Hodgson handed Kuyt boost

Posted on October 24, 2010 by SoccerCapper

Liverpool (7/1 Top 4 Finish) boss Roy Hodgson watched his side secure only their second Premier League win of the season against Blackburn and then was told striker Dirk Kuyt should return within four weeks, as he does not require surgery on his injured ankle.

The Reds have endured a difficult campaign and the pressure has mounted on Hodgson after they recently dropped into the Premier League’s relegation zone.

However, second half goals from Sotirios Kyrgiakos and Fernando Torres (14/1 Premiership Top Scorer) – his first since August – ensured Jamie Carragher’s unfortunate own goal sandwiched in between did not prevent them from dropping more points.

Liverpool remain in the Premier League’s drop zone on goal difference, but they will have been boosted to finally get a much-needed win under their belts.

A relieved Hodgson felt his players deserved the win on the balance of play in which they dominated the opening 70 minutes.

He said: “I thought the passing and movement was as good, if not better than it’s been but we were more incisive. We got in more crosses, got more bodies into the box for crosses, we had an enormous number of corner kicks and looked dangerous from those corner kicks, which is nice to see.”

The former Blackburn boss will also have been heartened by the news Dutch hitman Kuyt could be back in action for the Reds within a month.

It was feared that the 30-year-old would be missing for up to five months with an ankle injury he picked up on international duty in the Netherlands’ Euro 2012 qualifier against Sweden a fortnight ago. However, he is hoping to be back in time for the busy schedule of games in December.

Kuyt said: “I had a second scan and the doctor has now told me that they do not need to operate on my ankle. That is such a relief.

“The doctor says I could be back in the Liverpool team within one month.”

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Hodgson handed Kuyt boost

Posted on October 24, 2010 by SoccerCapper

The Reds have endured a difficult campaign and the pressure has mounted on Hodgson after they recently dropped into the Premier League’s relegation zone.

Liverpool remain in the Premier League’s drop zone on goal difference, but they will have been boosted to finally get a much-needed win under their belts.

A relieved Hodgson felt his players deserved the win on the balance of play in which they dominated the opening 70 minutes.

The former Blackburn boss will also have been heartened by the news Dutch hitman Kuyt could be back in action for the Reds within a month.

Kuyt said: “I had a second scan and the doctor has now told me that they do not need to operate on my ankle. That is such a relief.

“The doctor says I could be back in the Liverpool team within one month.”

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Hodgson gets Henry’s backing

Posted on October 17, 2010 by SoccerCapper

New Liverpool owner John W Henry has told boss Roy Hodgson and his Liverpool squad that New England Sports Ventures will ’support you and encourage you’ ahead of Sunday’s Merseyside derby at Everton (Everton 6/4, Liverpool 11/5, Draw 15/8 90 Minutes).

NESV’s head man Henry has chosen to speak out about the current manager and team following a meeting with them on Saturday, the day after the £300million takeover from former US owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks finally got the go-ahead.

And the current owner of the successful Boston Red Sox baseball team insisted that NESV will give them every opportunity to shake of their disappointing start to the Premier League campaign and begin to climb the table (Liverpool 15/2 Top 4 Finish).

Henry told the News of the World: “I think our message was simple: ‘We’re here to support you and encourage you’.

“Our feeling is we’re here to stabilise and to answer questions that might be lingering, and to just come in and have the same attitude we had in Boston.

“That is to be smart managers and to listen. Our first intention is under-promise but over-deliver.”

Henry claims NESV’s main aim with Liverpool is to get them consistently battling it out with the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea in the same way they managed to get Boston on a par with baseball giants New York Yankees since taking over there.

However, he added: “It’s a huge challenge but we’re aware how much work it’s going to take to do that.”

Meanwhile NESV chairman Thomas Werner showed he is singing from the Henry’s hymn sheet when he pledged his support for Hodgson and the current staff at Liverpool in their pursuit of success (Liverpool 10/1 Europa League Outright).

And Werner also promised the supporters, who he compared to the Boston Red Sox faithful, that they will do all they can to achieve big things on Merseyside.

He added on www.liverpoolfc.tv: “They’re loyal, they’re passionate and it’s our good fortune to be stewards and we hope that we will take care of this extraordinary club and provide it with the resources and the commitment to win in the near future and hopefully restore some of its lustre.”

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Hodgson asks for patience

Posted on October 8, 2010 by SoccerCapper

Roy Hodgson has called on Liverpool’s fans to be patient as he eyes a spending spree to improve his squad in January if the proposed takeover of the club goes through (Liverpool evens – Top 6 finish).

The Reds have agreed to sell the club to NESV in a reported £300million deal but the takeover has been challenged by current owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett, who plan to take the ownership battle to court next week.

All the signs are that the sale will go through, either after the court rules in favour of chairman Martin Broughton, who brokered the deal, or if RBS force Hicks and Gillett to sell up after they default on a loan repayment next week.

Hodgson, along with vice-captain Jamie Carragher, has backed the potential takeover and the Reds boss is already looking forward to improving his squad if, as expected, he gets significant funds to spend in the new year.

“We know what we must do,” he said. “We need new players and investment and know we’re weak in certain areas.

“These things have been the case since I arrived here and we have not had a chance to put it right.”

Liverpool have made a disatrous start to the season and sit in the bottom three after seven games while they were also dumped out of the Carling Cup by League Two side Northampton Town.

Hodgson’s position was called into question by some fans following last Sunday’s 2-1 home defeat against Blackpool but the former Fulham chief remains confident he can turn things around and has asked for the Anfield faithful to be patient.

“I ask for the fans’ patience, trust and belief as we will get it right,” he added. “It is clear we need to strengthen in certain areas of the team and bring in more quality.

“I can guarantee that at the end of the season we won’t be sitting there at the bottom.”

Following Premier League defeats to Manchester City, Blackpool and arch-rivals Manchester United already this season, another loss in their next game – at Everton a week on Sunday – will really crank the pressure up on Hodgson but the boss is sure an upturn in form is just around the corner (Liverpool 11/1 to be relegated).

He said: “Sometimes, even after a few games, people see you down there and are ready to pass out, but we’re not panicking. There is a lot more to come.

“A couple of good performances and good wins will put us in a decent position for the season ahead.”

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Hodgson reacts to Blackpool shock

Posted on October 5, 2010 by SoccerCapper

Liverpool are 18/1 to be playing Championship football next season and boss Roy Hodgson admits the Reds are in a Premier League relegation battle.

Hodgson watched on as his side slumped to an embarrassing Anfield defeat to new boys Blackpool on Sunday, to leave them in the bottom three on goal difference.

Liverpool have won just once in the league so far this season, with seven games gone, and they are already a massive 12 points behind leaders Chelsea (Liverpool 7/1 – Top Four Finish).

But by the same token, Hodgson’s men are just three points behind his former club Fulham, who sit in mid-table, but the ex-Inter Milan chief is refusing to take anything for granted as fans await an upturn in fortunes.

He said: “It’s seven games gone and there are 31 left, which is an awful lot of games, but the fact is that when you are in the relegation zone you are in a relegation battle.”

Hodgson now has two weeks to stew over his side’s travails as the international break for Euro 2012 qualifiers means Liverpool are not in action until Sunday October 17.

The Reds’ next Premier League game is the small matter of a trip to Goodison Park to face city rivals Everton.

The Blues have also endured a slow start to their campaign, but did sign off before the break with a morale-boosting 2-0 win at Birmingham.

Interestingly, Everton are still searching for their first home win in the league this term while Liverpool have not won away.

Goodison captain Phil Neville admits the shame of starting last weekend at the bottom of the table played a part in the Birmingham victory.

“We were bottom of the league and it was the kick up the backside we needed,” said the former England international.

“We’ve also let the fans down. They have been deflated these last couple of weeks and we have as well.

“I think they saw us get our just rewards at Birmingham for the effort we put in. The pleasing thing is we’ve not lost that self-belief.”

Neville added: “Sometimes when you have bad defeats, you can revert back to safety first and playing with fear. I don’t think we’ve done that and everybody needs applauding for that.”

Everton can be backed at 12/1 to finish in the top four of the Premier League.