No More Mr Nice Guy

Can we stop repeating that Roy is a “nice guy”? It seems to be a meaningless media soundbite that is at odds with what I am witnessing.

Taking the joy of watching attractive winning football from millions of people and instead giving them lousy football, misery and a fear of relegation does not strike me as particularly nice. Arrogantly dismissing suggestions that your approach might not be working and talking about compensation being owed in the event of your being dismissed essentially for gross negligence in leading a team with stellar expectations into the relegation zone isn’t “nice”.

There’s no shame in taking on a job in which you believe you can be successful but turns out to requires greater capability than you possess. There’s no shame in thinking you can meet the expectations of the supporters only to discover you are not capable of doing so. There’s no shame in doing your best in that job but failing. However, blaming your failure on others and criticising the expectations you have failed significantly to meet is shameful.

Here’s a quote from a genuine nice guy who also happened to be called Roy:

“I have felt over the past three or four weeks that things have not been working out. That was always uppermost in my mind. I dispute my record is one of failure. At any other club it would be a success but not at Liverpool. Our biggest regret is that we could not achieve success for the people who work at the club. I would like to pay tribute to the players at the club. I know they are capable of winning something."

That was Roy Evans when announcing his decision to resign as manager of Liverpool FC. If Hodgson really wants to be considered a nice guy, it’s time we heard something similar from him.