Beckham, Gerrard, Scholes: Glenn Hoddle's potential XI for England's 'Golden Generation'

Glenn Hoddle is one of the most revered England managers in recent history.

While his only tournament in charge might have ended in a round of 16 exit at the 1998 World Cup, he is nevertheless spoken about in glowing terms by many of those who played under him.

The general consensus is that the attacking and exciting brand of football that Hoddle championed made for exactly the type of ambition that the national team lacked in the early 2000s.

And none other than Rio Ferdinand is amongst that cohort of players who really enjoyed that philosophy, even going so far as to rank him above Kevin Keegan, Sven-Göran Eriksson and Fabio Capello.

According to the Mirror, Ferdinand explained in his book ‘#2Sides’: “[Hoddle was] by far the best England manager. I was lucky enough to work with him in the late 1990s, when I was still a teenager.

“If he’d stayed I would have been a different player – and a better player – for England.”

In fact, the Manchester United legend was set to play an even bigger role under Hoddle’s plans for the future, which painted an exciting picture of how the upcoming ‘Golden Generation’ might have played.

And we know that because Hoddle provided fascinating insight into his vision for England that never came to fruition during an appearance on the High Performance Podcast.

Speaking to Jake Humphrey and Damian Hughes, the Tottenham Hotspur icon broke down how Ferdinand was poised to be the centrepiece of an experimental Three Lions side that would play with three at the back.

And while that might not sound too exciting at first glance, rest assured that Hoddle’s plans for Ferdinand at the heart of his formation makes for a set-up both ahead of its time and distinctly classic.

“The exciting thing for me was