NEXT LIVERPOOL MANAGER ODDS SHOW ROY HODGSON SET TO REPLACE RAFA BENITEZ

It’s been a very interesting few days for Liverpool fans as Rafa Benitez has been ousted and looks set to take over the, ahem, 2010 Champions League winners Inter Milan within a week.

While it initially looked like Martin O’Neill was the big favourite for the Liverpool post, no press releases or communiqués came out of Villa Park and many expect O’Neill to stay with Villa into next season- despite being on a rolling month-to-month contract. Maybe O’Neill doesn’t think he’s finished his task at Villa and would have a difficult time leaving.
Price-wise, O’Neill was trading as low at 3.0 at one point, but has now drifted upwards to a 5.6 listing. This is significant as the volume is continuing to tick up and I think we could hit the six figure mark in this market by the weekend.
Roy Hodgson’s odds to become next Liverpool manager are currently on Betfair at a best price of 3.0 or so. That’s down from his position in the mid 5’s late last week and I can see him trending downward for the next few days. I’ve seen him as low as 2.88.  Traditional bookmakers have Hodgson priced at 7/4 to take the Anfield post so you are definitely going to lock-in best odds on Betfair.
Kenny Dalglish is the one leading the search for the new manager and he is actually in the running at an 11.0 price, but that would be fairly controversial. I also think the fact that he stepped up to lead the search already indicates that he isn’t interested in taking over Liverpool.
Interestingly enough, Sven Goran Eriksson continues to trend downwards and he is now almost about to break into single digits with an 11.0 price. I don’t think Liverpool fans would be too excited about him taking over though, especially as he hasn’t had any real success since leaving the England post. Appointing the former manager of Notts County isn’t the best way to get your side back into the Champions League.
I think Hodgson is a justifiable favourite and I look forward to how things go next year with an ambitious new manager in charge. The question now turns to whether Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard are still on the team next year.