Words matter. These are the best Glenn Hoddle Quotes, and they’re great for sharing with your friends.
I had some very good players and some wonderful young players hitting the scene. Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scholes, David Beckham, Michael Owen – we had something tangible to work with and move forward.
If you’ve had the No. 1 job, why would you go back and be reserve manager? Is Alex Ferguson going to be reserve manager for Manchester United? It’s like a boxer going into the ring with one arm behind his back. Why would you do it? You’re going to get knocked out.
We have to change the way we coach kids in the long-term so that by the time they hit 16, they are better than the Spanish, French, and German players. That is the big challenge, but the No. 1 criteria for me has always been how you are technically judged, from the age of eight, not size or power.
The old adage that you shouldn’t change a winning team doesn’t apply in modern international football because managers have to study the opposition and pick players who exploit their weaknesses.
I’ve always had my own opinions and have always been somebody who thinks outside the box.
I have a number of alternatives, and each one gives me something different.
As England manager I always felt we needed an extra man in midfield to retain the ball, but that was more as an attacking ploy to help create opportunities. It came from my experience playing international football in a 4-4-2 and spending half my time chasing the ball.
It’s the biggest thing in the world in many ways, football. People don’t want to talk about politics. They don’t want to talk about religion. They want to talk about football – wherever you go.
My saddest decision in football was leaving Paul Gascoigne out of the 1998 World Cup finals. But he wasn’t fit enough and once that decision is made, as a manager and a group of players, you forget about who isn’t there and focus on the job.
No manager in the world gets good results all the time and you know there’s people always ready to have a snipe. In fact I’m my own biggest critic, I really am. Because my own standards are so high, I criticise myself behind the scenes more than perhaps I should, according to people who know me well.
Nobody criticised me when we qualified for the World Cup when I decided that the best shape for us going forward was three men at the back and stretching the pitch width-wise, which gives you options.
I started the 1998 World Cup with Teddy Sheringham up front but always planned for Michael Owen to face Colombia in our final group game because they defended square and a quick striker would be able to exploit the space behind them.
You and I have been physically given two hands and two legs and half-decent brains. Some people have not been born like that for a reason. The karma is working from another lifetime.
It was my proudest moment as a manager when England drew 0-0 with Italy in Rome to qualify for the World Cup finals. Fifteen years later, the stakes are equally high for both countries as they go head-to-head for a semi-final place at the European Championship.
