The Worst Job In England?

Although it is hard to call a job with a multi-million pound salary and an expense account that would dwarf most salaries "the worst", maybe the most thankless job would be a better title.

In a move that seemed to have sidestepped leaks and media guesswork the FA appointed Roy Hodgson as England Manager, and also confirmed that they hadn't spoken to anyone else about the decision. This did not go down well with much of the tabloid press, especially the red tops. The Sun front page based on schoolboy humour, much the same from an article on the Mirrors website, seeming to say that a man who can't pronounce the letter R very well can't be a decent manager. His record and multi-lingual abilities not taking centre stage for them. I am also pretty sure that the Sun used to support the campaign for Anti Bullying Week in schools - hopefully the younger readers of the paper will remember not to bully anyone today..

It was no surprise that the Sun and Sky News (and Sky Sports News) were quite anti the appointment, as Harry Redknapp "writes" for the Sun and he and his son have lucrative contracts with Sky, and are far more media friendly than Roy is, there will be no unlimited access to the England camp with Roy as there would probably have been under Harry. But, the decision is made, lets hope that Roy isn't crucified by the press after the first goal is conceded by England - sadly he will be, and I am pretty sure Harry & Jamie will be providing punditry on all England games from now on, if they can tear themselves away from the Wii.

The press conference showed that in many eyes Roy has been written off before he even starts. As many questions and references to Harry as to the players and the future, and it is that area that will define his management era.

He has a 4 year contract, which is for the next three tournaments, and to my mind he should focus on having the best performance in Euro 2016. Use the imminent tournament as a starting point to build a team that will be together for at least the next four years, which means making the cut of what remains of much of the "Golden Generation". Players such as Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Frank Lampard, Steve Gerrard and more should now be told their international careers are over, and a younger group of players are introduced. For me and many it is the players and their attitudes more than the recent manager that have turned us away from worrying or even caring about international football - Roy, the FA and the players have a lot of work to do.

Most important thing to remember, England are generally ranked around 6th in the FIFA world rankings, this means a 1/4 final place is the aim, a semi final is over performing, and to win in unlikely. If the press could remember that we may get some realistic levels of support in the summer.