Roy Hodgson appointed new England manager

[gbandit]

I really feel like making a stand on this 'public mood/everyone wants Redknapp s***'. Is there a group on Facebook or elsewhere which is showing support of Roy. Want these s*** tabloids to have to swallow the fact that Plasticine Face wasn't everyone's choice and that a lot of people support Roy

 

Yeah, stick it to the man.

 

Knew someone would pick that out. Whatever you think of Facebook (I'm no fan), it's a good way of bringing together people who have the same opinions and making something happen quickly

[Guest johnson293]

Saw this mentioned on the Sky Ticker last night/This morning from Al Fayed....

 

http://www.tribalfootball.com/articles/fulham-chairman-al-fayed-congratulates-hodgson-england-job-3133931

 

"I send my warmest congratulations to Roy. I hope he does very well. He is the second manager I have given to England."

 

Didn't realise Al Fayed owned WBA too?   

[Guest gggg]

Gary Neville described it as "disgusting" and called for The Sun to be put out of circulation.

 

Public mood

 

He won't last long at Sky.

[Guest Chubby Jason]

Good article on Zonal Marking:

 

If the decision was between Harry Redknapp and Roy Hodgson, England were choosing between two very different coaches.

 

The debate should not have been about ‘experience at big clubs’ or ‘how much the players like him’, but about the style of coach required: in Redknapp and Hodgson, the FA were choosing between two men at complete opposite ends of the football coach’s ideological spectrum, the most stark contrast of managerial philosophies you can find.

 

Redknapp

 

Redknapp is all about individuals. He denies he’s a ‘wheeler-dealer’, and to imply that he is only a transfer specialist would be unfair; he clearly gets on with people (summed up by his relationships with both players and journalists) and is regarded as a good man-manager and motivator. Whether it is bringing them in or firing them up, Redknapp’s skill is that he gets the best from individuals.

 

His tactical ineptitude can be overstated –  Redknapp is generally very good at making substitutions midway through a game, as he showed, for example, with a fantastic turnaround at Arsenal eighteen months ago – followed by a perfectly reasonable and rational explanation about why he made the changes.

 

Yet Redknapp’s sides retain a certain anarchy, epitomised by Tottenham’s win away at Norwich late last year, when Redknapp told Gareth Bale and Rafael van der Vaart they could “play where they wanted to”. In that game it worked, as Bale scored two fine goals in a man-of-the-match performance. “He gets in those holes, and when he gets the ball and runs at you, he’s unplayable,” Redknapp marvelled. Yet in recent weeks, Bale’s desire to roam has been indulged at the expense of shape and structure, and Tottenham have been in terrible form.

 

Van der Vaart is another who has enjoyed that freedom at Tottenham. “There are no long and boring speeches about tactics, like I was used to at Real Madrid,” he says. “There is a board in our dressing room but Harry doesn’t write anything on it. It’s not that we do nothing – but it’s close to that.”

 

How much does Redknapp value the system? He’s perfectly honest about it. “Whether it’s 4-4-2, 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3 – the numbers game is no the beautiful game in my opinion,” Redknapp once said. “It is 10% about the formation and 90% about the players.”

 

Hodgson

 

Hodgson is the complete opposite, the ultimate ‘system’ manager. His teams are very simple – they defend the same way, with two banks of four supplemented with two outright attackers – either two forwards or a lone striker supported by a number ten. Whereas Redknapp employs an army of coaches to do his work on the training ground, Hodgson personally drills his players relentlessly in training so they’re completely at home with the zonal defensive system, going through the same exercises again and again.

 

“We work on it every day,” Simon Davies, who played under Hodgson at Fulham, told Jonathan Wilson. “Every day in training is geared towards team shape on the match-day coming up. I’ve been working with the manager three years now and every day is team shape, and it shows… I don’t want to give any secrets away, but he gets the 11 that he wants on a match-day and he drills everything in that he wants. It’s certain drills defensive, certain drills attacking, and we work very hard at it. There are no diagrams. It’s all on the pitch with the ball, nothing unopposed.”

 

Whereas Redknapp doesn’t care for formations, Hodgson is a member of UEFA’s technical study group and will tell you about 4-4-2 all day long:

 

“The back four gives you the best possibilities of covering the width of the pitch defensively, and it also gives you great options, in my opinion, to get the the full-backs forward…one can go forward and the other three can shuttle across and you’re still playing with three defenders. When you play with three defenders, you lose that possibility.

 

The other six players? One could discuss. There’s no doubt you need one forward…you need a point of reference…if you play with two of them, you have the added advantage that whoever receives the ball has someone in close support at all times, and if balls are going to be played forward, you’ve got someone to threat the back of the defence. If you take him (the second striker) out, the threat to the back of the defence has to come from the midfield, you need midfield players bursting forward. It’s interesting to play with two – though these days many teams are playing with them vertically, rather than alongside each other.

 

The central midfielders do an important job for you, they’re going to protect the back four, and they’re also going to be the catalysts for attacks. The wide players are the ones you’re looking for to use spaces.

 

With 4-4-2, you’ve got ‘twos’ all over the field. I would always be looking to find a team that can play with a back four. Amongst the front six there a lot more options.”

 

Decision

 

So which type of coach is needed? England are in a state of complete confusion. Going into a major tournament having appointed your coach a month beforehand is embarrassing enough. Then there is the problem that Wayne Rooney, the star attacking player, is suspended from the first two games. Jack Wilshere, assumed to be one of England’s key midfielders a year ago, will miss out through injury. A generation of very good individuals (though never remotely a cohesive unit) are now past their peak, while the next crop are not established enough to base a successful team around.

 

This complete failure to have any long-term project in place deserves first round elimination – an outcome that would have been regarded as ‘best for England in the long-run’, had they not consistently failed to learn lessons from previous failures.

 

Templates

 

All this should make even the most ardent England supporter realise that the team is currently a rank outsider. And the only way outsiders have overachieved in recent major international tournaments is by being defensive and functional. Uruguay won the 2011 Copa America in this fashion, and Zambia triumphed at this year’s Africa Cup of Nations with the lowest pass completion rate in the tournament, something also achieved by Greece in Euro 2004. Uruguay (again) and Ghana were the surprise performers at the 2010 World Cup, both being inherently reactive, defensive sides. It’s difficult to name a recent underdog that has overachieved by playing attractive football.

 

Only the best sides can contest international tournaments in an open, attractive style and succeed. For the Euros, this is probably limited to Spain, Germany and Holland. (Even they are more cautious than one might expect – this is a Spain side that won the World Cup scoring eight goals in seven games, while Germany who were thrilling in South Africa, but mainly on the counter-attack, and a Holland are considered one of the least ‘Dutch’ sides in history.) Those three can at least hope to play beautiful football. Everyone else must focus upon being well-drilled and rigid.

 

If a disciplined, organised style of play is perfect for leading an underdog into a major international tournament, there is only one choice. Hodgson’s successes have generally been with underdogs; the only problem anyone can have with his style of management suiting England’s situation this summer is if (a) they refuse to accept England are underdogs, or (b) they are frustrated at the confirmation of England’s status as underdogs.

 

(All this ignores long-term goals: granted, this is a major reason why England are currently in their current situation, but it’s difficult to see what long-term planning England can do between now and the Euros – regrouping after the summer is more logical. Talk of abandoning any attempt to compete at Euro 2012, in favour of a long-term approach looking forward to World Cup 2014, is a nice idea but assumes qualification and a reasonable idea of who would be in the side in two years’ time. Future international XIs are notoriously difficult to predict – predicting this year’s XI is difficult enough. In 2006 England took Theo Walcott to the World Cup, and though he didn’t play, he picked up ‘good tournament experience’, supposedly. This was totally useless when England didn’t qualify for Euro 2008 or when Walcott wasn’t deemed worthy of a place at World Cup 2010, and it was a wasted place in the 2006 tournament. To ‘do a Walcott’ with an entire squad would be suicidal.)

 

Caveats

 

There are two questions about Hodgson’s suitability. The first involves whether he’ll have enough time at international level implement his strict positioning correctly. This is a genuine issue – coaches who have had two years to prepare find it difficult, Hodgson only has a month. It will mean Hodgson’s style of football is probably even more boring than usual, as he would focus on defensive drills before planning any attacking moves. In that Davies interview quoted earlier, the Welshman finishes by saying, “We’re two-and-a-half years down the line now, so we’re all converted.” Hodgson does need time – when he arrived at Fulham, the team started poorly before a sharp recovery.

 

The second question is whether England’s players would respect Hodgson and be willing to follow his instructions. This is a problem for any England coach, though: Fabio Capello was ‘too distant’, Steve McClaren was ‘too chummy’. Hodgson isn’t stupid, and will be able to work out which type of players will be on board – he must be brave enough not to select anyone he believes will be a significant problem.

 

Conclusion

 

The point here is not that England have no chance of winning the tournament – it’s that they had no chance of winning the tournament by playing the anarchic football favoured by Redknapp. The type of football Hodgson offers is, in theory, the type of football that will maximise England’s chances of getting out of the group. In the current state of confusion, that must be regarded as a sensible target - although if Hodgson states this or voices satisfaction when this target is reached, he will be slaughtered for lowering expectations.

 

England must attempt to win the tournament; the chances are extremely slim, but have marginally increased with this appointment. England don’t have good enough players to be open and indulge individuals, and therefore Hodgson’s system-first approach makes sense.

[ChrisJbarnes]

I'd love to sit down with the four people who've appointed the new England manager and ask them: "What are you thinking?"

 

The whole country - and I mean the whole country - wanted Harry Redknapp. I'm even talking about Arsenal fans who don't normally have anything nice to say about a Tottenham manager.

 

So why have these four people take no notice of the whole country? Apart from Sir Trevor Brooking have the others ever actually played a game of football? I just can't believe the decision they've made.

 

 

Hodgson: Merse feels he'll be up against it from the start

 

I hope this isn't sounding disrespectful to Roy Hodgson because I'm a big fan of his. He's a lovely bloke, he's a top manager and he's got loads of experience - but he's going to be up against it straight away because everyone wanted someone else.

 

I said on Soccer Saturday three weeks ago that I couldn't see Harry getting the job. It had gone on too long. If he was going to get it he would have got it straight away and I just felt they were waiting for the bandwagon to slow down and then pick someone else.

 

Who do these four blokes care about? Do they care about England and their fans or do they care about themselves? They're not listening to the country - otherwise they'd have given the job to Harry.

Paul Merson

Quotes of the week

But I still couldn't believe it when it came up on Sky Sports News on Sunday evening that they were approaching Hodgson. I thought I was seeing things.

 

Who do these four blokes care about? Do they care about England and their fans or do they care about themselves? They're not listening to the country - otherwise they'd have given the job to Harry.

 

I've played under Harry and I know he would have been perfect for the job. Firstly, he's brilliant with the press and you need to be able to have a laugh with the journalists. If you stand up and walk out of press conferences like Steve McClaren did then you're behind the eight-ball straight away.

 

Secondly he always goes out to win football matches. It's very rare that you see a Redknapp team go anywhere and not have a right go. I played for him at Portsmouth and he always told us to go out and play.

 

Also, all the players want to play for him, so I can't believe the decision they've made.

 

I just don't get it, I really don't.

 

Glutton

 

You can't turn the England job down, but Roy Hodgson must be a glutton for punishment.

 

He took the Liverpool job when the fans didn't want him because they wanted Kenny Dalglish instead. Now he's in the same situation with England and Harry. I don't see too many England fans who want him.

 

So I think he's going to be up against it straight away. Every time he makes a decision, people will be asking if it's what Harry would have done.

 

With Redknapp in charge there would have been no pressure on England at Euro 2012. For the first time in years nobody was talking the team up and nobody was really expecting us to win (although I actually believe we have half a chance). If Harry had got the job it would have been a great opportunity for England.

 

But now there will be so much pressure on them it's ridiculous. If Hodgson doesn't get the results straight away the fans will be straight on his back. If they don't win the first friendly 3-0 or 4-0 there will be uproar!

 

I've met Roy a few times. I've played against his teams on many occasions and just before Christmas I bumped into him in a restaurant and we stood outside and talked for 10 minutes. He's a really nice bloke and a top manager.

 

But I feel really sorry for him because I don't think he's going to be given a chance.

 

Money

I hope this isn't about money. We've thrown enough money down the swanny with England managers over the years, especially with Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello.

Why shouldn't we spend that sort of money on a top English manager? It seems to be frowned upon if an Englishman earns good money, but when it's a foreigner nobody says a word.

Paul Merson's Twopenneth:

 

 

"Hodgson has been an international manager before, but I don't see how that puts him ahead of Harry. He's been around for a hundred years working with international players. His son has played for England and he's been with top-class players all his career.

 

I feel absolutely gutted for Harry. When any Englishman starts a career in coaching his dream is to manager the England football team and Harry is English through and through. I'm gutted when I play Championship Manager and I don't get offered the England job, so I can't imagine how he must be feeling.

 

Seriously though, I'm devastated for him - and I feel sorry for Hodgson too as he's in a no-win situation.

 

I hope he does well. I want England to win tournaments - and I'm sure Harry Redknapp does too - but he's going to be up against it right from the very start.

[thenige]

He's "not going to be given a chance" by blithering idiots like you Merson.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

Is that a quote from somewhere, or your own post? (Chris)

[alexf]

fucking merson haha what a prick

[ChrisJbarnes]

Is that a quote from somewhere, or your own post? (Chris)

 

It's Paul Merson's absolute holocaust of an article on sky sports.

 

Kammy (who I like) wrote a similar but a bit less severe one.

[Guest Chubby Jason]

"Merse" is an abomination.

[Guest gggg]

Just say no

[Guest Craig-NUFC]

FA have sent a complaint in to the Sun. Suppose there'll be a two line apology on page 15 of tomorrow's issue

[Incognito]

You'll all be pontificating on the other side of your faces when old Hodgson gets us slung out of World football after talking about FIFA rankings at a press conference.

[Tiresias]

we'll get slung out of tournaments anyway wish media would realise manager at international level isn't able to really shape their own side anyway, best idea is to appoint some experienced old manager whose pretty competant and let him get on with it and acknowledge that when we crash out of tournament, unless of a catestrophic error of judgement on part of manager, bloody ell that's football, or it's the players fault.

 

 

[Ishmael]

http://www.thefa.com/TheFA/NewsAndFeatures/2012/statement-the-sun-newspaper-press-complaints-commission

 

[Fenham Mag]

http://www.ican.org.uk/sitecore/content/ICAN2/Global/Components/Rendering%20Elements/Press%20Releases/I%20CAN%20response%20to%20media%20portrayal%20of%20Roy%20Hodgson.aspx

 

 

I CAN response to media portrayal of Roy Hodgson

 

I CAN, the children's communication charity, today expressed disappointment in the media's portrayal of Roy Hodgson, new England Football Manager. His minor speech production difficulty, in saying 'w' instead of 'r' has formed the basis of many puns in newspaper headlines.

I CAN Chief Executive, Virginia Beardshaw said, "Communication is about a lot more than just speech. Despite having a minor speech production difficulty, Mr. Hodgson manages to get his message across and be understood perfectly well. There are many more children and young people in the UK with more profound difficulties with their speech, language and communication who struggle to make themselves heard and understood.

"With the right help at the right time, many children can go on to achieve their potential, make friends, learn and get a job.  Potentially, if Mr. Hodgson had received timely speech and language therapy support in his early years, he would have been able overcome this minor speech production difficulty. But despite having this difficulty into adulthood, he is still a high-achieving man, and a great role model for all young people with communication difficulties.

"We know that children with communication difficulties are often at risk of bullying. Therefore it is disappointing to see that Roy Hodgson's speech has been singled out in the mainstream media for entertainment value. For the 1.2 million children in the UK who suffer with long-term speech, language and communication difficulties, this does little to help their self-esteem, confidence and belief in their own abilities."

 

[Guest Haris Vuckic]

 

You have to love this PC world. Speech Impediment = minor speech production difficulty

[Guest Phil K]

"Merse" is an abomination.

Merson is a typical nationaly negative opinion of cockneys made flesh.

He is everything non-cockneys hate about cockneys and "Lahndeners"

[hakka]

 

You have to love this PC world. Speech Impediment = minor speech production difficulty

 

Regardless of that though, it is a cunty thing to do for a national news paper.

[Darth Crooks]

Incredibly disrespectful. As someone else said, Hodgson can speak 5 languages fluently, Redknapp can't even write one!

 

Aye but his pwonunciation will be cwap in every one...fnarfnar

[robm]

You'll all be pontificating on the other side of your faces when old Hodgson gets us slung out of World football after talking about FIFA rankings at a press conference.

 

[Fugazi]

German football club Bayern Munich release a statement in response to British media reports relating to England manager Roy Hodgson:

 

"We are surprised by the reports relating to Roy Hodgson in the English media and would like to clarify the situation," said the statement.

 

"We have a high regard for Mr Hodgson and, like our sporting federation the DFB, would like to congratulate him on his appointment as England manager.

 

"As a coach and manager Mr Hodgson is of course very well known in Germany and it should be made clear they have nothing but respect for Mr Hodgson and his record.

 

"In no way did they or anyone at Bayern Munich question, or criticise his appointment."

 

"In a statement distributed by The Football Association, Bayern Munich complained about a back-page report in The Sun under the headline "Roy Who?" that suggested key figures at the German club had not heard of Hodgson. Similar reports were carried by The Times of London and Daily Telegraph newspapers"

 

The Sun really are an embarrassment like.

 

 

[Dinho lad]

Other newspapers like the Times and the Guardian have printed similar stories. But all what the Germans said was that they don't know him (professionally, I'm sure), not that they've never heard of him!

 

 

Shit stirring by the papers, not just The Sun.

[Ronaldo]

Fair play to Bayern. Another reason I'll be buying a shirt in time for the CL final.

[Sifu]

They're really not going to give Roy a chance, are they? c***s, the media have to realise that they're as much as a contributing factor to England's failures for the last decade as the players/manager. Not that that would stop them from printing whatever s**** they come up with.