In the end England just served up another quarter final defeat in a major tournament. They lost to the eventual losing finalists, Italy, on penalties when first Ashley Young and then Ashley Cole missed from 12 yards.

Hodgson always set England up to play a defensive game and spoke confidently about extra time and penalties before the game against Italy. The suspicion was, and is,
that he played for the draw, that his miserable game plan was at best to nick the game with a chance from a free kick.

Spain played with 8 midfielders and in many ways Hodgson played with 8 defenders. Ashley Young was poor as second left back and on the right Milner was so dutiful
that Glen Johnson began to look the wide right part. The mindset of the players was so set that they instantly shrank before your eyes into 2 lines of 4 without an alternative
clue.

Brooking and the suits at The FA had of course undermined any serious ambition by trumpeting their realistic “management of expectations” mantra like keen young business trainees. They set the bar so low that they could protect their man puppet Hodgson from the blow back from a disappointed public. It worked and an ever pliant press sucked it up.

Those responsible for the game in England protected their position and threw away a tournament. Ultimately Hodgson did not even have the wit to win a penalty shoot out. He did not manage final phase of the game successfully. Not many fans would have put Young and Cole in their first 5 penalty takers. He totally failed at this level but Englands failure was far deeper and more troubling than losing to Italy, it was a failure of spirit and ultimately a humiliation.

England failed to compete for the Championship. They turned up “hoping” to get out of the group and by the end, in defeat, there was a smug satisfaction that their performance had in some way been creditable. The management at the FA in some way seemed to feel that they had managed
the situation successfully. But they have not, they have managed only defeat and delivered only defeat and a gutless, spiritless defeat at that.

Of course Hodgson should resign and go back to some mid-table Premiership club and so should all those who appointed him. Its football, it’s a results business and not only was the result terrible the manner of it was embarrassing. Get lost Hodgson and take the management with you.