World Cup: Roy Hodgson enjoying the benefit of England's uniquely low expectations but knives are sharpening

In a magazine interview before the World Cup, which wasn’t terribly relevant to England’s campaign until the team’s hopes quickly evaporated into an extended vacation, Roy Hodgson was asked to recommend a selection of reading material.

His choices included Austrian author Stefan Zweig’s only novel, Beware of Pity, which now seems rather poignant as the manager attempts to justify why he should remain in his position.

A week ago the loss to Italy appeared to leave the country in a rare state of agreement. Lowered expectations had been exceeded with a daring display against an opponent many predicted would top the group. England didn’t win, but at least they weren’t boring; a criticism that Fabio Capello struggled to escape following the tedium of 2010 and that also dogged Sven-Goran Erkisson, who claims of Hodgson’s record in Brazil: “I know for sure, if that had been me, I would have been sacked at once. If he were foreign, he would be sacked. I’m quite sure about that.”

Hodgson is an intelligent man well-versed in football’s fickle nature and he won’t be surprised by the sudden change in mood following England’s elimination. But as much as it is entirely predictable to see some newspapers calling for the manager’s dismissal, the reaction to the team’s earliest World Cup exit since 1958 has mirrored the half-hearted optimism with which they entered the tournament. It is unlikely there are tabloid subs poring over pictures of root vegetables on their desks to decide which is the most apt for Hodgson’s head.

As is usually the case in these matters, there are many and varied reasons for this. Firstly, familiarity has bred consent, with Hodgson given an easier ride than his predecessors for appeasing the public’s demand to blood the youth. The manager has been keen to promote this point, but the script has overlooked the fact that Germany and the Netherlands brought younger squads to Brazil and that the average age of Costa Rica’s starting XI against Italy and Uruguay was some 200 days younger than England’s.

Scrutiny

It is only now that Hodgson’s remarkable achievement in lowering the nation’s expectations is truly under scrutiny. As Eriksson continued with deserved disbelief: “I don’t know why the expectations are so low. The expectations in the three tournaments I had the team was the final or semi-final – no other discussions. And when we reached the quarter-final, that was not good enough. Today, it seems to be very, very good if you would do this. I don’t think things have changed, realistically. It’s not that the rest of the world is far, far ahead of England.”

As the merits of individuals are debated back home - with Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney unsurprising victims of England’s partisan support - Costa Rica’s performances in Group D vindicate Eriksson’s opinion and add to Hodgson’s discomfort. The manager has said he will make changes to his team for Tuesday’s dead rubber, but the real story is that Costa Rica may decide to rest players in preparation for the last 16. Meanwhile, England fans are making the same demands to see more youngsters as though that posthumous measure will improve anything before France 2016.

It is clear that Hodgson has made mistakes which shouldn’t be ignored merely because of a lack of English alternatives to replace him. He may have performed admirably at Euro 2012 after being parachuted into the job just four months before the tournament, but failure is the onl