Saturday 21 June 2014

Why England now must look forward - without Hodgson

In his role as Sky Sports' chief pundit, nothing provokes England coach Gary Neville's ire much more than teams which panic.

Teams which are so daunted at being behind in a game that they will resort to desperation tactics, trying low percentage shots from distance and attempting Hollywood passes.

Often, Neville has told of his dismay at teams trying this tactic even when entering the final few minutes of stoppage time.

So the former Manchester United defender must have watched with fury on Thursday as the team he helped prepare did just that against Uruguay, seeing their World Cup hopes go up in smoke in the process.

From the hour mark - or perhaps even earlier - England did that at 1-0 down against Uruguay, and looked in such a hurry to get back into the game that they lost their heads. Most worryingly, captain Steven Gerrard was the chief culprit.

When your captain, who also happens to be your most experienced player and the individual the young players in the squad look up to the most, does that, all you can do is hope. Gerrard certainly did not show an air of confidence, or any of the leadership qualities needed to help pull England from their malaise.

England eventually got their equaliser against Uruguay, but got swept up in the momentum and convinced themselves the game was theirs for the taking. Brave. Foolish. Naive.

A long ball over the top - with the help of a Gerrard header and a generous England defence - was all it took to allow Luis Suarez the chance to rifle home the winner, a goal which acted as a dagger through England's heart. They were not to recover again, with Uruguay showing the nous to see out the game, and England's group stage elimination was confirmed when the extremely impressive Costa Rica overcame Italy yesterday.

Fine margins saw England lose the game, as they did against Italy last Saturday.

The defeats were no disgrace. England lost two tight games on small details, and were beaten by teams including special talents like Andrea Pirlo, Mario Balotelli, Edinson Cavani and Suarez.

But panic had ultimately overcome the Three Lions, especially in the Uruguay game, both before and after Wayne Rooney's ultimately worthless equaliser.

Roy Hodgson ultimately carries the can, perhaps undeservedly.

However harsh some of the criticism might have been, though, it is time for Hodgson to go. He may have been the right man two years ago, but he isn't now.

When he took over in 2012, his task was to steady the ship after the unhappy reign of Fabio Capello, and retain the nation's pride in its football team. He did that, with a run to the quarter-finals of the European Championship which provided few thrills, before a similarly decent qualifying campaign for the World Cup which ensured England did just enough to get to Brazil.

Now, though, the time has come for change.

Hodgson's contract runs out in 2016, but the plans already need to start for the 2018 World Cup, by which time the England boss will be approaching the age of 71.

With Gerrard and Frank Lampard surely set to retire from international football, Hodgson will have no choice but to continue the process of introducing young players to the team. Young, vibrant and talented players who need to be let off the leash. Is Hodgson the man to do that?

These are not limited players. Ross Barkley, Raheem Sterling, Luke Shaw and John Stones, among others, are supreme talents, all of whom have proved how exceptional they can look with modern coaches and tactics with their club sides. The likes of Brendan Rodgers, Mauricio Pochettino and Roberto Martinez have demonstrated that English players are not necessarily as far behind some of their counterparts as it may seem.

If those young players are being truly tested, stimulated and improved at club level, the least they can expect is to have the same at international level. Would they really say they get that with Hodgson?

This World Cup campaign - despite what some might say - has not been a disaster. England have been so much better to watch than under Capello in 2010, when the likes of Gareth Barry, Matthew Upson and Emile Heskey were ultimately torn apart by Germany after squeezing through an easy-looking group which included Algeria and Slovenia. England were simply beaten by a better team in Italy, and a world-class marksman in Suarez, while they were made to pay for some missed chances and defensive lapses.

The Three Lions had limitations at the back, which became painfully obvious, while in the centre, Gerrard and Jordan Henderson looked lost in a two-man central midfield, compared to the three-man midfield or diamond formation they enjoy playing in so much at Liverpool.

There was not a true ball winner in there, or someone who could change the tempo or calm England down.

For Gerrard, the games against Italy and Uruguay were among his most abject performances in an England shirt. The best player at the last two major tournaments for the Three Lions became one of the worst in Brazil.

It seems he has reached the end of the road, at international level at least. Gerrard deserved to go out in better circumstances, but he is likely to end his England days with a feeling his international career was unfulfilled, despite his sheer weight of caps.

The man who much of the blame for England's early departure has been levelled at is, as ever, Rooney.

However, while there is little doubt he is part of the problem, he is not THE problem.

Rooney got his first World Cup goal against Uruguay, but lacked some luck and needed to be more clinical against the South Americans.

He was England's only real threat in the game, sending a free-kick inches wide, a header against the bar and a shot at the goalkeeper before eventually getting the reward for his work.

His apparent failings in front of goal were only underlined by Suarez's stunning ruthlessness at the other end, as he gleefully took both of the major chances that came his way to stamp his mark all over the game. Ultimately, the difference between the two was what swung the game in Uruguay's favour.

However, comparing Rooney to Suarez would be ridiculous, as the Manchester United man simply isn't on the same level as the Uruguayan.

He still provided England's only real threat on Thursday, and while his best days are probably behind him and more composure in front of goal could have seen the Three Lions beat Uruguay, Rooney is still vitally important to the side. There are simply not enough viable, proven alternatives at present.

There is an argument Sturridge should play up front, with Adam Lallana, Sterling and Barkley behind him, and that is something which could be experimented over the coming months. However, all of those players are unproven, with Sterling following up a fine display against Italy with a non-existent one against Uruguay, Barkley inconsistent at club and international level and Lallana still making his first steps in an England shirt.

No other Englishman currently playing can come close to Rooney's goalscoring record, and his experiences in an England shirt - both good and bad - make him the only credible candidate to succeed Gerrard as captain.

How would other nations handle Rooney? Would they play him out of position, revel in sticking the boot into him at every opportunity and consider dropping him from the side? No. They would play to his strengths, make him feel like the most important player in the team and allow him to help the younger generation come through.

Of that younger generation, there is great hope for the future.

The likes of Shaw, Stones, Barkley, Sterling, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and others are terrific talents, and all are improving all the time at club level.

However, they are not quite there yet. About two years ago, there was great excitement surrounding Jack Wilshere, Phil Jones and Kyle Walker, and none of them have yet made an England place their own, through a combination of bad luck with injuries and poor form.

England - and their clubs - must ensure the same does not happen again, while Wilshere and Jones, in particular, now must find a level of consistency for their clubs to realise their undoubted talent.

A more forward-thinking and modern manager at international level - of Martinez's ilk - might help, too.

It won't solve all of England's ills. It won't, for example, suddenly give them two dominant, experienced and consistent centre-backs.

However, it should help the younger players, the fine talents who England's future - and, indeed, present - must now be built around.

Hodgson, should he continue, will find it extremely hard to recover from this World Cup campaign.

When a World Cup goes so wrong, it's almost always a fatal blow, as it ultimately proved for Capello in 2010.

It would be harsh on Hodgson to sack him, but his limitations have been exposed during the last two years, not just the last two games.

To sack him simply based on the Italy and Uruguay games would be wrong. The World Cup is such a precarious competition that all it takes is one or two defeats in two years for the entire view of a manager, and set of players, to change.

One or two defeats, and it feels like the world has ended as there are no more chances. It's not like a club side, which can lose its first two games of the season but still go on to have a successful campaign. There is so little margin for error.

The decision to go down a different route should be based on the future, and the question of whether Hodgson is the right man to get the best out of the young talents whose selection for the World Cup was not a major risk on the England manager's part, but more a necessity.

Hodgson has done a decent job, but no more. It's time for change, with the long-term in mind.

As for the future, it would be wrong simply to rip everything up and start again. With a fit and in-form Joe Hart, Rooney, Daniel Sturridge, Jack Wilshere and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, along with talents like Shaw, Barkley and Sterling, there is real potential there.

Gerrard, Lampard, Glen Johnson, Leighton Baines and Phil Jagielka can no longer be guaranteed a place, though, with Gerrard and Lampard surely on the verge of announcing their international retirements.

The relatively straightforward qualifying group England have been drawn in for the 2016 European Championship - plus the now bloated nature of the competition - means the Three Lions have the chance to experiment and blood their young talents over the next two years.

Crucially, they need the right leader. Hodgson is not that man.

England's team for the European qualifiers should be: Hart; Clyne/Chambers, Cahill, Stones, Shaw; Wilshere; Barkley, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Sterling; Rooney, Sturridge. Squad members: Forster, Ruddy, Walker, Jones, Jagielka, Baines, Henderson, Milner, Hughes, Walcott, Lallana, Welbeck, Carroll.

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