WATCHING Liverpool lose limply to West Brom was bad enough in itself. But almost as bad was the anticipation of the tedious assessments the result would drive.

The Roy Hodgson PR machine was fired up to the max in the build up to the showdown with the Baggies. Kenny Dalglish was cast as pantomime baddy while Hodgson played the poorly-treated 'nice man' (so 'poor' he reportedly trousered £8.8m for his six months at Liverpool).

The underlying theme among a series of media reports was that the Scot had made Hodgson's job impossible by merely expressing an interest in the job of manager before Croydon's finest arrived at Anfield.

“It was not easy with an icon in the background,” said Hodgson on Friday. The constant bleatings of a man desperate to prove he wasn't at fault for ANYTHING during his 31-game Anfield reign have become really quite tiresome.

Equally galling is the number of media outlets prepared to act as a conduit for his one-eyed assessments without offering any question or analysis. Let's not forget, there was far from universal support for Dalglish when Hodgson took on the job and some Reds saw the former Fulham boss as the ideal candidate.

Even those dead-set against Hodgson's appointment were prepared to give him a go once in place, he was the Liverpool manager after all.

And if Dalglish was such a hindrance to Hodgson, why did the Albion manager see fit to use his relationship with him to justify the job he was doing at Anfield?

Remember this?

“When they wanted me for the job, I made it clear to Kenny that he would be with me – not like with Benitez, when he was here in name but not allowed to step foot in Melwood and it was ‘we don’t want anything to do with you’.

“I told Kenny, ‘that won’t be the case, I want to tap into you for all the things you can bring’, not least his iconic status. He’s doing a very good job, helping us with our scouting, he still does a lot with the younger players at the academy and he also plays an ambassadorial role.

“You could not find a better person in the world to do that job for Liverpool Football Club and he should be doing it for other managers when I leave.

“His job should be a ­permanent one.”

That was in October. It appears many journalists don't have access to Google. Or perhaps the truth doesn't make for a good enough story.

The second side of the 'analysis' from the media that became inevitable the moment the final whistle was blown at the Hawthorns was Dalgish's suitability for the manager's role at Liverpool.

While the 'caretaker' tag remains so too do doubts over Fenway Sports Group's thought process. Dalglish has placed enough evidence on the table since taking over in January to suggest that he is the man to rebuild Liverpool. But FSG's inaction allows the snipers to snipe and the gossips to gossip.

So in today's Observer report for example we read: “Fenway Sports Group, the club's owner, has yet to decide whether iconic status will translate into a meaningful challenge in the Premier League next season. On the latest evidence, though, perhaps even the Scot may have second thoughts.”

The media feeds the prevalent short-sightedness of too many football fans and vice versa. Every manager it seems, is only as good as his last game.

So there's little or no mention that the Reds have been the form team in the league before the West Brom defeat. There's no nod towards the change in the style of football. And the Anfield injury list which has deprived Dalglish of Agger, Johnson, Gerrard, Aurelio, Kelly and Shelvey isn't seen as newsworthy.

Liverpool were poor against the Baggies, there's no denying that, but the goals stemmed from two mistakes from a fourth-choice centre back, albeit one that has performed admirably in the past.

The back four was also quickly shorn of two of its true footballers through injury, while Johnson, Agger and Danny Wilson all played at left back. And as for the referee, Martin Atkinson, well let's just say he's not going to be on Andy Carroll's Christmas card list, is he?

At least now the Hodgson sideshow is over until next time, if there is one.

If he keeps West Brom up, he will no doubt be backing himself to succeed Fabio Capello. And just like the former Liverpool board, you can see the FA lapping up the 'Englishness cures all ills' mantra.

Quite how England players would react to his methods would make for an interesting watch – particularly as it wouldn't affect Liverpool.

Duncan Castles summed up Hodgson well in the Sunday Times: “One man’s training ground ennui is another’s inspiration. At Liverpool, players took badly to Roy Hodgson’s repetitive formation drills. At The Hawthorns, they’ve introduced a sorely needed solidity to a pleasantly creative side.”

Hodgson might have put a spanner in the works for the late charge for Europe but he did that by doing what he does best - firing up and organising the underdog. He was never the right man for Liverpool.

Ciao for now, Roy. We're not missing you.

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