Go Roy!

Come on be honest, what were you expectations for the European Championships this summer before Roy Hodgson got the gig this afternoon? Were they high? Did you expect to be sitting in your living room, celebratory beer in hand at just after 10:30 on Sunday 1st July watching Steven Gerrard, Rio Ferdinand or Frank Lampard lift the Henri Delaunay Trophy for the first time? No, of course you didn't.

At best you were hoping that England managed to smuggle themselves out of Group D as runners-up and lose gloriously to Spain in the Quarter Finals. Until last weekend you probably expected to be watching Jamie Redknapp and his Dad murder the English language in glorious all singing all dancing HD, the former an analyst, the latter England's manager.

Well after months of telling anybody who would listen that he didn't want to talk about the job, guess what? Yep, Harry didn't get the chance to talk about the job. Most of Harry's supporters seem to be in the 'he's a diamond geezer' camp, who think that keeping Modric happy, turning Gareth Bale into a poor mans Dani Alves and persuading Rafael van der Vaart that an hours football each week in the Premiership is better than a full game for the stiffs in Madrid is somehow the pinnacle of football management. His tactical nous seems to be based purely on his ability to get a Tottenham side, that was so underachieving under a manager who could barely speak a word of English that it managed just two out of twenty four points, up to the point where they were when they sacked their previous manager.

Well apart from the recent match against Norwich City there has been very little evidence of this tactical genius at work.

Everybody loves Harry, but then everybody loved Sven, Fabio, Schteve and Glenn, damn it even Keggie Keegle could be forgiven most things because we loved him, but between them they won sod all. Roy may not be the all singing, all dancing favourite of our press but he hasn't done badly as a coach and his low key approach may be what the national team needs. Not soundbites, stupid quotes and tips for the dogs at Walthamstow, we need somebody who can get ideas across. Listen to the players who have played under him or worked with him and they say he is a good communicator. His only crime at Liverpool was that he wasn't Kenny Dalglish. He has, to borrow the old cliche, had more clubs than Jack Nicklaus but he hasn't done badly at some of them.

Let's give him a chance. At least until 8pm on Monday 11 June when the England players either trudge slowly or march quickly off the pitch in Donetsk having just begun the Euros against France.