England provide an unenviable task for Hodgson

Last week, the FA made the long overdue appointment of Fabio Capello's successor as England manager. To the surpise of many, it was West Brom's Roy Hodgson who got the nod, against the popular demand of Harry Redknapp. Arguably the key factor in Hodgson's favour is the vast amount of international experience he already has having previously managed Switzerland, Finland and the United Arab Emirates to varying degrees of success. Those three international jobs have been spread across a vast career at club level which has seen success in Sweden and Denmark as well as two stints at Internazionale and most recently impressive spells at Fulham and West Brom, either side of the debacle at Liverpool. What happened at Anfield shouldn't be forgotten but it is a minor blip on a largely successful career and the many factors which played a part in Hodgson's failure there must be taken into consideration. It certainly wasn't all his fault that it didn't work out.

Despite the incredible levels of experience which Hodgson has, the task of leading the Three Lions is certain to be the most difficult he has faced. The pressure from fans, media and even the incredible amount of big-name players is incomparable to most other jobs in football and Hodgson will be keen to get off to a winning start on the field with the forthcoming Norway and Belgium friendlies, and of course the Euro 2012 group stage. However, before then he has the incredibly difficult task of naming a squad for a tournament despite having previously worked with very few of the players available. The biggest issue to settle does seem to be the possibility of including Rio Ferdinand and John Terry in the squad together. Both have apparently stated they are happy to play together but with the much-discussed racism court case hanging over the Chelsea captain, his mental state may be subject to questioning. Having already been stripped of the England captaincy twice, is Terry really of any further use to England? Certainly he is a great defender, but England are not lacking in the department with Ferdinand, Joleon Lescott, Gary Cahill, Micah Richards, Phil Jagielka and Phil Jones all available. In the past few weeks Terry has not been on sparkling form, with his unbelievably idiotic red card in the Nou Camp followed by a genuinely disastrous performance at Anfield this week. When Hodgson thinks about whether his inclusion is really worth it, he is likely to conclude that it isn't.

Even with that settled, there is much more to be decided upon. Not least the captaincy, which Stuart Pearce temporarily handed to Scott Parker in February's friendly defeat to Holland. A major stumbling block here is who is actually guaranteed to start every match? Previous captains Ferdinand and Steven Gerrard both have injury issues. Wayne Rooney has his two-match ban at the start of the group stage and his international disciplinary record is hardly one which makes him captaincy material. As good as Parker has been this season, it is not even certain that he will start every game. Ashley Cole has the most caps out of everyone in the squad and is certain to start but his off-field track record is comparable to Terry's and on the field he isn't exactly leadership material. Joe Hart is young, at 24, but arguably the right man for the job. Playing in goal hasn't been an issue for Iker Casillas captaining Spain to success and Hart is focused, exemplary, level-headed and comes with no baggage. As well as Cole and (after suspension) Rooney, he is also guaranteed to play every game. Also, unlike most of the outfield players, he has no history of niggling injuries. With Hodgson having managed Ben Foster this season, he may manage to convince the on-loan Birmingham 'keeper to change his mind about not playing for his country and provide back-up in a position where England are dangerously thin on the ground.

There are problem positions all over the pitch for England with Richards, Glen Johnson, Kyle Walker and Jones all options at right-back (Chris Smalling's injury could be a blessing in disguise as it narrows Hodgson's options). The central midfielders in the frame seem to be Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Gareth Barry, Parker and Michael Carrick - all of whom are on the wrong side of 30. With Jack Wilshere missing the entire season through injury and Jack Rodwell and Tom Cleverley suffering from their own injuries it would appear the next generation will have to wait for the next tournament. Parker, Barry, Lampard and Carrick have all performed admirably this season, the latter two particularly in the second half of the campaign but the Liverpool captain is still viewed as a world class performer by many and it would be hard not to select him. Carrick would have almost certainly missed out under Capello but with a new man at the helm, he could find himself back in favour.

On the wings, Ashley Young seems a dead cert following his form for England in recent matches and his growing role at Manchester United. Theo Walcott is currently recovering from injury, Aaron Lennon has missed larged spells this season and Adam Johnson has failed to force himself into Roberto Mancini's first choice team at the Etihad Stadium. James Milner will fancy his chances of a starting role but again Hodgson has a decision to make over how many players he can take. The much-vaunted Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could be a shock call-up but it would be hard for Hodgson to justify after so little game time for Arsenal. Daniel Sturridge and Danny Welbeck have both had impressive, if not quite world-beating seasons in the Premier League, and both can play on the flanks as well as at centre-forward. Rooney's suspension would appear to put Welbeck in pole position to lead the line but the much-maligned Peter Crouch, also-maligned Andy Carroll, similarly-maligned Bobby Zamora and uncapped yet still-maligned Norwich City striker Grant Holt (the second highest English scorer in the Premier League this season) will all be looking for a call up if Hodgson wants a target man. Evidently, none of these options will please all of the fans. Darren Bent's injury looks certain to rule him out of the tournament but Jermain Defoe will still be hopeful of a place in the squad, if not the starting line-up.

So, it can be seen, that Roy Hodgson has a mountain to climb. But he has succeeded in the past with major challenges - turning West Brom from relegation fodder to a stable mid-table outfit should not be underestimated, and leading Fulham to the Europa League Final was a modern-day football miracle. It has been said that Hodgson has only truly excelled in 'making average teams look a bit better', but judging on the past few years of England performances, that is exactly what the man needs to do to this current outfit. He'll do well to get out of the group stage. If he reaches the semi-finals, a feat which England haven't done since 1996, he will become a demi-god.