Which Fulham Player(s) Will Roy Hodgson Sign For Liverpool?

Ollie Irish

2nd, July 2010

17 Comments

By Ollie Irish

New Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson is a good bloke, clearly, but that doesn’t mean Uncle Woy wouldn’t dare poach a player or two from his former club, Fulham. That’s just the way it works – managers want to work with players they rate and like.

I don’t think Hodgson will pillage the Cottage, but I predict he will sign at least one Fulham star before the beginning of the new Premier League season.

The question is, which one is he most likely to sign?

In order of preference, I think if he does have a Fulham shopping list, it might look something like this:

1. Zoltan Gera – Highly rated by Hodgson, decent squad player to have, works hard, no ego. Would be cheap too and Liverpool could use a couple more wide players.

2. Brede Hangeland – Jamie Carragher is on his way out, and Liverpool need a new brick wall at the back. Hangeland fits the bill and is almost as slow as Carra.

3. Clint Dempsey – Perhaps the most talented Fulham player, Deuce makes things happen. He wouldn’t come cheap, but neither would he break Liverpool’s Yank Bank. If, as seems likely, Yossi Benayoun goes to Chelsea, Dempsey would be a solid replacement.

4. Bobby Zamora – Might turn out to be the perfect foil for Fernando Torres. Has improved immensely but I worry that Liverpool would be a club too far for Row Z.

5. Damien Duff – Now 31 but arguably in the form of his life. Would be a decent squad player to call on.

If I had to bet on just one Fulham player leaving? I’d go for Dempsey, who can fill the hole left by Yossi Benayoun. An American star to please the American owners.

Which Fulham player do you think is most likely to leave for Anfield, if any?

UPDATE: I wasn’t aware that Roy Hodgson’s contract says he can’t sign Fulham players. If so, my bad.

Posted in Fulham, Liverpool, Opinion, Transfers & Rumours

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17 Comments

  1. pf1 says:

    I thought it was written in his Fulham contract that he could not bring any Fulham players with him.

  2. ben says:

    Hangman

  3. Damo says:

    Ehhhhh, that’d be none of the above or at all, as he has agreed not to! Greeeaat story!

  4. Len says:

    non, Hodgson has agreed not to “raid” his old club.

  5. anteater says:

    “Carragher is on his way out”. Is he? Haven’t even read rumours about that so you surely made that one up, eh. Wouldn’t even make sense to get in a centre-half as this is one position where Liverpool have enough players. Kyrgiakos was quite good, you’ve probably heard of Agger and Skrtel at the world cup and young Ayala had a few impressive appearances last season.

    I actually don’t think Hodgson will bring in any senior Fulham players so don’t worry too much about losing half your squad.

  6. Mike says:

    Err….. probably no one. Apparently as part of the deal he cannot sign anyone from Fulham. I’m sure a decent author who researched these things would have known that.

    Homer Simpson.

  7. rhys says:

    Who are these players?

  8. John says:

    NONE!!! He can’t as part of severance deal!!

  9. Research says:

    “Roy is not allowed to return to Fulham to sign any of his former players as part of his severance deal from the London club”

  10. Anonymous says:

    Murphy

  11. Anonymous says:

    rhys u ignorant knob

  12. Anonymous says:

    sorry. don’t mean to be ignorant but i don’t really follow mid table teams that closely. Just wondering if these players have ever done anything of importance? In football i mean. Do they play often?

  13. Lolita says:

    I don’t know what kind of agreements he’s made regarding this type of thing, but…
    Dempsey?
    Pretty please?

  14. figg says:

    nevland – 10

  15. RR says:

    Hangeland should be priority. Dempsey is a game lad with great attitude and I’d welcome him. Duff has two more good seasons in him and should be cheap, but he is nothing like the creative force that we was.Liverpool need to buy 2-3 experienced players and about 3 promising youths. They need a ready to go midfield playmaker because Gerrard is not that sort of player. There is no such domestic player now. Stephen Ireland nearly fits the bill and would be a real coup, but surely beyond Liverpool’s paltry budget – unless he is a makeweight for a cash for Torres/swap…but one would rather keep Torres I think. They will have to look abroad for someone who is affordable. It is also very important that Hangeland is signed from Fulham. The ranks of Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs and Everton are bloated with young talent that should be tapped and LFC’s Melwood academy needs to start delivering.

    Torres. That’s the problem: keep him until he inevitably goes in just 1 year (but maybe helps secure CL spot), or sell him now at the peak of his value and take the long view for the club?

  16. RR says:

    I imagine that if the price is right Fulham will simply waive that clause in Roy’s contract about not looking for Fulham players. It seems obvious to me that if there is such a clause, it’s only there to deter silly offers, but not as an outright ban. So I woudln’t be so quick to savage the researchers of this article; the purpose of which is surely to stimulate debate and not necessarily to be 100%, factually correct and dull.

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