Credit to Hodgson for our FRENCH EVOLUTION

In two years, England’s boss has created a vibrant and youthful side full of promise

LES TRICOTEUSES are gathering at the foot of the guillotine again this weekend. Lose to Iceland in Nice tomorrow night and Roy Hodgson will be for the chop as surely as if he were a powdered and perfumed aristocrat being paraded through the streets of Paris in a wooden cart during the French Revolution. There are many who cannot wait to see him meet his end.

I am not among them. It is not fashionable to say it but we have much to thank the England manager for. Hodgson has orchestrated the evolution of the England team in the past two years in the aftermath of the retirement of stalwarts Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, John Terry and Rio Ferdinand. He had the heart of his side taken away from him and he has rebuilt it and imbued it with attacking, youthful intent. He managed the transition of the team so well that England sailed through qualifying for this European Championship with a perfect record. Just as pertinently, the squad he picked for the tournament was the youngest of any competing nation. England are not the finished article by any means but Hodgson has laid exciting foundations for the future. Maybe this tournament has come too soon for the team — and for him — but there is optimism about the future now. It is a far cry from the gloom that enveloped England after the 2010 World Cup when the out- look was unremittingly bleak. Fabio Capello had turned playing for England into a grim tour of duty. Under Hodgson, players want to join up again. Hodgson has been bold. Young players such as Dele Alli, Raheem Sterling, Eric Dier, Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford have thrived under him. He played Wayne Rooney, Daniel Sturridge, Jamie Vardy and Rashford in the same XI against Wales and it paid off. England have dominated their games in France and are still unbeaten. The pace quickens now that they are about to enter the knockout phase but much of the gloom surrounding the team is misplaced. Of course our performances at the Euros have not been perfect. There have been glitches. England messed up by not putting away a weak Russia side on that dark night in Marseille. And, yes, as many have pointed out, Hodgson is still searching for his best XI. But that is often the way in tournament football. Look at many of the leading contenders — particularly France — and the theme of tuning the side to find a combination of players who gel is repeated over and over again.

Hodgson mounted a robust defence of his record and his decisions to a group of journalists at these Euros last week and he was right to. Sure, he made a mistake by making six alterations to his starting line-up for the game against Slovakia in SaintEtienne last Monday. Some of the changes made perfect sense but there were too many. Leaving out Rooney sent out a subliminal message that this game was somehow less important. The result was dispiriting but it was hardly a disaster.

And you know what, it happens. Spain lost to Croatia last week and got pitched into a last-16 clash with Italy. Portugal flirted with elimination and squeezed through with a topsy-turvy draw against Hungary. Belgium, one of the pre-tournament favourites, are said to be riven by dissent and edged into second place in their group.

England? Well, we have not yet lost a game, we have been one of the most attacking teams at the tournament and we get to play Iceland in our last-16 tie tomorrow night. Forgive me, but that doesn’t seem so bad. Yes, Iceland have provided one of the best stories of the tournament by making it through the

group phase and they have done it with some style. But, as possible opponents go, it could be a lot worse.

It won’t be easy and Iceland will be hard to break down, just as England’s previous three opponents have been, but if Rooney and company are not good enough to beat them, then England will go home and deserve to go home and Hodgson’s hopes of securing a new contract will evaporate. There can be no complaints if that happens. International football is a ruthless business and Hodgson is one of the best-paid national managers in the world. A second-round exit is not good enough and however good the foundations he may have laid, he would not survive it.

Valid points have also been made about England being in the worse half of the draw because of the failure to beat Slovakia. True, but is a possible quarter-final against France really that much worse than a possible quarter-final against Belgium? No. If we got through that, then our prospective semifinal opponents would be harder than if we were in the other half of the draw but that is hardly a doomsday scenario, either. When I suggested before the tournament that England might reach the semis, the most common reaction was to ask which drugs I was taking.

Experience at tournaments tells you it is futile to plan too far ahead anyway. The Republic of Ireland may beat France. Maybe, actually, Croatia are the team to beat at these Euros. Wales may make the semis. Or Poland. Spain may self-destruct again. Stranger things have happened. So just try to take care of your own matches and let the tournament play out around you.

If the worst happens tomorrow night, then the guillotine will fall. Until then, let’s give Hodgson the credit he deserves.

When I said before the Euros that England might reach the semis, the reaction was to ask which drugs I was taking