'Hodgson has always been good at making players play above their level,' says former Rochdale editor

LAST week, John Walker, a former editor of the controversial journal of the 1970s the 'Rochdale Alternative Paper' (RAP), e-mailed Northern Voices to say 'Hodgson has always been good at making average players play above their level' and 'the Euros have been a good example for him to put his forte to work'.  John Walker, a lad from London who came to Rochdale in the 1970s became a editor and founder of RAP while lecturing at Rochdale College.  While in London he was at school with Roy Hodgeson, and when Hodgeson was made England manager he did an interview on Radio 4 in which John worried that Hodgeson may get done-over in the media if the team didn't perform well in the Euro competion.  This week, after England's defeat to Italy 4-2 on penalty kicks, Roy Hodgson said penalty kicks become an obsession in English soccer, but he admitted there was no way to reproduce the tired legs and pressure of penalties during training.