Source: Team_Talk
Roy's methods aren't working with Reds
TEAMtalk's Simon Wilkes believes Roy Hodgson needs to drastically change his formation if he is to reverse Liverpool's dismal slump in form.[LNB] Liverpool's potential new owners New England Sports Ventures have reassured Roy Hodgson over his managerial future at Anfield, saying they feel he is "the right person to take this club forward" if their takeover goes through.[LNB]I'm happy to admit that I thought Hodgson was a fantastic appointment as Rafael Benitez's successor in the summer - and even went as far as tipping them for a top-four finish.[LNB]But now I'm not so sure.[LNB]Having watched Liverpool's disastrous start to the season under his tutelage, albeit only seven league games in, I just can't see how things will get better for the Reds under the former Fulham boss, who already has an embarrassing League Cup exit to Northampton and a humiliating home defeat by Blackpool on his record.[LNB]I can't shake the feeling that Hodgson is simply out of his depth at Anfield, with the glare of the constant spotlight on him overwhelming a man who now looks like he has the world on his shoulders.[LNB]The alarm bells started to ring a few weeks ago when Hodgson dropped into a press conference how many extra hours he was working in his new job.[LNB]You get the impression he was left to his own devices by Mohammed Al Fayed at Craven Cottage, and thrived on the freedom he had in west London.[LNB]But this is Liverpool Football Club - a club in crisis but still a club steeped in the grandest tradition and still one of the biggest in world football when it comes to history, silverware and fanbase.[LNB]I was never Benitez's biggest fan but there was never any doubt that he had red running through his veins while he was in charge on Merseyside, and he clearly worked around the clock, living and breathing Liverpool FC.[LNB]Benitez's meticulous approach to training and tactics seems to be something the players are only fully appreciating now that he's gone - and although Hodgson is desperate to stamp his own style on his new team, I just don't think the two are compatible.[LNB]"My methods have translated from Halmstads to Malmo to Orebro to Neuchatel Xamax to the Swiss national team," Hodgson has claimed in his defence, but that very list of clubs tells it's own story, with his methods perhaps not suited to the bigger clubs in world football, where world-class and World Cup-winning footballers are used to a much different approach.[LNB]Despite the distractions of the ongoing ownership and takeover wranglings since the summer, there's simply no way Liverpool should be in the relegation zone with the squad at Hodgson's disposal.[LNB]Many critics have pointed the finger at Benitez for the Reds' shortcomings, but although the squad as a whole needs greater depth, there is still a top-class starting XI there if the right players are picked.[LNB]Understandably Hodgson has transferred the formation and style that served Fulham so well last season from London to Merseyside - but Fernando Torres is not Bobby Zamora, so asking him to do a similar job in a lone striker role has been a key factor in the Spaniard's dip in form, body language and goals return.[LNB]Under Benitez, Torres had the likes of Steven Gerrard and Yossi Benayoun buzzing around him, pressing defenders, winning possession and providing ammunition for his predatory finishing skills in the attacking third.[LNB]Liverpool's midfield and attack has looked totally disjointed under Hodgson, with Torres' frustration at his lack of service visible to everyone.[LNB]The Reds boss needs to realise he has dropped a clanger in his recruitment of Christian Poulsen, and play the classy Raul Meireles in his best position - which is certainly not on the right wing.[LNB]I personally think Hodgson should take a look at the top of the table and mirror Chelsea's 4-3-3 formation, which has served them pretty well so far.[LNB]The Blues have a solid back four who are protected by a three-man midfield shield which could be provided by talismanic skipper Steven Gerrard in the centre, Meireles and the much-maligned Lucas Leiva (or Fabio Aurelio when fit for balance on the left of the trio). Jonjo Shelvey could even be an option alongside Gerrard and Meireles, while some Reds fans have called for Daniel Agger to be given a chance in a holding midfield role given Hodgson doesn't seem to want him in central defence.[LNB]This midfield trio would allow Glen Johnson the freedom to bomb forward in much the same way Ashley Cole does for the Blues, giving the Reds some much-needed width and delivery from the right flank which has been sorely missing so far.[LNB]With Lucas/Aurelio/Agger in the team, Gerrard could be the heartbeat pulling the strings from the middle of the pitch and the man tasked with linking midfield with an attacking trio of Joe Cole, Dirk Kuyt and Torres.[LNB]Chelsea play with Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda supporting star striker Didier Drogba, and although I'm not Kuyt's biggest fan, his workrate, passion and eye for goal put him way ahead of David Ngog and Ryan Babel, with Maxi Rodriguez another option for Kuyt's position if the Dutchman is unavailable.[LNB]This formation would give Torres plenty of company up top and allow him to harass defenders in a gang, rather than ploughing a lone furrow.[LNB]With so many teams starting to adopt this formation - one of which being Blackpool who rocked Roy's Reds last time out - Hodgson needs to realise his tried and tested methods are simply not working at Anfield.[LNB]Although Liverpool have previously tended to stand by their man, defeat to Everton in the upcoming Merseyside derby could make the call for Hodgson's head deafening, with Reds fans chanting the name of Kenny Dalglish in the humiliating defeat by Ian Holloway's Seasiders last weekend.[LNB]Hodgson insists he has not "lost any ability which has served me so well in 35 years of coaching" - and I'm sure he hasn't. [LNB]But his current methods are simply not working at the moment - and unless he accepts he may have to adapt his ways sooner rather than later, he may give Liverpool's hierarchy no other choice but to usher him towards the exit door.
