Roy Hodgson ... A Thankless Job

So Roy Hodgson has now been named as England manager, but am I the only person who is rapidly losing interest in our national team?

I’m afraid that at this point in time I’m more excited about what Team GB will do in the Olympics (football AND the rest of the squad) than whether England make it through the qualifiers in the Ukraine. Maybe once the domestic season ends, the Euros might get the old juices flowing, but to be honest, I have never felt this disinterested about an international tournament before.

And it’s got nothing to do with Roy who I think is a decent football person – a sort of poor man’s Bobby Robson. I really don’t think ‘Arry’s appointment would have had a massive affect on me either and that’s sad.

The power, the money and the glory now lies firmly with the clubs (players, managers and directors) and they aren’t about to give any of it to the national team. That’s a shame because when we all get together and watch/support a national side or athlete – and they do well – the feel good factor created is something you can’t buy. It also has the added benefit of filtering down to grass root level and the respective sport benefits greatly. For example, interest in Rugby Union peaked following England’s 2003 World Cup win. I strongly suspect that in the not too distant future some of the ten year olds who were inspired to take up the game back then will soon be running out Twickenham.

Frankly, the efforts (or lack of) of the football players in the last couple of tournaments has also left a bad taste in my mouth.

I get the feeling that no matter how much lip service they pay to representing their country (“It’s the ultimate honour”, “every player is proud to pull on the shirt ...”), it rarely seems to be reflected in the attitudes shown on the pitch. I’d prefer to field a team of Championship players who would bust a gut for their country and go down fighting than one that contained individuals whose egos and bank balances make them feel more important than they actually are.

It will be interesting to see if Roy Hodgson can motivate these players to give their all for their country (like they should need motivating!) and I wish him well in what I suspect is going to be a fairly difficult task.

Roy's record:

TEAM	GAMES	WON	DRAWN	LOST
West Brom	52	20	12	20
Liverpool	31	13	9	9
Fulham	128	50	32	46
Finland	28	8	13	7
Viking	50	23	11	16
UAE	4	0	3	1
Udinese	17	7	5	5
Grasshoppers	6	4	1	1
Inter	61	37	11	13
Blackburn	63	22	18	23
Switzerland	16	6	3	7
Malmo	6	1	3	2
Bristol C	20	3	5	12
Halmstads	2	1	0	1