New England manager

[who are ya?]

Another thing that worries me was the bl8ant support from the players for Redknapp, on Twitter and in interviews.
Now Hodgson has been appointed all I've seen is a 'let's wait and see' attitude from players like Wilshere and BaROFLROFLy.

[BR2]

Another thing that worries me was the bl8ant support from the players for Redknapp, on Twitter and in interviews.
Now Hodgson has been appointed all I've seen is a 'let's wait and see' attitude from players like Wilshere and BaROFLROFLy.

Young Wilshere has a lot to say for himself on Twitter as if he is some seasoned international player.
At the moment he is just a crocked little kid around whom the hype has been excessive.
If he recovers from injury one day he might be considered for an England place but up until now IMHO he has shown just promise (much of it based on one half in a game that Arsenal lost v Barcelona) but has had a serious injury from which hopefully he will fully recover and if he does get back playing at the top level he will need to add goalscoring to his game to become a top midfielder.

[cmonurz]

Agreed to an extent on Wilshere actually – he had one great season for Arsenal but at only 19 has it all to prove again once he is back from injury.

Gerrard hasn’t wasted any time supporting Hodgson publicly, no doubt eyeing up that captain’s armband again.

[6ft Kerplunk]

Guess we'll find out if Hodgson felt Gerrard backed him fully at Liverpool or not.

[who are ya?]

Kind of my point, the big names all come out telling the world it has to be 'Arry.. Hodgson get's appointed and all we get is a couple of meh comments from them two.

Not only has he got a huge battle on his hands with the media kunts, I feel he's got just as big a job with the players at the moment

[Hoop Blah]

I think the initial player support for Harry was because they, like many fans, believed the paper guys that he was the best and only man for the job. There will also be an element of some of them liking him and showing him support in the first place.

Interestingly though, the likes of Wilshire and Rooney who tweeted about Redknapp when Fabio quit have never played for him, so are only going on outside impression and gossip from other players.

Those that do have a good relationship with Redknapp, or play for him currently, are probably a little bit hesitant to say too much out of loyalty to their (former) boss.

I do agree though, Hodgson will need to win over quite a few players, but, as you see all the time with the 'vocal support' they all gave Fabio at times, what they say in public doesn't always mean much. I'm hoping that if they don't buy into what Hodgson wants them to do then they'll be out on their ear (a bit like Richards under Fabio I guess).

[Man Friday]

So it begins...

The Sun's front page headline for today?
"Bwing on the Euwos"

Oh the genius of the pwess in this countwy

Cowwected for accuwacy.

[Man Friday]

Ok so this is from someone far more ITK than me (former senior exec at the FA).

The FA were never going to employee Redknapp. They are too concerned about there being more skeletons in that financial closet of his.

So as much as the media may have wanted it, simply not going to happen. Hence no contact, and no interview.

End of story.

Hodgson's a decent guy, and handled the way he was treated at Liverpool with a hell of a lot of dignity. He deserves a chance and I hope he gets it.

...and I'm pretty sure that's the (only) reason he got the job.

[Barry the bird boggler]

So nothing to do with his vast experience at International level then?

Come on Roy - turn this bunch of losers into a team that at least looks like it could win something - even if it never does

[Man Friday]

So nothing to do with his vast experience at International level then?

I wouldn't have thought so (Switzerland/UAE). Would you?

[Mr Angry]

So nothing to do with his vast experience at International level then?

I wouldn't have thought so (Switzerland/UAE). Would you?

Also Finland.

Just as a matter of interest, when was the last time England were ranked 3rd in the World on the FIFA Official list?

Switzerland were ranked 3rd in August 1993. Want to guess who their Manager was at the time?

[cmonurz]

How many other English managers have seven years experience managing international sides?

[Barry the bird boggler]

So nothing to do with his vast experience at International level then?

I wouldn't have thought so (Switzerland/UAE). Would you?

And with meagre resources available almost got Finland to the WC Finals. Switzerland he turned from nobody's going nowhere into a team that was difficult to beat and qualified for the 1996 Euros. Not sure about UAE though.

With England he won't have the issue of being seeded 3 or 4 in qualification groups either so give the man some credit for knowing what he's doing at that level, certainly well above anything Redknapp could bring.

[RobRoyal]

...and I'm pretty sure that's the (only) reason he got the job.

So you think his footballing achievements are precisely zero, then?

I'd say getting Fulham to the Europa League final is as big an achievement as any Redknapp has managed, given the respective investments involved.

[Man Friday]

Oh well, we'll just have to wait and see whether he's up to it. Certainly want him to succeed.

[RobRoyal]

Of course, the almost inevitable failure of our mediocre team will clearly demonstrate that Roy Hodgson wasn't up to the job.

Then we can draw a line under another poor decision, sack him and appoint the next turd-polisher.

[Extended-Phenotype]

The ONLY way England are ever going to progress is if we dump the woeful Old Guard who simply have not been able to perform in a team where they aren’t unquestioningly adored, and that dumping is well over due.

England need to start afresh. John Terry, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Rio Ferdinand need to be let go so we can cultivate some new stars.

The problem is, if Hodgson does this he’ll be damned. If he keeps them, we will continue to be sh/t, and he’ll be damned. I get the feeling he’s walked into a war he can’t win.

[Man Friday]

The ONLY way England are ever going to progress is if we dump the woeful Old Guard who simply have not been able to perform in a team where they aren’t unquestioningly adored, and that dumping is well over due.

England need to start afresh. John Terry, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Rio Ferdinand need to be let go so we can cultivate some new stars.

The problem is, if Hodgson does this he’ll be damned. If he keeps them, we will continue to be sh/t, and he’ll be damned. I get the feeling he’s walked into a war he can’t win.

Add Rooney to the list. We all know he can be brilliant but usually either goes missing (esp. big games) or is just a liability. On the whole, we actually seem to play better without him. Personally, I wish his suspension had been kept at 3 matches.

[Man Friday]

Of course, the almost inevitable failure of our mediocre team will clearly demonstrate that Roy Hodgson wasn't up to the job.

Then we can draw a line under another poor decision, sack him and appoint the next turd-polisher.

Thought Capello and Venables were up to the job. Capello wasn't prepared to have the F.A. pick the team and the F.A. weren't prepared to have Capello challenge that.

[cmonurz]

Was interesting to hear the difference in tone taken by Hodgson in response to questions about Terry/Ferdinand (non-committal) and Rooney (definitely going to the Euros). I’d lean towards Hodgson springing a few surprises in the squad.

And LOL @ leaving Rooney out of the squad. He’s our best all-round forward since Shearer and brings more to the team than most of our options combined.