Roy Hodgson for manager of the season?

Roy Hodgson comes across as a dour and unexciting character. He seems to be totally un-phased by failure and completely under-whelmed by success. It seems that he takes defeat and victory in exactly the same manner. As an outsider it is difficult to imagine the sixty-one year old Fulham manager motivating his players or inspiring them to produce more than they knew they were capable of.

Challenger

Despite all of that, Hodgson has made himself a very real challenger for the manager of the year award. Obviously, if Manchester United win the Premier League or the Champions League or both, it would be difficult to give the title to anyone other than Sir Alex Ferguson, but Hodgson deserves at least an honourable mention.

There are a few Premier League managers who have done exceptional jobs this season. Rafa Benitez has turned his Liverpool team into serious title contenders but may well come up just a little short.

Impressed

Martin O’Neill at Aston Villa and David Moyes at Everton have done their usual first class jobs. Harry Redknapp has transformed the fortunes of Tottenham and Tony Pulis has done a remarkable job in guiding Stoke City to safety. Gianfranco Zola has impressed in his first season and even Gary Megson, despite his critics, has done well with Bolton.

I still feel that Fulham’s Roy Hodgson stands head and shoulders above all of those other managers by taking what is an average Premier League team at best to the very brink of European qualification.

With two games to go they stand two points clear of their nearest rivals for the final Europa League place. It would have been hard to find anyone, including Fulham fans, who would have bet against Fulham battling against relegation at this stage of the season. To take that team to where they are is an absolute masterclass in the art of management.

Experience

Of course, there are few managers with more experience than Hodgson. He has managed teams in Sweden, England, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, United Arab Emirates, Norway and Finland. Included in that list are three national sides, Switzerland, UAE and Finland.

His record as a manager bears scrutiny as well. He has managed teams to the Swedish title four times, he has won the Danish league and cup, taken Inter to the UEFA cup final and taken an average Switzerland side to the European Championships and the World Cup.

Thrilled

Hodgson has often been linked with the England manager’s job but his apparent demeanour would never have made him a popular choice with the fans. When Fulham took him on from an ambassadorial role he held at Inter, where he is held in high regard, Fulham fans were not thrilled. Well, they are now!

Last season Hodgson led Fulham to one of the greatest escapes from relegation in the Premier League’s history, culminating with a 1-0 win over Portsmouth on the final day to keep them up on goal difference. This season, he has transformed them into one of the hardest teams to beat in the league.

Struggle

He has achieved this with a team of players of which most would struggle to find a first team place at other clubs in the division. Their keeper, Mark Schwartzer is the exception to the rule as he has been a top Premier League keeper for over a decade. However, when he left Middlesbrough at the age of thirty-six, many thought his days at the top were numbered.

Look at their back four. John Pantsil, couldn’t make it at West Ham. The phenomenon that is Brede Hangeland, who Hodgson took a chance on that nobody else would or did. Aaron Hughes and Paul Koncheskey. Would they play in any other Premier League team?

Plucked

Yesterday, their midfield consisted of Zoltan Gera signed from West Brom, Dickson Etuhu, plucked from relative obscurity with Preston, Norwich and Sunderland, thirty-two year old Danny Murphy who was languishing in Tottenham’s reserves and Clint Dempsey, a striker playing out of position and signed from New England Resolution.

Their strike force was Diomansy Kamara, who had been drifting with Portsmouth and West Brom and thirty-one year old Eric Nevland, who after failing to make the grade at Manchester United had played for a succession of clubs in Norway and Holland.

Swap

What did that team do? They brushed aside Aston Villa 3-1. Would Martin O’Neill swap any of his players for those from Fulham?

All in all, it is remarkable that this side are challenging for Europe and Roy Hodgson would certainly get my vote in contest to decide the manager of the season. He deserves all the credit in the world for a quite exceptional performance.