Why Hodgson will turn Liverpool around if given time and Reds must stay at Anfield

By Oliver Holt

Published 23:31 19/10/10

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I understand why ­antipathy is growing towards Roy Hodgson among ­Liverpool fans. As always with sport, it’s mainly about results. Hodgson’s confrontational and defensive attitude to the criticism he is receiving is not helping either.

But it is also clear why Hodgson appears so ­exasperated with the way he is being treated. To write him off after eight league games, as many have done, is short-term thinking at its most absurd.

Hodgson is a good manager and a good man. He is ­intelligent, he is articulate, he is tactically astute, he knows the game inside out, he has worked at the highest levels of club football and he is vastly experienced.

So let’s not fall into the trap of lampooning him just because he has not got off to a good start. He has inherited an almighty mess, courtesy of Tom and George, and has succeeded a strong manager who brought another European Cup to Anfield and was a hero to the supporters.

He needs time. If he gets it, he will drag Liverpool out of the quagmire and lead them back to where they belong.

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Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, is one of my favourite places to watch sport anywhere in the world.

It is a buzzing place, dripping with history and memories, where the atmosphere is electric for every match.

When John W Henry bought the Red Sox, many told him the team had to move away from Fenway if it was to have a future. They wanted to flatten it. Henry disagreed and a few years later, the Red Sox won the World Series.

I hope Liverpool’s new owner adopts the same attitude towards Anfield. I hope he redevelops it, rather than listening to the voices telling him to move away.

Anfield’s one of my favourite places to watch sport, too, and every effort should be made to keep the club there, close to its history and memories.

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