Bold Hodgson silences critics with big win in Basel

I imagine that 'baffled' would probably be the word used to describe Roy Hodgson as he opened his newspaper on Thursday morning, with headlines such as 'Mr Angry' dominating the back pages. There was no doubt that his sides' 1-0 win against Norway was an underwhelming one, but the England manager was more than justified in trying to defend his teams' performance. He was also correct in objecting to the statistic that was thrown his way about his side having only two shots on target during the game. "When we had that much possession, that much ball in and around their box, those players throwing themselves at the ball to stop shots from going on, and you wanna talk to me about two shots on target?" was Hodgson's response. He has a point, you know. Although sadly there was a distinct lack of tempo to England's game, the attacking intent was all there as were numerous chances. So the two shots on target stat did feel a little irrelevant under the circumstances, let's not forget England actually won the game. Not only was the decision of the press to go on a Roy Hodgson witch hunt strange, but  the timing  was particularly bizarre. They've had all summer to  write about Roy Hodgson and his failings to deliver at the World Cup, so why on earth leave it to the  week leading up to a crucial European Championship qualifier? Utterly ludicrous.

But the doom mongers were silenced last night, as Hodgson's brave tactics led England to victory in arguably their most difficult qualifying match of this campaign. His decision to play a diamond in midfield and play with two strikers in what was being billed as a "must not lose game" dispelled any notion that Roy is a cautious tactician. Although many were concerned that this would result in the team being far too narrow and exposed in wide areas, Henderson and Delph were excellent at pressurising the two Swiss defensive midfielders into frequent mistakes. Hodgson should also be applauded for his decision to hand Delph his first start for England. Despite an early rash challenge which resulted in a booking, the Villa man was very well disciplined and was always willing to receive the ball. In the end it was two well taken goals from Danny Welbeck which saw England take all three points on the night. And whose decision was it to start Welbeck and play him as a centre forward?





Now don't get me wrong, I was as disappointed as any England fan with how badly we performed at this summer's World Cup and agree that Hodgson has to take the blame for it. But the FA has stuck by him and, on last night's evidence at least, so should we. By giving these young players a chance to play in a crucial qualifier and by putting them in a system which gives them license to go out and express themselves, they will progress into much better players and as a result we will have a much stronger national team.  Last night's performance not only got us off to a great start in terms of our qualification campaign for the Euros, but was a perfect platform for our young players to show that, playing under Hodgson, they will be able to compete in France come 2016.