Dan Cook has been speaking on the latest edition of the HLTCO podcast about all things Crystal Palace.
One of the topics that came up in the podcast was Roy Hodgson’s future with the Eagles.
73-year-old Hodgson has now managed 129 games for Palace, while his deal runs out at the end of the season. Cook went on to talk about Hodgson and what might happen in the future.
It seems as if Cook believes that Hodgson is the ideal manager for the Eagles because he is unlikely to be targeted by other clubs – but that his age could become a problem next summer.
He said: “It will be interesting to see what happens in the summer because I think it’s almost as if [Steve] Parish and the other directors have found the perfect formula.
“They’ve got an elder statesman, someone they don’t need to worry about being poached from [an] upwardly mobile club that are looking to offer him a bigger transfer budget.
“Unfortunately, the age factor will always come into the discussion, and that’s what’s going to occur again in the summer.”
Do you think this will be Hodgson's last season as Palace boss?
Yes, he will leave
No, he will stay
TIF Thoughts on Cook’s view on Hodgson…
Since the former England boss took over at Selhurst Park, he has guided Palace to finishes of 11th, 12th, and 14th, while they are currently in eighth place with 10 points.
He has also spent just over £45m on transfers in the time he has been with the club.
Still, he has turned Palace into a very solid Premier League team who have consistently finished well clear of the relegation zone in every season Hodgson has been in charge.
However, he isn’t getting any younger and his deal is running out, so could this be Hodgson’s last year as the manager of Crystal Palace?
We will have to see what happens next summer, but it is clear that Cook thinks Hodgson is the ideal manager for Palace’s board, and looking at his record, we find it hard to disagree.