Been told I can publish the full piece on here, so here you go....

Owners must act before rifts become permanent
Tony Evans, Football Editor
Updated 7 minutes ago
Commentary
One of the things Liverpool supporters liked about John W. Henry when he took control of the club in October was his honesty. He admitted he knew nothing about football and needed to learn.

So what has he discovered in three months? That Anfield might not be the bargain it looked and that he was bequeathed a manager who seems as clueless as any American innocent.

Yesterday brought new lows for Liverpool. It began with a “club executive” blaming the dissatisfaction with Roy Hodgson on the Spirit of Shankly supporters’ union. To have an insider sneering at some of the most devoted fans gives a snapshot of the dysfunctional nature of Fenway Sports Group’s (FSG) latest acquisition.

Last night showed the extent of the lie as the day ended with another humiliation. The away support sang: “You’re getting sacked in the morning.” There are people who would like the world to believe it was the work of card-carrying union militants. It was not.

Almost the entire fanbase has lost faith with the manager. That is embarrassing to people who have prided themselves on a tradition of fanaticism for half a century.

Hodgson has lost his way. He inherited a mess that even a more dynamic and inventive manager would have struggled to clean up.

But the 63-year-old has proved to the supporters that he is out of his depth. On the Kop, it was believed that Liverpool had bottomed out last season. Hodgson has showed that there are still fathoms to be plumbed.

This, remember, is a team that contains Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard and Joe Cole, a trio of talents, and a class goalkeeper in Pepe Reina. Bill Shankly said that a team is like piano: “Three to play, eight to carry it.”

There are managers across the world who would kill for those three — and for the chance to turn the likes of Dirk Kuyt, Glen Johnson, Daniel Agger and Raul Meireles into heavy lifters.

Liverpool need leadership. Hodgson is not supplying it. It is time for FSG to provide some direction. It cannot allow the rift between fan and club to grow. It cannot allow the club to sink any lower.

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