Roy Hodgson: The Most Disrespected Mind in the Game

After managing sixteen different clubs and four national teams, over a staggering 45-year career, Roy Hodgson has announced he will retire from management at the end of the season. The 73-year-old will lead Crystal Palace out at Anfield on Sunday, in what will be his final time in the dugout. 

He’ll be keen to go out on a high by spoiling his former club’s hopes of finishing in a Champions League place. Amongst modern-day football fans, it was his brief spell at Liverpool which perhaps dampened his reputation as one of the sport’s elite managers. His signings included Paul Konchesky, Milan Jovanović and Christian Poulsen – all of which didn’t exactly set the world alight, to be generous. Hodgson was released of his duties just six months after signing a three-year contract, sitting in a discouraging 12th place in the table.

Although it didn’t work out for Roy at Liverpool, the Croydon-born coach still boasts the most fascinating career of all. Hodgson is a revolutionary figure amongst football fans in Sweden, where his coaching career first started. He and fellow English coach, Bob Houghton, were credited for transforming Swedish football when they both managed different teams in the country in the 70s. 

Houghton was in charge of Malmö FF, whilst Hodgson managed Helmstads BK, IK Oddevold and Örebro SK, over an eight-year period. Their playing styles were very similar, with their teams playing a high defensive line and pressing hard in a 4-4-2 shape. Swedish sides were previously influenced heavily by German football, playing with a back three or four, favouring a man-marking system. However, after “English Bob” and “English Roy” implemented a zonal marking system, other teams would follow suit and a 4-4-2 shape became the typical setup in Allsvenskan.