England v Italy review

So once again, lady luck proves to not be an England fan as Roy Hodgson becomes the latest England manager to succumb to the dreaded penalty shootout.

England lost 4-2 on penalties after 120 minutes of stalemate football, as England struggled to create chances against a strict Italian defence led by the mighty Gianluigi Buffon in goal.  England were thankful themselves for the continued form of Joe Hart in goal, as he kept at bay his club team-mate, Mario Balotelli and the engineer Andrea Pirlo who was unanimous as man of the match.

Pirlo dictated the pace of the game, able to pull the strings and orchestrate the action at a pace he suited in his advancing years.  He was helped by the fact that he had two midfielders along side him, this meant that Steven Gerrard and Scott Parker were outnumbered in midfield allowing Pirlo a total freedom of the Kiev pitch.

Yet England looked lacking in ideas and originality, unable to create anything, not getting anything from the wide men, relying on set pieces to count as attacking opportunities.  So where did we go wrong?

1. Wayne Rooney failed to step up
Whilst it would be unfair to single out one man for England's defeat on a shootout, Rooney was expected to return to the England side full of vigour and intensity following his two match suspension.  He can be forgiven for ring rust in the first game against Ukraine, in which he scored, yet his anonymity for much of the two hours of football cannot be.  Rooney was in his fourth tournament, and yet it still feels that he has been unable to replicate good club form to an international platform.

2. Injuries ruined England's gameplan
The dual injuries to Frank Lampard and Gareth Barry denied England the opportunity to fully employ Roy Hodgson's gameplan of flooding the midfield.  If Barry had been fit, he would have joined Gerrard and Parker in the centre able to combat the three man Italian midfield, and also allow Gerrard to support the front pair more often; something missing from the game.  Too often Young and Rooney were isolated with lack of support runners.  Lampard's form for Chelsea at the end of the season was mightily impressive with his mix of stern defence, tackling and bombing runs into the box.  Lampard would also have been a definite penalty taker last night.  Barry and Lampard's presence would have allowed the opportunity to rotate and rest Parker's ailing ankle ligaments; the fact that Jordan Henderson was his substitute spoke volumes.  The introduction of the Liverpool player at the bar where I watched the game, was met with a mixture of 'Oh no not him' and sighs

3. England need creativity
England were seemingly hoping to soak up the pressure from Italy, and possibly counter them on the break with the pace of Young and Welbeck.  Yet too often the final ball was poor and by the end England were hoofing the ball from Hart to Andy Carroll, a good ploy has Carroll won plenty of ball but had no options when he gained possession.  England need a player with a creative streak in him like Paul Gascoigne or Glenn Hoddle,someone who can run at people with the ball from midfield with an air of fearlessness whilst being assured, sadly that player was also one who was injured, Jack Wilshere.

4. Defence is key
Hodgson in his six games thus far has had four clean sheets; he has a pedigree of sorting out this problem.  He was helped by having a Championship winning keeper defender combination in Hart and Joleon Lescott, two Champions League winners in John Terry and Ashley Cole, and the reliable Glen Johnson who has grown in this tournament.  It would have been interesting if Kyle Walker had been fit what impact his darting runs down the right would have made.  Yet with Terry in the twilight of his years and pace alluding him, England have backups in Gary Cahill, Phil Jagielka, Michael Dawson and Phil Jones.  Thankfully also they have a world class goalkeeper for the next 10 years.

5. The FA picked wisely
The FA should be pleased with their appointment of Hodgson over Harry Redknapp, Hodgson did what was expected of him by getting England out of a difficult group.  He showed some tactical acumen as you would expect but also got a rub of some green and allowed the squad to display some harmony and unity from a press that were not expecting the world. You imagine if Redknapp was in charge, the gameplan would have been more gung-ho which can lead to it blowing back in your face.
Hodgson has laid the groundwork, now in conjunction with the FA and the new St.Georges Park complex opening in Burton; the head coach must have a say on what must be done technically to improve England in terms of ball retention, possession and ball retrieval.  At times Italy had three people swarming over Ashley Young to win the ball back; this is something Spain do effectively also.

Next for England is the qualification for Brazil 2014 in Group H involving Ukraine, Poland, Montenegro Moldova and San Marino. Whilst we should qualify as group winners and worst make a play-off, the away trips will be a big test of character for much of the squad.  Whilst we will not win the World Cup, and no European team has ever won a World Cup when it has been held in the Southern Hemisphere (you can include both Mexico World Cups in that also); the omens may not look good but then they did not four weeks ago.  Roy did the best he could do and so he should be applauded for that, having served himself with such distinction and class thus far.

Harry or Hodgson

The news that on Sunday (29th April), the Football Association (FA) made an approach to West Bromich Albion to begin talks with their manager, Roy Hodgson about the vacant position of England manager came as some sort of surprise to many.  Even more so when it became knowledge that Hodgson was the only manager that they have approached.  This means that the FA will be holding no talks with any other available manager, most prominently Harry Redknapp, the bookmakers favourite and People's Choice for the role this summer at the European Championships.

Hodgson is a vastly experienced manager, in world football and with esteemed clubs across Europe.  Hodgson took a limited Switzerland side to the 1994 World Cup in USA where they made the first knockout round, beyond expectations.

It seems that Hodgson works against this brief at every club.  Exceed expectations.  At Fulham, he took the team to the Europa League final, most notably defeating Juventus 4-1 at home to win on aggregate; before they lost to a very good Atletico Madrid starring Diego Forlan in the final.  This came a season after he saved the club with a last day escape at Portsmouth. Yet this journey to that final gave Hodgson some cache and was given the chance at a big club in England, having previously managed Inter Milan in Italy.

Liverpool came a calling and Hodgson understandably jumped at the opportunity, much like he will with the England job, yet Liverpool turned into a poisoned chalice of a job.  Hodgson struggled to gain rewards through his tactics and vision, there were chants from the crowds of boring football and a series of bad results ending with a home defeat to Wolves in early January 2011 led to the guillotine being dropped on Roy as he headed for the hills.

During a new takeover of the club by the Fenway group, Roy did not fit the bill as the head coach who installed Kop legend, Kenny Dalglish, as manager for the remainder of the season.  The new owners opened their chequebook for Dalglish, something they failed to for Hodgson who signed Joe Cole, a player who failed to impress or fit into the system behind Fernando Torres and in front of Steven Gerrard.

After Hodgson's departure, new signing Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll arrived in the January transfer window; then Jose Enrique, Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson in the summer.  Hodgson could have benefited from such signings, yet his pedigree deserved longer than 6 months in charge at a big job.

He shortly returned to management landing with the baggies in West Bromich Albion; a team he resuscitated surviving a nervy relegation battle with games to spare.  A solid summer signing players who work hard and gaining more out of players has led to a solid season, that will avoid the threat of relegation easily without moving up.  That must be a target for the club to break the top 10 next season, of course it would need Hodgson to remain at the Hawthorns, something that looks unlikely.

So why has Hodgson being picked over Redknapp?  A lot has been made of Redknapp's trial in early January for tax evasion, for which he was acquited from.  Since then and following Fabio Capello's resignation, it was expected that Redknapp would be told the England job was his come the end of the season.

Yet the FA have played the waiting game to see how both managers have fared.  In early January, Tottenham were knocking on the door of a title race, and looking assured in 3rd place 11 points clear of Arsenal.  Yet a disastrous last hour of the game away at Arsenal, going from 2-0 up to 5-2 down led to defeats against Manchester United, Everton and further dropped points away to Chelsea and Sunderland, and a crippling home defeat to Norwich.  Tottenham are battling for 4th now, they are ahead of Newcastle on goal difference, yet have an easier run-in with three winnable games - Bolton (A), Villa (A) and Fulham (H) - compared to the Toon Army who have to travel to Chelsea and play champions elect, Manchester City at home.

Yet the poor run of results for Tottenham following a 5-0 home victory over Newcastle, resulted in one win (Swansea 3-1 at home) in 9 games showed a bit of naivety on Redknapp's behalf.  For most of the season, he has an idea of a starting XI who have played or started most of the season.  In this day and age of quicker more intense play, the team could have done with squad rotation yet unfortunate injuries to Michael Dawson, Tom Huddlestone and always niggled Aaron Lennon, has led to few players getting rest when it could have been afforded.  Also the requirement to give Ledley King a week off between games has actually  been counter-productive for continuity as King has actually looked slower this season than ever before as he fights father time.
Redknapp also let several squad players depart - Vedrun Corluka and Steven Pienaar left on loan to Dortmund and Everton respectively, yet Pienaar would have had a good run following Lennon's hamstring and his form at Everton has helped that side end the season in formidable form, assisting and scoring goals.  For Everton, Pienaar replaced Landon Donovan effortlessly.
Redknapp also trusts the starting XI too much failing to make substitutions or leaving them too late for any player to make an impact; also the lack of impact off the bench (sorry Jermain Defoe) might make this a mute point.
He has also not been helped by players such as Luka Modric and Gareth Bale not living up to their own standards or thinking about next season's employment.  It goes without saying that if Tottenham fail to get Champions League football, those two players will depart.

Yet Redknapp also has too much of a personality for the job, of course he has a good relationship with the press but can he deal with the pressure of a whole nation.  In a knockout tournament, his tactics might get found out quickly, and he has to be able to keep a lot of egos happy in one dressing room.  Whilst the players may respect Redknapp, there is a difference between appreciating a man and listening to him.

Hodgson may garner as much respect, but he has a bit more tactical nous about him in relation to how other nations play football; England need a tactical mastermind for the European championships, not a cheerleader.