It begging to be asked now – was the appointment of Roy Hodgson a PR exercise to lessen the heavy blow of disillusionment that was to be dealt with putting ******* Sam Allardyce at the helm of our national football team? Was it a calculated process to in lowering the collective expectations of an entire nation of hard-working blue and white collared men, women and children, who ask for nothing more than a sense of pride in the way their team play?
The latest in the line of abject, shameful failures of the obstinate FA, Sam Allardyce, failed even before a major tournament. It comes as no surprise, but of some respite. But it still begs to ask though, will any good come of it? Will the fat cats there at The FA, shake off the coat of dust gathering on their conscience, their prejudice? Will this episode be shameful enough for them to stir awake and appoint someone, based not on good contacts or pulls at high places, nor ethnicity, but purely out of ability and credence?
We at T4O hope so, for their sake. Here are our top 3 picks to redeem English football its identity.
#3 Laurent Blanc
His reputation is well-known across the length and breath of Europe. But, perhaps, not England. Well, here’s a brief introduction. The multilingual Frenchman was a decorated footballer at Manchester United, Barcelona, Inter Milan and Marseille; and his managerial exploits are there to be seen with his track record with Bordeaux, and then with PSG, who he thrust into the spotlight of football.
His international credentials, are suitable read, leading France into the quarter-finals of the 2101 Euros with a skeleton squad of a team that had its superstars suspended in the wake of their transgressions under Domenech – a testament to making the most of the talent he’s afforded.
#2 Vicente Del Bosque
It is time that the FA had a bit of a much-needed culture shock?
Here’s the old man’s honour roll – 2 time La Liga winner and 2 time Champions League winner with Real Madrid; 2-time European Champions with Spain, and 1 time World Champion. World Manager of the year, 2012.
He claims he’s done with football for the time being, but, if the FA can swallow its unhealthy pride, and promise him a project that could make him cure his itch, they will have one man who has changed the face of Spanish football forever, and given back its national identity.
#1 Arsene Wenger
Arsene Wenger fears that he is at staring into the sunset of his managerial career. He says, he’s not sure what the future will hold, or how difficult it’d be to quit the habit of football that is so ingrained with his sense of being. Here’s an answer staring the English FA in the face.
The man has been steeped in the culture and the ways of the land, and is inextricably entwined with the legacy of perhaps the stateliest of English clubs, The Arsenal. This is the most obvious, and the most creditable pick of any option conceivable.
