charade

This charade's gone on for long enough.......

The fact that Hodgson cancelled his Friday press conference (or it was cancelled for him) to the safe confines of an inoffensive grilling at the hands of the club's website suggests that not only has Roy lost the fans, the dressing-room or the support of the board. He's also lost his job.

I expect to see him in the dug-out for this Sunday's target practice at the Theatre Of Delusion. But he won't have picked the team, or have anything to do with the way it will play. He's there as a figurehead. A scapegoat, if you like, for all that's gone wrong with Liverpool Football Club.

Because there's a train of thought that not much of this current trouble is his fault. Sure he's so tactically inept it's not worth talking about. At Blackburn, how the liability that is Paul Konchesky was given a run-out in place of the immensely more talented and solid Fabio Aurelio at left-back defied belief. But two seasons ago we lost two of, arguably, the most influential players in European football in Xabi Alonso and, sadly, Sami Hyypia. Neither has been adequately replaced - if they ever can.

Such a huge gaping wound was bound to cause problems. This was on Rafa's watch, and as a consequence, he endured a miserable season last year. This one's gonna be even worse.

Hodgson has done the best he knows he can under the circumstances. But he's either been played for a fool (maybe?), set up (more likely?) or just out of his tree (yes, that's it!)

It been a bad day for people called Roy. Mr "All-credit-to-debit" Keane went at Ipswich. Now his namesake at Liverpool is a dead man walking. Sad, but inevitable.