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HODGSON BACKS FERGIE

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England national team manager Roy Hodgson has said that the achievements of Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who will be stepping down from his post after more than 26 years in charge of the club, will probably never be equalled. Ferguson is regarded as one of the greatest managers in the history of the sport. He has managed to guide United to more than 30 major titles during his time at the club. This includes 13 league titles and two Champions League titles as well. He has decided to retire as a manager after more than 40 years in the sport.

He will be stepping down at the end of the season and Everton manager David Moyes is expected to be announced as his replacement. Ferguson was appointed as the manager of Manchester United back in 1986. Hodgson has revealed that Ferguson had more qualities than just being a very good manager. He has recalled how the 71-year-old has helped him at various stages in his career. Ferguson will be leaving United as the champions of England after getting the club to their 20th league title this season.

Hodgson, whose England team are fighting with Montenegro for a spot in the FIFA World Cup 2014, has wished the 71-year-old the best of health and happiness in his retirement career.

“It’s impossible to add anything really to all the tributes that have been made. I’m personally a little bit sad he’s not continuing, although I more than respect his decision to retire and hope he enjoys it. The only thing I can add is his human qualities. His footballing qualities and everything he achieved is never going to equalled. The epithet ‘the greatest’ is more than well deserved. I’m sure in terms of being available for the new man, he’ll be a godsend,” said the England manager.

STARS SHOULD PLAY

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England manager Roy Hodgson has said that he wants his stars to be available for the friendly matches against the Republic of Ireland and Brazil at the end of the season. England will be playing against Ireland in the final week of May, while Brazil will be the opponents at the iconic Maracana stadium in Brazil just before the start of the Confederations cup. There have been growing concerns about the number of matches that players have been playing in recent months. As a result, a number of the high profile players have pulled out of recent friendly matches.

Hodgson does not want a repeat of this situation ahead of the crucial matches. He has said that the stars should not excuse themselves from the friendly matches if they want to be part of the England team. A number of the top teams from England will be having international commitments as part of their promotions. They are unlikely to be happy with losing their star players for meaningless friendly matches. Hodgson has been facing criticism from the media after a number of poor performances since he has taken over.

Hodgson’s team have been able to win only against minnows like San Marino and Moldova. They are currently second in the group stages.

“We didn’t win in Monte-negro because we didn’t retain possession and dominate the midfield in the second half as well as we did in the first 45 minutes. It’s no more complicated than that. But our ball retention wasn’t too bad against San Marino or in our previous game against Brazil, so I refuse to accept that because we didn’t play so well for 45 minutes, that it’s suddenly all about ball retention. Every time a team has a period when they don’t play to the very high levels of expectations,” said Hodgson.