Inheriting the Impossible: 'In Roy we Trust'

Anfield was like a library tonight. Not often are the Kop quietened but the enormity of the situation has dawned on them; Liverpool really are in trouble. It's not so much the position they are in, after all they aren't in a relegation battle (yet!), but the performances that they are putting in. Passionless, un-interested and without a fight don't even do tonights performance justice. In fact, each Liverpool player needs a 'look-in-the-mirror' session to judge where they are and what and who are they playing for.

When the final whistle blew then Anfield finally stirred. Boo's rang out around the ground demanding better, demanding application, demanding fight and heart but most of all demanding change.

On Hodgson the pressure mounts. There are growing calls from pundits, ex-players and fans for the owners to act; to replace Roy and move on from the saga. But it wouldn't be just and it certainly wouldn't be fair. Hodgson inherited a serious mess at the start of this season and to axe him before he's really put his stamp on the team would be a travesty.

Benitez really set him up. He left when Liverpool were on a downward slide, filled with mediocrity and characterised by lacklustre performances. He'd built a very average squad with considerable funds and only a few players of any real quality. Only Torres, Gerrard and Reina stood out when the ex-Fulham boss took over and he immediately identified the need to shift the deadwood and bring in quality. But Roy had a problem. He was given no real funds, no real backing from the board to create a new era and as a result could only make limited changes.

So Liverpool struggled. It wasn't absurd or out of the blue. After all the team at the end of Benitez's reign was carried by the brilliance of Gerrard and Torres. The luck had to run out and boy it did. Hodgson quickly found out that injuries to either of his two stars left him so shorn of quality that he was scrambling to put together a side that could compete in the league, let alone on the European stage.

And so here we are. Six months in and pressure mounting on Roy. How long will he last? How long before the board snap? Will he get to spend his kitty in January? Will he get to stamp his mark on the team? Lets hope he does. Lets hope his American owners have the sense to see that changing the manager rarely works and that building Football teams takes time. Liverpool fans should be turning to the man next to them and saying....'In Roy we Trust'.