The Spion Kop. A towering edifice of English football. Once the largest stand in European football, it remains as a symbol of the greatness of Liverpool football club.
Just as the Kop itself has been overtaken so too have Liverpool. The 30th anniversary of their last league triumph has passed and there have been few signs of that coming to an end, not since the Rafa Benitez era which started so brightly with the glory of Istanbul but ended so bitterly.
Since those days the club has been through a great deal. Most dramatically when the American ownership avoided administration at the last possible moment (securing the first of many critical loans) and the seemingly never ending saga of the new stadium.
Through it all has stood Roy Hodgson. For so long under appreciated in his homeland, having caved a respected path across European football. He now celebrates a decade in charge of Liverpool football club. The guiding hand through the choppy waters.
I took a seat a third of the way up the Kop, directly behind this goal that has witnessed so many memorable moments and become part of European football folklore. Fairclough against St Etienne. Gerrard against Olympiacos. Carroll against Dortmund. The momentary peace of a cathedral far removed from those European nights.
From the tunnel Roy emerges. He strides around the hallowed Anfield pitch accompanied by a press officer. He enters the Kop and takes two polythene coffee cups from the press officer. As he climbs the steps to my position he smiles and reaches out, handing me the coffee before settling into the seat next to me.
Ten years at Anfield. When you were appointed in 2010 did you imagine you would be here this long?
Honestly, no. I’d have laughed in 1976, if you had told me I would still be doing this at 72. I was working with Bobby Lennox and we thought we work in football for 10 years, save some money and then start a little business. My whole football career has been like this.
Your tenure has been remarkably consistent. Finishing between 8th and 5th every Premier League season. What do you put this down to?
We have been consistent but also consistently frustrating. We have finished 5th four times, but never quite made the Champions League. This has frustrated the fans, the players and me. Especially missing out by just a point last season. Having said all that, I have to be very pleased with the work we have done. Recently, financially we haven’t had the power in the market that of Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City, so we have relied on our ability to find deals, like we have for (Andy) Robertson and (Xerdan) Shaqiri.
The partnership between Shaqiri and Andy Carroll has been really important to your success.
I think a lot of people see it as very old fashioned, the big man with the little man, but it has really worked for us. Andy, at his best, is unplayable in the air. Shaqiri has produced magic moments for us with his wand of a left foot. When we had Stewart (Downing) here he and Andy had an unconventional partnership. You don’t really think of the wide player and the centre forward as a partnership but they were. For five years Andy fed off those crosses, but I admit that we were a little predictable at times. Now with Robertson, Shaqiri and Alexander-Arnold delivering from all angles, Andy is better than ever.
The emergence of Trent Alexander-Arnold has been huge for you. How do you see him developing?
He is the best crosser of the ball I have seen since David Beckham. It might be unfair on the young man to compare him to one of the greats of the game but he has that ability to deliver from his right midfield position. He can cross from wide, he can cross from wide and then you add in his set piece prowess. We hope he will be a big player at this club for a long time.
Of course, the same was hoped of Raheem Sterling. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work out for him here.
Raheem is a phenomenal talent. One of the best I have worked with. We wanted Raheem to play on the right, but he was never comfortable with that. He preferred the left side but he couldn’t compete with Downing’s delivery. Of course he wasn’t the player then that he has become since moving to Manchester City and perhaps if had remained it could be working now as the delivery from the side could come from Robertson and Raheem could work more on the inside. We will never know.
Sterling is not the only player to have left. Torres went to Chelsea almost immediately, bringing in Carroll and Suarez. Suarez left after a year to Barcelona. Then came the heart break of Steven Gerrard leaving.
Steven was hard for everyone. He felt that at 32 he had one last chance to experience football on the continent. Real Madrid had been interested in him for a long time and finally Steven became interested in them.
The ovation he received in his final game was incredible.
I have never seen anything like it in football. I probably never will. The fans could have turned on him. They didn’t. If anything their love him became stronger than ever. We have seen that before, but not for Steven. Not for someone who did so much for this club.
The Suarez transfer allowed you to rebuild the squad.
It did. At that time we were probably stronger going forward than we were defensively. It was after the Suarez sale and the rebuild that we really found a defensive base. It started to feel more like my team. Signing Ben Foster was big for us, he has been such a great servant to this club. Bringing in Scott Dann from Blackburn was also key.
The two players you mention have been loyal servants to this club, but we can’t talk about loyalty without talking about Jonjo Shelvey. His signing was completed before you arrived but the two of you have become synonymous. Just how important has he been?
I think all the credit for Jonjo’s development goes to Danny Murphy. When we convinced Danny to come back to Liverpool he became a real calming influence on Jonjo. We could all see the qualities Jonjo brought to the team, he has every tool in his locker. In those early days the media called him a walking red card, which was harsh but not far from the truth. He openly admits it himself. Once Danny helped him put a lid on that side of him this leader emerged, capable of playing a big part in the big moments. Jonjo was vital in both the League cup wins and game after game during our run to the Europa League final.
Tell us about the final with Sevilla.
It is one of our greatest achievements but also one of my biggest regrets. To go in front as we did in the first half but then lose it so late in the second half was a painful blow. It took me and the players some time to recover. You could see it at the start of the next season, but we have recovered and continued to grow.
Is this the best squad you have had in your time here?
Absolutely it is. We have a great mixture. Trent has broken through but we also have young Curtis Jones who has got Shaqiri looking over his shoulder. Neco Williams is challenging for the right back position as well. I am confident that this set of players and staff, you can’t forget the staff, can continue to push this team forward.
The reports are that work on the new stadium will begin early next year, taking two years to complete. Will you be here for the first game at New Anfield?
As I said at the very beginning, my whole career I have not really known how long anything will be. I would love to be here for as long as possible, but who knows? Danny (Murphy) is doing such a good job, I can’t tell you how important he has been these last few years.
You think Danny Murphy could make the step from assistant to manager?
Yes. I hope so. Continuity is key. The tradition of this football club is promotion from within. I think before I arrived that had been a little lost. Danny has a fantastic brain for football, the organisation and detail of his work is fantastic, as is his communication with the players. I have no doubt that he will make a great manager, hopefully it will be here.
Is his style similar to yours?
Broadly I would say yes, but he is certainly his own man.
Some players have criticised your training style as being very rigid. How do respond to that?
I am not blind or deaf to these reports. I am not afraid to say that I have my way of working, that it might be quite old fashioned. However, it works. You can not please everyone and it is not my job to please everyone. My job is to win football matches, not to win them in a specific manner.
Has your style evolved?
As time has gone on I have definitely added to my style. We have to move with technology. It was data that identified Andy and Stewart to us. It was data that told us Andy Robertson should be signed. The same data helps drive our practices, but that data presents on the training ground through tried and tested methods. The modern and the traditional coming together. Just like this club.
*** This piece of fiction is intend as both a loving tribute to Roy Hodgson and also to show how far Liverpool have come in the past decade. Roy took over the club at an impossible time, we have no real idea how good he might have been had things been more settled ***