News:

Use a VPN to stream games Safely and Securely 🔒
A Virtual Private Network can also allow you to
watch games Not being broadcast in the UK For
more Information and how to Sign Up go to
https://go.nordvpn.net/SH4FE

Main Menu


Tuesday Fulham Stuff (29/06/10)...

Started by WhiteJC, June 29, 2010, 07:39:15 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

WhiteJC

http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8652_6236799,00.html?
HODGSON EXPECTED AT LIVERPOOL THIS WEEK

Roy Hodgson is expected to be confirmed as Liverpool's new manager this week.

The Anfield hierarchy are reported to be confident that Hodgson will be installed as Rafa Benitez's successor in the next few days, despite the potential availability of the England national job. Were he still to be in the running following the two-week review of Fabio Capello's work at the World Cup that is widely expected to result in the Italian's dismissal, Hodgson would be the clear favourite to assume the role.

Instead, it would seem as if the 62-year-old has opted to take on the challenge of managing one of the game's biggest football clubs despite their present-day financial status of paupers.

The Times even kicks off its report on the imminent arrival of Hodgson on Merseyside with the announcement that 'his first job will be to field formal offers for the club's crown jewels, Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres.'

According to the newspaper, 'Real Madrid have tabled a £20 million take-it-or-leave-it bid for the England captain, whom Liverpool value at £35 million. Torres, the Spain striker, would cost in excess of £60 million, but Chelsea and Real are aware that Liverpool's precarious financial situation allows the opportunity to acquire their players at knockdown prices. There were suggestions last night that the London club's initial offer could be as low as £25 million.'

Nor should Hodgson expect to receive the bulk of any such funds recouped from sales for squad reinvestment.

'Hodgson will be consulted over any decision to sell, but can expect to receive only a small proportion of any money raised,' says The Times.

The news begs the obvious question: Is the England job really so undesirable?

WhiteJC

http://www.imscouting.com/global-news-article/Report-Hodgson-will-be-Liverpool-manager-by-Thursday/8579/?
Report: Hodgson will be Liverpool manager by Thursday

Fulham's Roy Hodgson will be appointed as the new manager of Liverpool by Thursday, according to the BBC.

The 62-year-old has always been considered the front-runner to succeed Rafa Benitez at Anfield as he apparently fulfils all six criteria set out by Liverpool managing director Christian Purslow and Kenny Dalglish for Benitez's successor.

Hodgson has maintained a dignified silence over the speculation that he will join Liverpool, although it has been assumed that he would like to manage another big club before he retires.

BBC Radio 5 Live's senior football reporter Ian Dennis said, "Hodgson has always been the number one target of the board at Anfield to replace Benitez,

"After Fulham granted permission to speak to Hodgson, it was just a matter of the clubs agreeing a compensation deal for him."

The BBC reports that Hodgson's appointment will be announced by Thursday.  In addition to Fulham, Hodgson has also managed Italian giants Inter Milan, Blackburn and Switzerland, who he guided to the last 16 of the 1994 World Cup.

One of Hodgson's first tasks will be to try to persuade Liverpool's star players such as Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard to remain at Anfield.

WhiteJC

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1290486/Birmingham-boss-Alex-McLeish-falls-short-1-6m-bid-Nigeria-striker-Peter-Odemwingie.html?ITO=1490
Birmingham boss Alex McLeish falls way short with £1.6m bid for Nigeria striker Peter Odemwingie

Birmingham have failed in a 'ridiculous' £1.6million bid to sign Nigeria World Cup striker Peter Odemwingie from Lokomotiv Moscow.

The 28-year-old was put on the market before the tournament in South Africa, with Lokomotiv looking asking about £8.5m for a player with just a year left on his current contract.

Everton, Fulham and French teams have also shown interest in Odemwingie, but Birmingham are the only team to table a former bid.

Lokomotiv president Nikolay Naumov said: 'The offer from Birmingham of €2m (£1.6m) seemed ridiculous to us.'

Odemwingie is keen to test himself in England and believes his club must lower their asking price to a more realistic level.

Lokomotiv had considered offering him in part-exchange for Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko, but have been told that the Russia striker now wants to stay in England after mulling his future this summer.

Lokomotiv have responded by offering Odemwingie a new contract.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1290486/Birmingham-boss-Alex-McLeish-falls-short-1-6m-bid-Nigeria-striker-Peter-Odemwingie.html?ITO=1490#ixzz0sEOUVcOI


WhiteJC

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/183758/Roy-Hodgson-s-Anfield-call-up-cuts-options?
ROY HODGSON'S ANFIELD CALL-UP CUTS OPTIONS

LIVERPOOL are set to deepen England's World Cup crisis by finally sealing Roy Hodgson's appointment as their new manager.
Fulham boss Roy Hodgson, who took the club to the Europa League final last season, would be a key target for the Football Association if they dispense with Fabio Capello, but Liverpool are confident he will commit with them. Talks over a minor compensation package between the clubs started last week and Anfield officials expect the final details to be resolved within days.

Tottenham will look to tie up a new contract with boss Harry Redknapp to ensure he does not become a viable alternative to Capello as well.

WhiteJC

http://fourfourtwo.com/news/worldcup2010/58846/default.aspx?
Pantsil: Ghana to maintain winning game plan

JOHANNESBURG - Ghana will stick to the tactics that have proved successful so far in the World Cup when they take on Uruguay for a place in the semi-finals, defender John Pantsil said on Monday.

The team, which became only the third African nation ever to advance to the quarter final stage of the World Cup, also had no fears about dealing with the attacking qualities the South Americans had shown so far in the tournament, players said.

"I don't think there is anything to change in our game. We are going to stay with our game plan - just relax and play our normal, good football and keep our positions and heads together," Pantsil told Ghana FA website.

Under Serbian coach Milovan Rajevac, Ghana, the only African team to make it through the group stage, have impressed many with their stubborn defence and the creativity in the midfield of Kevin-Prince Boateng and Dede Ayew.

However, coach Rajevac is racing against time to have his squad ready for the game in Johannesburg on Friday following injuries to key players and the suspension of Ayew and Jonathan Mensah.

Boateng also limped out of their hard-fought second round game against the United States, and is undergoing intensive therapy for a hamstring injury.

Rajevac had said it would be a huge problem getting him ready for the game on Friday, while several other players including defender Samuel Inkoom are also struggling with niggling injuries.

"We'll try our best on the injured players and make sure they are ready," Rajevac said.

ULTIMATE DREAM
Despite the injuries and suspension concerns, the Ghanaians are confident of making history by being the first African nation to reach the last four of the World Cup.

"We're not worried about Uruguay. When we qualified to play the USA, we weren't worried and we won, so we're going to do the same thing," said 19-year-old defender Jonathan Mensah.

Inkoom was more forthright with his predictions and confidence, seeing Ghana in the final and winning the trophy.

"We are ready to live the ultimate dream," the 20-year-old midfielder told FIFA website (www.fifa.com)
"I told the coach we would win," he said of the game against Uruguay. "I don't think Uruguay will be easy but I think we are capable of winning," he added.

WhiteJC

http://www.birminghampost.net/midlands-birmingham-sport/west-midlands-sports/birmingham-city-fc/2010/06/29/birmingham-city-still-hoping-to-land-paul-konchesky-65233-26749078/?
Birmingham City still hoping to land Paul Konchesky

Fulham defender Paul Konchesky is still the top left-back target for Birmingham City, despite reports that Blues boss Alex McLeish is also keen on a World Cup star.

Reports in the Far East have suggested that McLeish is weighing up a move for Japan's Yuto Nagatomo.

The Blues boss spent time in South Africa for the early part of the tournament and has admitted that he would consider recruiting from the World Cup if it made financial sense.

The left-back berth is a priority for McLeish as his current options are either makeshift candidates or David Murphy, who has not played since fracturing his kneecap in April 2009.

As well as Nagatomo, Hearts' Scotland international Lee Wallace is another left-back being linked with a move to the Premier League.

However, McLeish is still hoping to tie up a deal for his top target, Konchesky.

The uncertainty over Fulham boss Roy Hodgson's future at Craven Cottage is currently holding up any move for the former England defender, who is said to be keen on coming to St Andrew's.

Hodgson is one of the favourites for the vacant Liverpool manager's job.


WhiteJC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/philmcnulty/2010/06/hodgson_perfect_for_liverpool.html?
Hodgson perfect for Liverpool

s Roy Hodgson attempted to give his nomadic career new direction with a spell in the United Arab Emirates earlier this decade, the notion of Liverpool and England fighting for his services seemed a distant prospect.

And yet, while Liverpool close in on Hodgson as Rafael Benitez's successor and the Football Association debates Fabio Capello's future as England coach, the 62-year-old Londoner has emerged as the prime candidate for two of the biggest posts in football.

Hodgson, barring a late FA intervention, is expected to be confirmed as Liverpool boss in the next 48 hours, mainly as a result of his outstanding work at Fulham, where a rescue from relegation months after his appointment in December 2007 was followed by a dream run to last season's Europa League final.

Fulham's defeat by Atletico Madrid looks to have been his farewell to the banks of the Thames as he now prepares to move to Merseyside.

And while Hodgson's arrival may get a muted response in some quarters, Liverpool's current reality makes him the perfect appointment.

There may be disquiet among some Liverpool fans that the romantic option of Kenny Dalglish's return has not been explored, particularly after one of Anfield's iconic figures made it clear he wanted to resume the job he left in 1991.

Hodgson and Dalglish have been friends from the days when Liverpool used to warm up for title-winning campaigns by playing Hodgson's Malmo side in Sweden, so the suggestion the Scot will sulk in the background as some malign influence after missing out is unlikely.

It has been a long road from Carshalton Athletic to Anfield for Hodgson, taking in Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Finland and the UAE - plus a spell at Blackburn Rovers - before reviving Fulham.

He may not be the stellar name many on the Kop will have wanted when Benitez ended his six-year reign earlier in June, but Liverpool's reduced circumstances call for the sort of common sense management Hodgson can apply.

The Reds can offer any manager a rich history but what they cannot put on the table is Champions League football or vast riches to rebuild a troubled team. The idea someone of Jose Mourinho's status may have been tempted to Liverpool originated in dreamland, even before the former Chelsea manager won the Champions League at Inter Milan and moved to Real Madrid.

Boring as it might sound to some, Liverpool need a pair of safe hands that will restore dignity and credibility to Anfield after times of turbulence on and off the field.

Hodgson is a deep thinker about football and other things besides, as an avid reader of Milan Kundera, John Updike and Philip Roth. Liverpool will hope he can apply the intelligence gleaned throughout a long career to rebuild one of the fallen giants of the game.

A close study of his work at Craven Cottage confirms he fulfils all requirements at Liverpool. Listen to Anfield old boy Danny Murphy, speaking in Hamburg on the night before the Europa League final.

"The manager doesn't sprinkle magic dust on us," said Murphy. "The manager and his staff work damn hard to make sure the lads know their jobs. He does his research on players and the mentality of players who come into the club. He is a manager who organises his team well."

There are other facets of Hodgson's character that will have appealed to Liverpool's power brokers as they drew up their shortlist.

If he had any difficulties behind the scenes with Fulham's flamboyant chairman Mohamed Al Fayed, he never chose to air them in public. In contrast, Benitez's tiresome politicking added to Anfield's instability at a time when there was more than enough to go around.

Hodgson will arrive at a delicate period for Liverpool, with the search for new owners ongoing and yet to bear fruit, leaving the dysfunctional tenure of Tom Hicks and George Gillett still in place.

As someone with vast experience, Hodgson will know the obstacles that may await him at Anfield but his measured approach will suit the situation.

And, crucially in Liverpool's financial state, Hodgson has shown a sure touch when working the markets without the aid of a plentiful budget and without complaint.

He mastered the art of renewing careers at Fulham, with Murphy, Damien Duff, Zoltan Gera and Bobby Zamora prime examples. Hodgson's eye for a bargain enabled him to sign Brede Hangeland relatively cheaply and turn him into one of the most coveted defenders in the Premier League.

He has earned huge respect - and not only from those inside football. When Fulham beat Hamburg to reach the Europa League final, his arrival at his after-match press conference was greeted with the rare accolade of spontaneous applause from assembled journalists, such was the scale of his achievement.

And Liverpool will embrace Hodgson's ability to do his job without fuss and fanfare, just like old times at Anfield.

One of my abiding memories of last season was watching Hodgson stroll across Craven Cottage with his hand in his pocket as the old place went crazy after the victory over Hamburg. He navigated his way through the throng of players, celebrating or otherwise, lying on the turf, stopping only to console Hamburg's stars on his way off.

He will work with a small backroom staff, which Liverpool's hierarchy will find a refreshing change from the entire community that appeared to have been assembled by Benitez in his latter days at Anfield.

When Hodgson is appointed, he will need to work quickly to make changes to his squad. Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard are seen as easy targets, with Liverpool lacking in financial resources and the appeal of the Champions League.

Persuading them to stay will be top of his list of priorities - or, if not, ensuring the best deal is done to allow him to fashion a new-look team to prepare for life without them.

Liverpool's hierarchy have been lampooned with relish amid their recent traumas but they have restored a measure of their tattered reputation with the swiftness of Benitez's departure and the good sense shown by installing Hodgson.

It ranks alongside Inter Milan as the biggest job in Hodgson's career - but his work at Fulham alone suggests he is up to the task.