By Laurie Fitzgerald
There was no doubt what the biggest story was in English football this week, as Roy Hodgson usurped heavy favourite Harry Redknapp and become the new England manager.
The West Brom boss has agreed a four-year deal which sees him take charge for the next three major tournaments through to the European Championships in France in 2016.
64 year-old Hodgson was the unanimous choice of the 4-man FA panel that consisted of Chairman David Bernstein, Director of football development Trevor Brooking, General Secretary Alex Horne and Club England managing Director Adrian Bevington.
While many will preside in persisting that Hodgson is the wrong choice and may not inspire enthusiasm amongst the public, the main fact now is that we have to get behing him and give the man a chance to succeed in a job where many before him which had that public support failed.
His appointment has been hailed as a long-term one by the FA to help the development of their National Football Centre, which is due to open in Burton later this year.
But for the forseeable future Hodgson’s sole focus will be on Euro 2012, and one of the biggest decisions that Hodgson faces ahead of the tournament is the dilemma of John Terry and Rio Ferdinand.
Undoubtedly England’s outstanding centre-halves for the past several years, their participation in the tournament together currently has a huge cloud hanging over it following the events of this season.
Chelsea captain Terry is currently awaiting the conclusion of an impending court case after the Euro’s for his alleged racial abuse towards Anton Ferdinand, the QPR defender and more significantly Rio’s brother.
It means there will be natural apprehension in the mind of the Manchester United star, who could be wary of partnering Terry with the allegations yet to be proven one way or another.
In an ideal world these differences will be put aside and they will form the heart of England’s defence going to Poland & Ukraine, with their combined total of 153 caps underlining the experience and knowledge they will bring to the team going into the Championships.
But with Hodgson due to meet both of them to see what their decisions will be, he could be faced with the first big decision of his reign; choosing one over the other.
Many will cite that Terry’s leadership qualities and his additional ability of providing a greater goalscoring threat from set-pieces makes him the more worthy candidate in such a circumstance.
However, as his sending off against Barcelona in Chelsea’s semi-final triumph showed, Terry is capable of a rish of blood to the head that hinder his team’s chances instead of enhancing them.
As for Ferdinand, he has been in excellent form for United in recent months and carrying the defensive mantle in the absence of Nemanja Vidic to keep his side in the title race.
But at the age of 33 many may state that Rio’s best days are behind him and that another tournament on top of an already-long season may be a bit too much.
Another factor is that if you can’t play the both of them together, then maybe it’s about who will be the best fit with the other centre-half Hodgson will decide on for the Euro’s.
If he opts for Gary Cahill then surely Terry will be a more natural choice alongside his Chelsea team-mate, but if Hodgson chooses a Joleon Lescott or Phil Jagielka then he may feel that Ferdinand will complement them more.
This is a decision, if enforced of course, that could have a major bearing on England’s hopes in Euro 2012 – over to you Roy.
So what do you think? If Hodgson has to choose between JT or Rio, who should he choose? Leave a comment and let us know your views.
I don’t think he should take either of them, we probably aren’t going to win the tournament so let’s give a few of the younger players an opportunity to gain experience in big international tournaments. I would like to see Phil Jones and Gary Cahill start
Thanks for the comment patto. I agree with you regarding Cahill – he was in very good for Chelsea before his injury at the Nou Camp and he’ll be fit in time for the Euro’s, but what do you make of Jones’ recent form? He’s not been playing particularly well in recent months; would playing him in the tournament be too much for him?