The next Anfield manager?

It appears to be only a matter of time before Roy Hodgson is fired as manager of Liverpool FC.

Hodgson himself says he will never quit the job, even having to aplogise to the Liverpool fans for his comments in the wake of Wednesday's desperate home defeat by Wolves. 

There even has been made a petition directed at owners Fenway Sports Group - led by John Henry and Tom Werner - calling for Hodgson to be removed immediately.
 
If I am to judge by all the rumors that abound right now, it seems the Bolton game on new years day will be make or break for him, with Kenny Dalglish looming in the wings as caretaker manager for the rest of the season.

According to The Glasgow Evening Times Hodgson has been handed a two-week ultimatum to save his job.

If we are to belive Dominic King of the Da|ily Mail Damien Comolli is responsible for identifying the next Anfield boss.

 Rafa Benitez are not under consideration to take over on a permanent basis. So who will it be? 

According to Goal.com former Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard is the preferred option, with 20.86 per cent of the readers wotes. 

An article on Caughtoffside says Rijkaard is the man replacing Hodgson. The club’s are ready to axe the 63 year old former Fulham boss and will do so within the next 48 hours, the article states. 

But the choice is far from unanimous. In second place, 17.51% of the Goal.com readers see Guus Hiddink as the right man for the job. 

Other candidates that has been mentioned are Didier Deschamps, Manuel Pellegrini, Louis van Gaal and Martin O'Neill. 

The same Daily Mail article states that Damien Comoli may bring in as may as four players in January, with a £1.5m deal for Rennes winger Sylvain Marveaux allready in place.

The next manager?

With Roy Hodgsons future as Liverpool manager in doubt and an upcoming transfer window with potentially big money to spend, the rumor mill is running overtime.

Right now a potential new manager for Liverpool FC is favoured rumor to report on for many websites. The last few weeks the club has been linked with some names, inkluding Kenny Dalglish and Frank Rijkaard after his job was terminated as Galatasaray manager.

Today another not surprising name pops up again. Former Aston Villa boss Martin O’Neill this week has claimed he wants to get back into football “sooner, rather than later”.

Footylatest reports he is heavily tipped to become the new boss at Liverpool.  O’Neill has spent two months out and now feels it is time to return to management.

O’Neill has been heavily linked with Liverpool over numerous seasons and many feel his time as Anfield manager could be just around the corner.

A more surprising name coming out of the hat right now is Atletico Madrid manager Quique Sanchez Flores.

According to Caughtoffside he is being considered as an option by the club who are ready to sack their current manager unless he can reverse the club’s alarming slide down the Premier League table.

The former right back considered by many as the “Next Mourinho” after a very successful start to his managerial career and after two solid seasons as Rafa Benitez’s replacement at Valencia and a decent spell in Portugal with Benfica.

The 45 year old had a great first season at the Vicente Calderon where he led Madrid’s ‘other’ club to a Europa League title.

Some Spanish sources apparently believe that the club’s new owners may prefer to bring in an up and coming boss with real potential as they look to start a new era at a club desperately looking for a change in fortunes.

On the other hand Liverpool, with new owners NESV just settling in, for the moment have no chairman and no CEO to appoint a manager.

What do you think?

Ny investor og manager?

En amerikansk investorgruppe skal snuse på å skyte inn penger i Liverpool FC. Vil det gi kapitalen eierne trenger for å skifte manager?

De siste timene har ryktene om en ny investor på vei inn i Liverpool FC tatt seg opp. Først ble det avfeid som lite sannsynlig at et oppkjøp var på vei av Liverpool.no, men så fant de ut at den aktuelle interessenten Rhône Group LLC, faktisk sjekker regnskapene til vår kjære klubb.

Så kom meldingen fra Daily Mail om at gruppen er aktuelle for å skyte inn £118m i Liverpoool, og nå melder til og med seriøse BBC akkurat det samme. Da kan det ikke bare være sprøyt.

Dermed kan det gå mot en økonomisk sunnere sommer for Liverpool, større muligheter for å begynte byggingen av nytt stadion og å hente inn forsterkninger til Benitez' tropp.

Historiene forteller at de amerikanske investorene ønsker 40 prosent av aksjene i klubben og dermed største eierandel, om ikke Hicks eller Gillett skulle bestemme seg for å selge seg ut.

Spennende nyheter, spør du meg...

Noe annet som også er spennende, men ikke spesielt overraskende, er at det igjen spekuleres i Benitez' fremtid som manager i Liverpool. Den siste til å bli satt i forbindelse med jobben er Aston Villa-manager Martin O'Neill. Og dersom Benitez skulle forsvinne ville O'Neill helt klart vært et av mine førstevalg.

I følge ESPN Soccernet er det "prominente" kilder som hevder at O'Neill nå blir nevnt, i tillegg til Alex McLeish. Sistnevnte er imidlertid langt mindre merittert.

Spørsmålet som reises er imidlertid om Liverpool har den økonomiske kraften som skal til for et managerbytte. Men dersom en ny investor er på vei inn blir det straks mer troverdig.

Spør du meg ville jeg ikke gråte blod om Benitez ikke får fornyet tillit etter inneværende sesong. Han har fått sine år på å bygge det laget han ville ha; dog ikke med de pengene han trolig trengte. Det var et ærlig forsøk, men ikke godt nok for en klubb som Liverpool - som SKAL være blandt de beste i verden. Selv om jeg liker Benitez som type og tror han er en god manager, er laget viktigere enn enkeltpersoner.

Og da er det kanskje på tide å se seg om etter noe annet?