Dave Kean

Harry Redknapp was appointed by the media as the next England manager a couple of months ago, it seemed to be a done deal. Only someone forgot to mention this to the FA. They appointed Roy Hodgson to the post today.

Surprised? Yeah a little, but not nearly as surprised as the British press who gave a collective “No… Really? WTF…” today.

I’ve been thinking about this and while I don’t believe he’s the best manager around, he may be the best choice right now.

Perhaps it was in reaction to the disasters of Graham Taylor and Glen Hoddle, but since then England has tried to make big statements with their managers, and it’s not worked out too well.

Sven “Fox on the box” was a response to naive and nationally embarrassing passion of Keegan. Then once Sven was found out Steve McClaren was given the job because he was as far away from Sven as possible.

Capello came next and was hired because he was the best in the world. And how did the World cup in South Africa go in 2010?

Roy Hodgson has issues going into the job. Maybe biggest is that he’s never played at a high level and getting the respect of the players is going to be hard (re. Taylor and McClaren). But a little Wikipedia surfing says he’s the first ever England manager to have led a team to the World Cup or the European Championships. And that experience could be huge.

It’s not like Hodgson’s resume is empty. Ten league titles in Scandinavia and he took Inter and Fulham to the UEFA (Europa League) Final. Most relevant is his time managing Switzerland; he took them to both the 1994 World Cup and Euro 96.

If he can control the egos in the England camp, get the team playing together and working as a squad, rather than the collection of players we have seen so often on the international stage (and at Liverpool before King Kenny took over).

I think the biggest issue with English football is that homegrown players are simply not as skillful on the ball as those of the other big national sides. That comes down to the FA and the system they run. The level of technical coaching in England is inadequate, and until that base is in place, England will keep failing to live up to the hype.

With the glorious exception of Italia 90, I’ve spent a lifetime watching England teams get it wrong when they make it into the major tournaments. With the churn of the last six months getting out of the group stages would be an achievement at Euro2012. The manager is not the issue, they rarely are (looking at you Graham Taylor), but they are a convenient person to blame. Hodgson may not be the manager the team (or media) wants, but if he can get them to listen he may be the manager they need.
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Related articles

• Hodgson: The brave or safe choice for England? (itv.com)
• FA’s Hodgson choice gets Hoddle’s backing (espn.co.uk)
• Roy Hodgson Approached For England Job (news.sky.com)

The last month has been a fun diversion, I’ve rather enjoyed the A-to-Z Challenge. I read a lot of new blogs, added a couple to my bookmarks and exchanged tweets and email with some new and interesting people. However it’s time to get back to other projects that have been a little neglected.

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Over the last twenty something years I’ve competed in a large number of cars all over the world. Some of the most fun have been in yellow cars partnered by a close friends Carey. We’ve been racing together for more than a decade and had enough success to have won a couple of championships together.

There can never be enough gratuitous rally car pictures, so here is one more.

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A slightly different tack today, I could have shared x-rays of my head, but decided maybe not this time. I live in Washington, it’s a beautiful state and I am close to both mountains and the sea.

There is no place like the Pacific Northwest in the summer, and if you live here you know that. We live for those three or four months of great weather that makes the grey, leaden skies of the rest of the year bearable.

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I think Jeff Wayne’s musical version of the story was my first exposure to the story. A recording that has stood the test of time very well BTW and still worth checking out. I remember dad had the double LP with the wonderful artwork.

After the musical version I remember seeing the 1953 film. This was a great classic science fiction film and followed the general plot of the book. While there were no tripods, there was the terrific Manta Ray shaped Martian war machines.

Eventually I read the book. A lot of it is set around HG Well’s home in Woking and it presents a factual, linear telling of the invasion and aftermath from the point of view of the unnamed narrator. The aliens landed on Horsal Common and fought their way towards London 30 miles away. It’s a very interesting and influential book and Woking celebrates this legacy with a three-legged Martian tripod in the middle of the town center.

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I’m not a Roman Catholic, but that never stopped me being absolutely awestruck when walking into St Peters. Millions of others have walked through the same doors, and if anyone of them ever mentioned to you that they though “Cool, now where is the gift shop”, check to see if they have a pulse.

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It’s well documented that live sports is like crack to me, there are a few reasons for that. The drama, unpredictability, the chance to see some spectacular, anticipation, the athletics, appreciating the skill involved and so on. Those are all fine things, but top of the list is the shared experience, the atmosphere created by a group of people all emotionally invested in what’s happening on the field of play.

That unity, the us-verses-them mentality makes for a very special atmosphere in the stadium or arena. I’ve been lucky and see some astounding  athletes do some incredible things, but it would mean a lot less if it were not for those around me, all of us unified in the moment.Tweet

Even the biggest cities have a feature that tends to became a focus point as the city grew and developed. For London that’s the River Thames.

It’s still maybe the most important thoroughfare for the city. Most of what’s important is close to the Thames. It takes about an hour to walk from stroll from the Houses of Parliament along the South Bank to the Tower of London. While walking along the Thames may not have the romanticism of a stroll along the Seine in Paris, it’s every bit as interesting.

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Another Seattle icon, one that’s just turned 50 years old.

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I’ve competed in some form of racing for far longer than I care to mention, long before it was considered an extreme sport. Racing has taken me all over the world and given me so much. Great stories, wonderful memories and some of the closest friendships I will ever have.

Rallying is just about the best way to spend a weekend, it’s an excuse for hanging out in the woods with my friends. It’s just for fun and bragging rights, and is about as much fun as you can have wearing fireproof overalls.

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