ROY HODGSON has started to look weathered in recent weeks. And not just because his Watford side are stinting in attack and porous in defence. Hodgson will turn 75 in August, and it is a mark of the man that he is only now retiring. He’s been in the professional game for 59 years.

His playing career began as a Crystal Palace academy product. But the Palace senior team was a step too far for Hodgson, so he dropped down the divisions to play non-league. He did his coaching badges at the incredibly young age of 23, and was soon assistant manager at Maidstone United.

His manager, Bob Houghton, eventually became manager of Sweden’s most famous club, Malmo. Houghton recommended that their Swedish first division rivals Halmstads appoint Hodgson as manager. They did — and Hodgson had his first managerial role. In his first season he took the relegation survivors to the top of their table, winning the Swedish Allsvenskan. He still considers it his biggest career achievement.