Though the Sun lampooned Hodgson's appointment with some 'disgraceful journalism', other papers had a more positive view
The Football Association's appointment of Roy Hodgson as their choice to fill the position of England manager following Fabio Capello's resignation was greeted with a mixed reaction by the British media after his unveiling at Wembley on Tuesday afternoon.
Without even a minute of international football being played under Hodgson, the Sun has already decided to lampoon his appointment as manger of England with a front-page headline mocking the former Liverpool and Fulham manager's speech impediment: "Bwing on the Euwos! (We'll see you in Ukwaine against Fwance)."
Unsurprisingly, the headline has been widely criticised. The Everton and former England full-back Phil Neville tweeted – "Have u seen front page of the sun this morning disgraceful journalism-what chance have we got!" – while a former editor of the tabloid, David Yelland, described it as "cruel" and "hurtful". He tweeted: "So little compassion for Roy Hodgson today, bullying language, pointlessly cruel, pointlessly hurtful."
Inside, there was not much more affection for Hodgson. The tabloid's chief sports writer, Steven Howard, was distinctly underwhelmed by Hodgson's opening press conference and hinted heavily that his preferred choice for the job was someone else: "It wasn't the all-singing, all-dancing debut we might have expected from Harry Redknapp with journalists rolling around in the aisles and the men who might have appointed him but didn't slapping each other on the back and thinking: 'He's got them eating out of his hand already.'"
Howard also suggested that the new manager looked frightened and agitated by the vast media attention being focused on his appointment: "Faced by as many TV cameras and assorted media folk as he has ever seen at one time, Hodgson looked like the proverbial rabbit caught in the headlights. This was the moment he had waited for all his life and here he was sat in front of a bit of white cardboard saying 'Roy Hodgson – England manager'. You felt he might want to take it home with him and put it on his bedside table. Or, alternatively, send it to Anfield."
In the Daily Mail, the chief football correspondent, Matt Lawton, had a more positive view of the conference arguing that Hodgson said and did all the right things: "When it came to the first examination of Hodgson, England manager, the 64-year-old from Croydon gave a decent account of himself … Only time will tell if Hodgson is the right Englishman, but he made all the right noises. He said he would not be sticking to Stuart Pearce's bizarre timetable and naming a squad of 23 before a last Premier League ball had even been kicked, and he will make the John Terry-Rio Ferdinand issue a priority … As first days go, it had not been a bad one."
Lawton's positivity was mirrored by Oliver Holt in the Mirror. Holt said Hodgson did "pretty well" during his introduction to the press before going on to say that "it was clear that the job meant something to him. Something more than just a pay cheque, which gives him a headstart over a couple of his predecessors."
Matt Dickinson in the Times described the FA's decision to plump for Hodgson as an "obvious" one. "The marriage of Hodgson and [the FA's chairman David] Bernstein brought together two serious men who talk the same measured language, reflect the same outlook and, yesterday, seemed fully committed together for the long term. Suddenly the decision to go for Hodgson seemed so obvious, and it no doubt delighted Bernstein that we had all failed to spot it. The FA chairman was pleased with himself and, to be fair, he had his reasons for that contentment."
The FA's choice was also welcomed by the Daily Telegraph's Paul Hayward, who sees the appointment as a long-term decision that will eventually reap benefits for the future of English football: "The FA is thinking further ahead than Donetsk and Kiev, to a time when England teams of all ages flow together as they do in France or Spain." And while Hayward admits that in the short term, "Redknapp might have been a better bet to inspire the players with his intimate, charismatic style", he also argues that Hodgson deserves a chance. Read More
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