Highlights

  • Roy Hodgson's reign at Liverpool was disastrous, lasting just 20 games with five wins and leaving the club near the relegation zone.
  • Hodgson accidentally sold the wrong player, Alexander Kacaniklic, during his time at Liverpool, but Kacaniklic didn't become a superstar.
  • The other player involved in the deal, Lauri Dalla Valle, had a lackluster career, making very few appearances for Fulham and struggling to find success at other clubs.

Roy Hodson's reign at Liverpool was nothing short of disastrous. He lasted just 20 games at Anfield and was sacked with just five wins to his name in six months. He left the club just four points above the relegation zone.

Ask Liverpool supporters to remember the Hodgson era and they will likely shudder at the thought of his spell in 2010. Whether it was the defeat to League Two Northampton at Anfield in the League Cup in which he claimed the Cobblers would be "a formidable challenge" ahead of the tie. Or perhaps it was when he had no "qualms" about Liverpool's performance during a 2-0 defeat in the Merseyside derby.

“That was as good as we have played all season, and I have no qualms with the performance whatsoever,” he said.

Maybe it was the fact he admitted Liverpool were in a relegation battle after seven Premier League matches.

“There are 31 games left but when you are in the relegation zone you are in a relegation battle,” he admitted.

Hodgson just wasn't cut out to manage a club of Liverpool's size. That's no disrespect to the experienced manager. He's had a terrific lengthy spell in management and is still going strong at the age of 75.

Hodgson sold a Liverpool player by mistake

But Liverpool supporters may not be aware of everything that happened OFF the pitch during Hodgson's reign. Most notably, when he accidentally sold the wrong player. No, really.

After arriving in the summer of 2010, Hodgson raided his former club, Fulham, for Paul Konchesky. The less said about that £3.5 million signing the better. Konchesky played just 18 times for the Reds and struggled hugely. He was sent out on loan to Nottingham Forest within six months. He certainly wasn't helped by his mum's outbursts on social media. After a 2-0 defeat to Stoke, Konchesky drew more criticism from Liverpool supporters - criticism that didn't go down well with his mum.

Carol Konchesky took to Facebook to tell Liverpool fans to stop ‘living off the past’ and said her son’s side were: ‘sh*t’. Her friends sympathised in the comments with one saying to ignore ‘dirty Scousers’ and ‘clueless morons’, while another added: 'the Liverpool s**m don't know class when it hits them in the face'. There was never a way back for Konchesky after that.

2010-11-20T194629Z_1_MT1ACI7605026_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-ENGLAND-LIV-WHU

As part of the Konchesky deal, Liverpool players Lauri Dalla Valle and Alexander Kacaniklic went to Craven Cottage. However, according to Kacaniklic, Hodgson wanted to sell a different Alex and not him.

“It was a bit difficult for Liverpool to replace me, but when I was in Fulham and before I signed up, I had a conversation with Roy Hodgson on the phone, where we found out that he had chosen the wrong Alex,” said Kacaniklic to fotbolskananelen in a podcast, per the Liverpool Echo.

“In his head, he thought he had sold another Alex for Konchesky. But then it was too late. It’s a little fun! Then he just told me I was welcome back in Liverpool with open arms, but that I could do what I felt. By then I had already made my mind up and was very excited about coming to Fulham.”

An incredible story. But what happened to Kacaniklic?

2009-05-26T201000Z_1_MT1ACI6009785_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-ENGLAND-LIV-ARS

What happened to the Liverpool player Hodgson sold by mistake?

Fortunately for Hodgson, Kacaniklic didn't go on to become a superstar. The Swede managed 100 appearances for Fulham in the Premier League and the Championship, scoring 11 goals. He also had fairly unsuccessful loan spells in the second tier with Watford and Burnley. He then moved to Nantes on a free in 2016. However, in three seasons in Ligue 1 he only managed 31 games and failed to score.

Kacaniklic returned to his native country in 2019 and had possibly the most successful spell of his career at Hammarby. He notched 18 goals in 56 appearances and even earned a call-up to the national side after a six-year absence, captaining them for the first time in January 2020 during a 1–0 win over Kosovo. After leaving Hammarby ahead of the 2020/21 season, Kacaniklic spent the two campaigns in Croatia with Hajduk Split but could only manage two goals in 29 appearances.

Last summer, he signed for the Cypriot side, AEL Limassol where he remains. It certainly hasn't been a bad career for the winger, making 21 appearances and scoring three goals for Sweden. Could he have done a job for Liverpool? Probably not. But was he better than simply one of two makeweights in a deal that brought Konchesky to Anfield? Almost certainly.

Just one of many mistakes Hodgson made during his nightmare six months on Merseyside.

What about the other player involved in the Konchesky deal?

While Hodgson may have accidentally allowed Kacaniklic to join Fulham, the other player in the swap deal, Dalla Valle, was intentionally sold. So, how did his career pan out?

Dalla Valle did make one appearance for Liverpool before leaving, coming on as a substitute for seven minutes in a Europa League qualifier against FK Rabotnički.

But the Finnish striker failed to play in the Premier League for Fulham, making just two appearances in cup competitions for the Lilywhites. He had spells for Bournemouth, Dundee United, Exeter and Crewe while at Fulham, the latter spell resulting in five goals in 10 appearances in League One.

2009-05-26T000000Z_1_MT1ACI6042123_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-ENGLAND-LIV-ARS

In 2013, he left Fulham permanently and was signed by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Molde. However, he played just four league games before leaving just six months later. He joined Belgian Second Division side Sint-Truiden, signing a three-year deal. But he was released after just one season in which he played 23 times without scoring. He returned to Crewe where he previously enjoyed a successful loan spell and spent the 2014/15 and 2015/16 seasons at the League One club. He scored six goals in 31 appearances before being released.

In August 2017, he signed for newly promoted Serbian SuperLiga side, Zemun. He played four games but was released just three months later. The following summer, having not signed for a club for seven months, he announced his retirement at the age of 26 to focus on his photography and consultancy company in Italy. At least Hodgson seemed to get one right...