The England Manager has since resigned after the ignominious defeat to Iceland.
The European Football Championship is in full swing in France. The England Manager, Roy Hodgson, has an annual salary of £3.2 million, making him the highest paid manager in the tournament.
Has he earned that salary? Do managers in football or business really make a difference? Once the players are on the pitch (or busy working) can the manager have real influence?
In the 2014 World Cup nearly 20% of goals scored came from substitutes. Some of those substitutions would have been injury-related but the majority would have been driven by a change in tactics, lead by the manager.
At half-time in the match against Wales, Hodgson made two substitutions. England were losing 0-1 but recovered to win 2-1 with both substitutes scoring goals. The perfect manager!
Claiming it was “a controlled decision” seems exaggerated. Hodgson had never made a single half-time substitution in his 3 tournaments as England manager. As a nation, England had never made a double substitution at half-time in any leading tournament since substitution began!
It was out of the ordinary because it had to be. By design or desperation? Only Hodgson knows but it worked and he’s was hailed as a hero.
Following 6 team changes and a 0-0 draw with Slovakia the comments about Hodgson are less positive!
How do you make a difference to your teams? Are you hands-on or a ‘big picture’ manager?
Do you have examples of management excellence that has changed business?