It isn’t any secret that Roy Hodgson will be extremely interested in strengthening his Liverpool squad when the January transfer window commences. With the new ownership having publicly declared their approval of Hodgson, he now has the comfort of knowledge that will allow him to plan for the acquisition of new players. The January transfer window is notoriously flooded by clubs looking to add to their squad due to poor performances, injuries or such like and this saturation of the market can lead to the ‘panic buying’ mentality. This mentality is often employed by managers when under extreme pressure which is brought on by demands for instantaneous success. Will Hodgson succumbed to this pressure or will he manage to buy the players he deems necessary?
Hodgson as quoted in the Daily Star says of this matter: “I’m prepared to accept that a number of players we’re looking to sign do make five or six – but I don’t wish to specify positions other than one is obviously a front player.” With fans still undecided or declaring their reservations against the current Liverpool manager, there is obviously the desire to go out and spend your woes away by signing players to satiate the fans. What can’t be warned against enough is the dangerous avenue of signing players merely in a state of panic. To ward off those negative comments and forms of derision emanating from loyal fans isn’t a motivating factor that should be condoned.
Hopefully though Hodgson won’t succumb to this, for he is a fastidious manager and one that is eager to prove that the beginning doesn’t determine the way in which things are to proceed. With the mandate at Liverpool being one of success, there is a tendency, as with the majority of clubs, that with the instigation of a new manager must follow a period of improvement and if not imminent there is little time afforded to rectify the situation. This is why Hodgson will be desperate to acquire signings of superior quality that can assist him in the resurrection of Liverpool, but if these signings are hard to come by then Hodgson has already sealed his fate by issuing statements as highlighted above.
He further adds: “In January we should be really looking to solve one or two situations. We are desperately short of players. Front players. Having three front players at the club, and that’s if you include Ryan Babel, is nowhere near good enough.” The pressure gravitates towards Hodgson at an accelerated rate and will continue to do so until score lines end favourably, even then the fans will expect signings of a high caliber in order to compete for the Premiership in the coming years. For if Fernando Torres becomes injured and knowing his luck it is more than likely, Hodgson will effectively have to hand his future over to David N’Gog until January and if forwards aren’t forthcoming, he may have to settle for a ‘panic buy’.
With declarations such as these Hodgson could easily be seen to make rash signings when the all too competitive and despised transfer window opens. Liverpool are in desperate need of some fresh faces, as when Steven Gerrard and Torres aren’t producing creatively there are few who may hold the torch to lighten their burden. But will the influx of players require an outflow and if so who would it be? I hope for Hodgson’s sake that the players of quality are easily attainable and not mediocre players brought from a sense of agitation. If successful fans will think themselves felicitous in having had Hodgson to see through a period of uncertainty and change, even if the beginning was a little more worrying than they would have enjoyed.
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