A Very Candid England Manager

Roy Hodgson has revealed to a commuter that Rio Ferdinand would not be in his current England squad. The scenario was predictable, even after John Terry's recent retirement. What is refreshing is Hodgson's willingness to be so candid with members of the public, and this is something which should be encouraged rather than scoffed at.

Previous managers lacked Simon Cowell's "likability factor". Fabio Capello's press conferences would often descend into monosyllabic gibberish, where Steve Mclaren has the personality of a small insect and the face of a disney villain. Hodgson may be geriatric, but his appeal comes in a refreshing honesty from a man is his position. We may not play the glorious attacking football that Spain advertise, nor do we have the mental strength to see off the Germans or Italians in a major tournament, but, steady progress is being made. The increasing importance of young,exciting talent combined with the old-heads is making our England team look dangerous once more.

So what if Rio Ferdinand is not in the team? and So what if Hodgson decides to tell every Tom, Dick and Harry on his way to work what his squad will be in 12 hours time. Football, much like X Factor, is a cut-throat business and you have to be good enough to play at the very top. Rio was (please note the past tense) Phil Jones is.