The white smoke poured out of the chimneys atop the F.A.’s headquarters last week to signal the end of a remarkably opaque process to replace Fabio Capello as the Manager of the England
Now before you turn away from this article, thinking that I'm about to launch into a vast critique of the F.A. (as would be my normal approach), I actually think it's a very positive and even brave decision to take; in an industry which often becomes a slave to accepted wisdom and public pressure (this can be said for many sports, not just football), this was a refreshingly single minded decision and one which will hopefully be a fruitful one for the next World Cup inBrazil
Now before you turn away from this article, thinking that I'm about to launch into a vast critique of the F.A. (as would be my normal approach), I actually think it's a very positive and even brave decision to take; in an industry which often becomes a slave to accepted wisdom and public pressure (this can be said for many sports, not just football), this was a refreshingly single minded decision and one which will hopefully be a fruitful one for the next World Cup in
Picking a manager with a track record in international football and an understanding of what the job will involve takes a lot of risk away from the appointment – there had been rumblings for a while that Harry Rednapp was worried that he would get bored away from the day-to-day contact he had with players and the weekly fix of competition which the Premier League provides.
Furthermore, Hodgson has suffered a perceived failed role during his time at Liverpool and has built his career and reputation back up from this set-back. This kind of fortitute will be critical in the media goldfish bowl that is the England manager role.
The big uncertainty will be the other major part of his role - that of ensuring the new, and much delayed, National Football Centre at St. George's Park is providing talent and continuity for future England squads. Both Hodgson and Rednapp have had experience of overseeing club acadamies, but Hodgson's experience of what skills makes for a successful national team would again surely give him the edge in this area. However, the sidelining of Stuart Pearce by Hodgson as one of his first moves in the role, might be considered as damaging continuity between the senior squad and youth players. Alternatively, it suggests that he has strong opinions on how he wants the youth system to be run and Stuart Pearce could be on his way out soon. In either case, it is certainly an area of critical importance - having the cream of English football used to regularly playing and training together will hopefully create greater team spirit and fluency, and so avoiding the difficulties of forging a team in a short time period from a disparate group of players and who are transitioning from involvement in fierce competition between each other in the Premier League.
But the greatest challenge for Roy Hodgson as he takes up his new role will be to hit the ground running, having been given a pitifully short amount of time to prepare the team for the Euro championships in Poland and Ukraine. At least he will probably be given some leniancy should performances not be up to scratch and allow him to focus on the long term needs of the team - at least there is one unintended benefit of the F.A.'s dithering over his appointment.
For now though, positivity is in the air and, gullible as always (speaking for myself, at least), we can hope for some silverware to come to these shores.
Furthermore, Hodgson has suffered a perceived failed role during his time at Liverpool and has built his career and reputation back up from this set-back. This kind of fortitute will be critical in the media goldfish bowl that is the England manager role.
The big uncertainty will be the other major part of his role - that of ensuring the new, and much delayed, National Football Centre at St. George's Park is providing talent and continuity for future England squads. Both Hodgson and Rednapp have had experience of overseeing club acadamies, but Hodgson's experience of what skills makes for a successful national team would again surely give him the edge in this area. However, the sidelining of Stuart Pearce by Hodgson as one of his first moves in the role, might be considered as damaging continuity between the senior squad and youth players. Alternatively, it suggests that he has strong opinions on how he wants the youth system to be run and Stuart Pearce could be on his way out soon. In either case, it is certainly an area of critical importance - having the cream of English football used to regularly playing and training together will hopefully create greater team spirit and fluency, and so avoiding the difficulties of forging a team in a short time period from a disparate group of players and who are transitioning from involvement in fierce competition between each other in the Premier League.
But the greatest challenge for Roy Hodgson as he takes up his new role will be to hit the ground running, having been given a pitifully short amount of time to prepare the team for the Euro championships in Poland and Ukraine. At least he will probably be given some leniancy should performances not be up to scratch and allow him to focus on the long term needs of the team - at least there is one unintended benefit of the F.A.'s dithering over his appointment.
For now though, positivity is in the air and, gullible as always (speaking for myself, at least), we can hope for some silverware to come to these shores.
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