SURPRISE, surprise, England are out of the World Cup, and for the first time in their history have lost their opening two games.

Manager Roy Hodgson, looking like a lost soul, hands in pockets wandering around in the technical area, has been reassured that his future is not in question and he will serve out his full contract.

So no knighthood for him, no gongs for the rest of the team, no tea at the palace and team picture with the Queen, no tea at 10 Downing Street, no triumphant open top double-deck bus ride through London and no throngs of hero worshipping fans clammering through the streets half sozzled.

Still never mind, if Andy Murray wins at Wimbledon for two years in a row and gets his knighthood, all will be forgotten.

Anyone for tennis?

Geoff Gregg, Tursdale, County Durham.

FURTHER to T Seale’s excellent letter (HAS, June 26) comparing the attitude of the England footballers to the disappointment of all England’s football fans.

However, if expectations were low then why is anyone surprised the team are on one of the first flights home?

Football is a very intriguing and funny game. What were the expectations of the Costa Rican fans? Did they expect to beat two World Cup winners and be the first to qualify from this group?

If you believe football is purely a results game, then on World Cup matches, sack manager Hodgson.

However, if you believe the manager (backed by the FA) has ‘the direction of travel’ correct, ie bringing on young English players, then we have to back him.

I’m old enough to remember 1966 and I compared Sir Alf with Roy.

Alf made some difficult decisions and took some stick before winning the World Cup. I believe Roy’s got “the direction of travel” right, like I did for Alf as a 17-yearold in ‘66.

I will put my head on the block and back Roy to be the second best England manager of all time.

However T Seale is correct when he says: “We have a long way to go.”

But like all great managers (Sir Alf was the best) they will defend their players to the hilt, and take all the flak.

Cllr George Dunning, leader, Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council. England and Boro supporter.

NOW another tournament has ended in glorious failure, and our overpaid under achievers are heading home.

Yes it’s time for a complete change. For the England manager’s job, could I suggest our own intrepid Christopher Wardell.

It appears he knows nothing about football, so he is well qualified, and it would put paid to his ramblings in Hear All Sides, which would make a welcome relief.

I’m looking forward to the Commonwealth Games. We may have some success then.

John Brant, Darlington.

TAKING my England flags down on Tuesday evening after watching our worst ever performance in a World Cup tournament, I had a ponder about our national football team, thinking on how it could get better.

The first thing: Roy Hodgson has to go. The man is clueless and has made us the laughing stock of international football.

Our performances in Brazil prove that he is out of his depth.

An ideal replacement would be Tony Pulis, with Tim Sherwood as his assistant, but it seems the FA like their yes men, so Hodgson will regretfully stay until at least the Euros.

We did not expect to win the World Cup, far from it, but some of us England supporters have said all along that Hodgson should not have got the job – even most of the players were tweeting for Harry Redknapp to get the nod.

If Redknapp had been appointed, we could still have been in Brazil.

I honestly thought that things could not get any worse since the days of Graham Taylor and Steve McClaren, but when it was announced in 2012 that Hodgson had got the job, even my goldfish, Sebastian, got that sinking feeling.

Christopher Wardell, Darlington.

DURING recent days we’ve seen football’s beauty and the beast.

The beauty was the sumptuous goal scored from a free-kick by Argentina’s Lionel Messi against Ghana, the beast, the disgraceful foul play of Luis Suarez.

There really is no place, even in a physical game, for players such a Suarez.

This is not the first time he’s bitten another player.Suarez certainly has issues that need to be addressed but I predict that he’ll engineer a lucrative transfer from Liverpool on the back of this latest act.

VJ Connor, Bishop Auckland.