Am I the only one who recalls that England finished bottom of their group in last year's World Cup? Or was that just a figment of my imagination?
Maybe things have changed, in this brave new world. But I thought that if you finish bottom of a group that you ought to have qualified from or at least come third in, you get sacked. That should be the way of things, but I guess either Hodgson has some sex-tape of the FA executives or the way things are done have now changed.
Well, an argument against all this is how England went through this qualifying campaign by winning all their matches, thus earning a perfect record. So therefore, he shouldn't have been sacked and England should be entering the Euros as one of the favorites. Well, one would say this if they didn't actually look at how England played in their qualifying group. If the strongest team that you face is Switzerland and your group includes the likes of San Marino and Lithuania, then you really ought to win all your matches with little problem.
Then there is another aspect that people forget. Apart from both words having a different set of letters; "qualification...tournament." The way teams operate when trying to qualify is far different from a quarter or semi-final of a major tournament. You only have to look as far as the Dutch who are known to have had the consistently best records in qualification, but only to come up short when the tournament starts. Italy on the other hand have never been a team who have been amazing when in the qualification period, but they are one of the best tournament teams, and always bring it when the pressure is on.
I like to look at the totality of things, rather than a victory here and there. England under Hodgson lack an identity strong enough to go far at the Euros or a World Cup. There are some really good players that they have, but Hodgson is not the man to forge out something interesting in the team. They were so abysmal last year that I just can't shake the feeling that when up against a team of true quality, I don't give them a chance. You have to also remember that through their qualification, they have not had to defend against two or three excellent players that Germany, Italy and Spain will have. Also, guy like Kane, Rooney, the Ox and Barkley will need to be more clever and raise their game when trying to find ways past better and more experienced defenders in the Euros.
The only use I see from qualifications is how a team plays, rather than the results. From viewing England, nothing I see of them says they will be that much of a threat come the big time next summer. It also doesn't help when you are playing San Marino, who really won't push you to the limits of your ability.
Monk is a manager who I think should take over Hodgson. If I was the FA, I would have sacked Roy as soon as they came off the pitch in their last game in the World Cup. Then I would have handed over the reigns to Monk who is a younger manager who will have fresher ideas, and would actually make England more entertaining to watch. You see what he has done with Swansea and how he has them playing, and just makes you think what he would get out of the Ox and Barkley, who are two very good and skillful players that I have faith can perform against anybody.
Well, FA have chosen their man, and for whatever reason, they feel that he is the right man to make England relevant again. The Three Lions could shock everyone next year and make their way to the semi-finals. I just have serious doubts, because even if football does throw up its surprises, England have fallen off considerably in the last few years and rather than going out on penalties with their defense holding firm, I expect them to get beaten outright in ninety-minutes.
HH
