By Andrew Warshaw
May 2 – Roy Hodgson, the new England manager, was not just the unanimous selection of the four-man panel who identified their man almost a month ago but also the preferred choice of other senior figures within the game.
As media reaction poured in over 64-year-old Hodgson (pictured above, left) getting the nod over the people’s favourite Harry Redknapp, it emerged that Redknapp’s chances of getting the job were dashed not just by the English Football Association but by other “well-respected” voices in positions of responsibility.
“We consulted a wide range of people in the greatest confidence,” said FA chairman David Bernstein (pictured above, right).
“They’ve respected that.
“It’s remarkable nothing leaked from this process, so I won’t mention names.
“But they were a range of well respected people in football.
“We spoke to many with considerable football experience.
“The strategy, and there was a strategy, from the beginning…for once, the whole thing worked out almost exactly as we’d planned from the beginning.”
Bernstein admitted there would have been “easier” choices to succeed Fabio Capello but that his board had decided “about a month ago” that Hodgson was the “best man for the job” having worked their way through a short-list which, he insisted, had more than just two names on it.
Quite why Redknapp (pictured above) and other initial contenders were not informed at that point that they were no longer in the running was not made clear by Bernstein who admitted at a hastily arranged press conference that his own standing would live or die by Hodgson’s appointment.
“It’s one of the most important decisions a chairman and Board can make, the appointment of a manager, and I won’t have too many stabs at this,” Bernstein said.
“I hope this is my only appointment as that would be a great sign of success.
“We all stand and fall together on this.
“Roy has outstanding contacts through his work with UEFA and FIFA, and can walk into any training ground around the world and command respect.
“This experience, ability and track record of building teams that made him the outstanding candidate.”
Hodgson, whose contract will embrace the next three major tournaments, said he would “have to have been on another planet” not to realise he was not the favourite but inferred he was well capable of doing the job.
While the FA’s decision to overlook Redknapp came as a surprise to many, the vastly-experienced Hodgson claimed he always felt that he was a leading contender having spent 36 years in domestic and international management.
“I wouldn’t say I was particularly surprised when the call came,” Hodgson (pictured above) said.
“But, given my CV, I had the right to hope and harbour a wish that the FA, after their process, would choose me.
“I was always hoping that the choice would be made and would work out in my favour.
The former Inter Milan, Fulham and Liverpool manager added: “Every coach has got to win over the players.
“It’s not the first time I’ve stepped into a group I don’t know but my CV suggests I’ve succeeded fairly well with that.
“Every coach taking a new job needs to make certain they get the players on side, united behind the cause.”
Hodgson revealed he plans to take Wayne Rooney to the 2012 European Championships despite the Manchester United forward being suspended for the first two group matches.
He also hopes to have talks with central defenders John Terry and Rio Ferdinand (pictured above, right and left) to see whether they would be happy to play together.
Terry, stripped of the England captaincy – the move that forced Capello to resign – has denied a criminal charge of racially abusing Ferdinand’s younger brother Anton.
Hodgson said he would delay naming his Euro 2012 squad until after the final Premier League games of the season, which take place on May 13.
“We go into tournaments to win them, we’re a major football nation,” he said.
“It’s never going to be easy and it’s a little more difficult because the man who qualified the team left and I’ve come in at a late stage.”
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