Monday 14 May 2012

Hodgson now needs to focus firmly on the Euros


Roy Hodgson may well have enjoyed a relatively successful season by West Brom's modest standards, but the pressure is now firmly on for the new England manager to prove himself capable of being the individual to bring England out of the doldrums and into the glory days of having a successful international tournament after so many years of failure and misery for England fans.

With the media already doing their best to turn against the new manager of the national team after their choice (yes, the media's choice; not the fans' choice) Harry Redknapp was denied the opportunity to take charge, the pressure is on Hodgson to show that he can motivate players who have previously publicly backed other managers for the England position and who are yet to openly embrace Roy as the new head coach.

If Hodgson doesn't make an impact at the European Championships, few would be surprised, given  the Betfair England Euro 2012 Odds has the Three Lions as outsiders, with qualification from the group seen as an achievement.

But it shouldn't be forgotten that this is a man who has been brought into the role at least partially in order to provide a new approach to the way the backroom staff and FA is organised, in order to ensure that Jack Wilshere is not the only youngster brought through in future who is perceived as being truly world class.

With this in mind, the most difficult aspect of the job for the FA short-term may be to convey to the media that Roy is not going to be a man for the short term, but is instead an individual brought in to make sure that when we kick off the 2018 World Cup (2014 has already been quietly written off due to the climate and the fact that Brazil will be massive favourites to win on home soil), we're well placed to push on towards the latter stages.

Whatever happens this summer, though, the pressure is now on Roy, big time.
Looking elsewhere, the Betfair Spain Euro 2012 Odds put them as joint favourites for the trophy with an ever-improving Germany.

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