There was a point in Luke Shaw’s first season at Manchester United when the youngest member of Roy Hodgson’s squad in the last World Cup – a player, lest it be forgotten, who will tell you his first memory of watching the tournament came in 2010 – must have realised what an unforgiving and impatient place the Premier League can be.
Shaw’s difficult start at Old Trafford featured nine different injury setbacks and, perhaps most damagingly, the disclosure from Louis van Gaal not long after he had taken over as the manager that he did not think the teenager was looking after himself properly.
A statement like that can have lasting repercussions, especially when the player in question is young and struggling to live up to a £30m price tag. Shaw’s fitness has been under scrutiny ever since but there is a theory – one that Hodgson subscribes to – that too much has been made of it and that more allowance should have been given to his age. Shaw has started the season like he wants to make up for lost time and was arguably England’s outstanding performer in the 2-0 win over Switzerland that saw Wayne Rooney take Sir Bobby Charlton’s record as the country’s highest scorer.
“I think he’s been a bit harshly treated, personally,” Hodgson said of the former Southampton player. “He didn’t look as if he was looking after himself too badly at Southampton when he played well enough to get the £30m move. I’m not certain I want to jump on that bandwagon. It’s just nice to see him back, playing confidently and showing the form that got him the move to Manchester United in the first place.”
Shaw’s improvement since the start of August falls in line with Van Gaal’s proclamation that the defender has taken on board the criticism and is ready to establish himself as the best left-back in the country.
Van Gaal believes it will be “the year of Luke Shaw” and Hodgson is convinced England have a player who can fill the position for the next decade. Shaw already has six caps and, born in the same week that Robbie Williams left Take That, there is a feeling among his sympathisers that too many people have overlooked his age, and that it was unfair to expect his move from Southampton, then aged 19, to be seamless.
“We’ve always believed in him,” Hodgson said. “He played in the last game in the World Cup against Costa Rica and I thought he played very well bearing in mind that was his first [tournament] game. After that, he was pencilled in as the player who could give Leighton Baines a run for his money but he had a tough season and I think one thing will undoubtedly be proven true. That tough season – and it must have been tough for him and his family – might benefit him in the long run.
“He’s still only 20 and if he keeps going then he’s on track to be another Ashley Cole – a 100-cap man. I would advise him to study Ashley Cole, look at what Ashley did for England and set my sights on the same thing.”
With Nathaniel Clyne looking increasingly impressive at right-back, England’s defence for Euro 2016 is taking shape even if Hodgson was dissatisfied with the team’s overall structure against Switzerland. “If you put me on the spot and said: ‘Are you 100% satisfied with the performance?’ I would have to say no, and that I wanted to see us do better than that,” Hodgson said. “I’m happy saying that having won 2-0, rather than it being 0-2, but it’s got to be better. We’ve still got work to do. Luckily we’re not playing the first game in the Euros tomorrow. We do have some time and we will keep working at it.”
Hodgson can be encouraged by the performances of his full-backs whereas Chris Smalling, a player he remembers signing for “a bag of balls” when he was Fulham manager, has improved dramatically in the last year. “We signed him for nothing, didn’t we?” Hodgson said, thinking back to Smalling’s arrival at Craven Cottage from Maidstone United in 2008. It was actually £10,000 but the point still stood. “I’m delighted for him because he’s a player who has really had to fight to get to the position that he’s achieved today,” Hodgson said.
Equally, the England manager must feel satisfied Joe Hart has overcome that period where he had become worryingly accident-prone a couple of seasons ago and that his position as England’s best goalkeeper can no longer possibly be disputed. Hart has not conceded a goal this season in four games for Manchester City and another two for England. “I’m really pleased for him,” Hodgson said.
