Hodgson now needs to focus firmly on the Euros

Roy Hodgson may well have enjoyed a relatively successful season by West Brom's modest standards, but the pressure is now firmly on for the new England manager to prove himself capable of being the individual to bring England out of the doldrums and into the glory days of having a successful international tournament after so many years of failure and misery for England fans.

With the media already doing their best to turn against the new manager of the national team after their choice (yes, the media's choice; not the fans' choice) Harry Redknapp was denied the opportunity to take charge, the pressure is on Hodgson to show that he can motivate players who have previously publicly backed other managers for the England position and who are yet to openly embrace Roy as the new head coach.

If Hodgson doesn't make an impact at the European Championships, few would be surprised, given  the Betfair England Euro 2012 Odds has the Three Lions as outsiders, with qualification from the group seen as an achievement.

But it shouldn't be forgotten that this is a man who has been brought into the role at least partially in order to provide a new approach to the way the backroom staff and FA is organised, in order to ensure that Jack Wilshere is not the only youngster brought through in future who is perceived as being truly world class.

With this in mind, the most difficult aspect of the job for the FA short-term may be to convey to the media that Roy is not going to be a man for the short term, but is instead an individual brought in to make sure that when we kick off the 2018 World Cup (2014 has already been quietly written off due to the climate and the fact that Brazil will be massive favourites to win on home soil), we're well placed to push on towards the latter stages.

Whatever happens this summer, though, the pressure is now on Roy, big time.
Looking elsewhere, the Betfair Spain Euro 2012 Odds put them as joint favourites for the trophy with an ever-improving Germany.

Afoa backs Ulster appointment

Ulster tight-head John Afoa is backing fellow countryman Mark Anscombe to make a success of his coaching tenure at the club when arrives in the province next year.

The Heineken Cup finalists have appointed Ansombe as the successor to current coach Brian McLaughlin, who will switch his attentions to Academy and schools rugby from next season.

The appointment came as a shock to many rugby observers from within the betfair.com community, but Afoa says he’s delighted with the appointment.

“He coached me for a year when I left school and then I had him on and off for three years at Auckland,” he explained.

“I think he’s a great coach. Everyone talks about Brian being such a loss, but I think Mark coming in can maybe take things on by doing some things a little bit different.

“Mark’s going to come in and hopefully add a few things that are going to improve our game, improve our forwards and help us go even better come next year.”

Though Ulster have already started to plan for next season, the team still has a huge Heineken Cup date on this year’s calendar.

The Irish outfit qualified for the final of the prestigious competition thanks to victory over Edinburgh on April 28, and they will now face Leinster for the right to call themselves European champions.

It promises to be a close encounter between the two rivals, as reflected by the tight Heineken Cup odds offered by most bookmakers.

And success in the Heineken Cup would be an excellent way for Ulster to end the season, says Afoa, following a slightly disappointing RaboDirect Pro12 campaign.

“We didn’t get to where we wanted to be in the league, and that’s disappointing,” said the New Zealander.

“But we have an opportunity now to create a very positive memory of this season. All of the players are striving to turn the campaign into a positive.”

Trott Backs Strauss to Get Runs this Summer

England’s batsman struggled over their disappointing winter tour of the sub-continent, and much of the media focus was on captain, Andrew Strauss, but Jonathan Trott has backed him to rediscover his form.

The top four of Strauss, Trott, Alistair Cook, and Kevin Pietersen all failed to impress with the bat – bar the one last game of the series – as they were beaten comprehensively by Pakistan and then humbled by Sri Lanka.

All eyes will be back on England, who still top the ICC Test rankings, as they face the West Indies and South Africa in a home Test series, before heading back over to the sub-continent to take on India, at the back end of the year.

In the Test with the West Indies, England will triumph, according to the betting with Bet Victor.

Strauss has returned to play for Middlesex, as he searches to rediscover some batting form, while Pietersen has been excelling in the Indian Premier League. 

The barmy army faithful will be praying England’s top stars can excel yet again with the bat and Trott has backed his skipper, claiming the whole squad are behind him.

Trott told the BBC that the media criticism “comes with the territory” of leading England, but he thinks that Strauss, who has only topped 50 twice in nine Test innings, in 2012, will come good yet again.

He added: “We saw what happened with Alastair Cook. He had a bad run and went on to become Test batsman of the year. I'm not saying Strauss is going to do that, but he might go on to score even more.”

Pietersen has returned to England after his IPL experience and he is set to play for Surrey in the County Championship; that one game will be his only preparation in English conditions, ahead of the first Test with the West Indies.

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