Source: Liverpool_Echo
Fresh start can give Liverpool FC a head start says Roy Hodgson
Roy Hodgson 300[LNB]FIRST came the fresh start, now the time has arrived to get a head start; Liverpool's off-field troubles might be over but Roy Hodgson knows the same cannot be said for his team.[LNB]Though he has spent the past fortnight watching developments between the club's board, Tom Hicks, George Gillett and New England Sports Ventures with great interest, Hodgson has had a riddle of his own to solve in the same period.[LNB]It revolves around the Reds' current position in the Premier League; third from bottom, bereft of confidence and struggling to show any kind of meaningful form, it seems a long time since supporters last celebrated a domestic win.[LNB]That, of course, came courtesy of a moment of brilliance from Fernando Torres against West Bromwich Albion on August 29 but, from then on, life has been one, long toil, culminating in that ruinous 2-1 defeat to Blackpool a fortnight ago.[LNB] Having looked out of sorts almost since the first ball was kicked in August, Liverpool's failure to impose themselves on games from the opening whistle blast has been a real worry and it is difficult to recall a match in which Hodgson's men have burst out of the blocks.[LNB]The manager has a suspicion, though, that if Liverpool can poke their noses ahead in the 214th clash with Everton, there will be a transformation in the way they go about their business and the injection of confidence they desperately need will be provided. With Torres declared fit to face the Blues and skipper Steven Gerrard bursting with determination to turn the tide, Liverpool's top guns are primed and loaded and Hodgson hopes at long last he will see what his players are really capable of.[LNB]'Unfortunately in most games - Arsenal being the exception - we have gone goals behind and had to catch up,' he explained. 'We have ended up taking risks and thrown players forward. It would be nice one day to have something to defend rather than something to catch up on.'
