Roy Hodson: Failing To Get It Tactically Correct

Roy Hodgson hasn't made that great of an impact at Anfield in his short time at the Merseyside. But he hasn't done too badly either.

He made an excellent start by convincing the talismanic duo of Torres and Gerrard to stay at Anfield. Apart from that he also convinced the likes of Kuyt to stay put.

He made sure that the Reds qualify for the group stages of the Europa cup, though that away match against Trabzonspor was not a pretty site.

And he has also made some great signings by bringing in the likes of Joe Cole, Raul Meireles, and Konchesky to Anfield.

I, like many other Kopites, was quite content with Hodgson's performance before the season started. But now after seeing his tactics on the pitch and his post-match interviews, I have some concerns.

Let's take the example of the Sunday's match against West Brom. A home match against West Brom should have been a walk in the park for Liverpool. I didn't expect a 6-0 win like Chelsea's win over the Baggies but a fairly comfortable one. But to my disgust it wasn't.

Liverpool puffed and puffed through out the entire game and West Brom looked much more threatening and the Reds. And finally it was all down to El Nino to clinch the game and as usual he didn't disappoint.

But more negatives came out of that game for Liverpool than the positives.

First of all Hodgon's plan to start with a 4-5-1 formation with two defensive mid-fielders (Poulsen and Lucas) against West Brom didn't make any sense at all.

Why would you start a home game against a team who have just been promoted into the league with two defensive mid-fielders and only one forward???

Instead Roy could have started with a 4-4-2. This was perfect opportunity for to give the likes of Babel or even Pacheco a chance to partner with Torres and get some match-time.

Interestingly, in the away match against Man City, Roy used a 4-4-2 formation with Lucas in the center of the mid-field. And we all saw what happened. Yaya Toure owned Lucas during the entire match and Man City conquered the mid-field easily.  Liverpool were thrashed 3-0, a thrashing they deserved.

What was more annoying was the post-match reaction of Roy after the match against West Brom. Roy said West Brom played well and Liverpool had to match them and Torres's class was the difference between the two teams. That just being a little too humble, soft and, nice for my liking.

Roy should be more aggressive in his approach and have that ruthlessness and a hunger to win in him and to all out against bottom-half-of-the-table sides and just brush them a side at home. And instill the same hunger in his players.

Well, the journey has just begun for Roy. But this season is looking to be more competitive than the last one and one wrong step will mean Liverpool would have to play catch-up for the rest of the season.

I hope he adopts a more attacking approach with a more dynamic formations in the coming matches. The signing of Meireles will certainly help as he is a much better on and off the ball and even when it comes to defensive duties than Lucas.

Lastly I have only one thing to say to Roy...You'll Never Walk Alone!