Hodgson - I dont know why I'm here; smint?

[Lecter]

The post match comments about "no obvious" changes to make other than to bring on Young when he did were classic Roy

As we well know from experience what is obvious to a normal / sane person is quite frequently not obvious to Roy

[Sarb]

The post match comments about "no obvious" changes to make other than to bring on Young when he did were classic Roy

As we well know from experience what is obvious to a normal / sane person is quite frequently not obvious to Roy

Ah but Lec, now it's the players who should manage tactics in-game not the manager. That's the latest line being spouted to defend Roy. Mediocre manager with basic old school tactics. Get a lead, bring on some pace after about 70 mins to attack a tiring defence.

[Fivex]

They have also only existed as a sovereign nation for 7 years

Does that mean their players only started playing football 7 years ago?

[ChesterDave]

Not everyone can compete with Woy's 45 years in the game. Incidentally, the San Marino coach is also a PE Teacher.

Seriously though, much smaller pool of players than when they were pooling talent with Serbia

[Lecter]

Ah but Lec, now it's the players who should manage tactics in-game not the manager. That's the latest line being spouted to defend Roy. Mediocre manager with basic old school tactics. Get a lead, bring on some pace after about 70 mins to attack a tiring defence.

LOL its ****ing hilarious the lengths the media will go to defend him

I'd forgotten that the players had a poll beforehand and decided to pick Cleverley

Equally I'd forgotten when he was manager here that the players told him to go out and sign PFK and Poulsen

Still what do I care, its only England

[Sarb]

LOL its ****ing hilarious the lengths the media will go to defend him

I'd forgotten that the players had a poll beforehand and decided to pick Cleverley

Equally I'd forgotten when he was manager here that the players told him to go out and sign PFK and Poulsen

Still what do I care, its only England

Apparently, Cleverley has played every game under Hodgson. I might be in the minority, but like Welbeck, the only reason he is praised is because he plays for Utd. Both are pretty average players, nowhere near international class

Yeah, he was forced to spend 4.5m + 2 players on PFK and attempt to replace Lucas with Poulsen. But he never got a fair chance at LFC

I bet Paddy Barclay is still praising him though

[Lecter]

Agreed

I dont think Cleverley is Premier League class nevermind international class

[dww]

Cleverly is good a lot of the time but is inconsistent and I don't see how he fits into the way England want to play. He's been shunted all over the show as if Roy is desperate to get him in the team no matter what.

Welbeck I think is a really good player though - he deserves his place in the squad/team IMO. Hard worker with a neat touch and makes good runs. Several times I have been out with neutral foreign fans and he has been the England player that they pick out for praise (asking who he is as he isn't all that well known).

[Chazza]

If Wilshere ever gets fit then Cleverly must be the one who gets shifted out.

[Gibbo]

If Wilshere ever gets fit then Cleverly must be the one who gets shifted out.

I have a feeling he won't be.

Would drop Carrick and put Gerrard in that position.

[Tribute]

The post match comments about "no obvious" changes to make other than to bring on Young when he did were classic Roy

As we well know from experience what is obvious to a normal / sane person is quite frequently not obvious to Roy

...like fwootball management.

[Chazza]

Classic Bodge.

We're not robots! Hodgson's amazing defence of his hapless England stars
By NEIL ASHTON
PUBLISHED: 22:31, 27 March 2013 | UPDATED: 22:31, 27 March 2013

Roy Hodgson issued an astonishing defence of his misfiring England team, claiming they failed to beat their main World Cup rivals because they are 'not robots'.
Tuesday night's disappointing display in Podgorica was the third draw of England's qualifying campaign and left Hodgson admitting his side may have to settle for a place in the play-offs.

After the 1-1 draw with group leaders Montenegro, Hodgson was asked why his players still fail to retain possession and pass as well as supposedly inferior teams like Montenegro, Poland and Ukraine.

'The simple answer is they're human beings, not robots,' he said. 'These things happen in football, you know.'

It was a worrying reaction given England's precarious position in trying to reach next year's World Cup in Brazil - as was Wayne Rooney's admission that England were taught a lesson by a country with a population of just 650,000.

Rooney said: 'In the second half they came at us and we didn't keep the ball well enough at times. It was a lesson for us in the second half and we need to learn how to see out these games better.'

Hodgson admitted England are 'hanging on' to their World Cup dream as fears grow that they will be forced into a play-off in November.

England blew the chance to take top spot in Group H as Montenegro, who remain two points clear, recovered from Rooney's early goal.

FIFA have yet to decide whether to use a seeding system for the runners-up but as things stand, Portugal, Croatia, Greece and France are among the potential opponents.

Hodgson admitted: 'We're a couple of points down on where we'd like to have been but we're still hanging on in there. Nobody wants to be in the play-offs but I will worry about them when they come around. If it's the play-offs it's going to be (against) a good team because in every group there are at least two good teams. We've got an important four to five weeks in September and October with three matches at home and one difficult one away in Ukraine. At least by not losing against Montenegro we keep it in our hands and give ourselves a chance.'

England's next qualifier is against Moldova at Wembley on September 6, followed by a tricky trip to Ukraine four days later.

They finish the campaign with matches at Wembley against Montenegro on October 11 and Poland on October 15.

Hodgson added: 'At the moment I shall focus all my attention on the summer, first to try to do as good a job when we play Ireland at home (May 29) and then when we go to Brazil.

'After that I shall work even harder to focus my attention on those important four qualifiers through September and October.

'I'm not here to say what expectation should or should not be. All I can say is I know what my job is. I'm trying to do it to the best of my ability. I believe in the players and I believe we will achieve our goal.'

Hodgson is so concerned by the prospect of finishing second in the group that he intends to pick full-strength squads for the end-of-season matches against the Republic of Ireland at Wembley and the trip to Brazil in early June, despite the tempting opportunity to bring in some inexperienced players.

England kick off next season with a friendly at Wembley against Scotland before the four qualifying games that will shape Hodgson's future as national coach.

Yesterday the FA were dealing with other matters as they discussed security issues at the City Stadium in Podgorica. One picture taken inside the stadium appeared to show a Montenegro supporter spitting in the direction of Ashley Cole, but it is inconclusive.

The FIFA delegate at the match will submit his report today and he is expected to mention fighting among Montenegro supporters before the game.
Toilet rolls used as missiles towards England players were also a feature of the game and there were claims that Cole was spat at when taking throw-ins.

But the FA are unlikely to report the matter officially to FIFA. They have also decided to overlook the cheerleading Montenegro fan who used a loudhailer to sing '**** off England' at the end of the game.

Thousands of Montenegro fans joined in to make it a disappointing end to the game, especially after they had applauded England's national anthem before the start.

Dejan Damjanovic, scorer of Montenegro's equaliser, said: 'England didn't play a bad game, we played a bad game in the first half and great in the second. Drawing against a strong team like England is a big success for Montenegro.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2300198/Roy-Hodgson-launches-defence-England-Montenegro-draw.html

[Shaggy]

Remember when he used to manage us

[Muddled]

England should be pissing this qualifying group. Hodgson won't be able to dampen expectation with his usual pessimistic approach - this is the job he thought his experience warranted and he's going to be found out on the grandest stage of all.

Ha!

[Phoenix07]

I can't believe we turned down Pellegrini for that clown. It makes it worse seeing how he's doing at Malaga too.