Is it the end in management for Roy Hodgson?

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

England’s footballers arrived back quietly at Luton airport on Tuesday afternoon after suffering the most embarrassing result in the country’s proud international history.

The 23-man squad will now depart for an extended summer holiday with family and loved ones before returning to their various domestic clubs for pre-season training. However, they will always be stained by being members of the playing squad beaten at a major tournament by Iceland.

Iceland’s 2-1 victory in the EURO 2016 last-16 tie in Nice was richly deserved. They outwitted, outfought and outclassed England who put in the most pitiful display ever seen by the Three Lions in an international competition.

Unsurprisingly, the shock loss had given the newspaper editors and online columnists an absolute field day. Now, England head into a summer with many questions and without a manager following Roy Hodgson’s resignation 20 minutes after the full-time whistle.

This provided little surprise but is it the end of his management career?

Mixed bag

Roy Hodgson reputation has been battered after England's exit

Roy Hodgson (pictured) has made his name around the world in management. He has held various posts over the years, including roles with Inter Milan in Italy, the national teams of Finland and the United Arab Emirates and a fairly successful stint with West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League.

In total, he has held 19 permanent roles during a 40-year career. His best moments include success in his early days managing in Scandinavia. More recently, he guided Switzerland to the 1994 World Cup finals in the United States, getting them as high as third in the FIFA World Rankings.

At club level, he was voted LMA Manager of the Year in 2010 after steering Fulham to their epic Europa League final win, with victories against Shakhtar Donetsk, Juventus and Hamburger SV included. However, it hasn’t always been plain-sailing.

Hodgson was Blackburn Rovers manager when dismissed in November 1998. Blackburn had just sunk to the bottom of the Premier League table and ultimately were relegated just four seasons after becoming champions of England.

Fans of Liverpool FC will always remind Hodgson of his ghastly six months at Anfield in the 2010/2011 season. The Reds lost nine Premier League games, were defeated by lowly Northampton Town in the League Cup and looked set for a relegation battle when the axe came in January 2011.

This though is the complete humiliation and it is difficult to feel much sympathy for him too. EURO 2016 has been another tournament disaster for England and the manager has to take the majority of the blame for what went wrong.

Abandoned concepts

Hodgson’s tactics at this tournament were curious. The diamond tactic that worked so well in the comeback win against world champions Germany in March were abandoned after a woeful display against Portugal in England’s final warm-up friendly game which they still won.

Instead he abandoned a concept that looked like it could work with more testing for a 4-3-3 system that has never suited his style. Throughout his career, Hodgson has always either played a 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 formation. He never looked comfortable using a 4-3-3 and it showed.

Also, he simply didn’t know his best team throughout the tournament. There was a distinct lack of continuity. When it looked like England might have some momentum after beating Wales, he strangely made six changes for the next match against Slovakia.

As soon as England failed to win this match, Hodgson was toast. England went into the harder side of the draw and with it, any realistic shots of winning the Henri Delaunay trophy all but dashed.

Nevertheless, that doesn’t excuse Monday night’s performance against supposedly weaker opposition.

Even worse were his poor substitutions throughout the championships. Taking off skipper Wayne Rooney and bringing on James Milner in the group opener against Russia was the first of many misjudgements. England couldn’t close the game out and Milner’s role at this tournament as permanent unused substitute was cast.

He did get it right against Wales, bringing on Jamie Vardy and Daniel Sturridge at half-time but that now looks like a move that smacked of desperation rather than a tactical masterstroke. Unlike fellow managers Didier Deschamps, Chris Coleman or Joachim Low – he was found completely wanting in this department.

Jack Wilshere was a risk in being selected and it showed at EURO 2016

Against Iceland, he brought Jack Wilshere (pictured) on at half-time and when people were shouting at their TV screens to have youngster Marcus Rashford on the pitch after the interval, he didn’t arrive until the 85^th minute. He completed more dribbles than any other English player! Only Roy knows why he didn’t utilise this wildcard earlier.

Others to blame

Of course, it isn’t just Hodgson’s fault. Following him out of the door are his other coaching lieutenants Ray Lewington and Gary Neville. Lewington’s future now is looking bleak as a coach. Neville looks done too.

Following his disastrous reign in Spain with Valencia, the former right-back banked on this being his revival on the coaching front. The training methods have to be questioned. How England didn’t prepare for Iceland’s long throw-in weapon is beyond belief. It was in use against Austria in the Icelandic’s final group game. Was anyone paying any attention to this match?

Either way, Neville’s naivety looks to have been exposed. A return to Sky Sports now surely beckons. It looks like his only creditable option now.

Of course the players must shoulder some of the blame too. They simply didn’t perform when it mattered most and this defeat will haunt them forever. Raheem Sterling was trusted far too much, Harry Kane looked tired throughout, Dele Alli was a pale shadow of the player that starred in his debut Premier League campaign and Joe Hart had a tournament to forget in goal.

There were questions over whether Hodgson should have dropped Hart after his clanger in the free-kick against Wales. He was right to stick with him but surely, his place is under threat longer-term from the likes of Jack Butland and Fraser Forster.

More bizarre was why Sterling started three of the four matches. He is being kept out of the Manchester City line-up by Jesus Navas – a man who has now gone two full Premier League campaigns without scoring a goal! Sterling’s confidence looks completely gone and there was far too much loyalty shown here.

Same goes for Wilshere. He never looked match-fit and didn’t even play 200 minutes of football in the domestic campaign just gone for Arsenal. Wilshere still has time to be a big part of England’s future but he was too big a risk. Danny Drinkwater – a Premier League title winner with Leicester City was left at home twiddling his thumbs when he was a far better and viable alternative.

Lastly, FA chief executive Greg Dyke never helped Hodgson’s cause. Making comments about his future during this tournament were both unwise and uncalled for.

I don’t think Dyke was ever forgiven for his throat-slinging gesture caught on-camera after England’s 2014 World Cup draw and he even was so confident that he claimed England would win the tournament at last December’s draw ceremony in Paris. I bet he wishes he hadn’t said those words now. He left the BBC in undignified fashion back in early 2004 and the same goes with his role with the FA, who I don’t think will miss him too much.

The final straw

Ultimately though, it is the manager who normally pays the price and Roy Hodgson deserved to go. His position was completely untenable after the result on Monday night.

He cut a forlorn and bedraggled figure on the touchline as the clocked ticked by in Nice. Maybe he was thinking about dusting off his CV? Well, the reality is, his career in senior football management is surely over. It will be mighty difficult to see any coming back from this. Just ask ex-managers Fabio Capello, Steve McClaren and Sven-Goran Eriksson.

In EURO 2016, Roy Hodgson was clueless, confused and tactically inept in the whole tournament. He is a dignified, kind and decent man but Roy Hodgson’s day looks done.

For all of his success in a well-travelled career, you would struggle to survive in the top jobs after this painful and pitiful exit. Three wins in 11 tournament games in his reign says it all. His time as England manager and possibly in senior management too has come to a very sorry end.