Out With The New And In With The Old.

So I get back from work, only to find that Hodgson has left Liverpool and Kenny Dalglish is back in the dugout. Before I get going, I just want to say that Roy is clearly a very good manager as he showed at his time at Fulham. I just think he was the right man at the wrong time for Liverpool.

I'm not too struck on King Kenny coming back. It's not because I don't think he'll be bad at the job, far from it. He's been back in football for a number of years now as part of the backroom staff so he should be up to date. I just don't think the owners should have said: "Right, you have sixth months to stabilise the club and in the meantime we'll be looking for a new guy." What the owners should've been doing is being on the phone to any of their prospects weeks ago so that the new man could be ready to come in ASAP (ideally with some time left in this transfer window).

The squad that Hodgson inherited was absolutely terrible. Hell, it was probably weaker than the one he had at Fulham. Add to that the complete lack of morale in the squad due to the previous owners and Rafa's inability to do man management, it's no wonder the squad's done so badly. Now is the time when the past 20 years have come to a head and it's left Liverpool mid-table, out of one cup, most likely out of another by the end of the weekend and with only the Mickey Mouse Europa League to look forward to. Given the fact that Spurs and Man City have picked up their game and have cash to flash, it's no wonder that we haven't a hope in hell of getting in the Champions League any time soon.

Gerrard's carried that team for certainly the last five years, if not longer. Considering he's now in his thirties, he's starting to drift in and out of games and get more injuries. However, he's still the one player in the team who is able to change a game more than any other and even when he doesn't play well, he looks hungry. Torres is another matter though. He clearly just doesn't want to be there any more. If another club (not in the Premiership) offered £30 million for him, I'd bite their hands off.

The player situation is truly awful. Of the 21 players listed on their Wikipedia page (not including youth players), the only ones I'd keep are Reina, Gerrard, Carragher (more as a future coach than anything), Raul Meireles, Agger, Skrtel and possibly Lucas (considering his improvement this season) and Cole (if he can get his act together). The rest can go for the right money.

Not only does the squad need to be trimmed and renovated (and the wage bill reduced), but the Youth System needs a complete overhaul as Benitez managed to completely screw that up. The best prospects that we have are Jonjo Shelvey, Daniel Pacheco, Martin Kelly and Danny Wilson. The only one that's come up from the youth system is Kelly. Considering that the Liverpool academy was once the best in the world, that's shocking.

What Liverpool need in the long term is another Shankly. Someone who can inspire and terrify in equal measure. It was what we needed after the debacle that was Benitez and instead we got Grandad Roy.

I'm personally hoping for Martin O'Neill. He's not only got a great track record, but his time at Villa was characterised by getting the best out of a mediocre bunch of players, which is what Liverpool have. Hopefully with him in charge, we can raid Villa and get some players in areas where we're weakest, like Ashley Young, Warnock and Albrighton.

Funnily enough, I can see Hodgson at Villa before the end of this season.

Liverpool need a serious shake up. Sooner rather than later.

The situation over at Liverpool has started to become one of comic embarassment for everyone associated with the club. This season has seen the club lurch from one disaster to another. Liverpool have started to be compared to Newcastle in terms of sheer comedy. Never a good association to have.

The reason for this? Well as far as I can tell it can all be traced back to Rafa Benitez. Even if you ignore his dodgy tactics, his signings for Liverpool have been on a whole, terrible. Yes he's signed some cracking players in Reina, Mascherano, Torres and Agger, but beyond that the depth in the team is laughable. Players such as Alonso and Arbeloa have been sold without anyone coming in with the ability to replace them. There are some players who are competent, but not worthy of being in a potential top four side, such as Lucas, Babel, N'Gog, Aurelio, El Zhar and Cavalieri.

The sums of money he's spent on bringing in players is also beyond a joke. £22 million on Aquilani who doesn't even play. £17 million on Glen Johnson who's, although good, is a bloody right back. £20 million on Robbie Keane who was sold back to Spurs for less sixth months later. That's £59 million on three players. It's no wonder the club are in such dire straits financially. Yes the market is over-inflated, but that's verging on Real Madrid levels of madness, without the financial backing in place to prop it up.

Benitez fans will point to his success in Europe and finishing as runners up in the league last season. However, that's the past and at the moment Liverpool are struggling to finish in the European places in the league and have been dumped out of the Champions League. Defeat against Lille in the UEFA Cup shows how far the club has fallen in so short a time.

It seems apparent to me and anyone with half a brain that Benitez has taken the club as far as he can. It's time to bring in a new face to turn Liverpool's fortunes around. Mourinho is obviously an option. He's unhappy in Italy and has repeatedly told of his love of the English game.

Getting rid of Benitez is also less of a problem it seemed a few months ago. Real Madrid's unceremonious exit from the Champions League has left Manuel Pellegrini in an untennable position. It's highly likely that Madrid will hope to land Benitez at the end of the season, meaning that they'll have to pay compensation to release him from his contract at Liverpool.

While blaming Benitez is all well and good, there's also the matter of the owners. Gillet and Hicks have got to go, or at least provide some proper backing to the club. Getting their own man in at the end of the season may give the the drive to back the club further. Landing someone like Mourinho would also give them much needed support among Liverpool fans.

There also needs to be a big clear out of the dead wood at the club. Further emphasis needs to be made on the youth system as well, which has suffered under Benitez's tenure.

Rafa Benitez may have won this week, but one good performance does not make a season.

So Rafa's done it again; when all seemed lost he's managed to motivate Liverpool to pull out all the stops and get that much needed win. Much needed it was to, as a fifth successive defeat (against Liverpool's biggest rivals to boot) would have seen him collecting his P45 quicker than you can say "title challenge".

Benitez has developed a habit of turning things around at Liverpool, most notably in the 2005 Champions League final. However, while the red half of Liverpool will be celebrating this victory, serious questions need to be asked over the long-term future of the club and Benitez's job.

A lot of the problems Liverpool face at the moment aren't strictly the fault of the manager. Gillett and Hicks are probably two of the worst chairmen football's seen since Peter Ridsdale and their refusal to significantly back Benitez in the transfer market, as well as their constant bickering, is impacting on the club in a major way.

In order to progress on last seasons finish Liverpool needed serious depth added to the squad, namely another striker, another box-to-box midfielder and another right back. Admittedly Liverpool signed Glen Johnson, but they sold Alvaro Albeloa, who was probably Liverpool's most improved player last season. Even more significantly they sold Xabi Alonso, whose absense has been keenly felt. Add to this the replacement they bought, Alberto Aquilani, was injured upon signing and has only just got back training doesn't do anything to improve matters.

While Liverpool need to add depth, they also need to get rid of the dead wood in the squad in order to get some funds to sign some quality. Players such as Voronin, N'Gog and Lucas wouldn't even make it into the Stoke City first team, let alone into a team hoping to contend for major honours at the end of the season. Personally I can see someone like Carlton Cole moving to Liverpool as he'd compliment Torres nicely, can score and will be desperate to impress Fabio Capello and be picked for the World Cup squad. Players such as Ricardo Montolivo would also add additional technical quality to Liverpool's game and help shore up the midfield.

If Liverpool can use this victory to kick start their season then all the better, but some serious action in the January transfer window is needed if Liverpool are to keep up with the rest of the pack. If they don't push the title challengers to the wire, Benitez will find himself like so many other people at the moment; looking for another job.