Roy Hodgson deserves Anfield

The Quiet Man of English football - Roy Hodgson - absolutely deserves the challenge of rebuilding Liverpool when the Rafa Benitez experiment ultimately fizzled out after millions wasted on mostly dud players and the one piece of blinding luck in landing the Champions League.

Hodgson is a man in his 60s and he isn't ready to be put out to grass. His fairytale at Fulham has landed him the opportunity of managing one of the big clubs in England and good luck to him.

His signing of Joe Cole also is a wonderful piece of business, getting the Cockney Kid to leave the East End, and the West End, to fit in with a club whose tradition of open, flowing football should suit him down to the ground.

Cole is in the Glenn Hoddle mould, who on his day was sublime. He reminds me of Matt Le Tissier, so much talent that a waft of England managers couldn't fit him into their patterns of play, and he also has the skill of - if you can remember that far back - Tony Currie.

Currie was ex-Sheffield United and latterly Leeds United whose vision and passing was a delight.

Cole has that ability, as well as the knack of scoring good goals.

It's a shame Hodgson has also pledged not to go back to Fulham to sign their better players. One for sure who would be a real asset to Liverpool is Brede Hangeland, the man born in Texas with the Danish name who would shore up that leaky Reds defence which is still reliant on a slowing and ageing Jamie Carragher to perform heroics every week.

Hodgson has his detractors. He won a few titles and cups in Sweden, got to a UEFA Cup Final with Inter and was fired by FC Copenhagen.

But he also took Blackburn to sixth in the Premier League, has managed countries at World Cup and European Championship level and speaks five languages.

He has experience and just as important he has dignity.

Give him a season - or two - but good luck to him!