ARoy Hodgson must have realized he was on borrowed time as he trudged off the pitch after Crystal Palace were demoralized by Chelsea last Monday night. A triumphant return to his hometown club less than 11 months after replacing Patrick Vieira, a manager whose first visit to Selhurst Park in the 1950s as a six-year-old never imagined it would happen. Such a thing.
The game leaves the Premier League’s oldest manager – a record he already held before responding to a distress call from Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish last March – as his side battle with injuries. Struggling with poor form, Hodgson became increasingly agitated and it seemed to be taking its toll on Hodgson. few weeks. But news that he had to be taken to hospital for tests after falling ill in training last Thursday is an extremely worrying development. This season has caused considerable anxiety for the former England manager, who has now confirmed he will step down three months earlier than originally planned. “Given recent circumstances, it may be prudent for clubs to plan ahead at this time,” he said in a statement.
Hodgson turned 76 on the eve of Crystal Palace’s first game of the season against Sheffield United but showed he still has all the fighting spirit of his old days against Max Low before he was beaten by a player better than him The 50-year-old player was hit in the ribs. . “His abs were stronger than I thought,” Lowe said. “Obviously Roy said he was really happy with his reaction because he didn’t know he still had this ability.”
Although Hodgson, a Croydon boy never afraid to show his dirty side, made a promising start to Crystal Palace’s post-Wilfried Zaha era after agreeing to stay for another year, he struggled against Arsenal The morning of the Stone Villa match, when he fell ill in September, was a reminder of his fragility.
Hodgson said the whole experience was “frustrating and very disappointing”, mainly because they never fully learned the truth about what happened to him. “After all the great treatment I had – the tests and people running around to really look after me and check on me – people couldn’t be 100 percent sure what caused the attack, which left me suddenly hospitalized, having lunch and then going to the game, “He said.
As problems pile up at Crystal Palace, a number of gaffes, including claims that supporters have “been spoiled here lately”, have done little to calm the choppy waters, while ongoing injuries to Eberechi Eze and Michael Ollis have Leaving Hodgson lacking creativity. He avoided the immediate threat of being sacked in two wins over Brentford and Sheffield United under Ollis. But when Ollis limped off with another serious hamstring injury after 11 minutes as a substitute, with Palace trailing 3-0 at their bitter rivals Brighton, it was clear the manager’s days were numbered. .
Fans have made their feelings known in recent games with a series of banners criticizing the boss, with Hodgson describing Crystal Palace’s woes as “the toughest period of my career and one of the reasons why the fans are so turned on us” Having coached 22 teams in eight countries, it was something of an indictment. “It hurts a little bit but I’m certainly not intimidated by things like this,” he said after the Brighton defeat.
Parish once again expressed his eternal gratitude to Hodgson for the role he played in keeping Palace in the Premier League for such a long time, with whom he is believed to have spoken regularly during their recent poor run of form. He would have preferred to wait until the end of the season to replace Hodgson, but after four consecutive wins in 18 league games dragged the club into a relegation battle, he was convinced changes were needed. Parish said: “For four years he has led the club to maintain Premier League status year on year and he joined us again almost a year ago, stabilized the team and worked wonders. “For him to agree to stay on in the summer speaks volumes about his commitment to the club. Our club’s commitment.”
Newsletter Promotion Post
Former Frankfurt coach Oliver Glasner takes over after impressing Parish and sporting director Dougie Friedman in a series of meetings over the past few weeks. Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna and Steve Cooper, who was sacked by Nottingham Forest in December, are also under consideration. The Austrian, who was confirmed in his new role ahead of Crystal Palace’s clash with Everton on Monday, was spotted meeting Parish at a hotel on Friday before heading to Tottenham’s game against Wolves the next day . Crystal Palace travel to north London on March 2 in what will be Glasner’s second game in charge after hosting Burnley next week.
Hodgson has always been a most dignified manager, never shying away from questions about his future and insisting after Chelsea’s defeat that he could keep Palace out of trouble. The former Blackburn Rovers, Liverpool, Fulham and West Brom manager (to name a few) has never been one to shy away from a challenge, but he and Parish must reflect on whether this could be the end of such an illustrious career.
