RAWK Editorial: A Message to John W. Henry

Posted by RAWK Editor on December 30, 2010, 01:12:17 pm

Dear John,

You said yourself recently that there have been many poor short term decisions taken at this football club in the recent past. This is undoubtedly true and one of them was the appointment of Roy Hodgson as Liverpool manager.  In all his 35 years of management there was absolutely no evidence that he had the experience required to manage a club of the stature of Liverpool FC.  Despite this, for six months this site has supported him as best we could, as we did not want to exacerbate a problem not of your making. We were happy to trust your judgement, to allow you to get your feet under the desk, to appoint a management team and to make the right decision on the manager when you were ready. We were hoping that in return Roy just might prove capable of limiting the long-term damage to the club during that time.

Unfortunately it is clear from events so far this season culminating in the inept display last night that the consequences of keeping Roy Hodgson in place are now so pressing that immediate and decisive action is required from Fenway. His position at the club is no longer tenable. He appears to have lost the ability to motivate the team, a team of internationals and World Cup winners, and he has certainly lost the backing of the Anfield crowd with 40,000 openly showing their derision at his inept tactics.

The bond between Liverpool fans and their managers is strong, stronger than at any club in the world, and in normal circumstances it would be unthinkable to see the crowd turn on the manager as they did last night.  If there was ever any coming back from that for Mr. Hodgson he closed that door himself in his post-match interview when he criticised the support of those same fans.  Sorry, but those fans will be standing on the Kop supporting this team long after Roy Hodgson has gone and they were supporting their club in the only way they know how, defending it from a man who is corroding it from the inside.

We wholeheartedly agree with your strategy of concentrating on what is in the best long-term interests of Liverpool FC, even if it is at the expense of short-term popularity. We now believe however that we have reached a tipping point and that Roy Hodgson's continued presence in the dugout is now detrimental to the long-term future of the club as well as our immediate future this league season.

Red And White Kop

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