Roy Hodgson: A Good Appointment?

Roy Hodgson was today announced as the new Fulham manager, signing a long term deal with the London club after they had sacked Lawrie Sanchez.

The 60 year old Englishman's first game / baptism of fire will be against Chelsea at the start of the new year, so how will he fare in at a club who many feel will be in the bottom 3 come the end of the season?

We take a look at Hodgson's previous management jobs throughout a varied and long career, and how well he fared at each.

1976–80 Halmstads BK
His first management job was in Sweden, where he took Halmstads to 2 Swedish Championships and 2 Allsvenskan league titles.

1982 Bristol City
A less successful stint back in England ended after winning just 3 of 20 games in charge.

1983–85 Örebro SK
Hodgson enjoyed a 50% win rate, but no trophies or league wins on his return to Sweden.

1985–90 Malmö FF
It was at Malmo that Hodgson had his most successful stint as manager, as he won 5 consecutive Allsvenksan league titles, 2 Svenska Cups and led them to being Swedish Champions twice. He also, along with Bob Houghton, revolutionised Swedish football by introducing the 4-4-2 formation, pressing tactics and advanced training regimes.

1990–92 Neuchâtel Xamax
His next move was to Switzerland, where he had an indifferent spell with nothing achieved of any great note...

1992–95 Switzerland
...but enough to land him the job of Swiss national coach. He guided the country to the World Cup in 94 (reaching the 2nd round before losing to Spain) and Euro 96, but joined Inter before the tournament began.

1995–97 Internazionale
Hodgson took Inter Milan to the final of the UEFA Cup, but lost on penalties to German outfit FC Schalke.

1997–98 Blackburn Rovers
He guided them to the UEFA cup in his first season, but was sacked early at the start of his second due to a poor run of results.

1999 Internazionale
Hodgson's second stint at Inter lasted all of 2 months.

1999–2000 Grasshoppers
He then returned to Switzerland with Grasshoppers, and was soon a serious candidate to take over the vacant England manager's job before being beaten by a certain Sven Goran Eriksson.

2000–01 F.C. Copenhagen
A move to Denmark landed Hodgson a Superliga title in his 1st season in charge.

2001 Udinese
With the Italian club he managed a 40% win ratio.

2002–04 United Arab Emirates
Hodgson's 2nd second in charge of a national team was less successful, as he was only able to guide the Middle Eastern team to 5th in the Gulf Cup.

2004–06 Viking FK
A return to club management saw Hodgson take over Norwegian side Viking for 1 1/2 seasons.

2006–07 Finland
One of his more successful jobs in management came as head of the Finnish national team. Hodgson took Finland close to qualification for Euro 2008, despite being in a group with Portugal, Poland and Serbia.

To say that Roy Hodgson has been around the block and has some experience would be a massive understatement. You can't be in management for 30 years without knowing what your doing.

He has never enjoyed steady success, and perhaps worrying for Fulham fans due to his recent successful role with Finland, one good job is usually succeeded by an average one.

However, Hodgson is known for building teams that are hard to break down with a solid foundation and players playing at their maximum potential.

If anything is certain, Fulham could have done a lot, lot worse, and it will be certainly interesting to see how Hodgson performs in his 16th different managerial post.

How do you reckon Hodgson will fare, given his style and past record? Leave your comments below.