Paddy Barclay – the man who told us Roy would soon be moving on to replace David Moyes at Everton because the Fulham board didn’t match his ambition – is the now the leading cheerleader for Hodgson to take the England job.
Everyone agrees that Fabio Capello is one of the main reasons for increased optimism about England’s chances in the World Cup — and yet, if the Italian suddenly quit, few would panic.
The FA would immediately think of Roy Hodgson. Its discussions would take in Harry Redknapp, too, but for a variety of reasons, including breadth of experience, Hodgson would be the first choice and an approach would be made to Fulham, whose owner, Mohammed Al Fayed, would cheerfully agree to release his manager in the national interest, perhaps quipping: “Maybe now I’ll get a UK passport.”
There’s a growing swell of support for Hodgson to return to international management with England but, in the event that Capello steps down anytime soon (and the only way I can see that happening is if he wins the World Cup in South Africa this summer), I’d imagine the FA might plump for a younger man, i.e. Stuart Pearce, for example. And I’d be happy with that. That’s not to say Roy doesn’t deserve a crack at managing his country – but he’s got a job to finish with Fulham first.
