I just have to recommend Mircea Lucescu, one of the best team builders in football. Speaker of many foreign languages and self-educated from a young age, he controlled all aspects of the Romanian tram in the 1980s and put the basis of the team of Gheorghe Hagi, Florin Raducioiu, Lupescu and others from the 1990s. Went to Italy where he won the Serie B with Brescia and then trained one of the Big 3 of Italian football (Inter Milano) gor a few months, with President Massimo Moratti admitting after years that Lucescu was doing well and should have been given more patience.

Hired by Galatasaray of Turkey, he won the European Supercup in 2000 against Real Madrid and won the league, qualifying them to the Champions League. A year later he was dismissed by the President and immediately won the league with the other Istanbul team, Besiktas, proving everyone at Galatasaray wrong. Took Besiktas to the Champions League with good results.

Was hired by Ukrainean Shakhtar Donesk and proved one of the best managers in the world, bringing in players such as Luiz Adriano, Willian, Fernandinho, Jadson, Ilsinho, Alex Teixeira, Douglas Costa, Taison etc,all (except for Willian who cost 15 million) for under 10 million and selling them for much more to big European teams.

Furthermore, the team played one of the most attractive football on Europe, with Champions League wins against Chelsea or Barcelona in all its glory (Messi, Villa, Pedro,Xavi, Iniesta etc) and being the European manager most closely resembling Guardiola.

In 2009 they even beat Tottenham, Dynamo Kiev and Werder Bremen in the final stages in order to win the Europa League and Lucescu was named the BEST MANAGER IN EUROPE IN THAT SEASON.

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Lok at the other managers on that list. Who could Palace afford? Sir Alex Ferguson? Pep Guardiola? Jupp Heynkess? Luis Enrique? Joaquim Low? Zidane? Jurgen Klopp?

Stayed in Shakhtar for more than 10 years and still remains close friends with the rich owner there, Rinat Ahmetov. Won the league on almoat every year even though Dynamo Loev was politically connected and had maybe a bigger budget and favourable refereeing. But most of all.....the playing style was amazing!!!

Here are Shakhtar's results in Europe with him:
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Recently managed the Turkey national team in a period of crisis and changed it with 10-15 new players no one had heard of. The results weren't immediate and ome loses with strong teams like Russia or Sweden cost hom his job, but afterwards those players that he had promoted to the national team managed to qualify it to the Euro Championship.

The manager is on the old side, being a little over 70, but is a very healthy and sane and intelligent individual. He reads many football books and has inovative tactical approacges, his former players testifying that he used to inform them everything about opponents,from their prefered foot to how they move and their vulnerabilities.

He is out of contract and is the best manager in the world that I have studied.

Also, The Hungarian-Romanian-French Ladislau Boloni is a great manager,winner of both Portuguese and Belgium leagues with teams that really weren't favourites (Sporting Lisbon and Standard Liege) and former coach of Cristiano Ronaldo in his first years.

Also free of contract after literally creating a powerful team in Belgium out of nothing- Royal Antwerp.

Not retired, just waited the last few months for the right offer. I know him well.

He has just had offers from Switzerland and Brazil clubs lately (Santos) but he is waiting for an offer from a top league.

You convinced me...

"You can lead a horse to water but a pencil must be lead"

Stan Laurel

Lucescu is indeed older than Hodgson.
He is 75 later this month.

He is very intelligent and capable though. I don't know how to describe this....he is very strong and sane. He speaks with great rapidity and has lived a very sportive life. He looks like a wrestler, kind of like Arnold when he became Governor of California.

He is not the Roy Hodgson old looking type.

It's different for people. Age is just a number. Some people age faster, Lucescu ages very slow.

And again...that other proposition,Ladislau Boloni is realy good too and a bit younger.

Edited by mattteo (14 Jul 2020 11.51am)

Even Dyche admitted that Burnley were lucky to get anything out of that game never mind win it. De Boer tried to do too much too soon. Had he tried to change things gradually he might still be with us and we would be enjoying a better style of football. BUT that's all history. The point is, I don't see SP going for anyone other than Dyche when he/Roy deems it time for Roy to go.