Eurosport journalist Dean Jones has featured on the latest edition of Touchline Talk to discuss all things Premier League during the international break.
One topic of discussion was the future of the Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson, whose long-term future at the club remains uncertain with his current contract expiring at the end of this season.
Discussing Hodgson’s future with Palace, Jones had this to say on the matter.
He said: “This couple of weeks seems like a decent window to start at least trying to clear things up there and seeing where they want to head. I think Palace are a real crossroads and they’re really unsure of what to do here.
“Obviously, you’re probably going to look for a younger coach and next and somebody who’s more in tune with the modern game, but look, what Roy Hodgson does, you can’t really fault, because he always finds a way to stay in games and win and pick up points when they probably don’t deserve it.
“So that’s the other side and obviously, at a time when there’s so much risk financially of falling out of the Premier League and not knowing really what even next season holds, is it better again to just stick with Hodgson because you know you’ll be okay?
“But it’ll be interesting to see what Palace do because I think they would love to try something new, but they know that it might be a bit too risky.”
Will Palace keep Hodgson?
Yes
No
Hodgson was appointed the Eagles’ manager in September 2017, but the 73-year-old’s future with the south London club lies out of his hands with John Terry being linked with the potential vacant role come to the end of June.
The Eagles currently sit 12th in the Premier League table and just five points off ninth-placed Arsenal with both sides having nine games to go until the end of the season.
TIF Thoughts on Jones’ comments…
As Jones alluded to, given the current financial situation in football as a result of the pandemic, it may be wise for Palace to keep Hodgson at the helm for another season to ensure their stability in the top flight. Even if Palace fans hope to bring a fresh face in this summer, however, having a level of certainty around the club may benefit the Eagles for another season.