Hodgson's the only thing wrong with England in Euro 2016
England manager must shoulder the blame for confusing his players by playing them in highly uncomfortable positions
PHOTO: AFP
A highly frustrating 0-0 draw against Slovakia at Euro 2016 highlighted more chinks in the armour for England than many would have imagined.
Just like every other major tournament, England boasted one of the most in-form squads in Europe. They even entered the competition high on confidence after winning all of their qualifying games to become only the sixth team to record a flawless qualifying campaign (10 wins in 10 matches).
Naturally, the expectations were that the Three Lions would steamroll their way to the last-16 at the very least and no one in their right minds would have expected Roy Hodgson’s men to struggle the way they have done so.
Yet, England find themselves struggling to even come to grips with the occasion with Hodgson’s team selection and tactics on the receiving end of extremely harsh criticisms since the day England conceded that late equaliser in the 1-1 draw against Russia.
But for once the critics are right.
Hodgson certainly hasn’t been getting anything right and has his players to thank, especially the relentless Wayne Rooney, for leading the team from the front because frankly speaking, England did not deserve to win the match against Wales.
Jamie Vardy and Daniel Sturridge saved England against Chris Coleman’s men but the way the match was turning out, it shouldn’t have ended the way it did and had it not been for Wales skipper Ashley Williams gifting Vardy the ball in the six-yard box, England would have been staring at the possibility of facing Spain in the last-16.
But the question is what is going wrong for England?
Surely the team is not to blame because they have proven themselves by keeping possession and registering more shots on target (64) than any other team at this year’s competition.
The problem thus lies in what the manager is asking from the team.
Hodgson currently looks like a man who is still trying to find out the best way to make this team work together. The point is that this is not the stage to be experimenting so much; that’s what the qualifiers are for.
He won 10 out of 10 matches in the qualifiers; surely the team must be doing something right, yet here England find themselves still trying to fit in square boxes in circles with so many players looking out of position.
Many were unnecessarily blaming Slovakia for ‘parking the bus’ against England but the Slovaks did nothing wrong except for keeping England on the wings rather them find their preferred path from the middle.
Jordan Henderson looked completely out of sorts, and not because he was playing badly, but because he and Eric Dier are similar in nature and do not provide the level of creativity needed to break from the middle, while Jack Wilshere was guilty of trying too much with his touches almost evading him every single time.
There were moments when Sturridge was dropping deep to get a whiff of the ball while Vardy was all but anonymous in the second half as his supply was cut off by the brilliant Slovaks.
The players, obviously, bear the brunt of the dismal display, but it is Hodgson who must shoulder the blame for confusing his players by playing them in highly uncomfortable positions.
Just like every other major tournament, England boasted one of the most in-form squads in Europe. They even entered the competition high on confidence after winning all of their qualifying games to become only the sixth team to record a flawless qualifying campaign (10 wins in 10 matches).
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Naturally, the expectations were that the Three Lions would steamroll their way to the last-16 at the very least and no one in their right minds would have expected Roy Hodgson’s men to struggle the way they have done so.
Yet, England find themselves struggling to even come to grips with the occasion with Hodgson’s team selection and tactics on the receiving end of extremely harsh criticisms since the day England conceded that late equaliser in the 1-1 draw against Russia.
But for once the critics are right.
Hodgson certainly hasn’t been getting anything right and has his players to thank, especially the relentless Wayne Rooney, for leading the team from the front because frankly speaking, England did not deserve to win the match against Wales.
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Jamie Vardy and Daniel Sturridge saved England against Chris Coleman’s men but the way the match was turning out, it shouldn’t have ended the way it did and had it not been for Wales skipper Ashley Williams gifting Vardy the ball in the six-yard box, England would have been staring at the possibility of facing Spain in the last-16.
But the question is what is going wrong for England?
Surely the team is not to blame because they have proven themselves by keeping possession and registering more shots on target (64) than any other team at this year’s competition.
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The problem thus lies in what the manager is asking from the team.
Hodgson currently looks like a man who is still trying to find out the best way to make this team work together. The point is that this is not the stage to be experimenting so much; that’s what the qualifiers are for.
He won 10 out of 10 matches in the qualifiers; surely the team must be doing something right, yet here England find themselves still trying to fit in square boxes in circles with so many players looking out of position.
Many were unnecessarily blaming Slovakia for ‘parking the bus’ against England but the Slovaks did nothing wrong except for keeping England on the wings rather them find their preferred path from the middle.
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Jordan Henderson looked completely out of sorts, and not because he was playing badly, but because he and Eric Dier are similar in nature and do not provide the level of creativity needed to break from the middle, while Jack Wilshere was guilty of trying too much with his touches almost evading him every single time.
There were moments when Sturridge was dropping deep to get a whiff of the ball while Vardy was all but anonymous in the second half as his supply was cut off by the brilliant Slovaks.
The players, obviously, bear the brunt of the dismal display, but it is Hodgson who must shoulder the blame for confusing his players by playing them in highly uncomfortable positions.