spot.

The hallmarks of Shankly's Liverpool are all but gone.

And a change of ownership's not yet galvanized anything resembling a recovery.

John W. Henry's adopting a watching brief in his first months as owner - and will be troubled with what's on offer. This is easily the worst Reds team since Bill Shankly shook the club to its foundations and built modern Liverpool.

Not even the era of Graeme Souness was as bad as this. The abolition of the Boot Room was a symbolic low point, akin to the ravens leaving the Tower. 

But even then, as the Reds lost their grip on an annual title assault plus cup shocks at home to lowly Bolton and Bristol City, there was still an FA Cup victory and just the thought that the right manager could restore the trophy culture.

And it duly came to pass; even though the title hasn't returned to Anfield since, Liverpool have won trophies galore in the last twenty years including the very biggest one, the Champions League.

But this time, Liverpool's decline is spectacular. They are fast-becoming instititional also-rans. As the Reds slide down the table and lose their glister and status, Tottenham and Manchester City are fast-replacing them in ways that make them uncatchable. London and Manchester hold more excitement to young men with dreams of the Champions League than Liverpool, with less to offer all-round.

The summer will surely test the loyalty of Steven Gerrard and the commitment of Fernando Torres. Will both be considering life after Liverpool?

Hodgson admits the support has never been there from the Kop, but neither have the results. He cites the popularity of Kenny Dalglish, who he beat for the job, as the reason. Good results would have made life easier though.

But the key fact is, Roy Hodgson is not Henry's man. The ex-Inter and Switzerland boss had a clause added to his contract about severance should ownership change. As sure as eggs is eggs, Henry will trigger it - and soon.

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