Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/698019
21 Sport maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 29 JUNE 2016 FOOTBALL - EURO 2016 Shearer backs Southgate and Hoddle to lead England ROY Hodgson stepped down af- ter their elimination at the last-16 stage following the woeful 2-1 de- feat to Iceland in Nice. The Football Association will aim to appoint Hodgson's succes- sor quickly, with current Under- 21s manager Southgate the early favourite. Shearer, who said he would be interested in the role but thinks he "hasn't got a cat in hell's chance" of getting it, believes Hoddle, who managed England at the 1998 World Cup finals, should also re- turn to the fray. The former Three Lions striker told BBC 5Live: "It was pretty pa- thetic in my opinion. There was a lot of hype coming into the tour- nament about our young, energetic youngsters, our players aren't as good as we think they are. "It was awful to watch, we were clueless. We were out-fought, out- battled, their tactics were better than ours and everywhere you looked on the pitch it was pretty embarrassing. "He (Southgate) fits their remit, he has been with the Under-21s, he has been around the squad so I would back Gareth Southgate if he was to go in there. But I would also look at getting experience around him like Glenn Hoddle. "Glenn was brilliant as a coach for England in my opinion, he has got so much to offer and is still young enough so I would totally back Gareth and Glenn." Shearer admitted he had spoken to the FA several years ago about getting involved in the national set-up and would be keen for fur- ther talks this time around, though does not fancy his chances. He added: "Let's be honest I haven't got a cat in hell's chance of getting it because I don't fit the FA's remit, I haven't got the experi- ence, which I don't believe is right, I haven't got the coaching badges, which I don't believe is right and that is my honest opinion. "I spoke to the FA a few years ago and got my answer but if they want to speak to me then of course I would." On England's performance on Monday night, the former New- castle boss added: "That was the worst performance I've ever seen from an England team. Ever. "We were out-fought, out- thought, out-battled and totally hopeless for 90 minutes. I said after the three group games that England weren't good enough - I didn't see enough. "It looked to me like Roy was making it up as he was going along. It was tactically inept. "How can he pick Arsenal mid- fielder Jack Wilshere? We had play- ers in the squad who didn't deserve to be there. Manchester City's winger Raheem Sterling hasn't performed. We can go on and on. Then there was Tottenham striker Harry Kane on corners - the list is endless. "Our players caved tonight. We've all played under pressure, they caved and the manager caved. He gave Manchester United teen- age striker Marcus Rashford four minutes and he still did more than anyone else. "We are blinded by the Premier League, we think it's the best in the world for talent, it's not. We are to- tally reliant for foreign players and managers for excitement. We are not as good as we think we are." Harry Redknapp, who was con- sidered for the job when Hodgson was appointed, believes Hoddle is "perfect" for the job. The 58-year-old was sacked by the FA in 1999 after controversial comments about the disabled, but his reputation as a coach remains intact. Redknapp said on talkSPORT: "Glenn is your man. Why is Gareth the favourite and more suited? "I think we have got the perfect man, Glenn fits the bill for me. He said something, but that was a long time ago. He deserves another chance." On his own prospects of getting the job, he added: "I have got no chance. I don't fit the bill for them. The game is being run by academ- ics. Dan Ashworth will choose the next manager again, maybe there's someone at West Brom we can get in again." Former England and Totten- ham midfielder Jermaine Jenas felt finding the right successor for Hodgson would prove difficult for the FA. Jenas admitted on BBC5 Live: "I don't know where we go from here. "Do you want to find a manager who plays a really attractive style of football and gets us playing free- flowing football or do you want someone who has a firm hand, is stronger and makes the decisions at the right time? "The problem that the FA have got is there a group of managers (in England) who have just stepped into posts. So we are going to be forced down a certain road and what that road is I don't know." Jenas said England's shock defeat was a combination of poor perfor- mances both on and off the field. "It was a mixture of players mas- sively under-performing, manage- ment and a team of staff not being able to make the big decisions at the right time and that includes before the game. "In the end I think it is Roy's loy- alty (to certain players) that has cost him his job and cost England our place in this competition. "We looked like we didn't have a clue in terms of a way to play. We seem to be still searching for our best team, our best way of playing." Fellow former England interna- tionals Ian Wright, Lee Dixon and Peter Crouch believe Hodgson's decision to resign as manager was the right one. Dixon told ITV: "He's done the right thing. From his point of view, but also the team's point of view. He couldn't have taken the team any further. "He's a lovely guy, honourable. (But) from a coaching point of view, there were glaring errors there from the set-pieces, etc, which weren't taken care of. "It was just abject. There was no organisation, there was no speed, the organisation of letting a goal in from a throw-in: there was little at- tention to detail." Wright added: "It was an abject performance from the boys, but the preparation in what Iceland do was pretty obvious. We were found wanting in that respect. "(Hodgson) said 'They've been fantastic', which is a nice thing to say, but they've not been fantastic." Crouch said: "Hopefully peo- ple will start talking about him (Hodgson) leaving rather than the performance, and I think that's why he came in and did it so early. "I don't think there's a funda- mental fault (with English players), I think it boils down to pressure." Former England manager Glenn Hoddle said: "I'm not surprised. He did it with dignity. It's the right timing, with his contract coming to an end, and the way we played in this game. "It was very lacklustre, there was no movement, not enough options on the ball. Iceland deserved their win." Another former Three Lions boss, Steve McClaren, told Sky Sports News: "They've not been good enough tonight, not at all. The repercussions of this are go- ing to be absolutely enormous." Former Liverpool and England defender Jamie Carragher added: "It was a shambolic performance, especially second half. Obviously it didn't go right for us in the first half - that's where the mistakes were for the two goals. "But for the group of players to not have any sort of clue what to do on the pitch in that situation, to completely panic, we didn't have too many chances, people were doing stupid things with the ball...I don't think I can remember a game as bad as that." Former England winger Chris Waddle told BBC Radio Five Live: "We haven't got leaders. They're all pampered, they're all just head- phones, they don't communicate, on the pitch or off the pitch, you can't get anything out of them. That's why we're no good." On Hodgson's successor, ex-Eng- land striker Alan Smith told Sky Sports News: "I don't think there's an obvious candidate and that's a problem for the FA as I don't think they want to go down the road of a foreign manager again and I don't want them to. "I think there are only three or four English managers in the Premier League with Sean Dyche coming up to join the other three so it's a big problem for the FA." Glenn Hoddle Alan Shearer Alan Shearer has called for a double act of Gareth Southgate and Glenn Hoddle to lead England in the wake of their "clueless and embarrassing" Euro 2016 exit Hodgson denies reports of disharmony before Iceland blow OUTGOING England manager Roy Hodgson on Tuesday denied reports that his players ques- tioned his selection decisions be- fore the embarrassing 2-1 defeat by Iceland which sent the team out of Euro 2016. At a news conference less than 24 hours after quitting, Hodgson was asked about reports of dis- harmony in the camp and claims that senior players queried the selection of striker Raheem Ster- ling against Iceland and the six team changes made before the fi- nal group game against Slovakia. ''There was no indication that they weren't behind us, that they weren't behind the game plans and trying hard to execute," said a visibly tense Hodgson before an Football Association (FA) official stepped in to point out that they had also been denied by Eng- land's captain Wayne Rooney. Rooney released a statement to the Press Association which said: "In response to recent media re- ports, I'd like to say that is com- pletely untrue. On behalf of the players, we completely supported the England manager.'' The claims had been reported by British broadcaster Sky Sports who said they had come from unidentified sources inside the England camp. Hodgson, whose selections and tactics were heavily criticised in the British media, said he was feeling ''fragile'' after Monday's defeat, which some critics said was the worst in English football history. ''I don't really know what I'm do- ing here but I was told it's impor- tant for me to appear as everyone is still smarting,'' said Hodgson, who apologised to England sup- porters for the result. ''My emotions are obvious. I was really disappointed and I didn't see the defeat coming. If you don't turn up and play to your abilities, you can be beaten. I'm very fragile today as you can understand." But he predicted that England's players would bounce back and show they could perform at an international tournament. ''I'm sure that these players will get better and better. One day I think we will do well and hope- fully that can happen in 2018 (at the next World Cup).'' Hodgson was accompanied by Football Association chief ex- ecutive Martin Glenn who said a review would now be conducted into why England were so ''brit- tle'' at tournaments. ''When it comes to the busi- ness end of the tournament we've come up short for many years," he said. "We're not denying that our perennial problem is that England seem brittle at the busi- ness end of the season.'' Glenn said he would join FA's technical director Dan Ash- worth and David Gill, FA vice- chairman, in a search to find a new manager. He said they were looking for ''the best person for the job,'' and did not rule out ap- pointing a foreign manager. ''We are looking for the best person, not necessarily the best Englishman,'' he said.