GOODBYE and good riddance. So a year to forget on the field for Liverpool ends in appropriately dismal fashion.

But as they waved farewell to the annus horribilis of 2010, many of the home supporters who trudged miserably away from Anfield last night would be forgiven for believing they may well have seen the last of Roy Hodgson.

After all, if the home defeat to Blackpool in October had been the manager’s self-confessed “low” point of his reign, then this was worse. Much, much worse.

That afternoon, Hodgson had to contend with chants calling for former Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish as his team tumbled to defeat.

They were present again last night as Stephen Ward’s 56th-minute strike earned struggling Wolverhampton Wanderers their first win at Anfield since 1984 and moved the Midlanders off the bottom of the Premier League table.

But, almost six months into the job, Hodgson finally heard his own name being called from the Kop.

“Hodgson for England” came the cry as the crowd, infuriated at seeing main attacking threat David Ngog hauled off in response to Liverpool going behind, saluted their manager in sarcastic fashion.

Any doubts the 63-year-old will never win over sections of the crowd were surely banished at that point. The question now is whether Hodgson can fight back from this latest setback, and for how long he will be given a chance.

Owner John Henry and chairman Tom Werner were not at Anfield last night, but those chants will have resonated across the pond as the Americans saw their £300million investment plumb new, sorry depths.

And while Mick McCarthy’s men were full value for their victory, they were helped by what was by some distance Liverpool’s most abysmal performance of the season.

It is difficult to recall such a pathetic Anfield display given the standard of opposition, with Wolves having previously taken just one point on the road this season and lost their last seven top-flight away games.

Hamstrung by tactics that quickly led to a chronic lack of width, Hodgson’s men were completely devoid of ideas to break down a Wolves defence that had kept just one clean sheet in their previous 21 league games. Visiting goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey barely had a save to make.

Other statistics are just as damning.