Hodgson & Pennant - Careers resurrected

[silverlining]

Astonishing really, how the second half of this season has seen such amazing turn-arounds in these two Liverpool rejects.

 

Hodgson - yeah, worst Liverpool manager ever. Arguably true. Christ I hated every minute he was our manager, he was always a retarded choice. But his appointment at West Brom was identified by quite a few as a master-stroke that would ensure their Premiership survival. And they've been playing some really great football, and scoring lots of goals. So well done Woy.

 

Pennant - he's played some of the best football of his career in the last few months; lots of assists and even some goals! He's been one of their players of the season. I never really took to Tennants; he was always a "neat and tidy" player who didn't cede possession cheaply, but for an attacking player he never scored goals and his assists were lower than they should have been for a winger like him. Plus he only had about one trick. And was thick as fuck and had shit hair.

 

But both, obviously better-suited to small clubs, have done really well since moving to their current homes.

 

Impressed.

[Nelly-Szoboszlai]

Hodgson - back at his level. Getting players to overachieve. Still, clueless at us and set us up as a relegation contender in most games. Not fit enough to manage a team who should be challenging for honours/top 4.

 

Pennant - Attitude aside, always been a decent player for me. Man of the match in Athens. Attitude issues aside, but never really got a consistent run in the side. It's no coincidence that his best form has been when he's started week in, week out, like at Birmingham before we signed him and, now, at Stoke.

[silverlining]

At Birmingham. At Stoke.

[Guest TK-421]

Pennant wasn't suited to Rafa's philosophy, where the wide players are expected to help the full backs as and when appropriate. I remember Gerrard, on more than one occasion, pointing at where Pennant was supposed to be when the opposition had the ball.

 

Give him a bit more attacking freedom and he's a useful player.

[zigackly]

I think there's a huge difference playing in a mid-table or lower club to playing for a club vying for the CL spots. We've seen ourselves that many teams will set up defensively against us at home as well as away, and it's our job to break them down. Rarely will such a club go all out attack against the top sides. The obvious benefit to attacking players at these clubs then, is space on the pitch. Pennant thrives when he has space to do his work in and the team is set up to make best use of his crossing, but is generally less effective against an obdurate defence which he has to trick his way through. It's a similar thing for Hodgson, in that his "philosophy" is more suited to these teams and the players they have. Ok, West Brom were more of an attacking side when he got there than Fulham, but he's getting more out of them than the last man and should get some credit for that. He has proved not to be a top of the table manager in a quality league though. Doesn't mean he's shit, he's just got a ceiling beyond which his skills and knowledge don't suffice, like most of us have.

[TheHitman]

The title of the thread sounds like an advertisement to help unemployed people back into work.

 

Here is a quote Wenger said when asked about some misdemeanor, Pennant had got himself caught up in 2003.

 

"The biggest part of success until 20 is how much talent you have and, after 20, it's how much you want it."

 

I always though he has the ability but his antics off-field have seriously inhibited his displays, in my opinion.

 

As for Roy, the less said the better.

[silverlining]

The title of the thread sounds like an advertisement to help unemployed people back into work.

 

Here is a quote Wenger said when asked about some misdemeanor, Pennant had got himself caught up in 2003.

 

"The biggest part of success until 20 is how much talent you have and, after 20, it's how much you want it."

 

I always though he has the ability but his antics off-field have seriously inhibited his displays, in my opinion.

 

 

Pennant is what he is: a busy, tidy, neat and sometimes effective footballer.

 

There is no way on Earth he has some kind of world-class talent that his "antics" have curtailed. His absolute peak was Liverpool, and he fell short.

 

At 16 he was considered a "stellar talent" but his game hasn't got any better since then. So he's still OK, but nowhere near what many thought he would be but, personally, I don't think he was EVER going to be even half as good as many thought when he was a kid.

 

Some talent simply stands still.

[TheHitman]

Obviously he is not or would ever be in the Ronaldo or Messi category, no amount of laying off the booze and women would change that.

 

The thing is neat and tidy players can add real balance to a team. Are players like Downing that much better, maybe just more professional perhaps.

[silverlining]

Obviously he is not or would ever be in the Ronaldo or Messi category, no amount of laying off the booze and women would change that.

 

The thing is neat and tidy players can add real balance to a team. Are players like Downing that much better, maybe just more professional perhaps.

 

Not a bad comparison; neither have real pace or a plethora of tricks, but use the ball well.

 

Although Downing has always scored more goals.

[Guest PurpleNose]

Astonishing really, how the second half of this season has seen such amazing turn-arounds in these two Liverpool rejects.

 

Hodgson - yeah, worst Liverpool manager ever. Arguably true. Christ I hated every minute he was our manager, he was always a retarded choice. But his appointment at West Brom was identified by quite a few as a master-stroke that would ensure their Premiership survival. And they've been playing some really great football, and scoring lots of goals. So well done Woy.

 

No they haven't. They're a bit better defensively, but play worse football than they did under Di Matteo. They had less possession than Wolves today. A team with Karl fucking Henry in their midfield. Nothing remotely astonishing about the job he's done there. He's made a relegation battler a bit better (16th to 13th). Something which somehow got him the job here. He's kept them up, which presumably was his target, but they may well have stayed up anyway.

 

Hewoic.

[silverlining]

No they haven't. They're a bit better defensively, but play worse football than they did under Di Matteo. They had less possession than Wolves today. A team with Karl fucking Henry in their midfield. Nothing remotely astonishing about the job he's done there. He's made a relegation battler a bit better (16th to 13th). Something which somehow got him the job here. He's kept them up, which presumably was his target, but they may well have stayed up anyway.

 

Hewoic.

 

They've scored more goals than they did under Di Matteo, and conceded less, and won more points, and stayed up.

 

Which wouldn't have happened under Di Matteo.

 

Apart from all that, yeah, I'm sure the football has been "much worse".

 

Sometimes I thnk you *want* me to make you look stupid.

[Guest PurpleNose]

They've scored more goals than they did under Di Matteo, and conceded less, and won more points, and stayed up.

 

Which wouldn't have happened under Di Matteo.

 

Apart from all that, yeah, I'm sure the football has been "much worse".

 

Sometimes I thnk you *want* me to make you look stupid.

 

Arsenal play much better football than Stoke, but are losing 2-0.

 

You have no idea whether West Brom would have stayed up or not. No-one does.

 

You've gone a bit Purslow today.

[The Party Boy]

The West Brom fans seem made up with Hodgson so I reckon they might know more about how they're playing than any of us. He has done a great job there.

[Guest PurpleNose]

The West Brom fans seem made up with Hodgson so I reckon they might know more about how they're playing than any of us. He has done a great job there.

 

I'd imagine they're very happy that they're staying up, and aren't that arsed about the style of football.

[mattyq]

Woy is a very good manager at that level. he overachieves with mediocre players as he gives them a structure which makes them greater than the sum of their parts.

He has no idea and never has had one when it comes to big clubs with good players. That's why he was a fucking shit choice for us and why it was always obvious he was a shit choice

[Anubis]

Take Odemwinie out of the West Brom team and they'll struggle up front. I suspect someone will be in for him in the summer.

[Mr T]

Pennant had a shocker here. Big mistake by Rafa signing him but the bigger mistake was him playing him in the Champions League final. That was gargantuan. Any merely average winger instead and there's a good chance we'd have number 6 now. All that time on the ball and he did nothing.

[silverlining]

Pennant had a shocker here. Big mistake by Rafa signing him but the bigger mistake was him playing him in the Champions League final. That was gargantuan. Any merely average winger instead and there's a good chance we'd have number 6 now. All that time on the ball and he did nothing.

 

 

Yawn.

 

He didn't have a "shocker"

 

Nor was he man of the match.

 

He was "all right". And claiming he had anything to do with us losing that game is laughable.

[MLB]

I always rated Pennant. He was inconsistent but I thought he still did well for us for the most part. I also thought he was the best player on the pitch for us in that CL final.

[Mr T]

He was dogshit. Man of the match? He failed to create a decent chance or score a goal despite being basically ignored by the tactical set up of the Milan team and being gifted the ball in decent positions time after time.

 

As for the rest of his career at Liverpool, he spent most of his time drilling the ball into the fullback or just kicking it out straight for a goal kick. I've forgotten what his exact goal scoring record was here but I'd imagine it's probably one of the worst on record.

[Guest PurpleNose]

I've forgotten what his exact goal scoring record was here but I'd imagine it's probably one of the worst on record.

 

3 in 81.

 

He's fucking shit. He looks better at Stoke than he did here because his hugely limited game is absolutely perfect for their style of football. His aimless punts in the general vicinity of the forwards is their entire game plan.

[drewy]

Well done Woy! Jesus wept.

 

You crack on and weave your magic in the lower reaches of the PL and thanks for fucking up our season.

[cartman]

Bring'em back!!

[Liverpool lad]

The Hodge and Pennant - Found their level

 

This would suit the thread better

[stringvest]

Pennant had a shocker here. Big mistake by Rafa signing him but the bigger mistake was him playing him in the Champions League final. That was gargantuan. Any merely average winger instead and there's a good chance we'd have number 6 now. All that time on the ball and he did nothing.

 

Goodness me. That's just as wrong as you can get. Pennant vindicated Benitez's faith in him in that game. He played better than any other Liverpool player on the day. It's a shame he couldn't do it often enough when he was here. He's playing well for Stoke these days, that isn't in doubt.