Pundit John Giles has been talking about Roy Hodgson and the announcement that he will leave Crystal Palace at the end of the season.
Hodgson is set to depart Palace and retire as manager and the Englishman’s last game will see the Eagles take on one of his former clubs in Liverpool at the weekend.
Giles talked about the fact that Palace aren’t renewing Hodgson’s contract when he appeared on the latest episode of the OTB Football podcast. Giles believes there was more to Hodgson’s decision to leave and suggested the Eagles might be making a mistake they could end up regretting next season.
Do you think Palace will regret letting Hodgson leave?
Yes
No
Frank Lampard has been linked with a move to Palace and the ex-Chelsea boss has made his intentions clear about returning to management soon.
Giles talked about Hodgson’s exit, saying: “I know he had the spell at Liverpool and he didn’t get a fair chance there by any means, but I think he would’ve stayed at Palace had they wanted him to stay.
“Because what he said – ‘I’m not finished, I want to go somewhere else’ – I think he was quite happy at Palace. And Palace might be making a mistake because he’s kept them well [in] mid-table every year. They might be sorry when next season comes around, because whoever they take on now is a gamble.”
TIF Thoughts on Roy Hodgson…
Hodgson has managed Palace since 2017 and during this period, he has racked up a points-per-match tally of 1.23. During his period at the club, Hodgson has helped Palace finish in the mid-table spots regularly, establishing them as a solid Premier League outfit.
That is proof of his capability as a manager and considering the contractual situation of multiple players at Selhurst Park, the new manager may well have a stiff job to do. The contracts of multiple players run out in the summer, which shows that there is an immense amount of work to be done.
On top of that, the Eagles haven’t been known to spend heavily in the market under Hodgson, but he still managed to keep the club afloat regularly. So the next manager will have a sizeable task to maintain the stability that he brought to the club.
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