ROY HODGSON says he will put Liverpool’s long-term health before his need for immediate results in next month’s transfer window as he admitted the club must learn from their wasteful strategy of recent years.
Next month will provide the first test of New England Sports Ventures’ largesse in the transfer market since buying Liverpool for €415 million in October. The manager is adamant top-class additions are needed for the club to regain a place in the Champions League and is under pressure to prove to NESV that he can deliver a top-four finish.
Hodgson, however, believes Liverpool’s predicament owes much to a short-term, expensive transfer strategy that existed before his arrival and is anxious to avoid repeating those mistakes, even if a lack of spending invites further criticism of his tenure. “When you get a job like this, should you be working for the long-term good of Liverpool or trying to get an extra result or two for Roy Hodgson?” he asked. “I’d like to think I am big enough and confident enough to take the long-term view, even though it might work against me.
“I might even prefer that in some ways because I would be very disappointed if I went out in January and spent a lot of money on the wrong players and then, come the summer, we are no better off. All we would be doing is adding a few more players who we don’t think are good enough for the roster. I would be disappointed if I did that. I can’t guarantee it won’t happen but it is not my intention.”
Hodgson admits NESV have not provided unlimited resources for next month and that he and Damien Comolli, the club’s director of football strategy, must convince John W Henry and Tom Werner, Liverpool’s owner and chairman respectively, their targets are sound investments.
But he says the calibre of player Liverpool need – such as Aston Villa’s Ashley Young – may not be available and he will not flood the squad with average talents.
That was a criticism often levelled at Hodgson’s predecessor, Rafael Benitez, whom NESV has no intention of inviting back to Anfield should a managerial vacancy arise.
“There’s no doubt I and Damien are pushing the owners to back us if we come up with the right people,” Hodgson said. “I think they probably will. The big question is will those players become available? Quite frankly we are targeting players that other clubs don’t want to lose.
“I realise we need better players to become a top-four team again but those players are not easy to find and it would be a mistake to buy just because we have had a bad start to this season.”
Guardian Service
