Without a doubt it’s been a very difficult start for Hodgson. Opening games against Arsenal and Manchester City were never going to be easy, couple that with the low confidence of Steven Gerrard after a woeful World Cup with England, and an injured Fernando Torres and Hodgson’s task looks a lot harder.
While the defeat to Manchester City was a low point, Liverpool’s excellent result in Turkey which saw them qualify for the Europa League was a major high. But against Birmingham last week Liverpool were criticised for overly negative tactics, and the jury is very much still out on Hodgson as things stand.
However a win at Old Trafford and I think Liverpool fans will once again be filled with the optimism which was so desperately missing during the later stages of Rafael Benitez’s days at Anfield.
Whether Liverpool can get a positive result at Old Trafford is a different question, and personally I think if you offered any Liverpool a fan point now, they would quite happily accept. But unfortunately I think the only way they can get a result will be if the hosts drastically underperform.
Having said that though with players like Gerrard and Torres Liverpool will always have a chance. If both of them perform to their ability then we could all be in for a real treat. The worry for Liverpool is that Torres currently looks a million miles away from his best. But Hodgson will also be able to turn to Joe Cole after his return from suspension and that will be a big bonus as Liverpool looked desperately lacking in creativity at Birmingham.
But still I just think United will have a little too much in their tank for Liverpool and can see Hodgson having to rebuild the clubs fragile confidence once again.
What do you think, can Liverpool get a result to kick-start their season at Old Trafford? What do they have to do to get a result?
