Overflowing in-tray awaits Hodgson upon arrival at Anfield

In the aftermath of England’s World Cup debacle, the name of Roy Hodgson has been widely touted as a possible replacement for Fabio Capello should the Italian’s services be disposed of in the next week or so. Liverpool have beaten the FA to the punch however, with Hodgson having signed a three year contract for what he has described as ‘the biggest job in club football’. Whilst he may consider swerving the England job as a lucky escape, the size of his to-do list at Liverpool is comparable to that of the national job and expectation levels are equally as high.

So what are his priorities? First and foremost is the need to secure the futures of a seemingly ever growing list of key players who want out of Anfield. Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres are the most prominent of these, with neither player having exactly made encouraging noises about their commitment to Liverpool over the summer, with the handy excuse of having a World Cup to play in. The same is true of Javier Mascherano who is wanted by Rafa Benitez at Internazionale, with Dirk Kuyt also apparently adding his name to this list in the past week or so.

Without the lure of Champions League, Hodgson will certainly face an uphill task in convincing all of this quartet in staying, but perhaps equally as pressing is the need to perform surgery on the over bloated squad left by his predecessor. With a well publicised debt of around £350 million, the club would certainly benefit from a reduction in a wage bill augmented unnecessarily by the presence of numerous fringe players who simply have not shaped up in the Premier League: think Damien Plessis, Nabir El Zhar and Phillip Degen for starters.

The absence of key players for large periods of last season also highlighted the need for some reinforcements to the squad in certain areas. Hodgson is thought to have a budget of around £12 million to work with, a relatively modest budget when you consider Manchester City have just spent £30 million on David Silva alone. Brede Hangeland has been widely linked despite a price tag which is likely to prove prohibitive, but perhaps more pressing is the need for alternative striking options to Fernando Torres.

Last season’s reliance on David Ngog in the absence of Torres was a clear failure, with Daniel Pacheco hardly a prolific alternative either. Milan Jovanovic will hope to do better when he finally arrives from Standard Liege, but Hodgson may wish to strengthen further in this area. Left-back also seems to be a problem position for the club currently, with question marks over Emilio Insua’s ability to deal with the rigours of the Premier League. Doubts also continue to exist about the much criticised Lucas Leiva, with Hodgson apparently ready to offer Danny Murphy a return to Anfield.

Hodgson will also need to ensure that he wins over the Liverpool fans early, especially given the fierce hatred that exists for those running the club and the way in which they forced out Benitez, for whom they retain much affection. There also appears to be doubts as to whether Hodgson is a big enough name for the job, after all it was not that long ago that Jose Mourinho was being touted as a potential replacement. The names of Frank Rijkaard and Guus Hiddink have also been linked to the position in the past month, not to mention a possible return to management for Kenny Dalglish.

However, Hodgson could well be the steadying hand that Liverpool require to stabilise and once again press for the elusive nineteenth league title. He will be entering into the position under no illusions under as to the financial position the club are in, the boardroom wrangling with which Benitez grew so tired, and above all the expectations the club’s fans have for success. With Arsenal and Manchester City first up next season, we should get a good early indication of how well his 34 years of management at both club and international level will serve him in handling these pressures.

July 1, 2010