Ex-manager Hodgson to blame for England’s ouster
Team lacked cohesiveness in loss to Iceland
Ex- Brazilian manger Luiz Felipe Scolari didn’t tuck his tail in the bowels of the Mineirao. It didn’t matter that he’d just overseen the most humiliating defeat in Brazilian football history. He faced the press following an infamous loss to Germany.
Roy Hodgson, on t he other hand, jotted down a hollow statement after Monday night’s shocking defeat to Iceland, refusing to take questions. He finally did address the media on Tuesday, but really didn’t have answers.
Since exiting Euro 2016, England’s l oss has been scrutinized just more than a recent political referendum. This was more than an Icelandic miracle. It was arguably the most shocking result in the history of international football.
So far, the Football Association’s most embarrassing moment has been chalked up to character, talent, commitment, management, tactics, selection and systemic issues many claim are rea- sons Hodgson got the English job in the first place.
The idea that England lacked talent is outrageous. Hodgson just didn’t know how to deploy it or motivate a group of quality players.
There didn’t appear to be a plan or a purpose, especially in the wake of the master class performance Italian manager Antonio Conte exhibited in the Azzurri’s easily forgotten win over Spain.
There are similarities between Monday’s secondround winners. Both Conte and Iceland’s Heimir Hallgrimsson stress familiarity over big names. They govern their respective sides as if they’re managing a club team. Every player has a purpose.
There’s no other way to explain the missed touches and lazy passes and regular misfires from some of the best players in the Premier League. There’s no other way to explain some of the goals Joe Hart conceded at this European Championship.
From a tactical view, the manner i n which Hodgson used Jamie Vardy says everything. The Leceister City man is useless in games void of space. Hodgson should only have deployed him in the manner Conte used Lorenzo Insigne, when the opposition chased.
In retrospect, was Hodgson’s decision to not select Jermain Defoe and Andy Carroll wise given the lack of ideas England had going forward?
More often that not, Engl and needed a goal from nothing. They also needed a battering ram in and around the penalty area.
But that just serves as fodder to highlight Hodgson’s tactical ineptitude. The aging Englishman didn’t care about details. He’s what you call a roll- the- ball- out manager — someone who sits back and lets players get on with training. It’s more common than you think.
Don’t f orget, England s t ar t ed r ather brightly against Russia. It’s revisionist to ignore the quality it displayed early in the group stage.
In the end, though, they were found out to have a failing recipe: Tactical incompetents, spiced with a lack of true camaraderie.
At the end of Monday night’s unbelievable fixture, Iceland’s players stayed on the pitch long after England had exited. They joined in with their supporters and completed their patented “Viking” war chant.
They’re not a band of individual Premier Leaguers. They’re a community. Many of them have been playing together for a decade.
If the Football Association hopes to find success at another major tournament it doesn’t just need to find a competent manager. It needs bring its players — not necessarily an all- star selection, either — together in the same way Conte and Hallgrimsson have.