Roy Hodgson has had it difficult since day one, with the John Terry saga overshadowing his early tenure in the role. Despite all this, Robert Critchley is full of praise for the England manager.
Roy Hodgson’s appointment was greeted without much of a ripple when the FA appointed him England manager, much the same as it was when he was appointed Liverpool manager…..and come to think about it there wasn’t much fuss when it would be announced he would be managing West Brom, Fulham or even Blackburn.
He has so far gone about his business with a quiet dignity and understanding of what the job entails, and perhaps more importantly what the job has become.
After getting the wheels moving again in an ultimately unsuccessful Euro 2012 on the field, the good PR received from a series of lacklustre performances saw a change in direction, a refreshing honesty that not everything is brilliant about the national side and English football in general.
The John Terry saga has rumbled on for his entire tenure, with very little he could do about it, and with Ashley Cole, Wayne Rooney, Ryan Bertrand amongst others all poking their head above the twitter parapet to give the FA headaches of one sort or another, its not exactly been an easy 5 and a half months at the helm.
But the hoopla which normally surrounds the England team is, if not exactly missing, certainly much less than it has been under the stewardship of previous managers. This maybe reflects the way in which the man himself wants to work, and the respect that he has among the players, if not the supporters.
The supporters remain under whelmed by him. Still ridiculed in some quarters because of his slight speech impediment, the magnitude of the job he is doing doesn’t sit as comfortably with some quarters as a more high profile name may have done. But, so far the FA look to have gotten it right as previous high profile managers have certainly not worked out for them.
Representing England is no longer the pinnacle of a footballer’s career, so why should it be the pinnacle of a managers either? The unassuming nature of Hodgson has brought a more measured approach, and while on the football field they have not exactly been setting the world on fire, they have also got on with the job with a new sense of realism.
Under Capello or Eriksson, there would have been talk of double figures against San Marino, and total panic that having gone half an hour the scores were still 0-0.
In Poland this evening, it will be a proper test, a game which England may well still be favourites but no one is expecting anything other than a tough examination. Roy will have his boys prepared for a battle, and there will be no sense of panic if it is a close, tense match.
In fact, it will be expected and Hodgson will have put this over his own quiet and determined style. As the most scrutinised national football side bar Brazil, it could have been seen as a huge gamble from the FA, but a gamble they would normally have gone the other way with and been extravagant.
The FA have made a lot of mistakes in the past, but in the appointment of Hodgson, they have got the mood of the nation right, and brought a bit of common sense back to the national side, just when it could have spiralled totally out of control.
A good performance and a victory in Warsaw this evening will cap a good first 6 months in charge for the likable Londoner, and ensure the FA can breathe a sigh of relief that things are starting to look brighter for the national side once again.
images: © nicksarebi, © nicksarebi
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