Hodgson resignation

I am told from the England dressing room at the Euros that Roy Hodgson was very upset as he left the pitch after England’s humiliating defeat to Iceland. He made his way to the dressing room and found a fairly deserted area and called over his two assistants, Gary Neville and Ray Lewington. They then wrote his hasty resignation note which Roy presented at the press conference after calling FA officials to tell them. Roy then refused to speak to anyone and went straight back to the England hotel and packed his bags. England left the following morning after breakfast refusing to speak to anyone. The fact is that after taking £14million in wages over four years Hodgson achieved nothing much at all and he did not want journalists bringing that up at the post match briefing.
Worries for Non-EU players
Britain has voted to leave the European Union and that could bring problems for many of the UK’s European football stars. Many of them might need work permits. At the moment the main requirement for a player coming from outside the Union is that they are internationals and of course many players do not fulfill that criteria. There are 332 players in England and Scotland who would fail the work permit requirements. Not one of the 53 foreign players in Scotland’s Premiership would qualify. The players’ agents are working furiously with government officials to clarify the situation.
MY Euros’ favourite joke
Why didn’t Raheem Sterling vote in the UK’s EU Referendum?  Because he didn’t know how to put a cross into the box!
Pique’s honesty
Spain’s Gerard Pique has expressed his sadness at his country being knocked out to Italy. Gerard said afterwards, “We have to admit that we are not the team of two years ago. Some players are getting older, do not have the pace and concentration and although there are young players coming through they are not yet ready. We have to accept that for the next two or three years, Spain is not going to be the force it has been.”
Opening the Floodgates at Leicester
Jamie Vardy’s new £100,000 contract, breaking Leicester’s previous £80k upper limit, is not the hottest news from the Champions. What is new is that several of the Leicester players have now instructed their agents to re-negotiate their salaries. Vardy’s new deal was not supposed to be announced until next month at the earliest but several players have come forward to say that winning the Premiership was a team effort, as Claudio Ranieri has often said, and therefore it is not fair to reward one particular player.
Klopp’s fitness regime
Following their loss in the Europa Cup, where Liverpool crumbled away in the second half, manager JurgenKlopp has told his players that he is going to make them super fit. Starting a pre-season programme he intends to treat training rather like a boot camp with 7am starts, reduced holidays and in the meantime a summer fitness schedule. Bayern Munich’s highly respected nutritionist is also joining the club. Fixtures hoping to be played are participation in the United States International Champions Cup against Chelsea and AC Milan and they are hoping to play Barcelona in a pre-season friendly at Wembley.
Monk the Brave
My vote for bravest man in football is Leed’s new boss Gary Monk. It is only his second management job after being sacked by Swansea last December following a poor run of results. That sacking however might help him deal with one of football’s most “sacking” owners. Massimo Cellino, the Leeds boss, has shown the door to six managers in two years! Ridiculous? Yes, certainly and Gary must be a brave man to put his head on the block!
Everton Bonus
Ronald Koeman leaving Southampton and  joining Everton as manager could have a handsome reward for the Northern club. Defensive star in the making, John Stones, was looking to leave Everton with big bids being tempted by some of the leading Premiership clubs. Now, I understand, Stones might think again with Koeman in charge because he recognises that a manager of Koeman’s status and ability can bring big rewards to the club. Both Man Utd and Man City are targeting Stones for around £50m.
Ground sabotage            I heard a lovely story this week to finish on…The bosses of Tottenham have stepped up security arrangements when they start building their new stadium which will be next to the current White Hart Lane stadium. Spurs are spending around £400million to create a 61,000 seater ground so that it beats fierce rivals Arsenal’s 60,000 capacity! However, they have been tipped off that some Arsenal fans will be among the builders and they might try and bury souvenirs, such as Arsenal shirts, under the ground or in the brickwork! Apparently this type of sabotage is more common than we think and opposing fans will go to great lengths to embarrass their rivals.