Former England captain Steven Gerrard has welcomed the appointment of former Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson as the new manager of England. The English national team were without a manager since the resignation of Fabio Capello a few months ago.
The English FA have not been swift in appointing a new manager as a replacement, which has led to many speculations surrounding the team. However, the English FA have now acted in order to help the team in the preparations for the Euro 2012, which is only a few weeks away. As a result, they have appointed West Brom manager Roy Hodgson, who was out of contract in the summer.
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp and West Brom manager Roy Hodgson were the front-runners for the job. However, the English FA have decided to go for the latter option without having second thoughts because it meant that they need not pay a huge severance fee to the club.
Due to the long contract Harry Redknapp has with Tottenham, it would have cost the English FA at least £ 10 million to secure his services. Roy Hodgson, meanwhile, did not cost a huge amount of money. Roy Hodgson had a disastrous spell with Liverpool a few seasons ago, but Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has welcomed the appointment.
“I’ve worked with Roy. He’s a good man and a good manager. It’s important he’s given a chance and I’m looking forward to working with him again,” Gerrard said after the appointment was confirmed by the English FA. Roy Hodgson has said that his immediate target will be to make it into the quarter-finals of the Euro 2012. Hodgson refused to comment on the future England captain given that John Terry has recently been sacked from the post. It was John Terry’s removal from the captaincy that led to the resignation of Fabio Capello.