Roy Hodgson must have realized his loan period had passed as he walked off the pitch last Monday night following Crystal Palace’s demoralizing last-minute defeat to Chelsea. Less than 11 months after his triumphant return to his hometown club to replace Patrick Vieira, the manager who first visited Selhurst Park as a six-year-old in the 1950s could never have imagined things would come to this.
It has left the Premier League’s oldest ever manager – a record he held even before answering Palace chairman Steve Parish’s distress call last March – increasingly frustrated at a time when his side are struggling with injuries and poor form has taken its toll on Hodgson. a campaign. a few weeks. However, the news that he had to be taken to hospital for tests after falling ill during training last Thursday was an extremely worrying development. This season has caused serious concern for the former England manager, who confirmed he will step down three months ahead of schedule. “Given recent circumstances, it may be prudent for the club to plan ahead at this time,” he said in a statement.
Relating to: Crystal Palace appoint Oliver Glasner as manager following Roy Hodgson’s departure
Hodgson turned 76 three days before Palace’s first game of the season against Sheffield United but showed he still had his fighting spirit during a clash with Max Lowe that ended with him being punched in the ribs by a player 50 years his junior. “His abs are stronger than I thought,” Lowe said. “Apparently Roy said he was quite pleased with her reaction because he didn’t know he still had that feeling.”
Hodgson, a Croydon boy who has never been afraid to show his bad side, had a good start to Palace’s post-Wilfried Zaha era after agreeing to stay on for another year, but suffered a bout of illness on the morning of the match against Aston Villa. This situation in September was a reminder of his fragility.
Hodgson said the whole experience was “frustrating and very disappointing” because they never quite understood what was affecting him. “After all the excellent treatments I’ve had – the tests and people running around to really care for me and check on me – people can’t be 100 percent sure what caused that attack that suddenly put me in the hospital. Eat lunch and go to the game,” he said.
As Palace’s problems piled up, a series of gaffes, including claiming fans had been “indulged here lately”, did not help calm the turbulent waters, and persistent injuries to Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise left Hodgson starved of creativity. He twice fended off immediate threats of sacking with Olise-inspired victories against Brentford and Sheffield United. But when Olise limped off with a serious hamstring injury 11 minutes after coming on as a substitute in Palace’s 3-0 defeat against arch-rivals Brighton, it was clear the manager’s days were numbered.
Fans have made their feelings known in recent matches with a series of banners criticizing the owners, and Hodgson described the situation at Palace as “the toughest period of my career”. ”. It is a claim to have managed 22 teams in eight countries. “It’s a bit hurtful but I’m definitely not going to be afraid of that kind of thing,” he said after the Brighton defeat.
Parish, who once again expressed his immense gratitude to Hodgson for the role he played in keeping Palace in the Premier League for so long, is believed to have spoken to him regularly during his recent poor run of performances. He would have preferred to wait until the end of the season to replace Hodgson but was convinced a change was necessary after four wins in 18 league games dragged the club into a relegation battle. “After four years leading the club to retain Premier League status season after season, he joined us once again almost a year ago to steady the ship and has done wonders,” Parish said. “Agreeing to continue in the summer is a sign of his commitment to our club.”
Relating to: Oliver Glasner: Ambitious and popular manager, not up to any challenge
Former Eintracht Frankfurt manager Oliver Glasner replaced him after impressing Parish and sporting director Dougie Freedman in a series of meetings over the past few weeks. Ipswich’s Kieran McKenna and Steve Cooper, who was sacked by Nottingham Forest in December, were also considered. The Austrian was seen meeting Parish at a hotel on Friday before heading to Tottenham’s game against Wolves the following day, and it was confirmed he would take up his new role ahead of Palace’s trip to Everton on Monday. Palace will travel to north London on March 2 for Glasner’s second match after hosting Burnley next week.
Always a fiercely dignified manager, Hodgson avoided any questions about his future and insisted after the Chelsea defeat that he could keep Palace out of trouble. The former manager of Blackburn, Liverpool, Fulham and West Brom (to name just a few) has never been one to shy away from a challenge but he and Parish must be considering whether this is the way to end such a distinguished career.