7 Truths: FA must take their time in choosing next manager, painful change needed for Spain

Roy Hodgson has occupied a job without letting in a younger man to take his turn. It is quite right that he stepped down - although he would have been sacked anyway. England need a modern manager, not one who played in Apartheid South Africa. The players needs a thinker, not someone who bristled when his very poor record was questioned. Now that chance has come and the FA must take their time over this decision or risk another four years of abject failure at major tournaments. However, the initial candidates are not promising, with Gareth Southgate, who has never won anything of note as a manager, leading the charge. Is it time to go for a foreign boss once again?

Gareth Southgate: 5/2

Alan Pardew: 9/1

Gary Neville: 10/1

Eddie Howe: 10/1

Harry Redknapp: 12/1

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Daniel Sturridge and Jack Wilshere both played in the tournament for England, and both of them have failed to show what they can, occasionally, be capable of. As well as relatively accomplished technique for English players, they are able to drive through defences with or without the ball, and set up others. But at Euro 2016 they have been muted.

Both have dealt with injury and fitness concerns for more than one season, but they were especially obvious in 2016. It is a recurrent theme for England. They pick players who are not match fit and pray that somehow they will be fine when the intensity suddenly leaps from the pre-competition friendlies. It has not worked in recent memory, and it is not working now. There are problems that cannot be escaped, but this a problem that Hodgson deliberately brought upon himself.

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England supporters will want to trust Joe Hart. He is a dominating figure on the pitch, and clearly puts on a show of passion at every turn. But it might be that this passion and energy is holding him back. In the past he has been one of the best goalkeepers in the world, but now he is regularly fallible.

His errors on the left hand side of the goal are stacking up, and Fraser Forster has no obvious weaknesses. It would be the right, if difficult, decision to drop him.

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He scored a penalty, and that will no doubt be held up as an example of his contribution to the side. It is to his credit that he withstood the pressure to put England ahead, but that is almost all that he did for much of the match. He is like most senior England players, lacking imagination and justified confidence.

The 30-year-old has been a magnificent player at times in his career, especially for Manchester United if not England, but he is now a flaw. Slow, ponderous and unable to inspire the players he captains for club and country. He has played a vast number of games and in theory has several more years of a career left in him. If he isn’t given a chance to recharge his batteries then it is easy to believe that the decline will continue. Far better to take him from the spotlight for several months, or he might find himself missing at Old Trafford and Wembley for good.

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Four of Spain’s starting XI against Italy have more than 100 caps – Sergio Ramos, Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas and David Silva – while Sergio Busquets and Gerard Pique are in the 80s. Their ages range between 27 and 32 so it would be absurd to suggest any of them are finished as footballers. But the core of this Spanish team has been together for so long it feels like collectively they have forgotten how to adapt. Spain still excel technically, but their slow tempo feels like an anachronism - without one of the new breed, David De Gea, Italy would have been out of sight before half-time.

Football evolves constantly, and since the heyday of tiki-taka teams – including Barcelona – have grown faster, more incisive, more direct. Every dominant style has a shelf life, and the Spanish failures in 2014 and now 2016 show it is time to move on. Doing so will require not just a change of coach but a change of personnel – it could be the end of the road for some of Spain’s greatest servants.

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Watching Emanuele Giaccherini light up Euro 2016, eviscerating Spain in a free role, must be the football equivalent of finding a tenner behind the sofa cushion. Giaccherini still has a year to run on his Sunderland contract and is wanted, logically enough, by incoming Chelsea boss Antonio Conte. He is 31 and six months away from being able to leave for free, but Giaccherini’s performances have added millions to his transfer value.

Yet while his form might surprise Premier League fans, he has enjoyed four excellent Serie A seasons – with Cesena, Juventus and most recently Bologna on loan. It is his failure at Sunderland, not his success with Italy, that is the outlier.

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Having won the consensus Group of Death within two matches, Italy were rewarded with a nightmare tie but totally outclassed Spain – with Graziano Pelle again popping up with a late goal to settle the nerves. Next up come Germany, the best team in the competition along with Italy themselves.

But the English fatalism about playing Germany does not exist in Italy, who have never lost to Die Mannschaft in eight competitive outings. After that, probably France – with memories of the 2006 World Cup final to buoy them. Not for nothing are Italy seen as the world’s elite big-match players. The more elite opponents they face, the better.