HodgsGone and hopefully forgotten

Roy Hodgson tenure as England Manager comes to an end in the most embarrassing of circumstances. After his England side were knocked out of Euro 2016 by Iceland then it was only going to be a matter of time before him and The Football Association parted company

With his contract due to expire at the end of the tournament, the Ex Fulham boss was always going to be under a modicum of pressure if he was to be handed a new contract but no one quite envisaged him resigning after England’s most embarrassing defeat of not just modern times but quite possibly ever.

For all the optimism going into the tournament there was the feeling that this was starting to erode as the games went on, if Iceland last night was the nadir of Hodgson’s reign then the draw against Slovakia certainly did him no favours either

It’s been a team devoid of systems, ideas and leadership. At times it’s even been a failure to do carry out basic fundamentals. Awful to watch at times and that must come from  the top.

Yes Hodgson may feel that his players let him down and they certainly did so but you have to ask bar that moment of relief against Wales where was the passion shown by Hodgson on the touchline

Disengaged, out thought and often clueless it was a tournament that started with disappointment and ended with despair. Rescued by substitutions against Wales but they were only made because he had to make them

It was those 6 changes before the Slovakia that raised the most questions. After picking up a win why then halt that momentum and almost have to start from scratch

A disjointed England side then failed to break down Slovakia which subsequently saw them leapfrogged by Wales at the top of Group B. This now meant England had the harder half of the draw, but at least they only had to face Iceland…right?

We couldn’t have been more wrong could we. It wasn’t even a fluke defeat, we were outclassed throughout and Iceland came away as deserved winners

A celebration for Iceland an inquest for England. Any chance of a new contract for Roy Hodgson had now been thrown in the bin, it wasn’t a question of if he would leave but when

An almost immediate departure came as no surprise as the knives were being sharpened after such a shocking performance. A hastily arranged press conference was given by Hodgson but refusal to take any questions would have certainly drawn ire from journalists and fans alike

What was the undoing of Hodgson. A loyalty to players saw him come unstuck. Trying to crowbar Wayne Rooney in Midfield, playing an unfit Jack Wilshere not once but twice and Jordan Henderson once again going missing in an England shirt

Tactical choices such as Harry Kane taking set pieces was bewildering and the continual gamble of playing Raheem Sterling. A player devoid of confidence and more importantly end product

Not knowing what his best system was. Italy, Germany and Spain all have systems whereas Hodgson was still trying to work out his in the final friendly against Portugal

A litany of errors but after March’s win over Germany and a 100% record in the qualifiers people were starting to warm to what was a likeable young and exciting team

How one result can erode all that good faith. Hodgson comes in for criticism and eventually that will die down but now you have to ask yourself how much damage will that one defeat to Iceland end up doing.

Thanks for nothing Roy.