England boss Hodgson blows it in defeat

England boss Roy Hodgson makes £3.5 million annually.

Iceland co-manager Heimir Hallgrimsson is a practicing dentist, which is fitting, since watching England play was like having teeth pulled.

Credit with a hint of the acerbic to Hodgson for taking the easy way out of his untenable position by stepping down moments after the shambolic effort, but that will do little to divert attention from his dismal tactical approach.

Heavily favoured heading into Monday's tilt in Nice, England bowed out of the Euro 2016 last-16 against Iceland in what is easily the most embarrassing major-tournament loss for the continental giant-cum-laughingstock.

The Three Lions have won only one of their last eight major-tournament matches under Hodgson's watch - thanks to a last-minute winner from Daniel Sturridge against Wales - and for all the criticism that will be deservedly directed at the players, the gaffer isn't fit to manage a Tesco's let alone the English national team.

Here's a look at three areas where the former Fulham gaffer absolutely blew it:

Sturridge on the right

One of the Premier League's most lethal finishers started on the right wing and was at times closer to the centre circle than the penalty area.

Allow that to sink in for a moment.

Blessed with a quartet of strikers in Sturridge, Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, and Marcus Rashford, Hodgson had nary a clue where or when to play them.

Take Monday, for example. Not only was Sturridge useless on the wing, but the inclusion of Rashford five minutes from time could not have been more daft. Almost immediately, Rashford's pace and attacking impetus got the better of Iceland right-back Birkir Saevarsson, though it was too little too late.

Why not bring Rashford on sooner, when both Kane and Wayne Rooney were largely ineffective? You'll have to ask Hodgson later this week while he prints up his CV.

Misused Dele Alli

Easily one of England's most exciting and dynamic young players since the generational crop of Beckham, Gerrard, Lampard, and Scholes, Tottenham star Dele Alli's performance in France was hampered by where he was inserted in the line-up.

Stellar with his club side in a central attacking role, Alli was started on the right side of a midfield three in Hodgson's 4-3-3 formation alongside Eric Dier and Rooney.

With Raheem Sterling lacking confidence and Sturridge out of position, Hodgson opted for the 4-3-3 in lieu of the weaknesses on the wing, instead of employing the 4-2-3-1 that most of the players in the squad are more familiar with.

A 4-2-3-1 allows Alli to have free reign as an attacking force with Dier and presumably Jack Wilshere playing a protective role. Instead, Hodgson exhibited a preference for having his lot play unconventional positions. That worked well.

A close-knit pairing of Alli and Kane ripped Premier League defences apart during the 2015-16 campaign to great results. For England, they barely connected. Nobody to blame but the gaffer for that one.

Misplaced faith in Wayne Rooney

What distanced this England incarnation from the previous humdrum outfits - and regrettably gave supporters a vacuous sense of hope - was the selection of young players on form rather than the old guard picked on pedigree, with one exception.

While he hasn't been his talismanic self in years for both club and country, Rooney's performance Monday against Iceland was utterly shambolic.

It wasn't just what the 30-year-old was poor, it's that he kept a slew of better players than he from occupying their usual roles. In just 72 minutes of play during Euro 2016, Arsenal's Wilshere completed the third-most dribbles (5) of any England midfielder in the tournament. That's just one example of an opportunity missed.

Rooney and Kane appeared more a slapstick duo in the spirit of Laurel & Hardy than two world-class players.

Time and time again, Rooney and Kane - who should receive the same lambasting in the press that Sterling got, but likely won't - repeatedly sailed speculative crosses metres above the nearest man.

Square pegs in round holes, the Roy Hodgson story.

Ducking out without acknowledging his ineptitude just moments after capitulation against the Icelandic minnows, Hodgson whimpered, "I'm sorry it will have to end this way but these things happen."

No they don't, Roy, no they don't.