Sam Matterface was joined by Trevor Sinclair and transfer expert Alex Crook on the latest edition of TalkSPORT’s GameDay podcast, during which the panel discussed all of the latest Premier League news. One of the topics that they touched on was Roy Hodgson’s future at Crystal Palace.
Hodgson, who’s been in charge at Palace since September 2017 and is currently only under contract until the end of this season, recently addressed his future, stating that he’s happy with his current situation and, for now, wants to hold off on deciding what is to come beyond the end of his current deal.
It may be fair to say that the 73-year-old’s comments indicate that there is some uncertainty over his future beyond the end of his current Palace contract – and that also seems to be the case based on what Crook said about his future, with the journalist sharing that he isn’t convinced Hodgson will be at Selhurst Park at the start of next season.
Crook suggested that ex-Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe may take the reins at the south London club.
He said: “It’s a big few months ahead, actually, for Crystal Palace, because they’ve got an awful lot of players coming to the end of their contracts. I’m not convinced that Roy Hodgson will still be the Crystal Palace manager at the start of next season; I think there could well be a change there.
“Maybe that’s why decisions aren’t yet being made on contracts. I think Eddie Howe could be someone who could possibly go in there and maybe take on a bit of a rebuild job – not too far north as far as he’s concerned – that will come into his thinking.”
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TIF Thoughts on what Crook had to say about Howe and Crystal Palace…
If the Eagles are holding off on making decisions about player contracts at present, then perhaps that does add even more fuel to the fire of uncertainty over the manager’s future, as it might make sense for the club to wait until they know for sure who will be in charge of the first team next season before deciding on which players they want to tie down to new deals.
Howe is currently without a club after leaving Bournemouth in the summer. While they did get relegated in the 2019/20 campaign, the 43-year-old managed to guide the Cherries to a ninth-place Premier League finish during his time at the Vitality Stadium, which is a slightly higher finishing position in the Premier League than Hodgson has managed to achieve with Palace thus far.
So, if the Eagles do fancy a change from Hodgson for the 2021/22 campaign, maybe Howe represents a currently available option who could take the club forward. As a result, perhaps Crook’s suggestion isn’t too far off the mark and it will be interesting to see if any more links are made between Howe and Palace as we enter the second half of the 2020/21 season.