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The fact that England, a team shimmering with talent, managed merely two shots on target against an insipid Norway team on Wednesday evening speaks for itself. It is damning evidence that Roy Hodgson is not adequately suited to advance England and to entice optimal performance from its gifted youth. "Don't give me that," insisted Hodgson but it is almost impossible to acquiesce to his irate request.
Yes, Norway deployed and executed a strategy intended to shackle and resist England's undoubted quality, succeeding in their objective courtesy of numerous instances of stoic defending. Yes, manager Per-Mathias Hogmo had instilled a defensive mind-set into his players to exasperate England, the Norwegians succeeding in their endeavours before a 40,000 crowd at Wembley, with the 50,000 absent supporters proven right.
England must drastically improve if they are to withstand the powers of the world’s 9th ranked national team inspired by the mesmeric Xherdan Shaqiri, per the often illogical FIFA rankings, but the Football Association’s aspirations should aspire to go farther than simply reaching Paris in 2016.
It will be a long time until Wembley is full again. A campaign in Brazil which was thought to be promising was extensively humbling, immediately obliterating the sense of calm and encouragement which had been generated by the talented youth at Hodgson's enviable disposal.
There were moments of encouragement, most notably in Manaus against Italy, but England's displays against Uruguay and Costa Rica in Group D were frankly woeful, doing little to satisfy the notion that Hodgson had enticed the best from the ability in his squad.
Whether it was players selected out of position, as in Wayne Rooney's case, or a lack of enough faith to start the likes of Ross Barkley and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in Brazil, Hodgson had failed to satisfy the expectations of the English public.
Detrimental modest ambitions
Like the elite of his workplace, in the FA, Hodgson's visions for England should exude more arrogance, forbidding the consideration of Switzerland as superior opponents. Jack Wilshere, with respect to England's opponents in Group E, heralded the modest group as "tough". If England are to succeed, ambitions must be raised higher.
"Switzerland will need to beat us, if anything, we might be Norway on Monday," said Hodgson. "We might be pushed back and can't attack or dominate for long periods, as we did on Wednesday. I don't think the mind-set of the Swiss team, playing us in Basel, will be the same as the mind-set of the Norwegians."
It would be risible to claim that Hodgson has deprived youth of chances to accentuate their virtues but it would be incorrect in equal measure to suggest England's failure in Brazil came due to the inexperience of youth. With the average age of the starting line-up against Norway merely 24, Hodgson was unable to entice optimal performances from talents destined for great heights.
If he had been German, Argentine or Brazilian, he would have been informed of his sacking as he led his players off the pitch against Costa Rica in Belo Horizonte. If England are to ever compete equally alongside the elite of world football, they must match the ambitions of such football federations.
What England need is a young mind, driven to succeed. The notion that an English manager is required would be suicidal; there just aren't enough.
Brendan Rodgers, although a Northern Irishman, would be suited perfectly to the role, as would Merseyside counter-part and Everton manager Roberto Martinez. Two young marvels Hodgson was guilty of failing to entice optimal ability, in Raheem Sterling and Ross Barkley, were developed to prominence by both managers.
Rodgers has sparked extraordinary progression in three of Liverpool's England internationals, calling upon his adroit management to transform Jordan Henderson, Daniel Sturridge and Sterling into enviable talents. John Stones, who made his full international debut on Wednesday, is a product of Martinez's wonderfully unerring faith, thriving upon it at Goodison Park.
Their ambitions match those possessed by the elite of the Deutscher Fussball-Bund, the German football federation. Rodgers led Liverpool from a seventh place finish to second place, refusing to be daunted by the intimidating magnitude of the task before him while Martinez guided Everton to emergence from doggedly finishing in the top 6 or 7 to protecting Champions League aspirations, with chairman Bill Kenwright persuaded by Martinez's ambition into discarding his propensity for spending sparsely and so invest £28 million in Romelu Lukaku.
If England are to ever compete equally with the elite of world football, the FA must match the ambitions of their rivals.
