Should the inevitable not come to pass and Harry Redknapp not take up the England managers position come the end of the season, a suitable plan B will be needed. I present here a look at another rarity in the game and that is an English manager in the Premiership. That man is Roy Hodgson.
Following the weekend where his West Bromwich Albion side have just beaten Chelsea 1-0 (albeit not as significant a feat as it once was) it is still impressive to see that Roy’s side are comfortably clear of the relegation fight currently underway. It can be argued for and against but it would seem that Roy may have finally brought some stability to the Black Country outfit.
Roy is an internationally respected coach, especially throughout Europe, having managed 16 different clubs and three international teams throughout his managerial career. He was responsible for transforming the results of the Swiss and Finnish national teams from perennial underachievers into teams with inspiration and organisation and, in the case of Switzerland, into a team situated within the top 3 of the FIFA rankings. He is also often attributed as beginning the transformation process of a little Italian team called Inter Milan.
Whilst some may argue that he failed at Liverpool, this is as much down to the expectation of the players. Roy is recognised throughout the game as a revolutionary, being a pioneer of ‘Zonal Marking’, amongst other tactics. Liverpool are one of the greatest club sides in history, meaning that any manager that walks into the managerial seat at Anfield is expected to immediately return the club to their former glory.
The Liverpool team needed time to adapt to his methods and for some players this became difficult to accept. This is also seen to be a contributing factor to his success at Fulham and West Brom where the weight of expectation is not there as they seemingly respect the organisation and character of their manager. Whilst the England team may often be expected to achieve, the likelihood is that they have no right too, I won’t go into details (as I’m sure we all already know them) but England have no right to success. This may be something Roy could develop.
So why should he be chosen? Well it is clear that he has an ability to transform underperforming teams into serious contenders for silverware. He has an understanding of the English game as well as vast amounts of experience throughout Europe and on the international scene, something even Mr Redknapp does not have on his C.V.
He can turn underachievers into well drilled, well organised teams and this is often something lacking from England teams. He is also English, something which I personally don’t see as a problem but many do, which should stand him in good stead. One major problem he may face is the media scrutiny, Redknapp seems to have the media backing and it would be imperative that the next England manager has the ability to withstand the barrage faced, something which he often seemed to struggle with at Liverpool.
Should Harry turn down the England job, it would seem that England could do a lot worse than look at Roy as a more than suitable candidate for the job. Yes he may have certain weaknesses but he seems a very valid option and would certainly have my backing if it should come to fruition.
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