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| Plenty to smile about: England boss Roy Hodgson Wikipedia |
Don't certain football "writers" sometimes churn out absolute tosh. Here in the Fens, we watched with admiration and relief as England drew 1-1 with France in their opening Euro 2012 match. But I didn't get any real sense of optimism or pride when I flicked through the national newspapers.
I, like so many others [the excellent ITV team included], was impressed with Roy Hodgson's new-look side. They were well organised, tried to pass their way out of trouble, did not resort to kick-and-run tactics, restricted a very talented passing side and created chances of their own.
Hodgson's gamble to play lively Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain paid off, so not even an opportunity to use "
Oxy Moron" headlines here. Shame. One to take dust down later, perhaps? "
Wot a woad of wubbish"? No, not after the outcry over a certain front page headline cruelly prodding fun at Hodgson.
England could not afford to lose Monday's game ... and they could have won it.
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Smart Alex: Oxlade-Chamberlain is closed down by Yohan Cabaye and Samir Nasri
Getty Images via @daylife |
But did we get that sort of upbeat response from Fleet Street's finest? Hardly. One respected heavyweight, who can often be amusing and entertaining as a writer, said England were hard to love from a neutral perspective but "
any talk of dourness was not a complaint". Well, what was it then? Two thousand words-worth of complimentary wisdom?
The same negative stuff was being spouted on BBC Radio 5 Live, generally a great station. The chief football correspondent, a man who is highly respected, could hardly bring himself to praise England on this occasion. And today, 24 hours later, it was all about the long flight back to the Polish city of Krakow after an energy-sapping match in the Ukraine. Was it wise to base themselves there, the correspondent kept asking.
It took someone like Robbie Savage, yes Robbie Savage, to put matters into context. He pointed out that England were not a Championship side of a bygone age who travel by coach. No Brian Clough-style pub stops and fish and chips wrapped in newspaper here, mate. Savage pointed out that England travel by jet, have comfortable seats and plenty of legroom on board. Indeed, they even have excellent food and refreshments. What, no butty box and a bottle of pale ale? Now that's a turn up. Furthermore, there would be no thought of winding down for hours after such an important game, so what was the point about criticising travel arrangements? Am I actually banging the drum on Savage's behalf? I must be coming down with a touch of Fen Fever.
Before the France match, it was all Rio Ferdinand. Acres of newsprint and air-time on the subject. Yes, report on the controversy, analyse it but then move on. But that just doesn't happen these days. The subject is milked dry and long-suffering readers and viewers are treated to an epic drama that turns in to a bore rather than being a sharp interesting sit-up-and-must-read story.
Hodgson opted for a hardcore of defenders who knew each other inside out at club level - Chelsea's Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole and Terry. He also noted that Rio is injury-prone. And, by the way, Roy, just in case you didn't know it, he also happens to be the older brother of QPR's Anton.
I'm a big Rio fan and I would prefer him there ahead of John Terry because of his natural skill and his ability to read a game. But it wasn't a huge surprise when he was left out, particularly in view of the pending court case regarding Terry and Rio's brother. Even France coach Laurent Blanc thought the Ferdinand omission was "not a sporting choice". All this is very newsworthy and a great subject to tackle but it dragged on right up until the day of England's game.
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Big brother is watching: the Rio saga is now over
Wikipedia |
For Hodgson to call up the Manchester United man after injured Cahill had been ruled out of the finals would have been almost impossible. He had already carefully considered the subject and left out Rio, whatever the reason.
Look, cut through all the stuff and nonsense and just imagine the consequences had Rio Ferdinand played alongside Terry. Yes, they are both seasoned pros but that would have been asking too much. I doubt it would have been conducive to a tight defensive unit and a harmonious England team. As it was, "warrior" Terry played well alongside goalscorer Joleon Lescott in a system that obviously suited.
So now to Sweden. If England do lose then I sincerely hope that any anti-Hodgson feeling doesn't result in a Swede and Turnip-style bashing we saw when Graham Taylor was in charge. And going back down the "Woy" route would be so wrong, too. Hodgson is an accomplished coach. The inability to roll his r's [rhotacism] - oooh, err, missus - is not really the stuff of headlines. Is it?
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Likeable: but Harry Redknapp failed to land the top job
Wikipedia |
He is not as a flamboyant as the likeable Harry Redknapp, but Harry didn't get the gig. So get over it. Move on. Give Roy time, but don't set the scene for yet another football witch hunt. The fans are becoming a little sick of the same old, same old.
While climbing down from my soapbox and catching my breath, I would like to wish the teams of other Fenland fans the best of luck at Euro 2012. I am, of course, referring to the many football-mad Poles, Ukrainians, Russians, Spanish and Portuguese who work so tirelessly on the land here in this corner of England.
The evening is still, the breeze has dropped, the animals have been fed and locked away safely for the night after a humid day of sun and occasional light showers.
