LIVERPOOL, June 30 – Roy Hodgson will be named as the new manager of Liverpool later here on Wednesday, according to a report in the Liverpool Echo.Wednesday’s edition of the paper said the 62-year-old was due on Merseyside to sign a contract after the Reds agreed a compensation package in the region of two million pounds (three million dollars) with English Premier League rivals Fulham for his release.
The Englishman now appears to be in line to replace Rafael Benitez after the Spanish manager’s six-year spell in charge at Anfield ended earlier this month by mutual consent.
Former Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish, also arguably the north-west club’s greatest player and now an Academy ambassador with the Reds, was brought in to oversee the search for a new boss.
But the Scot was reportedly interested in having a second go at the job he held from 1985 to 1991 during which time the club won three English titles.
Among others linked with the vacancy were Aston Villa’s Martin O’Neill and Marseille coach Didier Deschamps.
Hodgson though won plaudits last season for guiding lightly regarded Fulham to the final of the Europa League, the successor to the UEFA Cup, beating Italian giants Juventus along the way.
He’d previously steered the west London club to an unprecedented seventh-place finish in the Premier League in 2008/09 and last term kept the Cottagers, despite their European commitments, in mid-table.
Hodgson’s work was recognised when his peers in the League Managers’ Association named him manager of the year for 2009/10.
Unlike many English counterparts, Hodgson has spent much of his managerial career abroad, having started with Swedish side Halmstad in 1976.
He enjoyed instant success, leading them to two Swedish titles and would later coach Malmo after a brief stint with Bristol City.
Hodgson has also been in charge of Inter Milan and Premier League Blackburn while, at international level, he has also had stints as manager of Switzerland, Finland and the United Arab Emirates.
Following England’s last 16 loss to Germany in the World Cup on Sunday, Hodgson has also been touted as a successor to Fabio Capello should the Italian quit or be sacked from his post as manager of the national side.
Liverpool were the pre-eminent club in English football during the 1970s and 1980s. But they were last crowned champions of England in 1990 and have not won the domestic title in the Premier League era.
The past few years have seen the north-west club been beset by internal problems caused by feuding American co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett, with former chairman David Moores recently saying in public he regretted selling Liverpool to the duo and asking them to leave the club.
Under Hicks and Gillett, Liverpool have been saddled with a debt of 351 million pounds (514 million dollars).
