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| Roy Hodgson has signed a four-year contract as England manager |
The Harry Redknapp love-in has become nauseating in recent days.
Large sections of the national media are aghast that 'Arry was not so much as interviewed by the FA for the post of England manager and was overlooked in favour of Roy Hodgson.
However, Hodgson deserves much better than that.
This is a man of enormous dignity who has had to work tirelessly for what he has achieved.
After all, what other English manager would so much as consider taking on the manager's job of countries like Switzerland, Finland and UAE?
Hodgson is unique in that he is an English manager who is experienced in international football. He knows what to expect and what tactics work.
Many would scoff his international record with those three countries as they are clearly not among the most glittering names in world football, but the experience he would have gained would have been invaluable.
He is a student of the game, not afraid to get his hands dirty and take on roles many would see as undesirable.
He took Switzerland to third in the world rankings, for goodness sake!
Hodgson's playing style is also ideally suited to European and international football.
He proved this at Fulham in the 2009-10 season when he incredibly led them to the Europa League final.
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| Hodgson is well-respected by his counterparts, including Sir Alex Ferguson |
Some are underwhelmed at his appointment as England manager.
Part of this is because he is the manager of West Brom, a mid-table Premier League side.
However, he has worked wonders at the Hawthorns.
Before his arrival mid-way through last season, the Baggies were hurtling towards the relegation zone but he turned their fortunes around and led them comfortably to survival.
This season, for the first time in the club's history, he has ensured West Brom will spend a third consecutive season in the Premier League and they haven't looked remotely in trouble at any point in the campaign.
Another part of the 'public disapproval' is down to his time in charge at Liverpool, which ended prematurely and disastrously.
Hodgson struggled immensely at Anfield, but it is easy to forget the circumstances he inherited.
He took charge during a time of huge unrest, when it was clear the American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett were not going to be in charge for much longer.
The ownership uncertainty dragged on into the season and was eventually resolved in October, when negativity had already seeped in and he had no chance to enhance the squad.
It is true most of his signings flopped - such as Joe Cole, Milan Jovanovic and Christian Poulsen - but he had his hands tied and the fans always wanted Kenny Dalglish to take over.
Which brings us to the next reason for some peoples' disapproval to his appointment as England boss: that he's not Harry Redknapp.
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| Redknapp was overlooked in favour of Hodgson |
Redknapp was the public's choice, say others.
Is this really true?
Is good old 'Arry really as well-loved as some would have us believe?
From my own experiences, I do not personally know a single person who wanted Redknapp to be appointed England manager.
Yet it's being represented as though there isn't a single person in the country who feels Hodgson is a better choice than Redknapp.
It's a myth.
Why was Redknapp such a shoo-in for the role for so many?
He has won one major trophy in his entire managerial career and took charge of his first 'big club' in just 2008.
Hodgson, meanwhile, has won 13 major trophies, picked up in a variety of countries where he learned many different languages.
He has managed clubs like Inter Milan, Liverpool, Malmo, Udinese and FC Copenhagen, along with the three international posts.
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| Hodgson is still well-respected at Inter |
He may not have Redknapp's charisma, but he more than makes up for that in pedigree and intelligence.
Redknapp's tactics have been naive to say the least in recent months at Spurs and this would be highlighted even more at international level.
Some have said it was disrespectful from the FA not to even interview Redknapp.
However, if they knew Hodgson was their man, why should they interview Redknapp? They'd only be wasting his time (and whipping the national media into an unnecessary frenzy).
The FA are not obliged to talk to southern media darlings - they have to choose who they believe is the right man for the job. That man is clearly Hodgson.
Hodgson has taken an extremely unfair battering in the national newspapers since his appointment as England manager, culminating in today's despicable front-page headline in the Sun: 'Bwing on the Euwos!'
They got it horribly wrong with that headline and have been rightly condemned for making light of Hodgson's speech impediment.
Hodgson has done nothing to deserve this type of treatment and English media and fans should count themselves lucky someone of his standing in the game wants to be England manager.
If he was any other nationality, he'd be lauded in his homeland for his achievements.
It says it all about the ignorance of some in English football that they'd barely heard of Hodgson before he turned up at Fulham.
Fair enough, the league titles in countries like Sweden and Denmark may not be as prestigious as the Premier League, but none of the other English candidates had got near a league title at home - never mind trying abroad.
England will be Hodgson's 20th managerial role and he is largely respected wherever he has been, so it's time to get behind him and cut out all the unnecessary treatment.
We should see it as a blessing to have someone with his experience and level of respect in charge of the national side and he should be able to get on with the job without the 'spectre' of Redknapp looming large.
It is to be assumed Hodgson will buy into the FA's plans with St George's Park in Burton and be willing to live near the base, whereas Redknapp was understood to be unwilling to relocate from his Bournemouth home.
Hodgson is described as a 'blazer man' - another thing he has been mocked for - but this is no bad thing.
So what if the England manager is seen as intelligent and is respected around the world? So what if he is able to mingle naturally with the bigwigs from FIFA and UEFA? Surely it can't be a bad thing.
Hodgson also seems to be a very similar character to FA chairman David Bernstein. A 'perfect match' is how they've been described.
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| Bernstein has insisted Hodgson was the only man the FA considered for the role |
It has to be imperative the chairman and manager get on well and are comfortable in each other's company.
Some people are determined to turn positives like this into negatives and derail Hodgson's England reign before it has even started.
He deserves so much better than the start he has been afforded.
He may not be the most exciting or charismatic man but that doesn't mean he is not the right man to lead the country.
All that matters is his ability to win football matches and he has proved throughout his career he is more than adept at doing that.
His time at Liverpool didn't go well, but the sheer fact he was given that job proves how respected he is in the game and what an accomplished career he has had.
Now he has the biggest job imaginable and faces the unenviable task of winning round his doubters.
There is only one way he can do that and that is by winning games, starting with the European Championships this summer.
However, if England do fail this summer and perhaps even crash out in the group stages, it is to be hoped Hodgson is given the time by everyone to turn things around.
This summer's championships have had the worst possible preparation for England and a bad tournament seems inevitable, so Hodgson shouldn't be judged until after the 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign at least.
The man needs to be given a chance and deserves that at the very least.
Talk of Redknapp must now stop. England have their man. England have the right man.
Let's just hope everyone realises that before the negativity derails any chance Hodgson has of getting it right.
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