Roy Hodgson will walk into Steven Gerrard crisis if he takes Anfield job

Leading man: Roy Hodgson is favourite to succeed Rafa Benitez at LiverpoolRoy Hodgson will gain from his long-standing friendship with former Anfield great Kenny Dalglish when he is recommended as the man to succeed Rafael Benitez as Liverpool manager.But if Hodgson, as many expect, does leave Fulham to take on the challenge of reviving the struggling Premier League giants, he will walk straight into a dressing-room crisis with Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres almost certain to be gone by the start of next season.Gerrard, appointed England captain after Rio Ferdinand's departure from the World Cup, is bound for Real Madrid while Torres looks odds-on to begin the new campaign at Chelsea. Gerrard's move to the Bernabeu, first revealed in The Mail On Sunday in January, has been advanced by the problems at Liverpool and the arrival of Jose Mourinho at Real.The talismanic midfielder will seize the opportunity to escape the turmoil at the club he first linked up with as a nine-year-old to becomepart of Mourinho's attempt to become the first manager to win the European Cup with three different clubs and the league title in four separate countries.The Portuguese maestro's admiration for Gerrard has not wavered sincehis abortive attempt to sign him for Chelsea six years ago.The only stumbling block will be whether Mourinho can persuade Real president Florentino Perez to pay the £30million Liverpool will demand for a player who reached his 30th birthday last Sunday.Hodgson's friendship with Dalglish goes back to the Eighties when theEnglishman was in charge at Malmo and the Scot was in the Liverpool hotseat. Dalglish was a frequent visitor to the Swedish club and the pair have been firm friends ever since.Chief executive Christian Purslow, handed the task along with Dalglish of finding a new manager, will need no persuading that the vastly experienced Hodgson is the right man to steer the club through turbulent waters, although other names being considered are Guus Hiddink, Marcello Lippi and Martin O'Neill. Double Dutch: Louis van Gaal (left) and Turkey coach Guus Hiddink are also in consideration for the Liverpool jobHodgson's appointment would also see Dalglish given a more prominent role than his present one in charge of the youth academy and as a club ambassador.The current situation at Liverpool is even worse than it was six years ago when Gerrard's switch to Stamford Bridge foundered at the lastminute.Liverpool had just dispensed with Frenchman Gerard Houllier after a trophy-less season, prompting Gerrard to admit: 'For the first time in my career I've thought about the possibility of moving on'.Instead, he signed a four-year deal, a decision that was justified when he captained Liverpool to a European Cup triumph under Benitez. Butwith the club up for sale, £351m in debt and seeking another new manager, Gerrard sees no likelihood of history repeating itself next season. Big shoes to fill: Rafa Benitez, with a fresh-faced Steven Gerrard (left), won the Champions League in his first season He is desperate for sustained success and believes Mourinho is the man to provide it.Both Gerrard and Torres will put their futures on the back-burner to concentrate on their attempt to win World Cup glory, but the Spain striker will be the summer's biggest transfer when he moves for a fee that could come close to the £80m deal that took Cristiano Ronaldo to Real a year ago.Although they were in a position to outbid any rival club, ManchesterCity's failure to win a European Cup place has ruled them out, leaving Chelsea and Barcelona as the only two possible competitors for his signature.Barcelona presidential candidate Sandro Rosell has pledged that should he succeed his former friend and now fierce rival Joan Laporta, he will move to entice Torres and Cesc Fabregas to the Nou Camp.But he made similar noises about David Beckham in 2003 and Barcelona would need to shift disappointing Sweden forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic to take the Liverpool striker back to Spain. King Kenny! Dalglish to lure Hodgson or O'Neill. but don't rule HIM outMARTIN SAMUEL: If Liverpool get this wrong, they are heading for oblivionLiverpool fans are still in denial: Reds show support for axed Rafa BenitezLIVERPOOL FC

Source: Daily_Mail