Ukraine v England: Roy Hodgson may be forced to make some career-defining …
Perhaps Hodgson trusted his midfielders, two of them Champions
League winners, to work the mess out, to regain the initiative. They
did not.
The game was crying out for the calm of Lampard or the more defensive Scott
Parker, the counter-attacking pace of Oxlade-Chamberlain or Ashley Young or
the cutting edge of Defoe or Sturridge, either to stem the tide or make
Montenegro look over their shoulders.
The minutes went by, the chances for Montenegro went by, one of them going in.
Danny Welbeck, unluckily cautioned for alleged simulation, could have been
withdrawn for Defoe or Sturridge. Hodgson decided to stick.
Not until the 77th minute did he twist, Young arriving for Cleverley,
relieving some of the pressure. If England lose here in Kyiv, one dodgy half
and two dropped points in Podgorica will look even costlier.
Criticism of Hodgson revolves around too many draws (eight in 19), his defence
too often sitting too deep, the memory of Andrea Pirlo’s unchecked passing
lesson and Italy’s 64 per cent possession here when England bowed out of
Euro 2012 on penalties, as well as those 45 chastening minutes in
Podgorica.
Yet he has lost only once, being Zlatanned in a Stockholm friendly, and never
lost in 11 competitive games when England have conceded only six goals and
scored 31 (although that Italy shoot-out should really be registered as a
loss).
Despite doing a solid job with a limited pool of players, Hodgson still has
many critics and the game on Tuesday night will define his career.
A draw and particularly a win will see his popularity soaring, particularly if
his changes lead to a positive result.
A manager who first began picking and altering sides 37 years ago, Hodgson can
shape a game.
The Podgorica paralysis apart, a sober analysis of Hodgson’s substitutions
actually lends more lustre to his reputation.
On the whole, Hodgson is not cautious. As eight of his games have been
friendlies, allowing up to six subs, so distorting the figures, it is more
appropriate to focus on the 1,020 minutes of competitive action where
Hodgson has made 29 changes.
Although he has never replaced a defender with an attacker in competitive
games, his approach is largely assertive.
In the group stage of Euro 2012, his changes against France were simply to
replace tiring legs like Oxlade-Chamberlain’s. In the next game, England
were trailing to Sweden in Kyiv on the hour so Hodgson made his main move.
Walcott came on for James Milner, scored within 120 seconds and created the
winner for Welbeck 14 minutes later.
Hodgson modestly deflected praise afterwards towards the players but it was a
successful, if fairly obvious, change.
Against Ukraine in Donetsk, Hodgson’s well-drilled defence coped manfully,
Rooney pounced but some fans wanted Andy Carroll on earlier to trouble the
hosts’ defence. He eventually came on for the slightly subdued Welbeck with
nine minutes remaining but England had the win, and top spot in the group.
Hodgson was feted.
His changes in that frustrating quarter-final against Italy made sense.
With Pirlo in control, England had to try to get the ball back and also impose
themselves on Italy’s back-line.
He was adventurous on the hour, taking off Milner and Welbeck for Walcott and
Carroll. No hint of caution there.
Carroll held the ball up better than Welbeck, proving a more physical match
for Italy’s excellent centre-halves while Walcott offered more of an
out-ball than Milner.
Hodgson then withdrew the tiring Parker, whose Achilles problem was limiting
his movement, for Jordan Henderson four minutes into extra time.
Spectacular? No. Sensible? Yes.
Although England’s familiar weakness from 12 yards was again exposed, Hodgson
himself emerged with credit from the tournament, having organised England
well from minimal training time.
Post-Euros, the widespread call was for Hodgson to loosen the tight lines, to
play with more fluidity. He did.
He certainly made changes against Ukraine at Wembley on Sept 11, 2012 after a
complacent England fell behind to Konoplyanka’s 30-yarder.
On the hour, Hodgson addressed the problem of Anatoliy Tymoschuk’s total
control of Cleverley by replacing him with the more mobile, more distracting
Welbeck.
Ryan Bertrand (for Baines) and Sturridge (for Oxlade-Chamberlain) also
arrived. All three of Hodgson’s subs combined to create the penalty from
which Lampard rescued a late point.
A month later in Warsaw, Hodgson arguably erred at 1-1 with 17 minutes
remaining by taking off Rooney for Oxlade-Chamberlain. England needed a
goal, needed the win. Hodgson, who had earlier swapped Defoe for Welbeck,
failed to chase all the points, surprisingly leaving Carroll on the bench
despite still having a change left. Mistake.
This summer, Hodgson has earned praise for his changes.
Oxlade-Chamberlain memorably came on for Glen Johnson after 62 minutes at
Maracana and scored.
Lambert started writing his international fairy-tale when replacing Rooney
after 67 minutes against Scotland, scoring with his first touch as Hodgson
looked to have the Midas touch.
Ross Barkley looked lively late on against Moldova last Friday. Baines for
Cole at half-time against Moldova was a sound call, given the possibility of
Cole being suspended for Kyiv with such an unpredictable referee on the
pitch as Welbeck discovered.
Cole is clear to start on Tuesday night, a night when Hodgson’s decisions will
be scrutinised closely.
Contrary to some of his critics’ beliefs, Hodgson can change the flow of a
game.