The last we heard, it was only weather men that could get it wrong every single time and still keep their job.
But, apparently, the same goes for the England manager’s post as well.
We are not haters at soccersweep. We much prefer to eulogise than criticise.
But there is so little to eulogise about with Roy Hodgson and England that something has to be said.
If there was any sign of progress during Hodgson’s tenure then we would be totally behind him. But we think England are just as clunky and poor now as they were when he took over.
Results and Performances
England were diabolical at Euro 2012. Having only been in the job for a matter of weeks we could hardly blame Roy for that. But he had a free pass – a chance to impress early and he didn’t take it.
Then he has a full two years to mould the team in his image. Qualification goes fairly smoothly. Brazil comes around and Roy’s squad has a virtually clean bill of health – only The Ox is injured.
But, if anything, England’s performance there was even worse than at EURO 2012. This idea that England played well against Italy is ludicrous. Italy, who themselves are in something of a rut, controlled the midfield and popped the ball around until England’s legs were gone.
Ultimately, one point from three games was utterly embarrassing and would have got most managers the sack. Not Roy.
The Youngsters
We have heard much about Roy’s policy of promoting young talent. But, while he likes being described as such, he hasn’t had the balls to actually use the youngsters. He started with The Ox at Euro 2012 but withdrew him from the firing line after the opener.
He took Luke Shaw, Ross Barkley and Raheem Sterling to Brazil, but only used the latter when it mattered, when all three of these players were better than the alternatives. England desperately lacked the dynamism and daring that these three could have added.
We understand that The FA want to try to build something instead of sacking the manager every time he fails. The huge problem here is that there is absolutely no discernible sign of progress being made by England under Hodgson.
His eloquent, if over-complicated monologues at press conferences seem to impress The FA enough to feel that they have the right man in charge.
But they haven’t. England will fail at EURO 2016 and Hodgson will then depart – absolutely guaranteed. So why wait until then?
We just hope that The FA are keeping the hot seat warm for Jose Mourinho to come in and finally make England worth supporting again. If that is the master plan then all is forgiven. But Hodgson has done nothing to improve the status of the national team.
