Fulham players believe Roy
Hodgson's move to Liverpool
could all end in tears.
The 62-year-old, who joined the London club in 2007 and guided
them to the Europa League final last season, is even being tipped
to fail at Anfield by some players at Craven Cottage.
Others claim that, although Hodgson is widely respected in the
game, his brand of management and style of football will have to
change radically if he is going to succeed at Liverpool.
“I’m not entirely sure this is the right move for Roy,” one
senior player at Fulham told the
Sunday Mirror. “He’s a lovely bloke and I wish him all the
success in the world but I suspect he might have taken on more than
he can handle going to Liverpool.
“He loathes confrontation and can’t handle egos and troublesome
personalities.
“He certainly bit off more than he could chew with Jimmy Bullard
at Fulham, so can you imagine
him dealing with players at Liverpool like Steven
Gerrard, Jamie
Carragher and Fernando
Torres who have enormous power in and out the
dressing room?
“He can also be rigid and inflexible as well. Certain players
hit a bad run of form at Fulham
but Roy refused to make changes even though their performances on
the field were deteriorating.”
Another player said: “Roy likes to surround himself with a
certain type of player. Foreign players are less likely to come and
smash down the manager’s door complaining about not playing.
“He doesn’t want troublemakers at the club, he wants players who
are happy to sit patiently biding their time waiting to play.
“If there are problems he will promise you the world, fail to
deliver but leave his coaching staff to deal with the fall-out.
“Personally, I think he has made a big mistake going to
Liverpool.
“Steve McClaren is a good example of what can happen when you
step out of your comfort zone. Didn’t he lead Middlesbrough to a major European final? Look what
happened to him when he left and took over England. It’s a big
gamble.”