Roy Hodgson: The next England manager?!
Far be it for me to put any dampeners on England's campaign for the impending World Cup in South Africa, but the manager merry-go-round is never far from the sporting pages.
In fact, rather than this being a pre-emptive indictment of how England will perform come June's spectacle, I merely speculate as a way of praising the low-key management style of Fulham's man in charge. Since his appointment at the very end of 2007, Fulham have developed into one of the Premier League's most industrious clubs and have shown a stark upturn in fortune.
Previously Hodgson had won numerous titles in Sweden and Denmark, with Malmö and F.C. Copenhagen respectively. He re-invigorated Inter Milan in the mid-nineties and achieved international recognition with Switzerland (guiding them to Euro'96) and recently Finland (narrowly missing Euro 2008).
His appointment may have been one of initial surprise, but despite not making an immediate impact on results Hodgson was able to inspire his team to 12 points from the remaining 5 games of the 2007-08 campaign. The resulting last-day heroics in avoiding relegation can now be seen as a landmark in the history of the club.
What followed last season was certainly unexpected as far as the bookmakers were concerned, they had Fulham as one of their pre-season relegation favourites. What transpired was a highly successful campaign ending in a seventh place finish in the Premier League, Fulham's highest finish in their history.
Fulham proved to be very difficult to beat at Craven Cottage and claimed some notable scalps. The visit of Manchester United resulted in the visitors and eventual champions being soundly overwhelmed and frustrated 2-0, and perhaps tellingly the last example to date of Wayne Rooney losing his cool and being sent off.
The seventh place of last season earned Hodgson's team a place in the qualifying stage of the Europa League. This ultimately means that their season started at the end of July, with barely a two month break after the 2008/09 season!
Despite this and their small squad Fulham navigated their way through the long competition and have transformed from an established Premier League club into one that has developed a reputation in European football.
This evening they are set to play Hamburg at Craven Cottage in the second leg of the Europa League semi-final. After securing a 0-0 away draw last week Fulham should be quietly confident. Especially so after Hamburg sacked their manager Bruno Labbadia last weekend, following a heavy 5-1 loss to TSG Hoffenheim.
Even if they fail in their quest, Hodgson has managed to completely change the perspective and reputation of Fulham this season. Their achievement in reaching the semi-finals has been monumental and the quality of the scalps they have taken enhances it further.
The holders FC Shakhtar Donetsk were overcome in the last 32. They were followed by Juventus in the last sixteen. Fulham overturned a 3-1 deficit from Turin into a stunning 4-1 home win that shocked everyone, especially after at one point being 4-1 behind on aggregate.
The Bundesliga champions Wolfsburg were confidently beaten home and away in the quarter-finals. Now as things stand after the first leg of the semi-final, Fulham's European results would so far suggest a team with plentiful experience and several campaigns behind them.
The truth is that this is only the second time Fulham have entered European competition in their history. The first came through the path of the Inter-Toto cup in the 2002/03 campaign.
The Uefa cup was then in it's old total knockout guise and the club reached the third round before a narrow aggregate loss to Hertha Berlin. (A club who were seeing far better days than they currently are; rooted to the foot of the Bundesliga and seemingly doomed to relegation)
Doubts remain until the last moment about Bobby Zamora's condition and fitness. The striker has scored crucial goals throughout the competition, scoring 8 in all and 19 overall. However if he is missing Fulham are still very capable of scoring goals from other sources such as Duff, Murphy and Dempsey, to name a few.
The clamour has also grown for Capello to give him a try-out in the final England friendlies before South Africa. It is fair that he deserves some consideration. Without Rooney, England's strike force relies on Jermaine Defoe's fitness and 'the Crouch affect'. The extra security of a fourth goal scorer could out-weigh the positives of Emile Heskey.
Under the guidance of Roy Hodgson, Zamora has become the embodiment of his effect on the club as a whole. The confidence has grown as has the quality of football, and the European adventures have added that extra necessity of experience.
Though the efforts in Europe have had an affect on their league form, Fulham have been relatively comfortable and never in threat of being sucked into a relegation scrap. If they could manage a couple more wins they may still finish as high as ninth.
Tonight however they sit on the cusp of potential sporting greatness, the tantalising prospect remains for a Europa League final versus Liverpool and all their history. For Roy Hodgson it would probably be his greatest footnote in a long and distinguished career, one that may only be capped if one day England were to come a calling.
In fact, rather than this being a pre-emptive indictment of how England will perform come June's spectacle, I merely speculate as a way of praising the low-key management style of Fulham's man in charge. Since his appointment at the very end of 2007, Fulham have developed into one of the Premier League's most industrious clubs and have shown a stark upturn in fortune.
Previously Hodgson had won numerous titles in Sweden and Denmark, with Malmö and F.C. Copenhagen respectively. He re-invigorated Inter Milan in the mid-nineties and achieved international recognition with Switzerland (guiding them to Euro'96) and recently Finland (narrowly missing Euro 2008).
His appointment may have been one of initial surprise, but despite not making an immediate impact on results Hodgson was able to inspire his team to 12 points from the remaining 5 games of the 2007-08 campaign. The resulting last-day heroics in avoiding relegation can now be seen as a landmark in the history of the club.
What followed last season was certainly unexpected as far as the bookmakers were concerned, they had Fulham as one of their pre-season relegation favourites. What transpired was a highly successful campaign ending in a seventh place finish in the Premier League, Fulham's highest finish in their history.
Fulham proved to be very difficult to beat at Craven Cottage and claimed some notable scalps. The visit of Manchester United resulted in the visitors and eventual champions being soundly overwhelmed and frustrated 2-0, and perhaps tellingly the last example to date of Wayne Rooney losing his cool and being sent off.
The seventh place of last season earned Hodgson's team a place in the qualifying stage of the Europa League. This ultimately means that their season started at the end of July, with barely a two month break after the 2008/09 season!
Despite this and their small squad Fulham navigated their way through the long competition and have transformed from an established Premier League club into one that has developed a reputation in European football.
This evening they are set to play Hamburg at Craven Cottage in the second leg of the Europa League semi-final. After securing a 0-0 away draw last week Fulham should be quietly confident. Especially so after Hamburg sacked their manager Bruno Labbadia last weekend, following a heavy 5-1 loss to TSG Hoffenheim.
Even if they fail in their quest, Hodgson has managed to completely change the perspective and reputation of Fulham this season. Their achievement in reaching the semi-finals has been monumental and the quality of the scalps they have taken enhances it further.
The holders FC Shakhtar Donetsk were overcome in the last 32. They were followed by Juventus in the last sixteen. Fulham overturned a 3-1 deficit from Turin into a stunning 4-1 home win that shocked everyone, especially after at one point being 4-1 behind on aggregate.
The Bundesliga champions Wolfsburg were confidently beaten home and away in the quarter-finals. Now as things stand after the first leg of the semi-final, Fulham's European results would so far suggest a team with plentiful experience and several campaigns behind them.
The truth is that this is only the second time Fulham have entered European competition in their history. The first came through the path of the Inter-Toto cup in the 2002/03 campaign.
The Uefa cup was then in it's old total knockout guise and the club reached the third round before a narrow aggregate loss to Hertha Berlin. (A club who were seeing far better days than they currently are; rooted to the foot of the Bundesliga and seemingly doomed to relegation)
Doubts remain until the last moment about Bobby Zamora's condition and fitness. The striker has scored crucial goals throughout the competition, scoring 8 in all and 19 overall. However if he is missing Fulham are still very capable of scoring goals from other sources such as Duff, Murphy and Dempsey, to name a few.
The clamour has also grown for Capello to give him a try-out in the final England friendlies before South Africa. It is fair that he deserves some consideration. Without Rooney, England's strike force relies on Jermaine Defoe's fitness and 'the Crouch affect'. The extra security of a fourth goal scorer could out-weigh the positives of Emile Heskey.
Under the guidance of Roy Hodgson, Zamora has become the embodiment of his effect on the club as a whole. The confidence has grown as has the quality of football, and the European adventures have added that extra necessity of experience.
Though the efforts in Europe have had an affect on their league form, Fulham have been relatively comfortable and never in threat of being sucked into a relegation scrap. If they could manage a couple more wins they may still finish as high as ninth.
Tonight however they sit on the cusp of potential sporting greatness, the tantalising prospect remains for a Europa League final versus Liverpool and all their history. For Roy Hodgson it would probably be his greatest footnote in a long and distinguished career, one that may only be capped if one day England were to come a calling.
Comments