Roy Hodgson

[David Gwilliam]

In 1953 the Hungarians came to Wembley and beat England 6-3; the first continental side to beat us on our own ground. A year later the Hungarians beat us 7-1 in Budapest. The reaction of the FA and the press was remarkably mature. They did not demand the sacking of the manager Walter Winterbottom. They said that it showed the England manager needed more support within the game.

I make the above point because some people will be demanding a change of England manager. Roy Hodgson got us to the finals unlike a number of previous managers. His team selections and tactics have been IMO sensible and there have been no signs of discord in the camp. His problem has been simple; he has not had good enough players.

In 2003 Trevor Brooking was put in charge of Football Development with the job of making sure young English footballers became as technically good as foreign players. It would be interesting to hear his explanation as to why this has not happened. It would be interesting to know why Roy Hodgson believes things have gone wrong. My concern is that the press will do its usual witch-hunt of an England manager.

Whenever there is a deep rooted problem the worst thing you can do is adopt superficial solutions. England's failure to get past the quarter finals in tournament after tournament is a deep rooted problem and changing the England manager would be a superficial solution.

 

[FryattFox]

I disagree that it's a superficial solution, as I don't think that Hodgson is the right man to lead us. There was nothing different, nothing original about any of the selections. We looked reasonably organised, but that's about it.

Whilst he's a very solid manager, and I don't have many doubts about qualification for the various competitions (however much of a joke it becomes), I can't see us ever really developing under him. The players are coming through, and I'd rather see someone more dynamic take charge.

 

[GazLCFC]

I think both the press and sensible fans realise that Hodgson is building a squad. Bleeding the youngsters is a sign of that. Taking Flanigan and Stones to Miami will be great for their development.
Sterling will get better as he matures, Sturridge will continue to improve and there are a number of other players who have the potential to play for England for a number of years.

As as with club football continually changing manager will not help in the long run.

 

[Graz]

Any chance a poll can be added to this? I was going to create a similar thread and was interested to see where people's views were at as to whether Hodgson should stay or go.

Personally I think he should stay. If he does I wouldn't be gutted, but I think we should and will stick with it for now.

 

[Miles Away]

Whenever these conversations start it seems as though the discussion of who, exactly, would take over, gets lost.

At this point it's not a job most would want, and there aren't many obvious candidates from what is left.

It's very hard for me to understand how a squad led by a player who has yet to graduate from Arsenal's reserves can qualify with ease over players with hundreds of premier league appearances under their belts. England are always less then the sum of their parts.

 

[homer]

Only Graham Taylor has failed to qualify for a World Cup in recent years, and that was twenty years ago. Qualifying for a World Cup is a given

Only Hodgson has presided over a team that has failed to get out of the group stage. Even Capello achieved that, and he was a walking disaster, causing disharmony on and off the field.

He is wholly one-dimensional, and blinkered in his selections - both in qualifying and at the tournament itself. Anyone who seriously believes that Danny Welbeck is one of the top 11 English players currently playing is a deluded idiot, or that Rooney must play in every game regardless of where or how the team set themselves up. It's bordering on the ridiculous.

If the FA had any balls at all he should be sacked the minute he steps back onto English soil

 

[Hazzman]

Naff all options available. I think if Zeus was managing this team he would have a struggle on.

 

[Brown Nose]

RH is a man I respect and quite like but I don't get the feeling that we're going to do anything with him in charge. He's a stop-gap, safe pair of hands type of chap.

I'm quite simple when it comes to judging managers. The position is far and away the most important for any team. A very good manager can get more out of a group of players than their talents would suggest.

RHs natural inclination is to defend and play, safety first. He tried to do the opposite in this competition and it didn't work. He didn't protect our vulnerabilities and failed to get the most out of our strengths. Could he really have done any worse at these things?

The standard for an England team is to qualify for a major competition and get to the last eight. If we do that and bomb out, we've done okay. Anything more and I'm very pleased, anything less and I'm unhappy.

Whilst we have a shortage of good goalkeepers and defenders, we have loads of very capable midfielders and forwards. So as long as we protect our defence and make best use of our attacking options, we'd do well. RH failed to do either of these. Many, many inferior teams have done much, much better by following these simple principles.

England's problem is the idiots at the FA that seem to appoint managers that are out of their depth (McClaren, Keegan) or those that were once good, but now past their peak (Sven, Capello, Hodgson). What we need is someone of genuine talent who is at the peak of their powers. We pay top dollar and the role is a very attractive one so I can't understand why this is so difficult.

For me, I'd ditch RH and go after someone like Martinez from Everton. Treble his Everton wages on a four year contract and see what someone talented can do. It would be much better than accepting mediocrity and failure which is all that will happen with nice man Roy.

 

[Miles Away]

Martinez would be ****ing mental to take this job.

Who has taken this job and not been forever ruined because of it.

From Taylor all the way to Roy...to a man not one of them has ever been taken seriously again.

 

[Blaarev]

Martinez would be ****ing mental to take this job.

Who has taken this job and not been forever ruined because of it.

From Taylor all the way to Roy...to a man not one of them has ever been taken seriously again.

Well, Capello has the Russia job. And Sven had the ultimate dream come true to manage Leicester.

 

[Blue Maniac]

Martinez would be ****ing mental to take this job.

Who has taken this job and not been forever ruined because of it.

From Taylor all the way to Roy...to a man not one of them has ever been taken seriously again.

This is because the media and the idiot English public think we should be winning the World Cup. This is approximately equivalent to Leicester fans expecting the treble this season.

 

[fox58]

This is because the media and the idiot English public think we should be winning the World Cup. This is approximately equivalent to Leicester fans expecting the treble this season.

Len Barry

 

[Miles Away]

This is because the media and the idiot English public think we should be winning the World Cup. This is approximately equivalent to Leicester fans expecting the treble this season.

No doubt. Doesn't alter the end result though.

That all said, we shod be getting out of group stages.

 

[Blue Maniac]

No doubt. Doesn't alter the end result though.

That all said, we shod be getting out of group stages.

People put too much importance on the job even though it only involves a dozen or so near-worthless games a year and the players at the coach's disposal aren't anything like as good as people pretend they are. I said from the very start we wouldn't get past the group stage this year. Only Spain and Costa Rica have surprised me so far.

 

[camberwell fox]

We were pathetic in the second game but then when have we ever qualified past the group stages easily?

Our problems are so deep rooted that I don't think a change in manager will make a not of difference.

 

[homer]

We were pathetic in the second game but then when have we ever qualified past the group stages easily?

Maybe, but we have managed to get ourselves through the group stages for the past fifty years

Until now

 

[Matt_B]

Maybe, but we have managed to get ourselves through the group stages for the past fifty years

Until now

Ah but this is the "group of death". How could we possibly hope to traverse that? You expect too much, sir.

 

[camberwell fox]

Ah but this is the "group of death". How could we possibly hope to traverse that? You expect too much, sir.

I know Costa Rica and Uruguay ffs

 

[fitz]

I know Costa Rica and Uruguay ffs

Yup, Uruguay with a population of 10 people and Costa Rica isn't even a real place.

 

[Brown Nose]

This sums RH up for me. On tomorrow's match with Costa Rica, he says:

"I'll pick the side with a view to making certain all the players get some minutes"

This is a nice guy but a lousy manager. It's not about chumming up to the players. You should pick what you consider to be your best side to attempt to avoid the embarrassment of finishing bottom of our group with no points. It's about rescuing a little pride for your country and the poor saps that have travelled out there to watch them.

As it is, you'll change the players and have a ready made excuse for yet another inept and gutless performance.

Also, why is he trying to get Gerrard to play on? The man is 34 years old. He's looked dog-tired and a waste of time now, feck knows what he'll be like in another two years. He should ditch all the players thirty or over after this tournament. We shouldn't be selecting anyone that won't be a potential player in 2018.

It's these little things that make him a chap the players like, but not someone that will ever get players to play above themselves.