Liverpool fans would much rather forget Roy Hodgson’s time as manager of the club . In fact, the man himself would probably quite like to erase that spell from his memory.
Hodgson was appointed as the Reds’ boss back in 2010, taking over from Rafa Benitez. His time at Anfield couldn’t have gone much worse though.
He lasted just a matter of months, with his sacking confirmed in January 2011 as the club sat just four points off the Premier League ’s relegation zone. He was replaced by Kenny Dalglish, an undeniably more popular choice than the former Fulham boss.
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Hodgson’s time in charge was littered with poor decisions, from his defense of controversial former owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett, to his disastrous signings in the transfer window. In many ways, his business when he first arrived at the club was a signal for things to come.
Joe Cole, Christian Poulsen, Milan Jovanovic and Paul Konchesky were all signed during Hodgson’s one summer in charge, which has to go down as one of the worst windows in Liverpool’s history. Even more embarrassingly for Hodgson, he actually managed to accidentally sell the wrong player at one point.
As part of the deal for Konchesky to follow his manager from Fulham, Liverpool youngsters Lauri Dalla Vale and Alexander Kacaniklic were sent in the opposite direction. Only the latter wasn’t supposed to have been sold.
According to Kacaniklic in a podcast for Fotbolskananelen , Hodgson had actually sent the wrong player to his old club. "It was a bit difficult for Liverpool to replace me," the Swede said.
"In his head, he thought he had changed another Alex for Konchesky. But then it was too late. It's a little funny.
"Then he just told me I was welcome back in Liverpool with open arms, but that I should do what I felt. Then I had already changed my mind and was very excited about coming to Fulham."
Kacaniklic would go on to make 100 appearances for Fulham across five seasons, while also taking in loan spells at Watford, Burnley and Copenhagen. Since leaving the London club, he has had spells with Nantes, Hammarby IF and Hajduk Split, and now plies his trade in Cyprus with AEL Limassol.
Liverpool.com says: That just sums up Hodgson’s time in charge of Liverpool, doesn’t it? Every aspect of his spell was just awful, and looking back on his transfer business is still enough to make any fan shudder. Kacaniklic probably wouldn’t have gone on to become a star for the Reds, but it might have been nice if he’d actually had the chance to stake his claim.
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