Honouring Roy Hodgson

Last night I attended a soccer dinner for Roy Hodgson. Two things struck me immediately: he was worth honouring and he would be the last person to do so.

By his own admission a modest player, he went to South Africa and returned with his wife from there Sheila, achieving success in Malmö.

Except for one spell at Blackburn Rovers, he continued to manage abroad in Finland and Switzerland and at club level twice for Inter Milan.

He was a forgotten man in England but at the start of 2008 Fulham recruited him to take over from Laurie Sanchez and he became our most successful manager.

Relegation was staring us bleakly in the face but was avoided by a last ditch winner headed home by Danny Murphy at Portsmouth.

The following season Fulham finished in their highest position 7th and qualified for the Europa Cup.

There was not much enthusiasm for the ugly sister of European competition but  Fulham – utilising second string players – qualified from the group stage.

We then eliminated the current champions Shakhtar Donetsk, in an unforgettable night recovering from 3-1 down to beat Juventus and, after felling the Italian giants, two powerhouse German clubs Wolfsburg and Hamburg.

The final against Atletico Madrid was a game too far but we held a team including Aguerro, de Gea and Forlan for 117 minutes before conceding a late goal.

Roy was truly back on the English stage and Liverpool came a-calling, then WBA.

He became an international manager before finally retiring last year from Crystal Palace.

Roy is not yer typical manger.

He speaks four languages fluently, is well read likes the opera and is self-effacing.

Tributes were showered on him last night but he presented himself with courtesy and modesty.