Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson holds West Brom counterpart Roy Hodgson in high regard despite his woeful spell at Liverpool.
Bad spell with Reds will not cloud Ferguson's judgement of Hodgson
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson holds West Brom counterpart Roy Hodgson in high regard despite his woeful spell at Liverpool.
Appointed as Anfield manager in the summer of 2010 as Rafael Benitez's replacement, Hodgson presided over a disastrous six-month period in the Merseyside giants' history.
In the end he was turfed out to make way for the return of Kenny Dalglish - but was not out of the game for long.
It was to the Londoner that West Brom turned to drag them out of the relegation mire, a task he completed with something to spare.
And when Hodgson brings his team to Manchester United on Sunday, he will do so on the back of a victory over Chelsea that proved to be one defeat too many for Andre Villas-Boas.
"Roy couldn't win at Anfield," said Ferguson. "Sometimes the timing is bad for certain jobs and that was bad timing for him.
"But you cannot dispute his credibility, his ability and the career he has had."
Warning
In fact, meetings with West Brom lately should come with a warning sign attached after Mick McCarthy was dumped by Wolves after they were battered by their Black Country rivals.
Ferguson has none of those concerns. However, he has taken enough notice of recent results to be very wary of a side who were the only ones to get away from Old Trafford with any Premier League points last term.
"West Brom are in a bit of good form just now," said the Scot. "They've won their last three, scored five against Wolves and beat Chelsea last weekend.
"We respect that. Roy Hodgson always has his teams well organised and it will be the same this time.
"But we are at home and we expect to win our home games."
