Anfield switch: Fulham boss Roy Hodgson
Liverpool have closed in on Roy Hodgson and expect to announce
him as their new manager next week.
It is understood initial contact has been made with Fulham and
that chairman Mohamed Al Fayed has reluctantly accepted last
season’s manager of the year will be installed as Rafa Benitez’s
successor.
Hodgson, whose exploits with Fulham have put him in the frame to
take over as England manager after Fabio Capello, is at the World
Cup but has been made aware that Liverpool are primed to appoint
him, ahead of Kenny Dalglish and Manuel Pellegrini.
Liverpool’s board carefully considered the claims of both
Dalglish, who had asked to be considered after acting as adviser to
managing director Christian Purslow, and Pellegrini, who led Real
Madrid to a record points tally in La Liga but lost his job to Jose
Mourinho after finishing second to Barcelona.
But they concluded Hodgson was best suited to reviving their
fortunes. Ian Holloway has rejected a second contract offer from
Premier League new boys Blackpool.
Former Scotland boss George Burley has been confirmed as Crystal
Palace boss while Peter Reid, assistant at Stoke, is in the running
for the Plymouth job along with Paul Ince and Paul Jewell.
