What Next For England?

Having taken charge of Fabio Capello’s squad at short notice, what will the future hold for Roy Hodgson’s England team? Despite a respectable showing in Polkraine, the familiar failings which have blighted the national team were self-evident and the quarter-final exit depressingly familiar.

Thankfully, positives have been gleaned from the tournament. Hodgson has quickly begun to implement a defensive system and a selfless team ethic, the squad has been united and harmonious, Steven Gerrard performed magnificently as captain and players like Andy Carroll and Danny Welbeck adapted well to the international game.

Sadly, our familiar failings with regards to ball retention and passing played a huge role in our downfall. Rarely managing to string half-a-dozen passes together, there was never any hope of us troubling classy and cultured midfields like the Italians’ – let alone that of Spain or Germany. How desperately we missed the injured Jack Wilshere and the retired Michael Carrick. Thankfully there is hope in this area, with Wilshere to return and Tom Cleverley’s development to continue at Old Trafford.

In defence, however, changes seem likely. If the John Terry race-case doesn’t result in his international retirement, he really ought to be put out to pasture. One of England’s major failings on this tournament was their deep defensive line – a line designed specifically to protect Terry’s alarming lack of pace. Although he defended heroically, his presence altered the team shape, stretching the pitch and forcing Gerrard and Scott Parker to play too far from the forwards to create effective links. As a result, Ashley Young was starved of meaningful possession and failed to reproduce his sparkling pre-tournament form.

On the other flank, James Milner must surely have played his last game as an out-and-out wideman. Although he tramped diligently up and down the wing, he contributed nothing in an attacking sense, crossing woefully on the few occasions he worked an opening. England have options out wide in Adam Johnson, Theo Walcott and Aaron Lennon who, for all their shortcomings, are at least comfortable in the position.

And what of Wayne Rooney? Gone is the dynamic tyro of 2004, replaced by a player seemingly incapable of beating his man and shorn of pace. He has certainly adapted his game at Manchester United, no longer the explosive presence he once was. His steady supply of goals seems to have disguised the truth: he is not the player we all thought he would become. Clearly he should still be in the starting XI, but he shouldn’t be treated as untouchable and shouldn’t carry the burden of expectation as he has previously: if anything we looked better without him in the team against France and Sweden.

So, with a new qualification campaign on the horizon, we must trust that Hodgson can continue the team’s development. He’s already made it clear that the Euro 2012 squad was Capello’s team – the implication being that changes will be in the offing once has digested this summer’s football. Some of the squad will retire, others will be jettisoned or replaced. But Hodgson has done enough to suggest that, given a little time, he is the right man to incorporate the skill, composure and ability of Chris Smalling, Raheem Sterling, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and others into a team we can not only be proud of but also confident in.

New England Revolution

For a long time, I fell out of love with the England football team. As well as the obvious on-pitch disappointments, my three main bugbears were: the Football Association’s gross mismanagement of the national team, the unrealistic expectations of many England fans, and the destructive red-topped agenda against the manager-of-the-moment. Against the odds, however, Roy Hodgson’s Euro 2012 squad have rekindled my interest in the national team.

Let’s get one thing straight: the FA effed up royally and regularly in the last year. Amongst other errors, their embarrassing failure to ban John Terry would not have been tolerated in any other workplace and, directly or indirectly, led to the loss of a very decent manager. Then, the scandalously protracted process of appointing Capello’s successor destabilised Premier League clubs and presented the FA as a rudderless and indecisive ship. Confidence in England’s governing body had rarely been lower.

Then, much to Harry Redknapp’s surprise, they made a rare sensible and right-headed move: they appointed Roy Hodgson. Hodgson was the right man: an experienced tactician well versed in continental and international football who could oversee English football from the grassroots up. Surprisingly, the Fleet Street hacks who had all but anointed Redknapp as the new manager greeted Hodgson warmly and, by and large, threw their weight behind him. Far from kow-towing to the media, the FA had beaten its own path to Hodgson’s door – and the media respected them for it.

And with Hodgson’s appointment came more realistic expectations. After years of expensive Swedes and Italians managing the Premier League’s leading lights and shining stars, we had the reserved and dignified Hodgson offering realisitic appraisals of the England squad and promising to deliver tactically adept and disciplined teams picked on merit rather than reputation.

Almost unbelievably, the majority of fans bought into this ethos. Many had already become disillusioned with the England team thanks to the abject failure in South Africa and a feeling of being alienated by the ‘foreign manager’ and prima donna players who had let them down. The conclusive spanking handed out by Germany in Bloemfontein and the sparkling football employed by Spain in winning the World Cup seemed to finally convince England fans of a truth they’d previously not dared to acknowledge: the England team has a long way to go before it can truly compete with the top nations.

And so here we are. Many of the so-called ‘Golden Generation’ has been discarded. Down-to-earth, nice young men like Joe Hart and Danny Welbeck have shown that England footballers needn’t be snarling, petulant egotists. The manager has introduced a clear tactical model based on teamwork and togetherness. The team look like a team and the squad looks happy and harmonious. The fans have accepted that winning ugly is an acceptable form of triumph and that sometimes we cannot compete toe-to-toe with technically more accomplished nations. And, although their importance can be overstated, the print media have begun to reflect the prevailing attitude in the country rather than attempting to instigate witch-hunts and outrages.
A healthy balance has finally been struck: We can be optimistic without being over-confident and, should we fail to won the tournament, realistic rather than reactive about our failures. Being an England fan is starting to feel good again.

The Right Man For The Job?

Crikey! It’s not going to be ‘Arry after all.

It seems that the FA have made their decision, choosing affable old Roy Hodgson as the next England manager. It’s a brave move from both parties: the media will be circling like sharks in freshly chummed water, waiting for the slightest excuse to devour the new incumbent. Hodgson, meanwhile, knows full well that he is drinking from a poisoned chalice. After having his fingers burned by the media glare at Anfield, it’s only a matter of time before he’s thrust into the fire again.

Redknapp was nailed on for the job. Lauded by his friends in the press, wanted by the players and, the league table suggests, the best Englishman for the job. Leaving aside the absurd insistence that we have an English manager, was Redknapp really the best man for the job?

Redknapp’s managerial history is checkered at best. Despite being in his sixties he’s only ever won one trophy (the FA Cup with Portsmouth), has seen countless clubs go bankrupt in the aftermath of his stewardship, has managed to alienate excellent players like Darren Bent and has admitted his own tactical naivety.

In the wake of his court-case – in which he was cleared of wrongdoing, lest we forget – Redknapp has seen his Spurs team crumble atrociously. For this, the manager is largely accountable. Having abandoned the wing-play which characterised Tottenham’s surge up the table in favour of midfield tinkering, Gareth Bale’s newly minted license to wander and Aaron Lennon’s spell on the treatment table, one has to question his decision to allow Steven Pienaar to leave on loan. And having bemoaned the lack of depth in his squad recently, one can only point at players like Vedran Corluka, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Sebastian Bassong who left White Hart Lane in January.

Of course, similar accusations can be levelled at Hodgson following his woeful spell at Liverpool. His signings struggled hugely, his brand of football did little to appease the aesthetes of Anfield and his win percentage was awful. He was the wrong fit for the club: although Kenny Dalglish’s near identical record suggests that the Mersey malaise runs deeper than first feared.

Since his dismissal, however, Hodgson has reinvigorated his career at West Brom. His impact was
immediate, his record enviable, their brand of football easy on the eye. Allied with his excellent record at Fulham – not least in their successful Europa League campaign – Hodgson’s nightmare at Liverpool seems like a blip on an otherwise excellent CV. Spells in charge clubs across Europe – including Inter Milan – and in charge of several national teams give Hodgson’s candidacy for the role extra gravitas: he’s got more continental experience than anyone else in England. He also lives in the midlands, close to the FA’s new base at Burton – much closer than Harry’s pad on the south coast.

For too long, the FA has vacillated between two desires: do they want a worldly coach with impeccable credentials or an Englishman who can relate to the players. The alternating nature of their recent appointments reflects this perfectly: Hoddle/Eriksson/McClaren/Capello and now Hodgson. Except this time, he’s a man with a foot in both camps. He might not be the biggest name, he might not dispense soundbites outside the training ground and he might not excite the public – but for once, the FA might have actually got this right.