Fulham confirming last night they have lost all hope of holding on to Roy Hodgso

[mike_f]

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Liverpool-refuse-to-discuss-Chelsea-bids-for-Fernando-Torres-and-Yossi-Benayouan-until-Fulham-boss-Roy-Hodgson-agrees-to-take-over-as-new-manager-article469403.html

Liverpool will resist all attempts to snatch any of their players until they have a new manager in place.

And that seems certain to happen within the next week, with sources at Fulham confirming last night they have lost all hope of holding on to Roy Hodgson.

Liverpool dismissed claims of offers for Fernando Torres and Yossi Benayoun last night, by insisting they have not had an approach for any player, and made clear departures would have to be agreed by the incoming boss.

Spokesmen at Anfield have maintained their official position that they will not be rushed into appointing a successor to Rafa Benitez, and will consider every possible detail of every viable candidate before making an announcement.

But yesterday, a senior figure at Craven Cottage acknowledged that the London club now has no chance of persuading Hodgson to stay, with a formal approach imminent.

The Mirror revealed last week that a Liverpool board meeting on Friday has rubber-stamped a move for the experienced manager, and formal contact is expected to follow.

Fulham are aware of that interest, and after talks with their manager before he prepared to fly out to the World Cup, they are now resigned to losing him.

Talks over a contract, security of tenure should there be an Anfield takeover, and size of budget will proceed over the next week, and an official announcement could be made by next Wednesday or Thursday if agreement is reached.

Hodgson has spoken to his Fulham board, and conceded that he would find the offer to manage at Liverpool too hard to turn down, despite his affection for the Craven Cottage outfit.

Liverpool are ready to double his contract and also provide massive bonuses for a top four finish - which is the minimum requirement this coming season, after Benitez finished in a disastrous seventh place during the previous campaign.

They will also offer a minimum of £12million in cash to spend on new players, plus all money raised from sale of players the new boss deems surplus to requirements.

Liverpool are determined though, not to let any players leave until the new manager is in place, to allow him the chance to decide if he wants to keep them.

Fernando Torres is reported to be the subject of intense interest from Chelsea, with sources from the London club suggesting a £50million bid could follow.

Yossi Benayoun has also been linked with a £5.5million move to Stamford Bridge, amid suggestions that the player has already agreed a £75,000 a week contract.

But a spokesman for the Anfield club said last night that no offer had been received from any club for any of its players.

And officials were adamant that even if Chelsea do bid for Torres it will be turned down flat, with Liverpool determined to keep hold of their prized assets.

Hodgson has indicated to close friends that the first thing he will do if agrees to take the job on Merseyside will be to persuade Torres and skipper Steven Gerrard to stay.

He may be more accessible though, to allowing Javier Mascherano to leave, particularly if he can get the £40million Inter Milan are rumoured to be ready to offer for the defensive midfielder.

Hodgson would be confident of finding a replacement for an essentially negative role at that price, with money to spare to make much-needed attacking signings.

[Rambling_Syd_Rumpo]

if this is true,I am totally gutted :dft004: :dft004:
I really hope MAF can pull ANOTHER rabbit out of his hat and get us a another great manager who will work wonders-doubt it,I hope so but I doubt it-I've come all over doom & gloom :dft004: :dft004: :dft004:

[tingtawng]

offer him 20 virgins to stay put in the dugout

[os5889]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1286882/Rafa-Benitez-Give-Liverpool-job-Kenny-Dalglish.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Well Rafas trying to help our cause,,,

Inter Milan boss Rafa Benitez: Give Liverpool job to Kenny Dalglish
By JOHN EDWARDS and NICK PISA in Milan
Last updated at 10:01 PM on 15th June 2010
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Rafa Benitez threw his weight behind Kenny Dalglish's bid to become Liverpool manager and hailed him as the perfect fit to revive their fortunes.
Inter Milan's new coach made his first appearance before the Italian media, but still found time to address his departure from Anfield and the subject of who should replace him.
Despite Roy Hodgson remaining Liverpool's preferred choice, Benitez insisted Dalglish was best qualified to appease disgruntled fans and ease some of the pressure on owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

King Kenny: Former Kop boss Rafa Benitez insists Dalglish is the perfect man to take charge of Liverpool
Reflecting on the way Dalglish has been revered by Liverpool followers ever since his arrival from Celtic in 1977, the former Liverpool manager said: 'I think they should look at Kenny Dalglish. He is the best man for the job. The owners should listen to the fans because they are unhappy.
'No one knows the club better than Dalglish, and he would be perfect there. He wants the job and in my opinion he should get it.'
Benitez was axed earlier this month amid claims that several senior players had lost faith in him during a calamitous season in which Liverpool would have missed out on Europe altogether, but for Portsmouth's financial predicament.

Italian job: Benitez was unveiled as Inter Milan's new boss on Tuesday
He strongly denied losing the dressing room, though, and revealed that he made a point of sending birthday wishes to Steven Gerrard when the Liverpool skipper was 30 at the end of last month.
'Before I left, I spoke with 95 per cent of the Liverpool players, and I contacted Steven Gerrard on his birthday,' he added.
'The majority said, "Thank you for everything". I spoke with Gerrard, and he was fine. In fact, he wished me well. I left on a positive note and the relationship with the players was good.
'It was hard for me to leave Liverpool. It was really difficult and I was sad to go. It was not easy, because the fans on the Kop were always fantastic to me. All the fans were like that. It was a sad day when I left, but I had to do it.
'My youngest daughter grew up in Liverpool. I was there for six years and she is only seven, so we will be looking at English schools. Both the girls were very attached to Liverpool - neither of them supports Everton.'
Benitez, who signed a two-year contract worth more than £4million a year, was frequently at odds with his predecessor Jose Mourinho, when they were rivals in the Barclays Premier League.
He hinted he may seek his advice, though, once he has assessed his squad and the former Chelsea boss has settled in at Real Madrid.
'I haven't spoken with Mourinho, because I have been very busy and so has he,' he said.
'Maybe I will talk with him in a few weeks when we are not so busy.
'I am not an anti-Mourinho, and I believe he did a good job here. We are different, but I like to win and I like to play good football, so I don't think we are all that different. I am not going to change anything, because that would not be very clever.'

Going nowhere: Liverpool have denied reports that Fernando Torres is subject of a £50m enquiry from rivals Chelsea
Benitez confirmed he will look to strengthen Inter's squad, despite last season's eye-catching success at home and in Europe, and has been linked with moves for Liverpool midfielders Javier Mascherano and Dirk Kuyt.
'I cannot talk about players at other clubs,' he said. 'I will discuss possible transfer targets with the people here, but I think we will be looking to bring in top-level players.


'A few years ago, there was interest in me from Inter, but we didn't have any direct contact. Now this opportunity has come at the right time, and I mean to make the most of it.
'In Italy, you live and breathe football. In Sardinia, where I was on holiday, I saw reporters and paparazzi at my hotel in all positions, 4-5-1, 4-3-3.'
Liverpool, meanwhile, denied claims that Chelsea had offered £50m for striker Fernando Torres and reiterated their stance that any such approach would be rejected.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1286882/Rafa-Benitez-Give-Liverpool-job-Kenny-Dalglish.html?ito=feeds-newsxml#ixzz0qxs3yV3g

[Tom]

Roy is not going anywhere! Everyone needs to stop worrying.  :54:

[Lighthouse]

The only positive is that this is only coming from one source at the moment and nobody else is picking it up. But with Roy joining the BBC for the World Cup we should know soon either way. I am already making myself feel better by thinking of good reasons he should go.

If he does go he was too defensive minded and despite our success made us dull to watch. Lets hope the new manager has a better ides how to be successful and be a little more forward thinking. We have an old team that will need changing anyway and ROy has gone as far as he can with a dull but very successful Fulham side. Although I would prefer he stay honest.

[RidgeRider]

The only positive is that this is only coming from one source at the moment and nobody else is picking it up. But with Roy joining the BBC for the World Cup we should know soon either way. I am already making myself feel better by thinking of good reasons he should go.

If he does go he was too defensive minded and despite our success made us dull to watch. Lets hope the new manager has a better ides how to be successful and be a little more forward thinking. We have an old team that will need changing anyway and ROy has gone as far as he can with a dull but very successful Fulham side. Although I would prefer he stay honest.

I am with Mr. Lighthouse. He should go if he gets an approach from Liverpool. We have no place lese to go as a club than where we have been. I am preparing for the worst by looking forward to getting a new manager who can get it done with our current team and build for the future.

In our recent past, the really good ones, players, have left. That's the ebb and flow of a mid table Prem team. We should be able to get a good manager though because our club has some cache now.

I thought Hughes, but he played thug ball at Blackburn. Not interested. I think McLeish is a younger Roy, but doubt he views going from Birmingham to Fulham a step up and Martinez would be a very good up and comer. Not sold on Sven. Anyway, I hope what I am typing turns out to be a waste of time and energy.