The Invincible Bastion of Liverpool FC

One of the supposed benefits of Roy Hodgson’s arrival was his ability to get closer to players and re-invigorate their on the pitch performances. Despite what he has eluded to, or (some of) Fleet Street will spout, we do have  a squad of players and certainly a first XI which should be competing for fourth place – as a minimum.

Data utilising TPI from Pay as you Play (Tomkins et al, 2010, GPRF Publishing) has shown that we still retain the fifth highest squad value (without taking account of free transfers such as Gerrard, Cole and Carragher). We’ve also utilised that squad to provide for the fourth most expensive team put out this season to date, on average. So the players have been at Roy’s disposal, which begs the question – what exactly is going wrong – to the extent that we are losing to minnows?

Journalists along with Fulham players and fans alike spoke very highly of Hodgson’s man management prowess. He would turn the slumped shoulders and long faces into driven and highly motivated team players. This after all was all that may be needed at Anfield, after the years under Rafa Benitez’s ‘cold regime’ (of course those without an agenda who knew Benitez talk about a passionate and engaging character; if not a warm and cuddly one).

But half way through the season and some of our players’ shoulder slumping is starting to make them look like apes, as their knuckles drag along the ground. Unless of course they’re scoring, but even our goal celebrations don’t seem as passionate as they once were.

Is it possible that both Benitez and Hodgson have both fallen foul of a dressing room culture where the egos have taken over? Not that I ever felt Hodgson was right for Liverpool, but I do wonder whether any efforts applied have been hampered. Sure, you can point to dressing rooms with even bigger egos or collection of stars. But have any of those teams been through what we have over the past few years? The politics within the club created opportunities for individuals to gain more power than you’d normally see at clubs. I include players, or certain players, who may have taken advantage of any power vacuum within those individuals.

Some will tell you that this is only human nature. Man as a rational actors will always look to work in his own self interest. Others will insist that man will instead work towards a common goal. That doesn’t stop him being mis-guided in his beliefs, mind. Either way question marks have been raised over the attitude of our players for two seasons running. With the recent power struggles seen at the club, you have to wonder whether ‘the tail is wagging the dog’.

Fenway Sports Group (FSG) have arrived at the club and started their shake up of the hierarchy and culture of the club. If they are to deliver on the pitch success though, is it now time for a radical shake up of the playing squad? When considering this, fans tend to concentrate on the players attributes in relation to playing abilities. Judging a player often on their value or perceived value; or even those magical moments they delivered. When looking at our top players FSG need to go deeper. They need to really look at the pyschology of every player – what is motivating them, are they difficult to get on with and how do they react when challenged?

No one player or group of players is bigger than the club, or they shouldn’t be. What exists at Anfield though is pretty unique. We’ve had politics and power plays creating power vacuums. While our first team includes a few star players and two home grown stars. People rarely look at themselves when things are going wrong and the player collective, especially at our club, has to be a prime breeding area for groupthink.

The impact of the recent years works both ways. Maybe players are just tired of everything that has happened. They often thrive on success, which has been in short supply. On a personal level, why should star players miss out on champions league football? Especially if missing out becomes a regular occurrence. Just how many false dawns should they have to contend with? The reality is that, at the moment, Liverpool Football Club may not be aligned with our star players’ needs. If you can’t meet their needs, how do you motivate them?

In my opinion Roy Hodgson is out of his depth and not the right manager for Liverpool Football Club. I’ve said it from day one and unless something miraculous happens I’ll continue to say it. However, we should not ignore other factors which may be impairing any future success. Rafa Benitez was, I believe, the right man to take the club forwards – yet he also failed to deliver last season. Which was another season where poor player attitude was observed. There is one common denominator for both managers.

Will another new manager deliver success with the existing squad? Will they only make a difference until we hit a bad patch? Only time will tell I guess. But two managers who in many ways are diametrically opposed appear to have both failed in motivating the current squad of players.

FSG need to fully assess the psychological make up of the current crop of players. That assessment must include all players, without exception. They must also look at the club as a whole and see if it can, within the required timescales, deliver the environment (from a success point of view) to allow players to thrive. They may come to a rather painful conclusion which will see them have to overhaul our current squad of players.

Something doesn’t add up to me and I suspect that FSG may well be faced with tougher decisions than appointing the right manager next summer. There’s little point in finding the right manager while insisting he has to work with certain tools. FSG must find the right manager and then back him to the hilt, even if that means saying goodbye to those who no longer fit the vision.