Sport
Hodgson’s return is a backwards step for Palace
A record 11 managers have left their job in the Premier League so far this season and almost all of those dismissals have been made out of fear. That was certainly the case when Crystal Palace got rid of Patrick Vieira. The Eagles are sitting 12th in the table, but a run of 12 matches without a win have spooked many at Selhurst Park.
This is also clear in the decision to re-hire Roy Hodgson. The 75-year-old has been out of work since suffering relegation with Watford last season and had offered no hint of getting back into management until Crystal Palace gave him a call out of desperation. What evidence do they have Hodgson will be able to stop the slide?
Even if Hodgson managers to stop Palace from dropping down to the Championship, his return is a backwards step for the Selhurst Park club. Vieira wasn’t just appointed to push the Eagles up the Premier League table, he was meant to implement a new style of play and modernise the team on the pitch.
Vieira achieved some success in this regard. Crystal Palace have rebuilt a large portion of their squad since Hodgson’s departure at the end of the 2020/21 season with more ball-players now at the club than at any time during the former England manager’s first tenure. The Eagles were frequently entertaining to watch with Vieira at the helm.
This isn’t to say Crystal Palace were always expansive and attack-minded over the last two seasons. Vieira was also a pragmatist who knew when to sit his team deep and play in quick transition. Wilfried Zaha was particularly useful in scenarios such as this. The Eagles were able to get results in more than one way.
In the end, results dried up for Vieira as Crystal Palace manager. The bottom half of the Premier League has never before been this tight at this stage of the season and so Steve Parish and the Palace board were within their rights to make a pre-emptive strike. The Eagles can’t get sucked any further into the relegation scrap.
“Our sole objective now is to start winning matches, and to get the points necessary to ensure our Premier League status,” said Hodgson upon his unveiling as Crystal Palace’s new manager, underlining just how important it is for the club to remain in the division. “Crystal Palace is known for its fighting spirit, and I have no doubt that all our supporters will fight with us.”
Palace find themselves at a critical point in their modern history. This is the club’s 10th straight season in the Premier League and they have ambition to be more than just a bottom half team. Vieira was hired to put in place the foundations to allow this to happen and while he faltered towards the end that foundation is now there.
A youthful core including the likes of Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze means the future could still be bright for Crystal Palace. If they can stay in the Premier League beyond the end of the season, the Selhurst Park job would be an attractive one. If Hodgson is truly only in charge until the end of the season, his return could be justifiable.
But the fact Hodgson was Crystal Palace’s first and only thought after hastily sacking Vieira doesn’t say a lot about the decision-making process at the club. It says ideas have run dry at executive level and that all that Vieira built is being torn down in the name of a short-term salvage job.
