It's a strange one this. On the one hand people accuse Hodgson of "thinking he is still managing Fulham" because of a perception that he is happy with the way things are, whilst on the other they use the fact that we had a better record than Fulham as conclusive proof that Roy is out of his depth.
Similarly, it's apparantly Roys fault that we are "turning into Fulham". This is despite the fact that as Fulham manager he steered them into seventh the season before last (the spot we snatched off them last season), and last season took them into the Europa Cup final after we'd been beaten in the semi's. I suppose you could argue that Roy is partially responsible for the fact that Fulhams achievements have been similar to ours over the last few seasons, but it's hardly his "fault" I don't think.
And here we sit now in eighth place is it, with some winnable matches coming up and looking ever more likely to finish in the same spot as last season or higher. THAT is the comparison which ought to be the criteria. It was pointless replacing Rafa if the new bloke didn't improve us from seventh, and if Roy doesn't he should be gone at the end of the season. Even sixth behind Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal, Man City and Spurs might not be enough, despite the latter two obviously being much better teams than last season. Nor should it, as Liverpool fans we have every right to be ambitious.
No for me, Roy has to do much better than his predessessor in order to be considered a success. It's high time we won a trophy again, it's high time we reached a Wembley final, and despite the squad being threadbare in places we really ought to be able to at least make a challenge for fourth.
Roys record at Fulham though in comparison to Benitez's record at Liverpool is a complete irrelevence. You may as well compare Roy's record at Liverpool, with a team which finished seventh in the league, to Benitez's record at the all conquering Inter Milan.
Despite a lengthly absentee list, Hodgson is doing what it says on the tin and should be supported. He is a decent manager doing a decent job, no more and no less. Time will tell whether or not that proves to be enough.
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