England return from the World Cup Finals in Brazil without a win and not making it out of their group.
Much has been and will be said of England’s failure this summer so we take a moment to cast a brief eye over what could have been the cause of such an early exit.
The Manager
The manager is such an easy target and being one of the highest profile at the Finals and one of the highest paid, our Roy was there to be shot at.
In particular, Liverpool fans have a real dislike of the Croydon lad after his ill fated stint in charge at Anfield. Maybe their judgement is clouded by that first hand experience but more importantly, they may know more on the subject than many may actually give them credit for.
Never a top class player in his time but Hodgson’s management experience is second to none with stints across Europe with both clubs and countries. As the previous attempts to go with a foreign manager failed and the clamour in the media for the national team to appoint an English manager, he was best placed for the job that he took on back in 2012.
At the tender age of 66 his career is likely to be coming to an end and there are questions over his aged footballing ideas and whether they still have a place in the game. He has enough about him to have carved out a career in Italy, England, Switzerland and Sweden while being well respected. It is perhaps a shame that he has now been tarred with the curse of the England job.
The bigger question is, who would have been a better appointment at the time? Many clamour for youthful ideas and energy and perhaps looking ahead it could well be a position that Gary Neville will fall into but there was not a real contender of this kind back in 2012. Dare I say even Gareth Southgate could well be an option in the future with his current position among the England youth set up.
It seemed to be either the media darling Harry Redknapp or Hodgson in the race for the job and in my mind the better option was chosen at the time.
The Players
The spine of the England team was made up of Liverpool players. I have nothing against the club or their fans but you wonder if this was really a good idea. Many players have proved in this World Cup that you do not have to be world beaters to do well. My point is that those Liverpool players looked absolutely drained at the final whistle at Selhurst Park.
The decision to effectively build a team around the Liverpool elect is a management decision but you have to question the players too. We tried too hard to find a position for Rooney but I question his heart throughout the group games. Yes, he scored and got into goal scoring positions but mostly he looked to be sulking out wide. Many fans would give their right arm to be out their representing their country.
Perhaps Hodgson was stuck between a rock and a hard place at this World Cup. Maybe it was too soon to set up a starting eleven to include the exciting Barkley, Lallana, Sterling and Oxlade-Chamberlain (if fit). But a selection of players from arguably the best league competition in the world should have shown a lot more than they did.
The Media
We have the worst media coverage in the World and that is a fact. The problem is that you have some fantastic journalists that I have a lot of time for but there is a number that are lazy and latch on to every word or slip that people say or make. It is a minority but those are the ones that bring the big headlines that are hard to ignore.
If I am being fair, this year the media were not whipping fans up into a frenzy of expectation. There were no big stories ahead of the competition and the general view was that England could make the second round but not much further.
The Preparation
Perhaps the best that there has been in a long while. No news stories of the ‘dentist’s chair’ or such like. Perhaps the media were behaving themselves but more importantly the players were.
The friendly matches were against the appropriate opposition but not the highest calibre in Peru, which was the final Wembley game, while a training camp in Miami took in games against Ecuador and Honduras. The latter two were more physical that many had anticipated but they should have stood the team in good stead.
The Physio
A goal down to Italy and an immediate response was needed. Sturridge stepped up in Manaus and fired home to bring England level before half time. During the celebrations, physio Gary Lewin raced off the bench to celebrate and ended up the centre of medical treatment himself. It turned out that his broke his ankle treading on a water bottle at the side of the pitch. The England physio was injured, what were the players going to do now?
The Public
The majority of fans knew that England would struggle but there was always a hope that they could surprise us. The media not banging the England drum ahead of the competition helped and there was a real lack of talk and expectation. And the usual St Georges flags that would have in the past adorned every street corner and vehicle driving down the road.
The Rankings
While we have looked at a few reasons above, some tongue in cheek of course, the fact remains that England were just not good enough. Just as Spain, Italy, Portugal and several other teams that returned home from the competition early.
The group that England were drawn in was tough and only Costa Rica looked a soft touch. Oh how wrong we all were on that one. The FIFA rankings have Uruguay 7th, Italy 9th, England 1oth and Costa Rica 28th. Maybe the only surprise was that Costa Rica qualified ahead of Italy.
On review, it is clear that England continue to be a team in transition and while the FA are backing Hodgson to the Euros in France in 2016, this is likely to be a period in which a successor is groomed to take over. If, god forbid, England do not qualify for the Euros then that successor will likely be in place before then. I would argue that Hodgson deserves a shot at a second competition in charge as England qualified for the World Cup with little problem.
It has to be said that similar qualification for the Euros will be expected and with what looks like a youthful set of players ready to step up there is every possibility that it will be one where England will not be returning home so early.
