Abby Brammell

By John Edwards

Goodbye: Roy Hodgson will be glad to see the back of Javier Mascherano


Roy Hodgson poured out his frustration at the loss of Javier Mascherano yesterday and claimed there was no defence for the strike action that forced Liverpool into selling him.

After reluctantly sanctioning the midfielder's £20million-plus move to Barcelona, Hodgson, who completed the £4m signing of Paul Konchesky last night, effectively accused him of holding Liverpool to ransom by refusing to play against Manchester City earlier this week.


Though adamant he would not be allowed to leave on the cheap, Liverpool found their bargaining power severely diminished by Mascherano's stance and faced a week of tough negotiating. They finally settled on a fee, believed to be worth £22m with add-ons, and gave the 26-year-old permission to discuss personal terms.

The Argentina skipper swiftly accepted a four-year deal worth £90,000 a week, slightly less than he could have earned by signing a new Liverpool contract, and headed out with a parting shot from Hodgson ringing in his ears. Asked about his anchor man's non-appearance at Eastlands on Monday, the Anfield manager admitted he had no idea where he was, and it clearly still rankled.

'It was a complicated situation, to be fair to him,' said Hodgson, referring to Mascherano's wife refusing to live in England. 'But it's not easy to defend his actions, because professionals are paid to play and, when called on to do so, they should.

'I don't think players mean it as a challenge to your authority, or the club's. But it's a selfish situation, where they want to do something and expect the club and me, in my position as one of the leaders of the club, to bow down and accept that they are going to get their way. Unfortunately, there will then be periods when there is a bit of unpleasantness.


Frosty: Mascherano and Hodgson


'Players must also understand when you sign contracts, you do so to play. If the club decide they're going to accept an offer and let you go that's one thing. If, however, they say "you have a contract, we're not selling", then you stay.

'It doesn't bother me as a challenge to my authority. It's just a fact of life, one that gets exacerbated for a month in January and two or three in the summer.

'I had the same situation at Blackburn, when someone was agitated when I went there.

Graeme Le Saux was determined to go to Chelsea, and that caused us problems in pre-season. Then Tim Sherwood was wanted by Tottenham, and that caused more problems, because he was determined to get back to London. He thought he'd done enough at Blackburn and wanted to return to his roots. So this can occur and you have to live with it.

'That's why we have to be forgiven for getting irritated when agents stir things more. It's bad enough when you've got a genuine offer to contend with.'

Hodgson is eager to dip into the money from Mascherano's sale and is close to landing another midfielder, as well as recruiting Konchesky from Fulham for the problem left back position.

His prime target is believed to be Porto's Raul Meireles, who has been watched by Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and was left out of his side's Europa League play-off against Genk to prevent him being cup-tied for any potential buyer.

Hodgson may also challenge Tottenham in the £10million race for West Ham midfielder Scott Parker and is monitoring the availability of Udinese's Gokhan Inler.


Deal: Hodgson is attempting to sign Fulham left-back Paul Konchesky (centre)


There were even claims in Argentina of interest in Boca Juniors' Chile midfielder Gary Medel. Hodgson will welcome back the likes of Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres against West Bromwich Albion at Anfield tomorrow and is adamant his younger players will have benefitted from their test of temperament in front of nearly 20,000 frenzied Turkish fans packed into the Huseyin Avni Aker Stadium on Thursday night.

'Turkish crowds are renowned for generating a hostile atmosphere, and Trabzonspor's certainly did that,' he said. 'When you have young players, and they stand up to that, you know it is going to do them good.

'I was concerned about what Trabzonspor might do, because they showed at Anfield how good they are, but we showed a lot of character to come away with a very good win.

'It also gives us a psychological boost, because you don't want to go into your next game staring at the possibility of three bad results on the trot.

'We still need to improve the squad and we haven't got too much time to do it. But I am hoping, in the short period left, that we can add a couple.'


source :dailymail