After the awful performance and result against Wolves on Wednesday it seems that the Liverpool fans have called time on the managerial reign of Roy Hodgson. The defeat leaves the proud club only three points off the relegation places and eleven points adrift of European football.

Last season’s seventh place finish was bad enough for the fans but they still qualified for the Europa League which is the bare minimum they will accept. The prospect of missing out altogether would be a disaster.

It would seem the fans no longer want Roy in charge of their team, the body language and attitude of players would suggest they no longer want him in charge either, as soon as you lose the dressing room is it not time to pack up and go?

When you look around the league teams like Blackburn and Newcastle ninth and thirteenth respectively have already sacked their managers whether the right move or not, they have reacted to a so called bad position and changed the man behind the wheel. It’s not certain they will now improve, but they have taken the chance, will John W Henry have seen enough and show Hodgson the door.

If the new owners at Liverpool leave Hodgson in charge through the January transfer window then they must surely back him. They can’t afford to let the window pass without bringing in reinforcements; Hodgson’s signings have been very much hit and miss so far. Paul Konchesky has been poor, Christian Poulsen is not the player Schalke and Sevilla fans remember. Raul Meireles however looks a good player when played in the correct position.

Moving Forward

It seems now Damien Comolli is in charge of player purchases, where does this leave Roy, is he really the man to take this team forward? Does he know what his best team is and what type of players are needed to improve the performances. The imminent signing of Sylvain Marveaux from Rennes gives the impression Comolli and Hodgson are not on the same page.

A decent attacking left-midfielder, Marveaux will add to the squad but doesn’t improve the team, they already have Milan Jovanovic, Joe Cole even Ryan Babel that can play there. If 4-4-2 is the formation Roy wants to use this season, then maybe a striker should be first priority since Torres and N’Gog haven’t exactly got on like a house on fire.

Marveaux is a very obvious Comolli signing, young, French, the chance he could develop into a good player with a sell on value. What Liverpool needs are players with a proven track record that can instantly improve the team. Whether Hodgson has the ability to find and bring in these players is very debatable.

Blame Rafa!

Many of the fans, journalists and pundits still try and blame Rafa Benitez for the mess their team finds themselves in. Yes there is some logic in that but Benitez finished seventh in the league with these players. His home record was excellent last season three draws and three defeats is a good return for a “struggling” team. With still half of this season remaining Roy has drawn two and lost two home games already, it would be very surprising if he was to match Rafa’s record.

Tactically there is no clear game plan form Hodgson, recently when Steven Gerrard was injured Raul Meireles was able to play his more natural central midfield position and he impressed, then Gerrard returns to the side and Meireles is pushed back wide right and of course becomes ineffective. The question has to be does the inclusion of Gerrard stifle the team’s play.

Against Tottenham although they were beaten some of the football was very fluid and fast paced, it seems with Gerrard in the side the players either spend too much time trying to put the captain on the ball, or Gerrard himself goes missing with things look bad. His absence in the last 10/15 minutes during the defeat to Wolves was very telling, the fans look to their captain to spur the team forward and he was nowhere to be found. Just like Thierry Henry in his last year at Arsenal, Gerrard seems to be more a hindrance than a help to the team.

With the current crop of players 4-4-2 is not the answer, 4-2-3-1 seems the most suitable formation, however this relies on a hardworking front man to make it work, and in Fernando Torres they don’t have this, is there a case in trying 4-3-3 with Torres, Joe Cole and Ryan Babel or any three attackers, with Gerrard, Meireles and Lucas in the centre, this gives Glen Johnson the license to bomb forward.

Possible Candidates

In Liverpool’s current position it is worth trying you pieces in different set-ups trying to find something that works, it seems very clear that Hodgson doesn’t have a Plan A that works never mind a Plan B or C.

So if Hodgson is to leave in the coming weeks of course someone will have to replace him.  Two people I would rule out straight away are Martin O’Neill and Frank Rijkaard. O’Neill is his own man and likes to be in charge of all aspects of the team affairs, it would be very surprising if he was to take over the hot seat knowing Damien Comolli is in charge of bringing in the players. O’Neill left Aston Villa after not being back by Randy Lerner, it seems he would put himself in this situation again.

Rijkaard although able to work with a Director of Football he is not the right man for this job. Ever since Henk Ten Cate left his side at Barcelona, Frank has struggled to recreate his achievements with the Spanish giants, his time at Galatasaray was not successful, and it raised the question of whether Rijkaard has the ability to manage a big team without the guidance of Ten Cate.

One name that hasn’t been mentioned much is Jurgen Klinsmann, the stigma remains as he was Hicks and Gillett’s choice to replace Rafa but this should not stop him being in contention, although he didn’t last the whole season at Bayern Munich, when he was sacked Bayern were only three points of the top with five games left, with the players at his disposal he would have had a great chance to lead his team to the title. Comfortable with the Director of Football set-up Jurgen is a very dynamic manager that would bring lots of new methods and ways of thinking to Anfield and this is what this club needs to restore their place at the top table.

Over 24 hours have past since the Wolves defeat and it seems Hodgson is not going to be relieved of his position, whether or not he makes the decision himself and steps down is unclear. The board have a tough decision to make, dump Roy and move on, or back the man in charge and risk further disappointment. Who said this was an easy game?