joi, 28 martie 2013

Hodgson's amazing defence of his hapless England stars

roy-hodgsonRoy Hodgson has defended his stuttering side after they could manage only a draw in Montenegro.


Roy Hodgson issued an astonishing defence of his misfiring England team, claiming they failed to beat their main World Cup rivals because they are 'not robots'.


Tuesday night's disappointing display in Podgorica was the third draw of England's qualifying campaign and left Hodgson admitting his side may have to settle for a place in the play-offs.


After the 1-1 draw with group leaders Montenegro, Hodgson was asked why his players still fail to retain possession and pass as well as supposedly inferior teams like Montenegro, Poland and Ukraine.


'The simple answer is they're human beings, not robots,' he said. 'These things happen in football, you know.'


It was a worrying reaction given England's precarious position in trying to reach next year's World Cup in Brazil - as was Wayne Rooney's admission that England were taught a lesson by a country with a population of just 650,000.


Rooney said: 'In the second half they came at us and we didn't keep the ball well enough at times. It was a lesson for us in the second half and we need to learn how to see out these games better.'


Hodgson admitted England are 'hanging on' to their World Cup dream as fears grow that they will be forced into a play-off in November.


England blew the chance to take top spot in Group H as Montenegro, who remain two points clear, recovered from Rooney's early goal.


FIFA have yet to decide whether to use a seeding system for the runners-up but as things stand, Portugal, Croatia, Greece and France are among the potential opponents.


Hodgson admitted: 'We're a couple of points down on where we'd like to have been but we're still hanging on in there. Nobody wants to be in the play-offs but

I will worry about them when they come around. If it's the play-offs it's going to be (against) a good team because in every group there are at least two good teams. We've got an important four to five weeks in September and October

with three matches at home and one difficult one away in Ukraine. At least by not losing against Montenegro we keep it in our hands and give ourselves a chance.'


England's next qualifier is against Moldova at Wembley on September 6, followed by a tricky trip to Ukraine four days later.


They finish the campaign with matches at Wembley against Montenegro on

October 11 and Poland on October 15.


Hodgson added: 'At the moment I shall focus all my attention on the summer, first to try to do as good a job when we play Ireland at home (May 29) and then when we go to Brazil.


'After that I shall work even harder to focus my attention on those important four qualifiers through September and October.


'I'm not here to say what expectation should or should not be. All I can say is I know what my job is. I'm trying to do it to the best of my ability. I believe in the players and I believe we will achieve our goal.'


Hodgson is so concerned by the prospect of finishing second in the group that he intends to pick full-strength squads for the end-of-season matches against the Republic of Ireland at Wembley and the trip to Brazil in early June, despite the tempting opportunity to bring in some inexperienced players.


England kick off next season with a friendly at Wembley against Scotland before the four qualifying games that will shape Hodgson's future as national coach.


Yesterday the FA were dealing with other matters as they discussed security issues at the City Stadium in Podgorica. One picture taken inside the stadium appeared to show a Montenegro supporter spitting in the direction of Ashley

Cole, but it is inconclusive.


The FIFA delegate at the match will submit his report today and he is expected to mention fighting among Montenegro supporters before the game.


Toilet rolls used as missiles towards England players were also a feature of the game and there were claims that Cole was spat at when taking throw-ins.


But the FA are unlikely to report the matter officially to FIFA. They have also decided to overlook the cheerleading Montenegro fan who used a loudhailer to sing at the end of the game.


Thousands of Montenegro fans joined in to make it a disappointing end to the game, especially after they had applauded England's national anthem before the start.


Dejan Damjanovic, scorer of Montenegro's equaliser, said: 'England didn't play a bad game, we played a bad game in the first half and great in the second.


Drawing against a strong team like England is a big success for Montenegro.'






http://www.ukbettips.co.uk/images/stories/Joomla/StiriRSS/roy-hodgson.jpg via today's-betting-football-news http://www.ukbettips.co.uk/football-betting-news/4545-hodgson-s-amazing-defence-of-his-hapless-england-stars.html

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