Despite winning 13 trophies on his travels through largely unfashionable clubs in Europe, the 64-year-old former Inter Milan and Liverpool boss has already been deemed 'Mr Average' by sections of the hard-to-please English media.
When Fabio Capello left the England job in February, Tottenham Hotspur's manager Harry Redknapp seemed the only candidate, with former captain David Beckham heading a long, credible list calling for his appointment.
Monday's edition of The Sun, England's biggest selling newspaper, asked "Why didn't Harry get it?" and claimed eight out of 10 fans in their poll said Hodgson was the wrong choice.
"With the greatest respect, there's not going to be a great wave of excitement about the appointment of Roy," the paper quoted Mark Perryman of the England Supporters Club as saying.
While Perryman went on to praise Hodgson's credentials, the overwhelming feeling remained that he is second choice to Redknapp.
"Surely Roy Hodgson can't be the only name on the 'list'?" former England international and Everton captain Phil Neville tweeted after the FA said they had only spoken to Hodgson.
Credited with being a strong man-manager who would be able to get the best out of a side that had failed to reach the semi-finals of a major tournament since Euro 96, Redknapp's strengths appeared to outweigh the sceptics' concerns that he had won only one major title in his 30-year career.
"Harry is an excellent man-manager and I believe that Hodgson is second choice, whatever the FA says," former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson told the BBC.
The last obstacle had appeared to be hurdled in February when Redknapp was cleared of tax evasion, but his admission during the hearing that he is "the most disorganised person in the world" and that he writes "like a two-year-old and can't spell" may have been his undoing with FA bosses.
Titles in Sweden, Denmark and taking Switzerland to the 1994 World Cup - and a best ever world ranking of third - outweigh anything Redknapp has achieved but, with few English players and managers plying their trade outside of their borders, Hodgson's past glories are often overlooked.
