LATEST BETTING PREDICTIONS FOR JULY 1: CURBISHLEY TO FULHAM AND MILNER TO CITY

Roy Hodgson has today been officially unveiled as the next Liverpool FC manager, charged with the task of taking Liverpool back into the top four of the Premier League and returning Champions League football to Anfield.

However, it looks as though he will need to do so on a shoestring budget with the morning papers speculating that the former Fulham manager will have as little as £15million to spend. His first priority though will be securing the futures of Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres and Javier Mascherano. 
Until this point there had only been speculation surrounding the trio’s future but Hodgson’s admission that he will need to “persuade them that this is the place to be” brings home the reality that Liverpool could lose their best players this summer; a terrifying proposition for Liverpool fans.
Hodgson’s new role at Anfield means that Fulham are now searching for a new man to take over at the helm. In truth the Fulham board have probably been drawing up a shortlist of candidates for over a week now and it appears that the bookmakers believe Alan Curbishley, Sven Goran Erikson and Mark Hughes are atop of that list.
Curbishley is the 3/1 favourite with Stan James and would represent a decision to try and maintain Fulham’s workmanlike reputation. The former Charlton and West Ham manager is not known for producing teams that play with attacking flair and style and is more associated with the type of team which Fulham have become over the last two years, resolute and difficult to break down. Appointing Curbishley would be to opt for continuity.
Should Chairman Mohamed Al Fayed choose to make a clean break from the Hodgson-era and the style of football associated with it, then former Manchester City manager Hughes would be a suitable appointment. City became notorious for their all out attacking style under the Welshman and although a poor defence was ultimately his downfall he certainly created a side that the neutrals enjoyed watching. Hughes is 6/1 with William Hill to be the next Fulham manager.
One player who could be joining the all-star cast at Eastlands is James Milner. Following the signing of David Silva City are said to be stepping up their interests the English youngster with the morning papers suggesting that they will make an improved offer for the player in the next week. Skybet are offering odds of just 2/5 that Milner will join the City revolution if he does opt to leave Villa Park, Chelsea are the 4/1 second favourites to secure his signature.