Originally Posted by Xela M:
“I also agree that he took too much notice of the media, but how does that make him a good manager? If anything it just proves the point that he is weak and doesn't have a game plan in mind. Look at Low - he is being destroyed by the papers in Germany, but he takes no notice and puts whatever formation he sees fit on the pitch. It's kind of the other extreme, but at least you can see that he has a vision for his team and doesn't just follow (often misguided) media opinions. Why do we need an England manager? Let's just all take a vote on who should play and be done with it.”
I'm not a Hodgson fan.
My general point was that England tend to fall down in the same areas every World Cup irrespective of who is manager or even who the players are. I think they have deeper problems relating to style and Hodgson is just one very average manager amongst a bunch of very average (and worse) English managers. I think even a top manager would run into problems working with this group of players, the FA, the media and increased scrutiny. Mostly though I think they might be exasperated with the limitations placed on them. I see other national teams playing lots of games before tournaments to try to get a better team understanding but I can't for a second see clubs pushing for anything like that. One massive problem for any manager is that when it comes to getting something done which benefit the national team but hinder the premier league then I'm not so sure that's a fight you would win in England.
I prefer strong managers too but I'm also a realist and I know that the media can influence fans who can influence managers. Sometimes the popular choices work out and sometimes they don't. I'd like to think I wouldn't compromise if it was me but I've never walked in those shoes or felt those pressures so that's presumptuous of me. Maybe if I had 80,000 people yelling at me to put a certain sub on then I'd fold within 10 seconds!