Why Liverpool Needs To Look Past Manchester United, FA Cup and Sack Roy Hodgson

Liverpool lost again and almost habitually going by their away form in the last calendar year. This time by a more demoralizing 3-1 margin at Ewood Park, to a Blackburn Rovers team which had a majority of its regulars on the bench for the start. In some ways that is like getting defeated by a reserve side of an average outfit in PL, which doesn't really boast of any stars.

The last time this type of demoralization befell, was only last Wednesday at home against another team who before the match was rock-bottom of the League table, Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The Reds under Roy Hodgson have been at their erratic best with longer troughs than crests, so much so that a seventh position finish, which was considered as a horrible campaign last season, seems a "pie in the sky" (as Roy would say!).

Football as in every sport is a results business and I admit that even though I still find that a lion's share of the blame must be put on the players, Roy Hodgson has been the biggest disappointment in the Premier League this season.

In a season which has been highly topsy-turvy and has seen every team barring Manchester United succumb to abject defeats, (and even they suffered a drubbing at the hands of relegation contenders West Ham in the Carling Cup), the Reds fans all over the globe including me have perhaps witnessed the most unbearable. The Reds were not only beaten by Manchester United and Everton, their strongest arch rivals, but also by clubs who had not achieved that feat in the best part of almost three decades, like Stoke City, Blackpool and the Wolves. All that now followed by a drubbing by the Rovers!

Liverpool's most significant victory came in the court when Hicks and Gillett were removed from power and New England Sports Ventures took control, and clearly the new principle owner John W Henry couldn't have had a tougher start.

Even though John Henry & Co. may have very well known the problems that the club was facing they may never have contemplated that Hodgson's regime would need such serious introspection by early January.

With every passing match Hodgson's tenure is getting more and more vulnerable and if reports from some reputed sources are to be taken into consideration, Liverpool FC may not sack Roy Hodgson until after the upcoming Manchester United game in the FA Cup on Sunday.

The issues highlighted thereby may have their own significance, however, it seems silly from more critical aspects. 

Liverpool FC are down at the moment and sacking Roy makes sense, which simply may not be the case in some quarters if the Reds have a lucky result. Roy may thus live to take Liverpool to further new lows. More importantly, even if the worst be taken for granted given the way that things have gone thus far for Liverpool, under a new manager on Sunday, why should that be taken in a negative light or into consideration at all?

For the record, both the Reds and Manchester United lost to lower division opponents in this tournament last time and even though the bitterness was felt, let's be honest, no top division club loses sleep over an FA Cup fight these days. Even winning it is not considered a huge achievement because most teams try out their fringe players in these.

It seems highly illogical to hold back a decision as important as hiring a new manager just because a tournament like the FA Cup awaits him!

Given the commitment shown by John W Henry, it seems that had he been as knowledgeable in football for sometime, Hodgson would have been axed a long time back. Given that, two out of our last three defeats were to clubs who fired their managers even though the issue didn't look as pressing.

Even though Chelsea, the defending champions are not doing great, John W Henry can easily look at them to get a lesson. 

If Hodgson took Fulham to the Europa final, so did Grant take Chelsea to finals of the Champions League. People may argue it was more of Mourinho's team, but then going by sheer results, Mourinho couldn't take Chelsea to the Champion's League finals.

The key thing is that one spell didn't make Avram Grant an outstanding manager, in fact he has found himself amongst relegation strugglers ever since! Roy Hodgson may have had a greater experience than Grant, but it is fruitless to argue that he would have even been considered for his current post had he not done that Europa run with Fulham!

Liverpool need better guidance now, certainly better than what Mr. Hodgson has proved to be capable of and they need to look beyond the realms of a fixture like the FA Cup. Even winning, which would only backfire in terms of playing more matches in a congested schedule, could further lead to more injuries than the Reds can afford.

Liverpool need to concentrate just on the Europa and the Premier League this season and see where it takes them. Although they have a much tougher task ahead of them in the Premier League and need improvement, they have a relatively easier road to the Europa semis if they just don't come up with utterly disappointing stuff, which seems a greater possibility under Hodgson, even after the Reds have managed to remain unscathed so far in that competition.

It's time the people in charge of the club understand Liverpool's problems and do something about it. It's time they understand that victories against Blackpool, Everton and the rest are more important for Liverpool's run this season than an emotional battle against an arch rival and for any manager coming in be it Dalglish or anybody, they'll have a much lesser time to prepare for those if FSG just sits back and watches. They have already lost enough time and with just four points above the relegation zone, time is running out.

A victory on the last day to avoid relegation may appease the Fulham fans; it doesn't mean anything for a club like Liverpool. We need to arrest such a fall of grace much earlier!