Hoddle hung himself
Posted: Wednesday February 10, 1999 08:53 AM
Glenn Hoddle has wandered down a few lonely paths in his 2 1/2 years as England soccer manager.
But until his alleged comments about the disabled suffering for their sins in previous lives, none had ever led him to the gallows.
But once the controversial story about reincarnation and the handicapped appeared in The Times newspaper in Britain on Saturday, one sensed it was end-of-the-road time for Hoddle. The noose was round his neck. As the outcry about the reported remarks grew, so the rope tightened.
There was no question in my mind that the English Football Association had to push the stool from under his feet and kill off his national managerial tenure.
I've defended Hoddle in the past. At his very core, I've always believed him to be a good and decent man.
So when he employed a faith healer to help his England squad before last year's World Cup finals, I was willing to overlook it as a "Hoddle quirk."
And when he went into graphic detail in his World Cup book about why he had left Paul Gascoigne out of his squad and David Beckham -- Gazza's supposed replacement as midfield playmaker -- out of the first game, I didn't agree with him being so indiscreet, but felt that was an issue between him and his players.
England captain Alan Shearer came out and said the team still trusted Hoddle. That was all I needed to hear.
Even Hoddle's questionable team selections didn't greatly offend me. After all, he led England to victory over Brazil, France and Italy in the Tournoi de France in 1997 and then into the World Cup finals as group winners above Italy.
His team returned from France '98 as vanquished heroes, having been reduced to 10 men yet still coming close to beating Argentina in the second round. It was a glorious exit on penalties for England, whose football against Colombia and Argentina was undoubtedly among the best in the tournament.
Hoddle had England going in the right direction, for all his faith-healing, player-expose ways.
But then came a major error of judgment. He told a media gathering that England's teenage World Cup sensation Michael Owen "was not a natural goalscorer." But he quite clearly is and leads the Premier League's goalscoring charts this season.
Hoddle's team then lost in Sweden at the start of their Euro 2000 qualifying campaign. A tame draw at home to Bulgaria and a far-from-impressive win in Luxembourg followed. England is two points behind Poland and Sweden in Group 5, having played a game more. Only one team automatically reaches the finals. England is sweating.
The swell of criticism was beginning to engulf Hoddle. Only a period of inactivity for his team allowed him to sit in more tranquil waters for a while.
Then came the storm of the ill-fated interview with The Times. Not so much choppy waters again for Hoddle as punishing 20-foot waves that have taken him under.
What possessed him to move from the subject of football to reincarnation during the interview is beyond me. Many of us have beliefs that many others don't agree with, but we don't fall into the trap of getting them printed. Not unless we are totally naive or stupid.
Hoddle isn't the latter, but has rather astonishingly -- for one with so much media exposure and experience as a player, manager and television analyst -- been the former.
He claims his comments were misconstrued and misinterpreted. In one TV interview, he even went as far as to say: "I have never gone on record as saying the disabled are being paid back for their sins or punished for their sins. I would never dream of saying that."
But he didn't go far enough to dispell the suggestion that, whether he said it in so many words or not, he did hold that belief.
Hoddle had scored an own goal in the eyes of many people -- and there would be no equalizer for him this time.
Hoddle had opened his mouth and put his foot in it one too many times. Now he will have plenty of time to ponder his alleged belief that you reap what you sow.
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