Roy Hodgson's Ways Have Left Fans Beaming In Anticipation

When Roy Hodgson outlined his mission statement during Liverpool's pre-season training camp in Switzerland, he warned the club's supporters that it would not be possible to dispel the "doom and disenchantment overnight". The Liverpool manager was correct, of course, although what he omitted to mention was that it could be done within the space of a few weeks.
Having arrived at Anfield to be greeted with an overflowing in-tray where every piece of paper seemed to be marked "urgent" and threatened further upheaval, Hodgson has cleared most of the mess that Rafael Benítez left behind with the minimum of fuss. Whether the Spaniard's successor can produce results on the pitch to match his work off it remains to be seen but, for the moment, Hodgson's stock could not be higher after the most promising of starts.
Martin Broughton, the Liverpool chairman, talked about Hodgson being able to "steady the ship" when he was introduced on 1 July, but to use those words to describe the 62-year-old's impact over his first five weeks would do him a disservice. Fears that Steven Gerrard might leave have been allayed, the signing of Joe Cole on a free transfer has been completed, a tricky Europa League qualifying match in Macedonia negotiated with a shadow squad and now, in the best news to come out of Anfield all summer, Fernando Torres has committed his future to the club.
The Spaniard left little doubt about the influence Hodgson had on that decision. "I really appreciated the fact that Roy came out to see me while I was on my holidays," said Torres, who believes that he is close to resuming full training.
"He told me about his plans for the club and what he wanted from me, and I appreciated that. I hope he will be the right man to reach the targets of Liverpool football club and I am really looking forward to working with him."
The Spaniard is unlikely to be left disappointed. Hodgson is a players' manager, favouring a hands-on approach on the training field. His calm, amiable manner allied to a sharp tactical brain has endeared him to everyone, wherever he has managed. He tells them how it is, not what he thinks they would like to hear.
"[Steven] wants to see other players of his quality being signed and, of course, he is wise enough to know that I cannot give him that guarantee and he wouldn't respect me if I was trying to give him some line of bullshit that he would see through," Hodgson said of talks with Gerrard.
Not everyone has bought into Hodgson's vision for the future but even when things have panned out unfavourably, as is the case with the wantaway Javier Mascherano, the Liverpool manager has handled the situation with dignity.
The Argentinian epitomised everything we have come to expect from the modern footballer when it emerged that he had failed to return Hodgson's calls last month, but the Englishman has too much class to become involved in a public slanging match, whatever his private thoughts may be.
The midfielder will almost certainly join Internazionale but given the choice of losing one from Mascherano, Gerrard and Torres, the Kop would have not have spent much time deliberating. Another problem child, Albert Riera, has been sold to Olympiakos as Hodgson continues to work his way through the dead wood that he inherited from Benítez. Philipp Degen is also among those to be told that he is free to find another club.
Liverpool supporters will see a few more British replacements if the signing of Danny Wilson from Rangers, for a fee that could rise to £5m – as well as the failed pursuit of Aston Villa's Luke Young – is anything to go by.
Many more arrivals are needed, as Hodgson has pointed out, but attracting new faces should be easier given the decisions that Gerrard and Torres have made. Life would be simpler still if Hodgson had a fortune to spend in the transfer market, but the manager knew the financial situation he was walking into when he took over at the club and he has not complained about it, wisely staying out of boardroom politics and ownership issues to concentrate on what he can control.
All the while those Liverpool supporters who were sceptical about Hodgson's appointment last month – fans seemed divided at the time – appear to be coming around to the idea that he is the right man for the job.
No one is saying that Liverpool are going to win the league because of what has happened this summer, but at least some of the gloom around Anfield has lifted. And it has happened much quicker than Hodgson could ever have imagined.