Roy Hodgson was appointed Liverpool FC manager in July of 2010 following the departure of Rafa Benitez, marking the end of the Spaniard’s reign. Hodgson was viewed as the best candidate for the job after a few months of consideration led in part by Christian Purslow, but also aided by Kenny Dalglish. With Hicks and Gillett still in charge, Hodgson began the new process as manager by bringing in Milan Jovanović (which was instigated by Benitez), followed by former England stud Joe Cole. Other players to have joined during Hodgson’s reign included the likes of Paul Konchesky, Brad Jones, Danny Wilson, Raul Meireles, and Christian Poulsen.
Another exodus began however, with Albert Riera, Javier Mascherano, and Diego Cavalieri all being sold and Alberto Aquilani (a.k.a. Aquaman) being loaned out to Juventus and Insua out to Galatasary. Hodgson’s circumstances did not start well nor improve and his run eventually came to an end.
Then, the announcement that was supposed to change the history of Liverpool FC forever; the King had returned. Kenny Dalglish was hired as short-term manager of the club following Hodgson’s exit in January. With new owners taking over the club just 3 months earlier, Dalglish had things looking bright. Despite the loss of Fernando Torres to Chelsea, Dalglish signed Luis Suarez from Ajax and Andy Carroll from Newcastle in January to help spark Liverpool’s attack. And spark it did, despite Andy Carroll’s poor early form, Liverpool fans took delight in Luis Suarez’s start for the club as he became an instant hero and kop idol.
The club had a different look, had a different feel, and most importantly for the fans, had different results. Liverpool finished in 6th that year and with summer signings Stuart Downing, Jordan Henderson, Craig Bellamy, Sebastian Coates Charlie Adam, and Doni, Liverpool have done their best to jump to a great start. But jumping ahead to where we are now, are the results from Dalglish really that much different than the results from Hodgson?
Lets take a look:
Analyzing what Dalglish has done against Hodgson is a no brainer. There are statistics, with an angle, that claim Hodgson and Dalglish really are close in record. But looking at it, I’ve seen something quite different. The ONLY angle that Hodgson has over Kenny is in the Europa League, where four of those results were qualifiers, and six more were group games. Overall, Kenny has smashed Roy Hodgson’s record, most notably in the Premiership. In 27 games for the club, Dalglish has won 14 games and drew six, gathering 48 points for the club in total and gained a goal difference of +20. Hodgson? In 20 games Hodgson gathered just 25 points, and managed a goal difference of -3.
As far as the League Cup goes, Hodgson embarrassed Liverpool by getting them knocked out in the 3rd round after exiting in penalties to Northampton Town. Kenny has gotten Liverpool to the 5th round of the Carling Cup, following a win over Stoke City.
In the FA Cup, Hodgson was not given a chance, and Kenny inherited Manchester United as his first game as the club’s gaffer. United defeated the Reds 1-0 to progress on, and Dalglish suffered his first loss.
Europe has been Hodgson’s only angle at defeating Kenny in records. In Europe, Hodgson won six, drew four, and didn’t lose a single game (although all of those games were group/qualifying games) and managed a goal difference of +11. Kenny’s results went a bit differently. He won one, drew two, and lost one game. His goal difference was a flat 0.
Overall, Hodgson’s record as manager for the club, including all competitions, was W13, D8, and L10 while Dalglish’s record is W18, D8, L9 in all competitions. While this stat may have Kenny looking a lot like Hodgson, you have to consider the team Kenny was given versus the team Kenny has now, although Liverpool still has a knack for not performing against the smaller clubs. So is Hodgson comparable to Dalglish, the stats say no individually, but collectively? Well, that’s for you to decide.
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