EXTRA TIME

Roy‘s Back For The Love Of It

January 26, 2022 at 6:58 pm 2 comments

70 year-old Claudio Ranieri was sacked as Watford manager and replaced by 74 year-old Roy Hodgson to save the Hornets from relegation. Why the former England coach and – in his so far twenty first job in more than 47 years – former Crystal Palace manager has returned to the dugout with almost 75 years, though having said that he didn’t “need to keep going to the grave trying to cram a training session in every day,” Jonathan Northcroft (The Times) explains with one word:

Love.

He just loves it. Loves the game, loves the kick of competing, loves footballers, loves the whole environment of a football team: the technical staff, the wider cast of support workers at the training ground. He even (though wouldn’t necessarily admit it) likes the cut and thrust with press.

To give an idea of how long he has been going, managers Roy has faced in his career include Jack Charlton, Ron Atkinson, Howard Kendall, Arrigo Sacchi and Johan Cruyff. Only one manager in a significant job is older, Edoardo Reja, the 76-year-old Albania boss and this summer Roy turns 75.

What was clear was that, above everything else, for Roy football was about the human experiences, the people – and isn’t that why we all keep coming back to the game? Jonathan Northcroft asks in The Times.

Our teams win or lose, play well or badly, waste our time or give us moments that are among the best in our lives – but, I think, the reason we stick with them, and with the sport itself, is because of the connectio lollipops it An guarantees. Connection with other fans, connection with friends and family, connection with random strangers who you just get speaking to. And connection with just an essentially silly but essentially very human pursuit.

That’s why Roy’s back.

And that’s why us fans are back every week for every odd game.

22 jobs in 47 years ➡️ The Times

➡️ Watford FC

➡️ Article in German

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