Was Roy Hodgson actually the right appointment for England?

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Roy Hodgson has become a notorious figure in English football history. Failure and disappointment at three consecutive major tournaments has left a bitter taste in the mouths of Three Lions fans.

Many saw his appointment as a power move from the FA, instilling a “yes man” as manager to execute the will of the bureaucrats, those who seem to place stumbling blocks in front of the national team for commercial success.

Hodgson’s employment made a lot of sense on paper. Sven-Goran Eriksson’s 5 year tenure eventually ended in underwhelming disappointment, and after the Capello experiment, the nation was calling out for a home grown manager. Harry Redknapp was widely tipped to take the reigns, but in the end, Hodgson was the only man offered the position.

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Initially, the appointment was met with widespread confusion. With two lacklustre stints at Liverpool and West Brom previously, Hodgson hardly seemed to be the man to take England forward. The media have a short memory, though, and you don’t have to turn back the pages of history too much to realise why he appealed to the FA.

Croydon-born Roy began his extensive European managerial career in Sweden and went on to become a legend, being labelled as the father of modern Swedish football. In traditionally English fashion, he pioneered the use of the 4-4-2 system in the country that predominantly utilised three or five man defences, encouraging his Helmstad team to push forward and press the opposition high up the field.

Helmstad were tipped for relegation upon Hodgson’s arrival. They walked the league that season, scoring twice as many goals as the previous season’s team.

After 5 years of success at Helmstad, winning two league championships, Hodgson briefly returned to England with Bristol City, before bouncing around other Swedish teams and finally arriving at Malmo FF in 1985. His management of Malmo is often considered his greatest achievement, leading the club to 5 consecutive league titles, two Swedish Cups and European Cup victory in the 1989/90 season. Such was his success that “Royson”, as he is affectionately known by fans, was offered a lifetime contract with the club.

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Hodgson declined, seeking a new challenge, and joined Swiss club Neuchâtel Xamax for the beginning of the 1990/91 season. His work at Xamax lead to attention from the Swiss FA, who appointed him manager in 1992. Hodgson’s employment proved to be an inspired decision, as he went on to lead Switzerland to their first international tournament since 1966, and bringing the team to third in the FIFA World Rankings.

“He really started the whole development programme, he was the man who put all the ideas into Swiss football” stated midfielder Alain Sutter, one of Hodgson’s most influential players during his time in Switzerland. “It was tough, he pushed us to the limit but we were successful. It was a big adventure, but it was the highlight of our careers.”

They qualified comfortably for the 1994 world cup, losing only one game during the campaign. They progressed to the round of 16, only to lose 3-0 to Spain. Qualifying went just as smoothly for the European Championships in 1996, but Hodgson left immediately after the campaign finished to join Internazionale. Hodgson’s influence was emphasised during the tournament itself, where Switzerland finished bottom of their group with a single point. Perhaps though, Hodgson’s failure to progress further may have been an indicator of things to come.

Hodgson joined Inter in a time of turmoil. The Italian giants suffered to thirteenth and sixth in the seasons preluding his arrival, and after a terrible start that left them bottom during the 1995/96 season, Roy was brought in by the desperate bosses of one of the most prestigious clubs in world football. “Roy Hodgson was an important person in the development of Inter Milan to the point we have reached today. He saved us at the right time.” said club president Massimo Moratti. “When he came we were in trouble and things appeared dark. He didn’t panic, he was calm and made us calm. Disaster was averted at the most important time. He is considered by us all as an important person in our history.”

Hodgson successfully averted said disaster, guiding his team from bottom to 7th place in his first season, before bringing them up to 3rd in the following. The incredible transformation of the team was starkly halted after the UEFA Cup final in 1997. After eventually losing on penalties after a 1-0 win and a 1-0 loss over two legs, coins and lighters rained down on Hodgson from the stands, a brutal expression of bitter disappointment from the fans. Many believe the actions of those fans forced Hodgson to reconsider his position, and he went on to leave Inter after the match.

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Hodgson continued managing at both domestic and international level across the world to mixed success. His time as the United Arab Emirates was a spectacular failure, but President of the Interim UAE Football Association, Yousef Al Serkal, believed that Roy “didn’t have a good opportunity of preparing his team for any tournament. There were no training camps and players were not made available to him.” He did, however, gain plaudits for solidifying the Finland national team, albeit receiving criticism for ineffective attacking play.

It wasn’t until 10 years after his strong leadership of Inter that Hodgson received real praise for his managerial talents again. In a surprising turn given his poor track record in his home country, he renewed his withering career in England. In an unexpected appointment, Premiership strugglers Fulham appointed the journeyman manager to try and survive the drop on December 28th, 2007.

Fulham secured survival on the final day of the season, and built on that success. Hodgson received the full backing of the club and, in the following two seasons, secured Fulham’s highest ever league finish and, even more spectacularly, reached the Europa League final. He claimed the LMA’s manager of the year award in 2010, before leaving for his doomed tenure as Liverpool manager.

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By the time the Englishman was appointed as manager of his national team, the squad was fractured and fading. The so called “Golden Generation” had come to an end, tensions were rife with the John Terry racial abuse trial which involved former defensive partner Rio Ferdiand, and injuries had devastated the team. With Euro 2012 only weeks away, England needed a manager with extensive experience in crisis situations, an experienced and calm presence to close the growing divides in the dressing room and guide the emerging young talent in the squad. Roy Hodgson matched that brief perfectly.

Euro 2012, while underwhelming to some fans, was a spectacular achievement for a rather lacklustre squad. A team that was widely expected to struggle through the groups provided tough opposition throughout, winning the group and going out to the eventual runners up, Italy, on penalties in the quarter finals. Hodgson’s England were lauded in the press for being tough to beat while still providing a threat going forward.

From then on, England’s performances in tournaments went downhill, but the changes that Hodgson made to the national team were vitally important. Sitting in the wake of the most recent “golden generation” was something of a perceived void in talent, the likes of Phil Jones incomparable to John Terry, Gareth Barry hardly measuring up to Steven Gerrard. The faith the England manager has placed on youth in recent years has rejuvenated a fading squad however, the likes of Eric Dier, Dele Alli and Chris Smalling becoming vitally important names on the team sheet. Whoever inherits the young England team Hodgson has helped create will hopefully push on and mould them into the force they have the potential to become.

While recent tournament performances cannot be ignored, England are a considerably stronger and more unified team than during the Capello era. There was a genuine positivity around the England camp during Euro 2016, an air of optimism forged by the manager over the course of his tenure. Hodgson’s history of strong man management and rescuing teams on the brink of collapse made him the ideal candidate for the English FA at the time of his appointment, and while recent performances have skewed perceptions of Hodgson’s reign, his influence shouldn’t go unnoticed.

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