I dunno man, I mean Atletico won Europa League last season but it was greatly due to Diego Forlan who in all likelihood probably wouldn't have signed on if they had kept Torres, who knows if Torres would have been able to do the exact same thing under the same circumstances, many things could have changed like teamwork, strategies, injuries all revolving around him instead of Forlan. So he might not have won much there either.
And Liverpool will start a comeback this year, at least 5th or 6th place I see. And not "poor Nando" he could have said he wanted out for Chelsea/City but it was his personal choice to stay. Hodgson seems sensible and would actually consider letting a player go if they were unhappy (only for the right price but still), see Mascherano. So obviously he doesn't think he's damning himself to failure.