The appointment of a new England manager produces a seismic week on TSC‘s beat, but there’s been some other stuff going on as well. The world of football stops spinning for no man, even if he’s not the man the media wanted.
I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about which players should or will be in the England squad, and with UEFA Euro 2012 on the horizon there are a few other people now doing the same. Natter Football has a piece this week from Luke Williamson, who believes among other things that both John Terry and Rio Ferdinand will be heading to Poland and Ukraine next month.
Of course, there’s no ignoring the fact that England have a new manager, and Roy Hodgson leaves behind a West Bromwich Albion fan base that will doubtless be sad to see him go. On the When Saturday Comes website, James Baxter reports that Hodgson’s departure will have a big impact on the Black Country club, but that it’s difficult to argue that Hodgson should have stayed at the Hawthorns. According to Off The Post, the Baggies will be sending him off in style at the season’s end.
Amid all the discussion about Hodgson’s rhotacism and mocking thereof, Andi Thomas has hit the nail on the head on The FCF: it’s about power.
There’s been some injury news on the England front of late, focused largely on the top end of the field. Aston Villa’s excuse for a manager, Alex McLeish, has been talking up Darren Bent’s chances of making the squad for the European Championships, an unexpected potential boost for Hodgson, but one I personally can’t see coming to fruition. Even if Bent does regain fitness, does he even deserve a place in the squad?
Meanwhile, Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck has emerged apparently unscathed from an injury scare following the Manchester derby on Monday night, and should be fit for Euro 2012 if selected.
UEFA has issued its refereeing agenda for Euro 2012. “Protection of players and the game’s image, and punishment for mobbing the referee, as well as for incidents of mass confrontation” provide the main focus, suggesting the continued importance in UEFA’s eyes of the ‘Respect’ concept.
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