What if…?

What if…Roy Hodgson is the next England manager? – April 29th 2012

This could be a very savvy move from The Football Association.

The clamour around giving Harry Redknapp the England job has been based, as always, on the flavour of the month thinking of the press. In reality, there’s very little that suggests that Redknapp’s management style would translate into an international environment – his motivational skills, his trump card, rendered almost redundant by sporadic interaction with his squad.

What’s so appealing about Hodgson is the breadth of his experience; this is not somebody who’s been afraid to step outside of the comfort zone of English football. Through his thirty-six years in management, Hodgson has taken charge of teams in Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Italy and England – and has taken charge of the national sides of the UAE, Switzerland, and Finland.

This is a safe pair of hands.

What’s more, in his spells at West Brom and Fulham, Hodgson has extracted the most out of, what would relatively be considered, inferior players. Hopefully, what the FA have realised, is that that’s the quality an England manager needs to have. Realistically, any opponent that we would encounter beyond the quarter-finals of a tournament is likely to have a more talented set of players, hence the need for a manager who understands what’s required to overcome that situation – and how to bridge the gap in technical ability.

This, if it happens, would be a good decision. Hodgson understands international football, he’s been there before, and he probably has as good a chance as anybody of remedying the disconnect between English players’ club form and their performances in white.

Where Harry Redknapp would have been a guess, a hit-and-hope of an appointment, Hodgson would be the sensible choice – and he’s also gettable without having to go through a painful and expensive negotiation with Daniel Levy. He represents a downscale in our self-perception, which has been long overdue and may very well be of huge benefit to the players.

As alien concept as this is, the FA deserve some credit if they follow through with this.