Hodgson’s hopeful honeymoon

Roy Hodgson’s honeymoon period as England manager is still in full swing, in fact it has barely made it out of its luxury hotel suite and is still lounging dreamily on its novelty water bed after four promising results.

But playing Ukraine in Donetsk provides potential for the happy couple to have their first falling out and only tonight will we know for certain if it really is going to be happy-ever-after.

Relationship counsellors should certainly be on stand-by despite the promising performances of the last few weeks; because over the years England fans have regularly made the mistake of getting over-excited by the arrival of a new manager and the impact he has on his team’s early results.

Remember the delight of the tabloid press when £6m-a-year Fabio Capello marched into the training camp four years ago and unveiled his new disciplinarian regime?

The Italian, who guided England through an excellent qualifying campaign for the 2010 World Cup after Steve McClaren had made such a mess of doing the same for Euro 2008, was lauded at one stage as the best manager in the world. But it took just four games in South Africa for him to destroy his reputation and leave the post as over-paid, over-strict and too lazy to learn English. That’s how quickly it turns.

It’s not just fans and media who have short memories, either; it’s players too. Wayne Rooney, the man who Capello stuck by in South Africa despite his miserable form, made some very pointed comments about his former international manager in press conference this week; hinting he had serious communication problem on the training field. “It’s a lot better now that everyone in the camp is English,” Rooney said.

So let’s take a deep breath before analysing Hodgson’s contribution to England’s promising start at Euro 2012 — and an even bigger one before talking about England going all the way and ending 46 years without a trophy at international level by being crowned champions in Kiev on July 1.

There have undeniably been some positives, of course. Interestingly all the performances under Hodgson so far have been different; from a gritty, hard-working one-nil against Norway to the thrilling drama of a 3-2 against Sweden. And the tactics used in every match have been different too.

Capello was hugely reluctant to change from his tried and trusted 4-4-2 and picked players to suit his formation; Hodgson seems far more flexible which augurs well for the latter stages if England make it there.

Hodgson also scrapped the pre-tournament training camp in Spain and handed his players more rest in the build-up to the tournament, which has already shown positive results; and he has allowed his squad free time away from football in a bid to create a more relaxed atmosphere in Krakow.

In terms of tactics, his start is promising too. Playing Carroll against the Swedes and bringing on Walcott at the right time worked spectacularly well; while opting for a cautious approach against France to ensure England didn’t lose the opening game just about got him there.

In terms of man-management his handling of Rooney has been excellent, insisting from the very start he would be selected to face the Ukraine and ensuring he was kept busy as team motivator in the meantime.

He got his selection policy right, too, because however strong Rio Ferdinand’s claim for inclusion may be there is no doubt the presence of Rio and John Terry in the squad together would have been an unnecessary sideshow.

So far, then, so good. But records show almost every England manager makes a decent start and very few have gone on to become anything near a success.

The difficulties are lurking in the background. England may have momentum but they will field their third different strike partnership today when Rooney and Welbeck line up together and have had little time to work on the defensive mistakes made against Sweden, which were numerous.

Should they show the same cavalier attitude against Ukraine then the atmosphere will reach fever pitch in Donetsk, making the task seriously difficult; and if they persist with only two men in central midfield then sooner or later they are going to be over-run in this tournament.

But the biggest factor of all that Hodgson must weigh up is how his players will respond to the pressure and intensity of the occasion, given how badly they let down their previous manager in South Africa.

Some things even the most experienced coach cannot control and that was the implication last week when Hodgson claimed his lowest point would come if he suddenly realised his players had been ‘conning him’ and weren’t the real deal after all.

So far, however, the happy couple do look well suited, with no signs of tension or friction so far after four games of a very acceptable honeymoon trip. If they can survive the famous ‘five-match-itch’ in Ukraine it could turn out to be a very good partnership indeed...

Recent England managers: how they started

Fabio Capello: Eight wins in first 10 games

Steve McClaren: Won first three games including starting with a 4-0 win against Greece

Sven-Goran Eriksson: Won first five matches including a 3-0 away win in Spain

Kevin Keegan: Started with 3-0 win over Poland, unbeaten in first six

Glenn Hoddle: Won first three games and gave David Beckham his debut

Terry Venables: Four wins and two draws in first six

Graham Taylor: Unbeaten in first 12 games – a record