ALEX FERGUSON was the first yesterday with the bouquets that rained down on Roy Hodgson from his peers for his “miraculous” achievement of leading Fulham to the Europa League final.
The Manchester United manager initiated calls for the 62-year-old to receive his profession’s ultimate accolade and plenty followed suit. “Roy should be manager of the year, there is absolutely no doubt about it,” Ferguson said. “It’s a miracle. Hopefully he does win it now, but it’s one of the best British performances of all time.”
This endorsement from the man who has won the League Managers Association award twice and been named the Premier League Manager of the Year nine times was followed by one from Arsene Wenger, the collector of three LMA and two Premier League awards. The Arsenal manager said: “Fantastic. He’s the one who has made the team more than anybody and he’s maybe the one who deserves it (the award).”
His Tottenham counterpart, Harry Redknapp, who voted for Hodgson last season, also said he should win this year.
The Wolves manager, Mick McCarthy, hardly noted for his gushing compliments, agreed: “Roy and Fulham have had a couple of fantastic seasons. Don’t forget, they were 4-1 down to Juventus at one stage and to come back and win that game and get to the final is amazing.”
That March evening against Juventus was a dazzling occasion for Fulham and for any fan of the comic-book footballing comeback. The Italian side were 1-0 up after only two minutes, meaning their 4-1 aggregate lead required Fulham to score four times due to the away goals rule.
Italian clubs playing in Europe wrote the manual on parking the bus to defend a lead. But Fulham, somehow, prevailed. When Clint Dempsey’s sublime 82nd-minute chip went in for the winner it was carnival time at Craven Cottage, Hodgson’s men appearing to have given the fans the most memorable moment from a lifetime watching the team.
It could not get any better they, and everyone else, thought. But that was before Thursday’s effort. Having failed to score the previous week at Hamburg’s Nordbank Arena in the first leg, Fulham emerged for the second half at the Cottage 1-0 down to Mladen Petric’s 30-yard free-kick.
Hogdson’s players produced a fightback for the ages by drawing on their manager’s half-time advice. Brede Hangeland summed up Hodgson’s simple message as: “Keep doing what you’re doing.” The defender added: “We tried to play our football and it paid off.”
Simon Davies’s superb volleyed finish for the equaliser and Zoltan Gera’s 76th-minute winner propelled Fulham into the final and their fans into dreamland.
“Why not?” was Sven-Goran Eriksson’s response when asked whether Hodgson could eventually take the job the Swede once held, as manager of the England team. Why not, indeed.
